Yup...another upgrade opportunity by the wayside

roadrunner

When discussing the results of the Heritage FUN 2003 auction last January we briefly touched upon a lovely PCGS MS66 1874-s arrows quarter that was PQ for the grade (old holder). I felt it was the best MS seated coin in the sale and a reasonable 67 shot (MS66++). I had planned to bid up very strong for it but backed off at the last minute to the $9500 range (40% premium to an average one). It sold for just over $10K (lot 6697). The same coin has now reappeared (see Heritage's inventory) as an NGC MS67 with a 60% higher price tag. This is a wonderful coin and certainly worthy of the NGC 67 label.

The same lesson keeps on hitting me in the face. That is, if a coin is PQ for the grade, somewhere, somehow, it's probably gonna upgrade. I think it was Nic or Rony that also had some good feelings about this coin at the time. Someone did well on the piece and it didn't take a dipping to make it happen.

roadrunner

fountainheadgold

trust your gut

Bulldog

Rear vision is always 20 - 20


I have let a lot of good ones go. Some I am happy about and some I regret.

roadrunner

I think you have it right Fountainheadgold. It's not really cut or dry.
It doesn't matter if Joe or Frank says it ain't. But it's more just a percentage play. Keep on playing it and you'll hit it. If a coin has say a fair shot, it may take 2 or 3 or even 10 submissions, but more than likely it is gonna go. Guess you gotta hang in there and trust your gut like you said.

The MS66 pops on this date changed about 66% from 2001 to 2003. And I think we know why huh? I would guess that the coin was submitted 2 to 4 times over the past 4-8 months to get it to fly as a 67.

roadrunner

dollardude

I once heard the results of a survey someone once did on retired people on what it was they most regretted in life. The answer was that they regretted not taking more risks. Sometimes, you just have to go for it.

barberlover

Road Runner, At the time I remember telling you I had bid on the coin but thought the 10 k coin was to high. I guess I wasn't thinking in terms of crackout potential to ngc, just that I liked the coin.

Les

tradedollarnut

Sadly, even if a coin upgrades at NGC it's not a lock that you'll get more money for it. Sometimes PQ coins in PCGS holders sell for more than midgrade coins the next grade up at NGC [I know - I've had it happen to me]. And even the ones that do go for more are a lot of times less liquid and take a long time to sell.

But.........there's always examples like the rare date Seated Dollar that was white and frosty with just a few scattered lines that used to reside in a PCGS MS64 holder. I had a 64 so I had a bit of a jaundiced eye on whether to buy the above coin or not when a deal broke. I liked it, but didn't think it was so much nicer than mine that it was worth the hassle of owning two of them until mine sold, so I passed. A major dealer bought it and put it into auction in the same holder where it sold for about what he paid for it. Validation! Oops - spoke too soon - the coin reappears in an NGC MS65 holder and sells quickly at almost double the price paid.

Now I ask you - is the plastic really worth $50,000?

EVillageProwler

Now I ask you - is the plastic really worth $50,000?

I don't know the specifics of that Seated Dollar, but in my ignorance I can surmise other possibilities for why a coin suddenly became so liquid in a different holder.

A possibility: there is a new collector in the market for that coin. The market for that series at that level is so tight in terms of supply and demand that a person coming into or leaving that sector can cause wild swings in pricing and valuation.

EVP