The Beloved PCGS Old Green Holder (OGH) Passed Approximately 20-Years Ago This Month
I’m not a historian of TPG holders and slab generations, but I have been around the hobby-industry continuously for the last quarter century or so and I’ve noticed quite a few changes. One change has been in the acceptance and/or later rejection of various TPGs, the generations of holders used and the standards employed to grade coins (and to determine problem coins) over time. Another change has been the much later creation of a formal, though not universally accepted, process to review grades and determinations on already certified coinage.
Over time, the previously ubiquitous OGH went from the holder du jour at PCGS, to recently phased out, to somewhat appreciated and now to pursued or, with some, near-rabidly hunted. The coins grouped under the OGH umbrella are generally separated from the rattler era, but within the OGH grouping there are at least four distinct subtypes that can be readily distinguished from one another. This is not meant as a holder generation article since one of those has already been produced privately and more recently PCGS has started their own page to record their holders. Rather, this is more of an homage to a retired holder style that brings back fond memories of a time when grading standards were a little different, when what one might expect to find on the bourse would not be the same as today and when the market definitely had a different feel to it.
Over time, the previously ubiquitous OGH went from the holder du jour at PCGS, to recently phased out, to somewhat appreciated and now to pursued or, with some, near-rabidly hunted. The coins grouped under the OGH umbrella are generally separated from the rattler era, but within the OGH grouping there are at least four distinct subtypes that can be readily distinguished from one another. This is not meant as a holder generation article since one of those has already been produced privately and more recently PCGS has started their own page to record their holders. Rather, this is more of an homage to a retired holder style that brings back fond memories of a time when grading standards were a little different, when what one might expect to find on the bourse would not be the same as today and when the market definitely had a different feel to it.
The rattler holder used until late 1989 followed by the four distinct OGH slabs used from late 1989 through the fall of 1998 (green label without PCGS on the front, doily label, dot matrix printing style and then the most commonly found OGH with smoother printing font)-
I purchased a raw Columbian half dollar at the Parsippany, NJ show on September 6, 1998 (I keep meticulous records) and submitted the coin shortly thereafter to PCGS for grading. At that time I had never seen one of the new blue insert holders and when I received the coin back from PCGS in mid-October, 1998 I was stunned to notice the dramatic color change and overall layout change for the holder. I brought the coin to the November, 1998 Parsippany, NJ show and walked it around to other dealers only to receive the same reaction from them in that no one had seen this new holder previously. Recall that in late 1998 the internet was not the all encompassing behemoth that it is today and that information about coins was not nearly so well shared. Additionally, ebay was only a tiny fraction of what it is today and I can recall going through all the US coin listings on ebay within a few hours during this time period. Therefore, announcements and images would not be on everyone’s radar.
I had high hopes for that Columbian half dollar because the reverse was just so dang nice. Alas, it only graded MS64 and, even after holding it for twenty-years, I would lose money on the coin if I were to sell it today at bid. Below is an image of the coin-
I had high hopes for that Columbian half dollar because the reverse was just so dang nice. Alas, it only graded MS64 and, even after holding it for twenty-years, I would lose money on the coin if I were to sell it today at bid. Below is an image of the coin-
Over the years it was at first somewhat comical to read descriptions of coins in OGHs as somehow being more desirable or worth more than other coins. It was probably a full three-or four-years after the change that I realized there was something more to this “fad” than marketing, or at least the marketing had much better staying power than previously anticipated. For those of you who missed the entire OGH era, who were there and wish you still owned more OGH coins or who snicker at the entire slab generation obsession, please feel free to email me with information to better nail down the date of transition from the venerable OGH to the more modern blue insert holders.
