Letters to the Editor – October 24, 2023

How Did Grading Services Arrive at Current Holders?

Certified coins in holders seem to dominate the hobby nowadays. Coins worth millions are sealed inside. Have coin certification services disclosed the material composition of their holders? What about entrapped gasses and moisture? Have they offered premium holder services such as hermetic, vacuum, and/or inert gas seals? Multiple layers? Are there any kind of warranties, or are we to assume forever? Years ago, it seemed people didn’t care, and many coins were ruined by plasticized PVC holders that are still around today, unfortunately. These plasticizers leached out of the plastic along with the stabilizers, and hydrogen chloride was generated over time, resulting in a peculiar kind of corrosion. How do we know the holders now are “safe?” Are there studies or literature available to explain their rationale for the holder design and composition? Or is this a taboo subject?

Name and address withheld.

Faculty Room Conversation Led to 50 Years in Hobby

It has been 50 years this month since I became a coin collector. As it happens, two colleagues were having a coin discussion in the faculty room where I taught, and I asked about their animated back-and-forth. I got a mouthful in about 15 minutes. One was excited about collecting Krugerrands at $49 each, and the other was extolling the U.S. Mint products of mint and proof sets.

As a new teacher with a small salary, I looked into the U.S. Mint products, and that started my collecting experiences. Over the last five decades, I have ebbed and flowed with looking at my change, saving yearly new coins found in circulation as well as my purchases of Mint products. I used to get five sets of each proof and mint set, but as the prices rose, I began to limit myself to two sets and then one set of each (with more interest in the silver sets).

As my salary increased, I started collecting circulated silver coins, dimes, quarters, and half dollars. I joined a local coin club and then started my re-learning of coins and began to go to local coin shows. That was an eye-opening experience! As my general collection grew, the Mint started the American Eagle series in gold and silver. I was hooked on the silver dollars, and when I could, I bought 1/10-ounce proofs.

I retired for the first time in 2000 to take a higher education job, which gave me more funds for specialty coins. I started with some circulated Morgans, double-dollar Canadian sets, and Canadian mint sets. When slabbed coins became mainstream, and eBay was replacing the local coin shop, I switched to slabbed Morgans and Peace dollars.

About 10 years ago, I started to thin out my bulky collection to purchase more expensive coins (expensive for me). I cashed in a footlocker of pennies, hundreds of tubes of nickels, dimes, and quarters and sold off my loose silver coins that were in 2x2s. I had enough money to buy a new car and set up at my first show as a seller (not dealer), which was so much fun. I do that once or twice a year, more or less to buy for my collection and sell off odd items I accumulate over the year.

I love collecting. I love coin meetings, and I love going to the two FUN shows in Orlando to experience the “big time.” For those who think coin collecting is fading, I have news for you: it is healthy and growing. But, it is a changing dynamic. It has evolved so much in the last 50 years. Mostly for the better, even in the age of Bitcoin and forged coins.

In closing, I want to thank Mark and Stan from the faculty room. I still have no K-Rands but have had a lifetime of fun, profit, and beauty. I have met so many great people in clubs, meets, and shows. How hollow my life would be without this adventure.

Keep up the great publications. See you at FUN 2024. Oh yes, my grandson is now a collector with his merit badge and soon-to-be college degree in mathematics. He gets it all when I am gone. He will be a good steward for the future.

Dr. Glen D. McClary, Melbourne, Fla