I was intrigued to hear about the chocolate NGC holder that David Lange described in the last issue. Although it sounds improbable, the PCGS holder containing a See’s Candies chocolate Franklin half dollar is real. As described on page 533 of the Sample Slabs reference, my friend Mike Vanyur, a coin shop owner turned PCGS grader, made this unique piece as a joke while working at PCGS in late 2005. I had the opportunity to handle and photograph the slab when Mike consigned his sample slab collection to me in 2014. Search CoinTalk and the Collectors Universe US coin forum for discussion of my failed attempts to sell the chocolate Franklin, which led to over 1,500 views of the eBay listing. Mike sold the holder to California error coin specialist Jim Cauley of Errors and More, who sold the Franklin to a collector whose name I do not know. I heard that it melted in the summer heat and is no longer in mint condition.

In the category of unusual objects in major third party holders, page 534 of the catalog lists a chocolate Kellogg $50 territorial gold in a PCGS holder that existed in 2006, page 536 details a cricket encapsulated by PCGS in about 2000, and there is a rumor of an orange peel put in an ANACS slab in 1990.

I am very interested in seeing a photo of the circa 1994 chocolate NGC holder. Given collectors’ tendency to preserve interesting items, I would guess that some of these 22-year-old candies still exist. If I ever have the opportunity to add one to my slab collection, I promise not to eat it.