.... what ICG's agenda appears to be. That is to slab everything under the sun. According to a page 4 article in the current issue of Numismatic News titled:

Artist Signature Certified by ICG

"As part of its Artist Signature Series, Independent Coin Grading Company has begun encapsulating New York quarters along with the autograph of Daniel Carr, designer of the state quarter's reverse, for a third party.

ICG certifies the authenticity of Carr's original autographs accompanying a limited edition of 20,000 quarters, 10,000 Philadelphia coins and 10,000 Denver strikes.

Carr's signatures, on insert labels, are sonically sealed in ICG holders. ICG is not grading or selling the pieces; they will be available from dealers.

Scott Turesky of Coin Palace, San Diego, California Web site address www.coinpalace.com is one of those dealers. His firm acquired 4,000 of the pieces, 2,000 "P" and 2,000 "D" and plans to sell them in pairs.

"We believe that they're highly collectible because of the encapsulation of the signature," Turesky said. "Daniel Carr did a tremendous job. The Statue of Liberty is such a well-known monument .... That's why we went out and picked up 20 percent of the market. I think they're going to sell out quickly."

Keith Love, ICG founder and president, said that the arrangementis "very fun" for ICG. "Our main focus has been numismatic grading and research, so a project like this brings a whole different business to our company," Love added.