Does anyone here have the guts to admit they pay extra for pop ! coins even if you can't distingish

barberlover

Even if you can't distinguish an eye appealing coin at the next lowest grade from yours or even see more eye appealing coins in lower grade for the same date ?

I'd like to hear if registry people here chase grades on slabs to obtain higher position in the registry ?

C'mon, there must be some people here chasing top pop slabs that happen to have a coin inside ?

Les

LucyBop

No! In fact I passed on many 1955 MS66FBL Franklins because they looked horrible...... Till I found a rainbowed GEM........

LAWMAN

Same rule as used to be with stereo equipment. Don't buy anything beyond your own hearing-- or vision, in this case.

nwcs

Once or twice, but the price difference wasn't that much. Like $40 or so. But then over time I did start to see a bit of a difference between that grade and the one below it. Especially as I bought more in both grades. And sometimes I'll go a little higher than I might otherwise for registry purposes. Except in war nickels, though. MS 66 doesn't rank high but it's plenty good for me and cheap.

Russ

<< <i>Does anyone here have the guts to admit they pay extra for pop ! coins >>



I own a pop 8/0 coin and I did pay a little more than I normally would - for the 1964 proof set from which I pulled it.

Russ, NCNE

Typetone

I have to admit I have in the proof Franklin area. I bought a 56 T2 in PCGS 69DCAM from Rick Tomaska for something like $3,500. I already had one in 68DCAM for which I paid about $400. The 69DCAM was fine, but frankly didn't look any better than the 68DCAM. Originally, I had planned to trade in the 68DCAM, but had second thoughts when I realized I couldn't tell the difference. I sent the 68 to Rick anyway. After he looked at it he offerd double my buy price, but suggested that I keep it and send back the 69DC as mine had better cameo, and he couldn't find any other difference. He thought that perhaps mine had a hairline somewhere but he couldn't see it. Well I kept both, but frankly the 69DCAM keep was more to get a better registry grade. Now, the 69DCAM was fine, but just didn't seem better than the lower grade.

In fairness to me, I have rejected some other Franklin upgrades because they did not seem any better than what I already had.

Greg

RELLA

I've done so in the past on some Lincoln short set dates...but not on the earlier material and not on the less common short set coins. When I did this I always considered it temporary (I would upgrade within the grade when given a chance to) but in many cases I kept the lower graded coin (why sell it for 66 money when its really a 67?).

If the coin isn't worthy of the grade it all depends on the situation. I'm considering picking up a coin that is IMO not worthy of the grade technically but has a particular style of toning that I am looking for and good eye appeal. If I did buy it I would send it in for review and hope that if the graders agreed with me that I would be offered the coin plus the cash difference. If the coin has what I consider to be a problem I will NOT buy it. It took me a while to get used to that concept but I have no problem with it these days...last week it took me five seconds to look at a pop5/0 coin at a nice price and say "what a pity" at a problem and put my checkbook back in my pocket.

Here's a return question: Do you think that the question you posed is a bit mean-spirited? I do...not so bad as to be offending or anything but I always think its a bit strange that people act like they think very little of the knowledge, intelligence and numismatic skill of others on these boards. I think that on average the members of these boards know a heck of a lot more about this hobby than the average collector or dealer. I'm not trying to be mean or say you did something wrong (and perhaps I should have started a different thread on this but heck I'm just too lazy to do that now) but the method with which you chose to pose your question just got me thinking about the tone and position one uses to start a thread. I know I've been intentionally inflamatory in the past myself...maybe some of us just like flamewars too much.

RELLA

barberlover

Rella, maybe there is some truth to what you said about the way I put this. I am somewhat angry at people who push up prices for collectors who are not in the registry by competing for the highest grade plastic. I have no problem with people buying a coin because they like it, but I resent having to pay more for a coin because people compete in the registry to have a higher spot and gladly pay much more for a 1 point difference even when they don't see the difference themselves.

Everyone is entitled to there opionion, but I don't think that is a good thing for "the hobby" of coin collecting. Les

RELLA

Hmmmm...I think the problem is in trying to sell the superior lower graded coin and constantly getting referred to the "proper" price based on the plastic.

When you're buying coins:
1. If the coin isn't everything the plastic claims it is and more let the registry chasers duke it out with each other; do you want the coin even at a lower price but still priced appropriately for the "grade"?
2. If the coin is killer you won't be the only numismatist willing to step up to the plate...the question then really goes beyond the registry effect. Ask youself if you really want to play the conditional rarity game. So what if the registry is propping up prices on low-end for the grade pop-tops; the PQ coin will sell for even more. Decide what you are willing to pay for a coin and if it sells for more so be it. If the registry didn't exist and if there were no collectors who were willing to pay strong money for quality coins then you could buy all you wanted but no one would want them when it came time to sell and there would be no one else to share your appreciation of numismatics with. If there were never any other collectors these awesome coins would be worn down pocket change instead of the well preserved specimens that they are.

RELLA

Edited due to poor spelling...as for the bad grammar; well I've just given up on ever fixing that problem.

redcents

The possiblity exists that my opinion is not as good as PCGS's - which if true might make the point mute.

rainbowroosie

Just the opposite. I have tossed five MS 68 coins out of my personal set because I have better MS67 coins.

khayse

Maybe, I've bought coins that had less eye appeal than my lower grade coin.
If there's ever any question of which coin is superior I keep both. I'd like to
send them both to PCGS to see what they think, side by side.

-KHayse

cladking

People have just got to get used to the idea that coins are maxed out. What does
it really matter so long as they are accurately graded that the best in each grade will
be resubmitted until they are the worst of a higher grade? This is especially true of
the very best, those which have been graded longer, and those with large premiums
between grade. If it's true that most people can't tell a grade from one a point higher
or a point lower, then it would be hard to show anyway.

lordmarcovan

If the price difference was less than fifty bucks or so, and I was still a Registry collector, I might have done so. There are some rare occasions when one can "buy the plastic, not the coin", and come out OK, I suppose. (Like when I bought PCGS PR70 DCAMs off Teletrade in 1998 for $50-75 apiece. Now, fuhgeddaboutit.)

These days I find it a lot harder to justify paying large premiums for a single grade point I can't see.