Cleaned, damaged & impaired coins - who buys them?

ohbaby

While watching the results of today's auction I wondered who buys whizzed, repaired, scrateched, etc. coins? Now these are not $5 coins for the kids, but many where ANACS holdered going for $500-$1,700.

I understand how some want to fill a hole in their album but why do it with an ugly coin which has zero eye appeal? Why buy a net grade for the moon when you can buy a lower grade for a fraction and end up with a more pleasing coin.

Just my opinion but would love to hear other views.

cherrypickincoin

A lot of people acquire them because they simply don't care. They're more interested in filling the hole in their collection rather than having a great example to show off. Of course, I cannot explain the people that bid up $2,000 on a PCI graded VF Mercury Dime that has been whizzed, which I've seen on eBay before.

sinin1

filling the empty spot at 20-40% cost of comparable real deal?


I also imagine collectors who have not tried to sell many coins



and scumbag sellers on eBay who will crack them out and try to scam some newbie

291fifth

There has always been a significant number of true collectors who don't have the means to own really nice rare coins. Many of these people make up the market for second-rate rare coins.

Another group of collectors who buys this type of material are those who just want quantity, not quality.

Russ

<< <i>Cleaned, damaged & impaired coins - who buys them? >>



Sometimes it's doctors and/or con artists and the coin will magically become problem free, then be resold.

Russ, NCNE

OnlyBuffalos

There are many collectors who purchase lightly cleaned key date and semi-key date Buffalo nickels whose cleaning is not readily apparent without magnification. They do not hang around very long. They typically sell for around 75% or more of their uncleaned cousins even though the cleaning is known to the buyer. For some reason, they sell better than ANACS net graded coins in the same grade - illogical to be sure. The temptation is sometimes high to crack-out an ANACS AU details, net XF45 coin and sell it as an AU lighly cleaned coin.

For keys and semi-keys whose hairlines are readily apparent without magnification, the keys and semi-keys usually sell for about 60% of problem free coins.

Harshly cleaned (just short of Brillo padded stuff) often go for 50% -- especially the key dates.

There are many PCGS and NGC lighly cleaned key date and semi-key date buffalos which are no better and sometimes not as nice, as many unslabbed lightly cleaned buffalos which may account for this phenomina.

FatMan

<< <i>Sometimes it's doctors and/or con artists and the coin will magically become problem free, then be resold.

Russ, NCNE >>



My thoughts exactly

cherrypickincoin

I have a 1909-S V.D.B. Lincoln Cent that has been cleaned, tooled, damaged and corroded if anyone wants to purchase it for research. It has XF Details but ANACS net graded it down to FR2, believe me, the darn thing is ugly.

ColonialCoinUnion

This topic was covered in an earlier thread with some interesting responses - check it out:

Link

stujoe

Cleaned, damaged & impaired coins - who buys them?

Not me...at least not intentionally.