Net Graded Damaged Coins

jmcu12

I thought I would start a new thread on Net Graded coins.

From what I have read on various postings, Net Graded coins seem to be avoided like the plaque. However, I seem to have a different view on this. Just because a coin is damaged, does not mean that it ceases to be a coin, or even a collectable coin. And, the grading services advance the mentality thereby ignoring the very thing that they claim to work for.

IMO grade them appropriately but don’t necessarily discount their value to the hobby.

What are your opinions?

paigowjohnny

I just bought a Walking Liberty half, net graded for whizzing. I bought it as an education piece, as I had never seen a coin that I absolutely knew was whizzed...now I have an idea what to look for besides the descriptors in the grading guides.

nwcs

I like what NCS does more than ANACS. NCS will detail the problems and the details grade but they let you net grade it for yourself. ANACS shouldn't be net grading for you. Who are they to say an AU CLEANING should be NET XF? If it is rare and not noticable, maybe it goes for more than AU money. If it just is unappealing, it may go for F money.

Nysoto

I collect early halves by die marriage, some R.7's and R.8's only exist as problem coins. I have two flowing hair halves that have been cleaned and have grafitti, they still bring surprising prices and there is an active market for them.

"Problem coins" is a matter of opinion, with the draped bust coins you have to be a little less picky than with Ike dollars (I collect Ikes also). One of my favorites is an very interesting early counterstamped "problem" half.

I also don't like ANAC's net grading, the two I have bought I cracked and will leave raw, no need to have a slab at all, they can be best enjoyed and studied without plastic.

anoldgoat

I like net grading because it tells me the coin is "XF if not for" the given problem. Then i may decide on the net grade based on how much the "problem" bothers me. I collect Lincolns and am not good at grading, or just don't agree with grades that a lot of folks give for Fine and up.

mike

Catch22

I hate net graded coins...period. A coin would have to be extremely rare and seldom offered for me to consider adding a net coin to my collection. I have a few for various reasons, but imho one of the best pieces of advice for new collectors is to RUN from them as fast as possible. Patience....lots of it.

eureka

Getting to know damaged coins helps to identify those types of problems. Certain types of damage, namely holes or ex-jewelry reflect on an aspect of our history, and can add a certain charm to the coin, no pun intended.
I have about a dozen rare damaged coins that are all one of 4-15 known to exist. I saw another posted on these boards a few months back I would love to have in my collection.

mbbiker

Here is a Net graded coin that is in my collection, i like it more than just a plain AU. You can find AU's all day long but how often do you see a nice chopmarked CC trade dollar?

edit to say It's graded AU details Net G-4 I've gotten multiple offers of $250-$300 for it which is much higher than what a Good should go for, i don't mind that ANACS puts a net grade on it, if your selling to a true collector they know to buy the coin not the slab.

dorkkarl

2 points

#1 - ALL grades are "net-grades", whether the coin is damaged or not.

#2 - the issue of whether i "would buy a net-graded coin" is moot for me, because i stand by my philosophy of:

if you like the coin, really really like it, the price doesn't matter

K S

lordmarcovan

Somebody please find me some net graded HOLED large cents (wantlist in signature line)!

Or ungraded, heck, who cares if somebody was dumb enough to submit some holed coins to be slabbed? (... yes... it happens!)


Problem, schmoblem. Some of us appreciate the coins for their history, regardless. And sometimes a "problem" coin can have more character. (Countermarks and chopmarks and engraving being an example of this).

I see little reason to slab problem coins, though. I don't like ANACS' net grading, either. Good in theory, not so good in practice.

lordmarcovan

<< <i>Just because a coin is damaged, does not mean that it ceases to be a coin, or even a collectable coin. >>



Well said.

Sometimes grade is irrelevant, too.

jmcu12

dorkkarl,

Thank you for your response.

On your first point, THANK YOU. I am happy to see this point made.

On your second comment: First off, I agree, but when it comes time to sell how do you get a dealer to look beyond the Net grade? I have come across so many dealers that see a Net grade and they automatically discard the coin as garbage.

For example, I have an 1878 $3 Gold. The date is damaged, the last 8 is dented in; most dealers look at the coin, they look at me and then hand the coin back to me as if it were a common date Lincoln Cent.

Draco

I just bought my first net graded coin too. It's an FE cent with a fine details net grade VG8 due to corrosion. I don't see any corrosion on this coin and I'm not sure what ANACS saw. I'm after my first FE in MS so maybe then I'll learn something about FEs.

OneYearTypes

Net graded, or 'problem coins' do indeed make the coin world interesting. If it was done intentionally you have to wonder why the heck someone messed up such a nice piece of art, especially the rare ones like the half eagle from charlotte i have. And of course there are those people who do stuff to coins trying to fool people into believing the coin looks better than it actually is. I mean, what would we talk about and rant on forever about here if no one ever did that. It seems like 75% of the posts by newbies here are whether a coin's been whizzed or not. It'd be awfully quiet if all we had to look at were nice clean coins.
Oh, wait... that might be a good thing

dorkkarl

<< <i>when it comes time to sell how do you get a dealer to look beyond the Net grade? I have come across so many dealers that see a Net grade and they automatically discard the coin as garbage. >>

hey jmcu12, note that i am discussing net-graded coins from a collector's perspective. from a speculative perspective, i'd avoid damaged coins like the plague.

what i'm trying to say is, i don't care today or tomorrow what the coins in my collection would sell for. i don't buy the argument of "i don;'t want my kids to get screwed". you know what? after i'm dead, what do i care what those coins sell for? even if my kids never got a dime for my collection, that's not what i'm basing their inheritance on anyway

so bottom line is: as a collector, don't worry about all that stuff. the only thing you need to do is make sure you really like the coin

K S