Partly Creamy Kennedys and polished Morgans

Bothuwui

I'm new to coin collecting (recently inherited Grandfather's collection) but have been reading as much as I can.

I have a several rolls of uncirc. '64 Kennedy's. I looked at them closely with a 10x loop, and can't make out any scratches or nicks on the majority of them. For the most part they are blast white, with a little cream discoloration creeping on to most of them. What I'm wondering is: will the discoloration affect there value, and what causes this discoloration? I sent one in to PCGS just so I could get an idea of the grade, but don't expect it back for another month.

Second part: I now have many beautiful Morgan dollars, but 10-20 of them have been polished. Are these totally worthless now? One would be a huge loss. It was stored in a type coins of the 20th century picture frame, and has developed terrific blue and gold toning on the reverse, but the front was polished to a shiny silver. Full detail is still visible, but the coin no longer has a cartwheel effect.

I've been reading these forums for about a month now, and would appreciate anyone's expert advice.

kranky

Welcome to the boards, Bothuwui, and welcome to the wonderful hobby of coin collecting.

My first thought is that it's extremely unlikely that, of several rolls of '64 Kennedys, the majority don't have any surface marks. Instead of looking with a 10x loupe, try looking at them with your naked eye under a 100w incandescent bulb in a darkened room. Slowly rotate the coin around to see how the light reflects off the coin and you might better detect the marks. Marks on the cheek and in front of the face have the most impact on the grade.

Grading is a combination of luster, strike, eye appeal, and surface marks. The discoloration might have an impact on eye appeal, which would affect the grade.

Your profile is disabled so I don't know what area you are from, but if at all possible attend a couple coin shows. You could examine (and purchase) slabbed Kennedys there which will help you understand what a 65, 66, 67, etc. looks like.

The Morgans aren't totally worthless, but if they are common date Morgans the value will be small. The polishing destroys the luster and much of the eye appeal, which will really hurt the value.

Bothuwui

Thanks for the info! You are right that most have some marks, but I did find a few that I could only detect one or 2 small marks on. I've heard of acetone dipping. What is this and does it help or hurt the value of the coin? Would it take away the discoloration on my Kennedy's? Some of my coins have permanent marker on them that bled through the envelopes they were in. Any help there?

Russ

<< <i>My first thought is that it's extremely unlikely that, of several rolls of '64 Kennedys, the majority don't have any surface marks. >>



I have to agree with Kranky on this. I went through 72 rolls, and came up with a grand total of two coins that graded MS65 and one that graded MS66. The 1964 Kennedy business strike is a very tough coin in high grade, as evidenced by the fact that PCGS has granted the MS68 grade to only one.

Bothuwui,

You probably shouldn't be jumping on the dipping bandwagon just yet. Do some reading and studying and, if you get a chance, take a look at some already graded coins. The fact is that with the 1964 half, the odds against having any that are worth the cost of the grading fee.

Edited to add: Welcome aboard!

Russ, NCNE

Bothuwui

Thanks. I kind of assumed it wouldn't be worth the grading fee, but I wanted to get some example coins graded, so I could determine what to send in the future. I used my 4 club freebies, and sent in 3 Morgans and the Kennedy. I'll let you guys know how they grade out, and maybe post some pics. I think I'm being too optimistic on my Morgan's. They look to be in really good condition (MS-64?) to me. I want to work on an approximately same grade Morgan collection, so I want to see about what grade most of my coins are in. Hopefully I can use these 3 Morgans to figure out what grade I will be collecting. Unfortunately all the rarer Morgan's I have are the lower quality coins.

I'm pretty excited to have all of my grandpa's coins. He got me started with some Whitman Cent books when I was 8. I kind of lost interest when I got in High School, but now that I'm a little older with some money of my own, I'm really interested in picking the hobby back up. I attended some flea markets in Florida, and thought I made some good purchases. When I got back home and had time to do more research, I'm not so sure anymore. Well, if anything, I'm learning fast.

What has amazed me most, is the apparent value of quality over rarity. I can't believe that some modern coins with a MS-69 are more expensive than older, rarer coins with a lower grade. Is this a recent trend?

Anyhow, thanks for all the Message board posts, they have been informative. I'll cease my rambling now.

Russ

<< <i>I kind of assumed it wouldn't be worth the grading fee, but I wanted to get some example coins graded, so I could determine what to send in the future. >>



Nothing wrong with that approach! It's exactly what I did when I started not so long ago.



<< <i>I can't believe that some modern coins with a MS-69 are more expensive than older, rarer coins with a lower grade. >>



You'll find plenty who agree with you there. Do a search with the word "modern" in the title and you'll find some interesting discussions with some VERY strong opinions on that issue.

Russ, NCNE

prooflike

Another way to get an idea of grades is to buy a few PCGS pieces in assorted grades off of ebay, Kennedy's in mid-grades aren't terribly expensive(1964's in 66 go in the mid-$20s)

cladking

Welcome aboard. The colors on the Kennedy's is caused by the chemical reactions
of the surface metal with air, moisture, and contaminants. It is usually best to not
remove this unless it's extremely unattractive. Immersion in acetone and then pro-
per storage will usually "stop" this discoloration. It will, in some cases, actually raise
the value of a coin so should be removed only if you can be confident of the results.

Most rare coins are still quite valuable and this is unlikely to change anytime soon. In
the past couple of generations coins in rare grades have also been getting more at-
tention. There are those who prefer low mintage and those who prefer high grade,
and more who vary dependent on the coin. There are a few who seek the rarities in
high grade. It all about having fun, so this is one of the decisions each collector must
make for himself.