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Anyone care to admit you collect only the Points? The Plastic?

braddickbraddick Posts: 24,148 ✭✭✭✭✭
in PCGS Set Registry Forum
I'm always amused when it is stated on various threads that the "registry collector" is only going after the points or "collecting the plastic".
It sounds good when it comes to making a point, but then I thought about it. I don't know anyone here that is really doing that.
Mercury collectors? Any of you guys just collecting the plastic? Do you sacrifice Eye Appeal on that MS66 to add that average MS67?
How about you Franklin collectors? Type collectors? Certainly there MUST be a whole sub group of Type Collectors who only care about what the insert reads and not what the coin looks like? Care to fess up?
No? Well, it sounds bogus to me.
I'm sure there are examples of Collectors doing so, but I can't think of any that post here or any I've communicated with via PM's or email.
Every thread I read, every addition that is scanned and shown to us are COINS that are deserving of the Registry and appear to be coins that rise above simply the chase to be number one via the plastic.
Maybe it was like that in the beginning, but also maybe now it's time to admit that behavior/ that type of collector is a dieing breed and we Collectors here and now really DO care about the COIN and are NOT simply "buying up all this plastic".

peacockcoins

Comments

  • TypetoneTypetone Posts: 1,621 ✭✭
    Braddick:

    Interesting point. However, I must say that there certainly exist many overgraded ugly coins. And, somebody owns them. So, there must be a group of collectors who 1. really collect just the plastic and won't admit it, or 2. are ignorant of what makes an attractive coin. My guess is that most of us own a few ugly overgraded coins, and just live with it in the context of a larger, better collection.

    Greg
  • keithdagenkeithdagen Posts: 2,025 ✭
    I have many overgraded ugly coins, and they are being systematically sold off when I get around to doing it.

    How many of you have bought a top-pop, or close to it, piece, only to discover that it doesn't have the luster you expect, or seems a little beat up? Do you keep it, knowing there are only 10 others out there, or do you return it, knowing you may never find another?
    Keith ™

  • FairlanemanFairlaneman Posts: 10,424 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I will !!

    Thats why I have been going backwards with the last 5 entries I have put in the Set. Some 66's replaced with 65's and even one that was 64. Throwing away Ugly Coins and replacing with Pretty Coins in my Eyes. Well they were all not Ugly just not to the liking of My Taste.

    Hmmm.....Reverse Point and Plastic Collector. Novel for this Day and Age of Registry Sets. image

    Ken
  • mdwoodsmdwoods Posts: 5,547 ✭✭✭
    I have many overgraded ugly coins, and they are being systematically sold off when I get around to doing it.

    Keith, I must say that as someone who has bought 2 or more of your coins, this is not the type of thing I like to hear!!!image mdwoods


    Just kidding, the coins I got from you are extremely nice. They were not coins you would have to dump. They will easily sell themselves if
    I ever liquidate. Mark
    National Register Of Big Trees

    We'll use our hands and hearts and if we must we'll use our heads.
  • keithdagenkeithdagen Posts: 2,025 ✭
    Mark,

    I dump the ugly ones off at shows, never here on the boards. And in most cases, I take huge baths on them.
    Keith ™

  • braddickbraddick Posts: 24,148 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Many of us fell victim when we firsted started with the Registry of wanting to be Top Five so we- ok, I'll speak for myself here: I bought coins off of eBay that were probably just average for the grade.
    It didn't take long to realize this wasn't satisfying to me.
    I've also followed, with interest, with comments that duplicated my thoughts and intentions.
    The longer the Registry remains with us the fewer collectors that chase the Point.
    It's actually a refreshing, positive development, from what I've seen.

    peacockcoins

  • LakesammmanLakesammman Posts: 17,401 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Would much rather have a beautiful 65 than a ugly 66 or 67. The only reason to buy a ugly IHC 66R is so you can send it in with the beautiful 65's to make it obvious that the 65's should be upgraded!

    "My friends who see my collection sometimes ask what something costs. I tell them and they are in awe at my stupidity." (Baccaruda, 12/03).I find it hard to believe that he (Trump) rushed to some hotel to meet girls of loose morals, although ours are undoubtedly the best in the world. (Putin 1/17) Gone but not forgotten. IGWT, Speedy, Bear, BigE, HokieFore, John Burns, Russ, TahoeDale, Dahlonega, Astrorat, Stewart Blay, Oldhoopster, Broadstruck, Ricko, Big Moose.
  • mdwoodsmdwoods Posts: 5,547 ✭✭✭
    I dump the ugly ones off at shows, never here on the boards. And in most cases, I take huge baths on them.

    I am more than satisfied with the coin I got from you Keith. They are very choice. I know what you mean about taking a bath. I would not be a successful full time dealer. image Mark
    National Register Of Big Trees

    We'll use our hands and hearts and if we must we'll use our heads.
  • dpooledpoole Posts: 5,940 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I think you and others nailed it here, Braddick. When the sets first came out, I bought some for the grade. But part of that had to do with an uneducated eye. The universal consensus here very closely matches my own experience: when you go out to acquire nice coins, you want them to be NICE coins, and you eventually don't want to settle for anything less. That's when you leave the grades and the plastic behind you.

    Here's a warning parable for coin collectors...



  • cladkingcladking Posts: 28,689 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I'll only upgrade a coin in my set if the candidate is "clearly superior". If there's a question
    of any sort about the strike or the surfaces then I'll keep the coin that's already in the set
    regardless of the "grade" of the candidate.
    Tempus fugit.
  • LucyBopLucyBop Posts: 14,001 ✭✭✭
    I am trying the build the best Franklin set I can afford. I am currently ranked 62 in the Registry and would love to crack the top twenty. To do so I need some high end gems. I don't just buy the grade as I left 5 coins at Long Beach that were just flat out ugly and had a few to many dings for an ms66 grade... I want the high grade but I also want a coin with nice eye appeal.... Right now I am mostly buying ms64 coins to complete the set, and then I will become very picky for the high end gems........But even in ms64, I want a nice looking coin....
    imageBe Bop A Lula!!
    "Senorita HepKitty"
    "I want a real cool Kitty from Hepcat City, to stay in step with me" - Bill Carter
  • WhitewashqtrWhitewashqtr Posts: 736 ✭✭✭
    If you saw my Washington Collection (1932-1998), you wouldnt say I was in it for the points. You would say WOOOOOOOWWWWW!!! All coins so far grade 66 or higher except for 32S, MS64 (which I like the best). I am missing a few key dates, but what I have is an awesome collection about to be completed!! Screw the registry, I stopped adding my coins to it
    HAVE A GREAT DAY! THE CHOICE IS YOURS!!!!
  • wondercoinwondercoin Posts: 16,973 ✭✭✭✭✭
    "All coins so far grade 66 or higher except for 32S, MS64 (which I like the best)."

    You have a 32(d) in MS66? image Just messing with ya image

    Wondercoin
    Please visit my website at www.wondercoins.com and my ebay auctions under my user name www.wondercoin.com.
  • WhitewashqtrWhitewashqtr Posts: 736 ✭✭✭
    Mitch.

    I think I mentioned that I am missing a few key dates. The point is I like the lowest graded coin the best!!! I met the guy who has the 1932-D in 66 at ANA, but I swear I forgot his name.
    HAVE A GREAT DAY! THE CHOICE IS YOURS!!!!
  • solidsolid Posts: 2,975
    The only reason to buy a ugly IHC 66R is so you can send it in with the beautiful 65's to make it obvious that the 65's should be upgraded!

    PCGS needs to add this option - call it the "grade swap" option. You send in an ugly 67 and a beautiful 66, and let them correct
    their mistake (by swapping the grades) at no cost to you...all in the spirit of accuracy and consistency!

    Bammm...that was my head hitting the desk...I just woke up from a dream to see what I typed above image

  • goyankeezgoyankeez Posts: 357
    : Anyone care to admit you collect only the Points? The Plastic?

    If I was, not only would my set be complete and in a higher grade, but I would be left with some extra cash. I "upgraded" a 1961 PR 68 DCAM to a PR 68 DCAM. The latter was better looking with a heavier frosted obverse, and was about $30 more.

    Yeah, I'm collecting the points alright. The points on my credit card's "Cash Rewards".
    "Buy the coin, not the holder"

    Proof Dime Registry Set
  • MonstavetMonstavet Posts: 1,235 ✭✭
    If you are someone who is unable to go to shows, and buys a lot of stuff over the internet (like me), sometimes you have to "buy the plastic." Especially when you are first putting a set together. For example, when I put my proof JFK set together, the most important thing was to fill all the holes with 69DCAMs, any that I could find. After finishing the set (and even while finishing the set), I would buy duplicates, keep the better of the two and either sell the extra or file it away. When I finally sold that completed set off, the coins were mostly all upgrades of upgrades. But at the beginning of the set, I just couldn't stand having empty holes! With this particular scenario, "buying the plastic" is not really that bad a thing to do...and I won't be made to feel bad about it!
    Send Email or PM for free veterinary advice.
  • wondercoinwondercoin Posts: 16,973 ✭✭✭✭✭
    There are some Wash quarters I have been searching for endlessly. If I was offered these coins as pop 1/0 coins, I would buy them sight-unseen in PCGS-MS67 holders (no offers here, just some examples of my point):

    1. 1934(d): (pop 0): If an MS66 is worth around $4000, I would pay around $12,500 regardless of quality for this PCGS-MS67 plastic.

    2. 1955(d): (pop 0): If an MS66 is worth around $400, I would pay around $5,000 regardless of quality for this PCGS-MS67 plastic.

    3. 1961(d): (pop 0): If an MS66 is worth aound $200, I would pay around $5,000 regardless of quality for this PCGS-MS67 plastic.

    I'm just tired of looking at my MS66 coin. Please, someone grade these coins and sell me the plastic image Wondercoin.

    Please visit my website at www.wondercoins.com and my ebay auctions under my user name www.wondercoin.com.
  • oldcameoproofsguyoldcameoproofsguy Posts: 3,174 ✭
    To me the coins in my Registry Set have to have a certain look. I want them all to match. I will collect primarily PR67 coins with some knockout PR66s and only the most heavily cameoed PR65s. All the coins in the set have to be white or minimally toned because that is how I chose to complete it. Each date will have the most cameo contrast one would expect for that year. The plastic is a minor concern, the look of the coin is way more important.
  • SealypSealyp Posts: 102
    Okay, I'll fess up on this one. In my Washington quarter sets, I DO collect for the points. If I have a nice 66, and find a 67 that I can afford, I grab it and enter the numbers to make my points go up. Now what happens when my 66 looks nicer? I keep it. So while I will admit to point chasing for the registry, I keep the better COIN for my collection. So I guess you could say I have 2 sets. I have the "MY SET" which I keep here in my slab books to look at after balancing my checkbook, that one make me feel good. Then I have my "POINT SET". That one I can look at the grades on here, but some of those 67's are not in my books, they are stuffed away in some blue box somewhere just for the numbers on the holder. This works well for me, and causes me no shame in my "points chase". However if a couple of them guys up top misplace there sets, and I end up able to pedigre my set, now then I would have some heartache. Would I really want my name on some "lessor" coins just for the grade? Awe heck, I no need for me to stress over that, It just ain't gonna happen, my "POINT SET" just does not have the depth that will make it to the top five, so I am happy with my collecting habits AND my collecting for the plastic.
    COINS FOR SALE
  • Steve27Steve27 Posts: 13,274 ✭✭✭
    There are certain coins in my type set which I only own in order to fill holes; thus, I only consider the numbers on the slabs. Besides isn't the term "beautiful Ike" an oxymoron?
    "It's far easier to fight for principles, than to live up to them." Adlai Stevenson
  • DAMDAM Posts: 2,410 ✭✭
    How many of you have bought a top-pop, or close to it, piece, only to discover that it doesn't have the luster you expect, or seems a little beat up? Do you keep it, knowing there are only 10 others out there, or do you return it, knowing you may never find another?

    That's a tough one. I recently had a dealer send me a Barber quarter, MS67 pop 2/0, to look at. I didn't agree with the grade and sent it back. To me it was a low range 66, perhaps 66.3 or 66.4 (for those who like to split hairs image). I was really torn! What's the chance I'll ever get to see the other one? I called to say I was returning the coin and found the dealer was in agreement with my opinion. Still, someone is going to buy it.

    I must admit I have a tendency to buy higher grades than I might otherwise, to be competitive here. And, I haven't purchased many non-PCGS coins recently.

    As a collector (hoarder image), I "rarely" sell a coin, even dupes. Though recently I looked through my slabs and found about 20 I felt were over graded. I'll be selling them soon, maybe image.
    Dan
  • TypetoneTypetone Posts: 1,621 ✭✭
    I had a chance to buy a 1937 Walker in PR67 about a 1-1/2 years ago for $2,000. When I got it, it didn't quite have the eye appeal I was looking for so I returned it. Now the same coin goes for about $3,500 to $4,000, and I never found another that met my criteria. So, I left all that money on the table w/o any satisfaction. Sometimes, if it is close, it is worth buying the coin even if not quite up to your standards.

    Greg
  • keithdagenkeithdagen Posts: 2,025 ✭
    The reality for most collectors is that early in your collecting career, you probably bought some coins that, if reviewing them today, you would wonder what the heck you were thinking back then.

    I strongly suggest each person to constantly examine the coins in their collection as their personal grading skills improve to see if the coin is still solid for the grade, and if the coin continues to meet your collecting criteria.
    Keith ™

  • DAMDAM Posts: 2,410 ✭✭
    I strongly suggest each person to constantly examine the coins in their collection as their personal grading skills improve to see if the coin is still solid for the grade, and if the coin continues to meet your collecting criteria.

    That's a problem. As time passes and your grading skills improve, you see just how much money you've thrown away. imageimage
    Dan
  • RELLARELLA Posts: 961 ✭✭✭
    I recently went against the "buy the plastic" credo and did return a low-pop coin and kept the "lesser" coin. I had a 1929 Lincoln in MS67RD in hand that simply was not as nice as the MS66RD that I already have...so the 67 went back to the dealer instantly.

    RELLA
    Do not fall into the error of the artisan
    who boasts of twenty years experience in his craft
    while in fact he has had only one year of experience...
    twenty times.
  • FairlanemanFairlaneman Posts: 10,424 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I strongly suggest each person to constantly examine the coins in thier collection as thier personal grading skills improve...

    Keith:

    Agree with the Statement but do some people as they Hone the Grading Skill also get to the Point where no coin no matter how nice it is gives no satisfaction ? Seems alot of people dwell on the Negative Points of a Coin and forget the Positive Points it may have. Certainly I catch myself doing this. Rarely do the words "Wow Nice Coin" get uttered immediately.

    Nice Point You made. image

    Ken
  • ZerbeZerbe Posts: 587 ✭✭
    In the early years of doing my Peace Dollar set, I returned a 1922D in MS67 and also a 1921 in MS67. I already had the MS66 in both cases and I honestly felt my 66's were better than the 67's sent to me. The 67's, in both cases, did not have the blast white, blemish free look as the rest of my set. BIG MISTAKE!!! The 1922D is only a pop 2 and the 1921 is a pop 5. I will probably never see those coins again. Since then I have picked up a 1926S, MS67, (pop 1), and a 1924S,(pop5). I feel I need these for a "Registry Set", and even though they are not blast white,blemish free, they are technically what the holder says. Both coins were examined by one of the top graders in the country, before I purchased them. What I do now, and what I should have done, with the 1922D and 1921, is that I keep the coin that the low pop coin replaces, so I will always have a nicely matched set. In the future a buyer will have the option of a perfectly matched set, that will still be in the top 5, or a, technically high pop set, that will be in the top 2.
    Zerbe
  • prooflikeprooflike Posts: 3,879 ✭✭
    No, never collected for points and I only (relatively) recently joined the registry to use it as an inventory management tool.
    image
  • fcloudfcloud Posts: 12,133 ✭✭✭✭
    I don't think I did it for the points? I put together a set of (ya, go ahead and laugh) PR69DCAM State Quarters (clad and silver). I think this set is a fun set to collect and I have the set in the flag holders. And with the price being reasonable for the 69s why buy any other grade. I wouldn't buy a 70 unless the price was in the same range as the 69s (we all know that is not going to happen). So, you could kind of say I am buying the plastic, but when you can buy 69s for roughly the same money as 68's you may as well buy the 69s. (I DON'T CARE IF THESE GO DOWN IN VALUE! IT IS A FUN SET TO COLLECT.)

    I am putting together a set of Mercury Dimes and my goal is to have an even looking set of MS65 and higher. My goal is not to be the #1 set or even in the top five, but to build an even looking set. If I can get it with FB that is fine with me, but that is not a requirement. Currently I am about 10% done with 50% FB and the coins are all MS65 and MS66. Higher grades would be nice, but these coins are all nice. Most are white and there is a hint of toning on others. I also take price into concideration. I simply have a budget and have to work within it. When I get to the keys I will have to settle for circulated coins, so I will be as picky as my budget allows.

    Tony

    President, Racine Numismatic Society 2013-2014; Variety Resource Dimes; See 6/8/12 CDN for my article on Winged Liberty Dimes; Ebay

  • CocoinutCocoinut Posts: 2,512 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I tried to assemble my Washington silver set with coins that, for the most part, were fairly evenly matched in appearance. I could have upgraded some of the dates in the '50's with butt-ugly toned MS67's for less than I paid for my white-to-lightly-toned MS66's.

    I'm currently working on a Mercury dime set, and while Full Band coins are worth more in the registry, I'm perfectly happy with a grade as low as MS64 NON-FB, if the coin has good eye-appeal.

    People who only go for the points may be disappointed when it comes time to sell, and their coins have to stand on their own merits. Consider what the coin would be worth if: 1) the registry didn't exist, and 2) if PCGS (or any/all grading services) were to go out of business.

    Jim
    Countdown to completion of my Mercury Set: 1 coin. My growing Lincoln Set: Finally completed!
  • khaysekhayse Posts: 1,336 ✭
    > Keith, I must say that as someone who has bought 2 or more of your coins, this is not the type of thing I like to hear!!! mdwoods
    I know you're joking Mark but I want to talk about this anyway. The important thing
    is to accurately describe your coins. Sometimes I sell a coin because it was a placeholder
    and not that great and sometimes I sell a fantastic looking 65 because I've found a fantastic
    looking 66. I try to give a realistic desciption of the coin to guide buyers. If the coin only
    has average luster, I want the buyer to know that so I don't get a return or worse,
    negative feedback.

    > If you are someone who is unable to go to shows, and buys a lot of stuff over the internet (like me), sometimes you have to "buy the plastic."
    I did this more when I started than now. You can get nicer coins by establishing a relationship with
    a good dealer but then you're going to pay more than your average coin on ebay. You have to
    decide whether you want to pay more for better than average coins, how much is your time worth
    and how much of a hassle is it for you to return coins that don't meet your approval.

    > I'll only upgrade a coin in my set if the candidate is "clearly superior".
    Yep, tie goes to the incumbent.

    >I strongly suggest each person to constantly examine the coins in their collection as their personal grading
    > skills improve to see if the coin is still solid for the grade
    Darn it Keith, I'm trying to add to my collection, not identify coins that need to be replaced! image

    -KHayse
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