Price check. PCGS 1884-S

CRAIG

Greysheet isn't much help when you get into the mid range on AU coins. What formula is used to
determine a coins value in AU? Bid is $185 but that's for an AU50 coin. How much for the 53,55,58 ??
Thanks in advance, Craig Frick....

beorn

craig.this is what i got from researching a few heritage auctions 1884s au50...155-200 au 53...385-470 au 55...550-675 au 58....1150-1400 hope that helps

jdimmick

Determining value of Premium AU coins is very tricky pricing, because it really depends on the series in which your asking.

Examples: Morgan's many of the dates such as the 84-s, 92-s and 01-p break (big price jump) because it comes down to whether or not the coin is a true uncirculated. After pop reports and grading sevices came about, it really began to show true rarity of some of these dates in true uncirculated condition. Coins can contain a myriad of bag marks , striking problems, and other distracting things but still be classified as an UNC coin( usually this is where your Ms-60, 61 grades come in.) This is where it gets tricky, Many people including myself, would rather have a really nice say AU-55, or especailly AU-58 Morgan than a unappealing say true mint state-60, 61 coin. This is even more so when the MS grades such as 63 are way out of budget of most collectors. Because you can find a really nice super eye-appealing Morgan such as An AU-58 which is sometimes a MS-63, 64 or better coin with a little bit of friction/wear of circulation.

But in reality, the price jump from Au to MS-60 is based on the fact that true uncircualted coins are far less available. In fact for some of the dates such as the 84-s there are actually quite a few sliders or just miss MS coins in AU grades available. In fact, PCGS alone has graded approx 1000 AU-55/58 1884-s morgans (give or take a few for re-submits).

So it comes down too, how much is someone willing to pay to get that real nice near miss AU slider 84-s or other date vs buying in most cases a not so apealing Ms-60 coin. My guess is that most will choose the Slider vs a low-end MS coin. And because of this, there is a strong demand in this area for these specific dates, and the dealers know this. Therefore, it is really a must for you to check past auction pricing, dealer listings, etc to find the true value or what price someone is willing to pay and even more important, what quality was the piece that brought that price.

A few of the key-date Buffalo Nickels are very similar in pricing structure as the morgan series in this respect, I have seen far nicer eye-appealing Buffalo's such as the21-s, 24-s, 26-d, 26-s, in grades of AU-55/58 than say lower end MS (60-62). Some even nicer than 63's . And the pricing of these bring closer to the lowerside of 63 money than the MS-60 price in the cdn.

jdimmick