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SHOW OFF YOUR GERMAN COINS WITH THE PCGS SET REGISTRY
Collectors love to get together and compare their collections. But, what do you do when your collector friend lives hundreds (or thousands) of miles away or your schedule is such that you can never get together in person?
Here's a great way to compare your set against your friend's set without ever having to leave your home -- the PCGS Set Registry.
At the PCGS Set Registry, you can list your inventory and allocate the coins to different sets, where you are judged for completeness and quality. Your friends can do the same thing. Then you can compare collections and see who has the best overall set.
For a list of the German Sets on the PCGS Set Registry, click on this link.
The German sets listed there are relatively new, but the most activity appears to be in the German Empire coins (1871-1919), particularly in the 1 Mark Sets. Click on any of the sets to see how the participating collectors are doing. You'll see their ranking, their level of completion, and the grade point average (GPA) for their set. Click on any of the collectors' names and you can see the composition of their individual sets. Pretty cool, huh?
To get started, you'll have to join the program (free) and you must either get your coins certified by the Professional Coin Grading Service or buy coins that are already PCGS certified. Third-party grading is still a relatively new concept in world coins, so if you can't find the coins you need in PCGS holders, you might just have to be the first to have a particular coin
certified. In that case, you'll automatically have the only and the finest graded for that date. However, your competitors will be doing the same thing because everyone wants to be Number 1.
If you're new to the certified coin game, now is a good time to start. Super-high-quality coins bring super high prices and PCGS grading is widely recognized in the collecting fraternity.
Some people argue that raw coins or coins certified by companies other than PCGS should be allowed in the PCGS Set Registry. In my opinion, PCGS offers the most conservative, consistent grading around. By keeping the Registry "all PCGS", it's a level playing field for every collector.
Here's what you'll find out: a lot of the so-called common coins are very difficult to obtain in top condition. For instance, a friend and I have collected the 2 and 5 Marks from the Nazi Era. Because I'm active in the German market, I have the advantage of seeing the best coins at the best prices. Yet,
there are dates in the Potsdam Church series where I've never seen an Uncirculated example, much less at the low prices listed in current price guides. It's safe to say that for some dates I'd pay double catalog for a true Uncirculated piece.
Sounds challenging, doesn't it? It is challenging, but that's what adds a lot of fun to collecting coins.
I invite you to start your own sets today. It's free, it's easy to join, it's a challenge to find the coins but, most of all, it's fun.
DISCLAIMER - I work for CoinFacts, a division of Collectors Universe, the parent company of the Professional Coin Grading Service and the PCGS Set Registry. I also buy, sell, and collect PCGS certified coins and participate in the Set Registry.
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