Info to add to SatsLife pinned topic- help needed

[ChiBitCTy]

I was going to make a post asking for whom around these parts offers coin design work (graphic artists with experience).  I’d like something mocked up. Got me thinking..

It would be nice to add these topics (& info) to Sats pinned help thread (assuming Sats is cool with this, which I’m sure he would be..will check).

1)Coin graphic artists- btalk members would be a priority (I’ll go for first, bigtimespaghetti) , freelancers, but even names of individuals maybe at certain mints or graphic design studios that can be vouched for.  Pretty sure mints will charge more than a freelancers, right? So it would be nice to have a list available (like there is for escrow).

2)Coin Graders - ICG (coin authentication by the worlds most knowledgeable collector in the space, MinerJones), NGC , PCGS  & ?? (ANACS no longer, good riddance anyhow) but how about legit graders in Europe and Asia (it’s increasingly difficult to ship these items overseas, so this is becoming all the more important). Also, pricing lists as well as what coins/bars they will slab, which have been rejected, which require a whale to do business (yes that’s been a big part of this all) etc. ( I can help with this all a little more).

3) Auction houses & pricing  (Scarce, Stacks, Heritage, eBay, &? ..personal websites would be overkill, and imo should not be listed here ).  On one hand yeah this drives away some business here but, that’s inevitable/important for the hobby to grow. How much do listings cost, how much do sales costs for sellers and (insanely) buyers? What are the main requirements? ..scarce I believe forces LN deposits and bidding, Stacks requires items be graded and shipped by armor vehicle, etc.

4) How to fix broken image links in old threads - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5452662.0

5) Coin Mints - who will work with us, costs, etc.

IMO these topics would do us all and new collectors a lot of good.

Help and thoughts needed / welcomed.  

[minerjones]

2)Coin Graders - ICG (coin authentication by the worlds most knowledgeable collector in the space, MinerJones), NGC , PCGS  & ?? (ANACS no longer, good riddance anyhow) but how about legit graders in Europe and Asia (it’s increasingly difficult to ship these items overseas, so this is becoming all the more important). Also, pricing lists as well as what coins/bars they will slab, which have been rejected, which require a whale to do business (yes that’s been a big part of this all) etc. ( I can help with this all a little more).

5) Coin Mints - who will work with us, costs, etc.

I can add some info for these two topics.

5) Coin Mints.
For the first run of BYOB coins, we used NWTM (NorthWest Territorial Mint). They have since gone out of business. I know many early coins were minted there such as Lealana and Cryptolators
After that  we started using Osborne mint and the results turned out well.
I have also heard of some other makers using Regency Mint for their products

2) Grading Services.
ANACS - Does not grade cryptos, but when they did they only offered the standard size slab. (They did offer a larger slab, but these were specifically for the 5oz "America The Beautiful" silver Quarter coins)

NGC - Not sure. I have not used them personally.

ICG - Offers 1 size slab, standard sizing for most coins. Pretty sure their maximum size for a coin to be slabbed is 43mm x 4mm

PCGS - They will grade most of our items now. There are a few things that they will not grade such as Casascius Bowl coins and Finite By Design bars.

Here is what I had posted on a thread I made about this:

PCGS YES
-1Hodlclub bars (1oz ingot, 5oz ingot, Moonphases bars)
-Alpencoin bars
-Caribbean Treasures copper bars
-Casascius bars
-Kialara (both large and small form factors)
-Microsoul bars


PCGS NO
-1Hodlclub F*ck Fiat 1/2oz silver/gilt coins
-Casascius Bitcoin Bowl coins
-Finite By Design bars (BTC, ETH, DASH)
-SqurrielBits 60mm (most of them as there are only 3x with no profanity)

Currently here are the PGCS fees:

$40 Regular service. Has been taking about 6 months currently
$70 Express service. Has been taking about 1.5-2 months currently
$150 WalkThrough service. Usually takes about 1 bussiness week.

There are other tiers of service, but I have not used them
Banknotes/Polymerbits,etc have a separate grading form and fees.
The average to grade a note even with a lower tier level is about $40-$50, but does not take as long as the coin/bar grading. I have had good experience where most are returned within a 2-3 month period without any expedited service fee.

Looking at the fee chart, we may need to move to the "Rarities" tier pretty soon

Hope this helps you make an informed decision on what items to grade.



PCGS charges a $10 handling fee and then a return shipping fee based on the amount of items and their value. Can range from $23 to $100 or more.
Also, there would be a shipping to PCGS fee from the person who submits them, unless dropped off at a coin show where PCGS has a table/booth
And they do not allow walk in service at their facility out in California


**They will not grade any coins/bars with profanity on them, so hence why the 1Hodlclub "Fuck Fiat" coin and most of the Squirrelbits coins will not be graded by them**

**There are only a few 60mm Squirrelbit coins with no profanity. One has been sent in recently and we will know soon if they can grade the**

**And... we need to get one of the Dogecoin bars by BTS sent in to complete the bar list. Don't think I am missing any makers/bars.   **

[Suzuki Matt]

2)Coin Graders - ICG (coin authentication by the worlds most knowledgeable collector in the space, MinerJones), NGC , PCGS  & ?? (ANACS no longer, good riddance anyhow) but how about legit graders in Europe and Asia (it’s increasingly difficult to ship these items overseas, so this is becoming all the more important). Also, pricing lists as well as what coins/bars they will slab, which have been rejected, which require a whale to do business (yes that’s been a big part of this all) etc. ( I can help with this all a little more).

5) Coin Mints - who will work with us, costs, etc.

I can add some info for these two topics.

5) Coin Mints.
For the first run of BYOB coins, we used NWTM (NorthWest Territorial Mint). They have since gone out of business. I know many early coins were minted there such as Lealana and Cryptolators
After that  we started using Osborne mint and the results turned out well.
I have also heard of some other makers using Regency Mint for their products

2) Grading Services.
ANACS - Does not grade cryptos, but when they did they only offered the standard size slab. (They did offer a larger slab, but these were specifically for the 5oz "America The Beautiful" silver Quarter coins)

NGC - Not sure. I have not used them personally.

ICG - Offers 1 size slab, standard sizing for most coins. Pretty sure their maximum size for a coin to be slabbed is 43mm x 4mm

PCGS - They will grade most of our items now. There are a few things that they will not grade such as Casascius Bowl coins and Finite By Design bars.

Here is what I had posted on a thread I made about this:

PCGS YES
-1Hodlclub bars (1oz ingot, 5oz ingot, Moonphases bars)
-Alpencoin bars
-Caribbean Treasures copper bars
-Casascius bars
-Kialara (both large and small form factors)
-Microsoul bars


PCGS NO
-1Hodlclub F*ck Fiat 1/2oz silver/gilt coins
-Casascius Bitcoin Bowl coins
-Finite By Design bars (BTC, ETH, DASH)

Currently here are the PGCS fees:

$40 Regular service. Has been taking about 6 months currently
$70 Express service. Has been taking about 1.5-2 months currently
$150 WalkThrough service. Usually takes about 1 bussiness week.

There are other tiers of service, but I have not used them
Banknotes/Polymerbits,etc have a separate grading form and fees.
The average to grade a note even with a lower tier level is about $40-$50, but does not take as long as the coin/bar grading. I have had good experience where most are returned within a 2-3 month period without any expedited service fee.

Looking at the fee chart, we may need to move to the "Rarities" tier pretty soon

Hope this helps you make an informed decision on what items to grade.



PCGS charges a $10 handling fee and then a return shipping fee based on the amount of items and their value. Can range from $23 to $100 or more.
Also, there would be a shipping to PCGS fee from the person who submits them, unless dropped off at a coin show where PCGS has a table/booth
And they do not allow walk in service at their facility out in California


**They will not grade any coins/bars with profanity on them, so hence why the 1Hodlclub "Fuck Fiat" coin and most of the Squirrelbits coins will not be graded by them**

**There are only a few 60mm Squirrelbit coins with no profanity. One has been sent in recently and we will know soon if they can grade the**

**And... we need to get one of the Dogecoin bars by BTS sent in to complete the bar list. Don't think I am missing any makers/bars.   **

I know they're rare and not many have a set. But there is a mybits bar set out there. I have a set. Would be cool to get them slabbed up. 🤔

[ChiBitCTy]

Thanks Mantis!!! I’ll continue to add to this (will make calls etc).  I think it’s insane we don’t have all this info collected and posted already as it’s a massive help to us all..so kinda surprised by the lack of replies.

As for grading w NGC and PCGS.. I bet many sats that if say Charlie Lee sent in a Cas bowl game coin, Finite Bars, or a coin with a huge penis on it that says btc below it , they’d slab and grade it all. Both PCGS and NGC are ran by morons.  They will eventually at least slab it all. I’ve said this about them since I joined this forum as their main customer base (boomers) are dying off.  Has anyone ever gotten a reply as to why they won’t grade certain stuff?

I haven’t still (this was in Jan)

[minerjones]

Thanks Mantis!!! I’ll continue to add to this (will make calls etc).  I think it’s insane we don’t have all this info collected and posted already as it’s a massive help to us all..so kinda surprised by the lack of replies.

As for grading w NGC and PCGS.. I bet many sats that if say Charlie Lee sent in a Cas bowl game coin, Finite Bars, or a coin with a huge penis on it that says btc below it , they’d slab and grade it all. Both PCGS and NGC are ran by morons.  They will eventually at least slab it all. I’ve said this about them since I joined this forum as their main customer base (boomers) are dying off.  Has anyone ever gotten a reply as to why they won’t grade certain stuff?

I haven’t still (this was in Jan)
https://i.ibb.co/h9BXMFM/IMG-4608.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/L68T4JC/IMG-4609.jpg

Are you able to share what type/kind of coin this was in regards to?

[Eclipse33]

Is economy grading for PCGS really taking 6 months as of now? Totally ridiculous.

The most I have ever had to wait has been around three months, 90 days.

Having a master thread of this information would undeniably help collectors and aid in demystifying the space for people more.

[ChiBitCTy]

Thanks Mantis!!! I’ll continue to add to this (will make calls etc).  I think it’s insane we don’t have all this info collected and posted already as it’s a massive help to us all..so kinda surprised by the lack of replies.

As for grading w NGC and PCGS.. I bet many sats that if say Charlie Lee sent in a Cas bowl game coin, Finite Bars, or a coin with a huge penis on it that says btc below it , they’d slab and grade it all. Both PCGS and NGC are ran by morons.  They will eventually at least slab it all. I’ve said this about them since I joined this forum as their main customer base (boomers) are dying off.  Has anyone ever gotten a reply as to why they won’t grade certain stuff?

I haven’t still (this was in Jan)
https://i.ibb.co/h9BXMFM/IMG-4608.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/L68T4JC/IMG-4609.jpg

Are you able to share what type/kind of coin this was in regards to?

Was for Kialara coins..new version, moon “error” , and maybe the bars, but I can’t remember as it was via the website and that info is lost once sent, of course. A prominent forum member (you advised me to reach out to) went out of their way to intro me to a PCGS connect who helps get stuff graded w/them and even they ghosted me after this forum member left our “group chat”.  SMH.