Topic: What are your future plans re (1984) goldfish medals?

[badon]

For the pagodas, every one I have seen that was double sealed was sealed in the exact same way. The plastic is not my area of expertise, but it seemed to be very consistent from various sources all around the world. If they were sealed in 1987, somebody tracked them down and sealed them all. I have only seen a few that were not in identical original packaging. I probably photos of the plastic somewhere. I got permission to photograph them before they were sent in for grading. Now that we're having this discussion, maybe that will turn out to be lucky and helpful because I normally ignore the plastic.

[shibaji]

Pagoda & 1990 goldfish sealed from Xu Hong:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/370627078410
http://www.ebay.com/itm/370627078417

[Dragons_Are_Silly]

Pagoda & 1990 goldfish sealed from Xu Hong:

Sealed BY Xu Hong?    he hav sealer

[shibaji]

Sealed BY Xu Hong?    he hav sealer

I know, but he does not mention "mint sealed / package" if he sealed them.

[badon]

Those seals look as original as I've ever seen them. But, you know me, I don't give much credibility to that.

[goldpig]

Hi Goldpig,
Can you please check the weight of each set, silver and silver plated, including the capsules and mint wraps?

Thanks.

Hi Gilmore,

I might need to upgrade my scale... I will keep you up to date.

[Gilmore]

Thanks.

[goldpig]

Thanks for that bit of info, Goldpig.  Very interesting.

OMP can sometimes be used to give valuable clues.
But when out of the OMP, other methods need to be employed. 
Do you see any noticeable differences between the medals surface under high mag?
How did you conclude one set is Sterling and the other plated?

HI Underbidder,

First there was a huge difference in price between tho two sets and the dealer told me one is plated. The plated set seemed to be more chrome colored. One of the coins in this set also had a small light yellow fog spot which i have never seen before on a coin. Also on all of the plated coins there was lots of fog on the cartoon fish side... this was all done by the naked eye.

[pandamonium]

Notice Xu Hong's pagodas have a broken line on reverse.  Prices of the PF 68 pagados were $510 ebay auction and $700 another seller.  They have averaged $850 asking price.  Ebay 180922537587 PF 67 $1299 pagoda Zhenjue (lower grade).  So asking price is moving up as more information comes out. (Selling price has yet to be determined.)  When the NGC information comes out and the pagodas/goldfish are determined to be legitimate then prices should rise.  Does anyone have a silver plated pagoda set for sale?...............................

[davidt3251]

Yes thats my lower grade Zhenjue just listed, but prices wouldnt have moved down if Logicpapa hadnt taken a loss on those four Pagodas, the 69s selling for about $1k and the 68 for $510.

I have very good information to indicate he took a loss on all four items. Its possible we see more at those low prices but not too many.
Yes you could argue Clark Smith's set were priced similarly, and thats true. If Clark had a full 69 set, using his pricing, thats about a $4000 set, which is still quite cheap compared to Xuhong's OMP coins at $4600.

But at least now we have price data. Last year, when I overpaid for my first set, there was no price data.

Pagodas are just like the Goldfish, where I think the silver plated versions then the gold gilt will eventually rise in value too.

I really like the Pagoda design. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a coin set with as much mirrored surfaces as those Pagodas. Anyone who has photographed alot of coins will notice this immediately with the Pagodas. In that sense, the Pagoda set is somewhat of a 'category killer' withn loads of mirrored real eastate.

So when you think about what other MCCs Panda collectors might gravitate to after Pandas, these "Mirrorlike Finish" Pagodas have that mirror finish that is oh so expensive in the 2000 Panda series-and sells for a premium. OK, perhaps its a long shot. But I like the historical aspect of the temples also. The other feature is that they apparently werent popular when they were offered, that will surely bring out the curiousity-seekers.

[badon]

My favorite design is the Songyue with all of its creamy thick frosting. I like the Kaiyuan too, but it's always the Songyue that jumps out at me. The Zhenjue has frosting like the Songyue, but it isn't as detailed. It kind of looks like a boxy storage shed to me, haha.

Photos never do justice to the incredible beauty of the pagodas. You really have to see them in person to get a glimpse of all the little quirks that a hand-crafted design has. The pagodas were made one at a time with tender loving care, and they look nothing like other mass-produced coins. I guess that's just one of the many things that makes them "special" in the eyes of collectors.

[pandamonium]

I agree davidt3251.  When the bad press is finally gone, and lower supply, then prices will rise.  We maybe close to that.  Your PF 67 is not that far out of line as it is the only single for sale.  All the pagodas and goldfish, gilt or plate, should also rise.  Ebay had 4 gilt copper sets that all sold.  The mirrors on the pagodas are fantastic.  My favorite, at this point in time, is the Zhenjue due to the huge mirror surface and detail of the large block pagoda building.  The pagoda designs jump out like the 2003 silver panda design.  Now is the time to buy..........

[Gilmore]

Pagodas are just like the Goldfish, where I think the silver plated versions then the gold gilt will eventually rise in value too.

I really hope that the silver-plated pagodas will hold much higher value than the silver-plated goldfish medals. Raw silver-plated goldfish set sells for less than $50 in China.   

[badon]

There's a lot of uncertainty about the plated coins. No one has any idea how many were made. The solid silver coins are a better bet because we have a pretty good idea of their rarity, both for the pagodas and the goldfish.

The rumor that the plated silver pagodas are rarer than the solid silver ones is interesting. Back when this was all new, I insisted that I had never seen a genuine silver plated pagoda set. So, if there are genuine plated sets, that gives a little more credibility that the genuine silver plated pagodas could be quite rare. It will be interesting to see how it all turns out, and I think a lot of people are in the "wait and see" mode.

[Gilmore]

True, silver-plated goldfish can be easily found while the silver-plated pagodas are rarely seen, as you said.