It's been a VERY long time since I've shown my face around here.  Feels like old times

I'll bid in on #10 and #11 for BTC0.0015 each (BTC0.0030 total) just for sentimental value - and to make the shipping on my lottery win a little more worth it 

-TAK

Wow, I completely forgot about that series... I stand corrected.

GLWS   

I hate to break in on it this way, but I only see 5 rounds here... there's 7 in a full set - grey, yellow, green, blue, violet, red and orange.  Do you have the blue and violet ones also?  If so then I'm also watching this intently.

And, anyone happen to have a violet one they'd be willing to sell? There's a few floating around and hoping someone has an extra they'd be willing to part with.

6.5BTC S1
6.75BTC S2

6.4BTC S1
6.65BTC S2

6.3BTC S1
6.55BTC S2

I'll bid 0.45BTC

Well, all depends.  I've been a collector (normal coinage) for probably 20+ years, and if I see a decent close up shot of a coin I can usually guesstimate grade within 1-2 points with a 10 second look at the photo.  And that's just as a hobbyist.  Imagine if you're a professional grader and all you do day in and day out is look at coins.  They've probably each seen 90% of all coin types and conditions ever graded, and can easily peg a coin with 95% certainty what it would be very quickly just by picking it up before it goes under the loupe.

Now, there's exceptions to the rule as well.  I'd guesstimate that at least 85% of the coins going through a TPG are "common" - Morgan/Peace/Ike dollars, ASE's, all general US Mint coinage from the past 100 years.  Those I would say a pro grader could pick a spot-on grade in probably under 5 seconds since they see them all the time.  The "uncommon" ones - and those that are high value of any series - are usually flagged and go to a special panel of graders who spend much more time examining them and this time they all talk and come to a consensus on what it is.  Now, we're talking coins that are worth many thousands of dollars here... anything we're talking about with our rounds and most modern mint issues are not anywhere near that.

And the reason why its so quick is that they're looking at certain areas of the coins, not the whole thing.  Certain areas of the coin count towards the grade, others not so much.

Each series of coin has a set of "focal points" where your eyes naturally tend towards when you look at it.  This is what the graders concentrate on, and the grade is 99% of the time derived from.  It's easy and quick to examine the focal points of most coinage when you know them.  I can look at an eisenhower dollar and in under 10 seconds usually come within a point of a professional grader.  They don't examine the parts of the coin that "don't matter", such as the edge, and ignore most rim dings.  Especially in our case there's usually a hologram covering a good chunk of the reverse, which is mostly ignored unless it's mangled.

You're not too far off tho with your comment about the "bad day", graders are human after all, and they will get it wrong enough.  I'm sure there's more than a few coins in a 69 slab out there that should have been 70's, which is why 70's are held with such a higher premium.  It's so hard to get everyone to agree that a coins is that good to deserve it.

No mint grades their coins, they all come off the assembly line as-struck and usually put into either a "mint tube" roll of 10/20/40 (depending on coin size), or put into capsules (they will charge extra).  There is no way to know how any coin, round, or bar will grade from the mint, they are all put through the exact same minting process.  Usually you will have a variation of anywhere from MS-67 through MS-69 in most tubes of modern pressed coins (government or private mint), with a very few getting the 70. 

All grading is done by a 3rd party Grading company (TPG).  The "Big 3" are PCGS, NGC and ANACS.  ICG, SEGS, and some others round out the lower tier.

Each grader is human, and while there are written and pictoral guidelines, any grader can slightly differ from the other.  Most of the top TPG's use a trio of graders per coin, with none of the others knowing who graded before them or after, each coin raw, and no notes shared.  Each coin goes under a loupe/magnifier at a certain X number (I think it's 30, can't remember) and any imperfections are noted and count towards the grade.

Each coin usually spends less than 10 seconds with each grader, where they have to find imperfections and notate everything.  Think about that.  10 seconds or less.

There is such a fine line between a 69 and 70 -  some 70's could be 69's and vice versa.  There are many stories where people will re-submit a 70 and get a 69, or a 69 and it comes back a 70.  Most non-professional graders can't tell the difference between them, and with pros, you will also vary widely.

0.15BTC

I'll bid 0.11BTC

Man, this just sucks for everyone involved - everyone has lost when something like this happens.  As an owner of several physicals every time I read something like this it sends a chill.

I hope the source is found, and that Alitin honors their pledge to offer refunds.  If you can find proof of when your coin was swept, and the value at that time, it is worth trying to go through something like renters or homeowners insurance and see what they say.  Sometimes you do need an extra rider on your policy to cover these things, sometimes not, depends but at least worth a try.

I know it won't really replace what was lost, but add me to the list of interested parties for any resale of these, peeled or still intact but de-funded.  PM me your asking price, for either series and/or multiple coins.

0.73BTC

if I didn't miss it... I hate having to figure time out...

Confirmed!

Thank you!

Hey guys, my coins arrived as well, safe and sound, although the box looked like it was used in a Samsonite commercial...

I think I sent a PM on it, but just in case, if you could fund the coins that would be very much appreciated.

I'll echo the comments about the beauty, they are stunners in hand.  Awesome job.

Each wallet ships with 3 self-stick holograms.  Once the code is put into the spot on the coin, you take a hologram and slap it over the code.  The hologram is only sticky around the edges, so it won't stick to the code and have any chance of destroying it.

The holograms are tamper-proof, meaning that if they are peeled, there's a residual part of the sticker left there so it can't be stuck back on over itself and look like it was never touched.  The residue can be cleaned off and a brand new holo applied for re-use, which makes these rounds useful longer.

Yeah, 3rd point above was about looking at mixing another alloy in to keep diameter, and it would also lessen the cost.

But BitcoinNewsMagazine is right, if you start mixing in and taking away the purity, it's not the same to collectors.

PM incoming.

Since there's been a couple threads already on the lower numbers, I figured I'd try and see if the holder of #16 (silver and gold) would be willing to swap.  PM me if you have it and are willing to entertain the idea.

Thanks.

The premium on a 25 has historically been low, even when BTC was in the $200's.  There's just not a big premium on the 25's and 5's, you'll pay proportionally much higher for the .5 and 1 BTC coins, and exponentially higher for the 0.1 silver.  The problem is that there's not too many people who can pop off purchase of a 25 today.  Back when they were introduced, yeah, many could afford them at the time.  Now with BTC where it is, very few would be willing to part with that much fiat to buy one, and anyone who has that much in BTC is not willing to part with that much of a premium.

Also, premiums are usually calculated in BTC, not tied to fiat or PM's, so a 0.5 BTC premium today will still be a 0.5 BTC premium tomorrow.  The only thing is what BTC is comparable to at that time.  So, it will be a very long time before that premium could be turned around to buy you 100g of gold, but either way it's still a 0.5 BTC premium.

If you want to sell it for the premiums mentioned, PM me.  It's worth that premium to keep someone from peeling it, but not much beyond that unfortunately.