When does grade not matter anymore?

FC57Coins

Last weekend at the Chattanooga show I purchased the coin below because I liked it - It didn't matter that it wasn't graded, didn't care one bit - I just liked the coin. Doesn't it strike you odd sometimes that we put such an emphasis on grading and not enough on just liking "stuff'?

LucyBop

"It Doesn't Matter Anymore"
-Buddy Holly

stman

Frank, I agree. I've been into Bust halves lately and all are in the AU grade. Yes they are graded, but I have always only liked unc and up. With these Bust halves, I find the beauty and history intriguing in any grade or condition.

BTW, what do you grade the piece you posted? Come on you know you've graded it.

Dahlonega

You're evolving...the key is to please yourself. Grading services should be used to accomplish this goal.

ms70

I know exactly what you mean. I think in recent times I've begun to look at the grade as a reference to what I'm going to pay, not
so much as it relates to the coin. Eye appeal & original surfaces are what matters more.

fountainheadgold

Frank, i could not agree more , Lately its seems if i like a coin I have to worry about its grade, I am going back to buying the coin not the slab

DCAMFranklin

Oh yeah Frank. I'm SO proud of how the Vatican handled matters regarding the pervert abuse of our young children! After they refused to remove the pervert priests & cardinals, they then told the American Catholics they would have to pay the judgement awards, as the Vatican was going to send NO money. I wouldn't send them a dime ever again. Tell them to pay for the maintenance of their own churches.

coinlieutenant

Pleasing yourself is the key.

I was talking with my dad this afternoon and showing him a beautiful 1861 Proof Three dollar gold on ebay that I would love to have...

He was looking at my watch page and noticed that I bought a VG 1855-O half. He asked me why I bought it. I told him frankly "I liked it"!!

It was original, nice and well worn. Cool date, arrows coin that needed a home...

the second key when grade doesnt matter is on very rare stuff... then it is just about getting your hands on a specimen...

I also collect National Bank notes and most national collectors dont care a bit about grade. They are so hard to find for some towns that a pinholed VG can be a true stroke of luck!!
John

ElectricEye

right on, canine one! it's the coin, not the holder, not the grade, not the blah blah blah...I have some MS63 material that is way more eye appealing than most 65 platicized over traded coins. Sure, I'll holder them, but the coins stay in the collection no matter what PCGS puts on the papers.

fountainheadgold

Way to go electriceye

braddick

'Grade' may not be an overall concern, but preservation and condition is. I believe we seek the finest appealing coin within a "grade".

For example Frank, had your coin featured in this Thread been a washed out, over dipped dull white coin you might have passed. The appeal is the attraction and that cannot always be so simply defined by a number on the Sheldon scale.

FC57Coins

So many times you find coins which are pleasing to the eye, well preserved, and just look nice - like the coinluitenant's 55-O or Stman's Bust halves - or this Darkside coin which to me had very pleasant toning. And it got me to thinking - when you start getting PO'd because you got a PR68 instead of a PR69.... isn't that just getting a tad too picky? Maybe not to some folks and I have found myself in the same situation so I'm not casting aspersions. I guess you just get to a point where you begin to appreciate a coin for just what it is and not, as Braddick put it, for the number on the Sheldon scale or for where it gets you on the registry.








Oh - and bytheway DCAM - nice try

stman

But on the other hand, we have to evaluate condition to determine it's worth.

keets

When does grade not matter anymore?

..........when it's darkside-toned-clad!!!!

al h.

atarian

why do you think im getting my 1885 nickel on ebay like i am. i know if i save up i can get a higher grade . but something about the coin im getting i just like.

ccr

Here`s one I showed off a few times already. Not to rip or hijack your thread but, to help your point that pleasing eye appeal and good preservation for the grade are strong factors for a nice appealing coin. With as much talk about grades here on the boards we may not state enough, maybe not directly or in so many words, that grade isn`t the only factor to consider when buying what you like. Also it`s too easy at times to forget that this is a hobby for most of us and forget to have fun with it. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves of that.

Coppernicus

It's an easy hobby - Some coins speak to me and others do not. The "grade" (slabbed or raw) means nothing to me. Do I hear the coin? That's why I have the coins I do.

Mike

ksteelheader

Happened to me just the other week Frank, so, I bought it...Ken.
.

RYK

Frank,

I follow your logic, but for me, that approach only works with raw/low dollar coins, like John's 55-O half. Once a coin is slabbed, good or bad, there is an implied price range (Trends, Greysheet, "Heritage value index", recent auction results, or whatever) to which the coin is anchored. Raw, price/value is less well-defined.

So far as the overall price is concerned, I will occasionally buy what for me is a low dollar (read: "cheap") coin that I like on a whim with little regard to price or grade, but high regard to eye appeal. This happens typically when I go to a show and do not see anything I REALLY want; I might take home a souvenir anyway.

fivecents

<< <i>It didn't matter that it wasn't graded, didn't care one bit >>



Frank...would you have liked and bought this coin if it was a AG03 or a P01 with no toning? If the answer is "yes" then the grade really didn't matter.

FC57Coins

Robert:

I hear what you're saying and I'm not implying that grades or slabbed coins don't matter. What I'm getting at is the insistance of high grade over overall enjoyment of a coin. Another case in point. Recently I've started collecting classic commems. I find that there are a lot of MS64's and MS63's even that to me are very acceptable and representative coins for what I want to collect. There may even be some AU58's that will do just fine. Some people, however, will insist on MS67's and above, does an extra tick here or there matter THAT much - that's what I'm trying to find out from the folks here. How do you feel about these issues.

Frank

wallstreetman

"When does grade not matter"?

When you run out of money and you dont have the option!

wallstreetman

BTW, What do you think happened? Geez, is that the same coin in both pics?

EarlyHalfBoobu

Grade is one of the least of my concerns as I pursue the 1794-95 flowing hair half dollars from R5 and up. Obviously, a higher graded coin is desired, but not a priority for me. It simply is a factor in determining value. I have a couple rare (and holed) early halves that I get as much enjoyment from as from my other undamaged coins.

RYK

Frank,

I totally agree with your point re: classic commems. There are some very beautiful coins in all conditions. Other than to compete in a registry, I would not see the need to buy MS67 coins when a nice AU58 or MS63 coins would do the trick.

In the series I collect, I am never dealing with the decision to buy an MS66 vs. MS67. Those coins do not exist. In fact, the MS coins in Dahlonega $5's and New Orleans No Motto $10's, if you can find them, are prohibitively expensive for me (more than $20k, some way more!). I am satisfied with nice VF-low AU specimens and would always pick a nice, original VF example over a dipped or heavily-bagmarked AU, even if I have to pay a premium for the VF. Frankly, given the choice between a nice XF40 at 90% Trends and a nice AU55 at 80% Trends, I would probably take the XF.

Robert

pmh1nic

Grade is a starting point. It's someone elses educate (hopefully ) opinion of the coins preservation which should translated to some degree in characterizing the coins eye appeal (not always). But we all develop our own taste and the bottom line is you've got to pay for and enjoy what you buy regardless of what anybody else thinks of the coin.

joeyuk

I can relate to this more to a colonial that has seen itself change hands many times. As opposed to a high end coin that just sat on a shelf.

MrEureka

If by "grade" you mean "quality", well, it ALWAYS matters. It's just that sometimes it's not worth waiting for and/or paying for a higher grade.

XpipedreamR

I think that if a coin is pleasing to you for whatever reason, it is a worthy coin to own.

Gilbert

Not sure if you mean whether it is "graded, slabbed or a particular grade." It was probably graded, just not what you would normally collect grade-wise.

As far as your "classic commen" comment. If you want to collect a bunch you will have to accept the grade range you mentioned. According to most literature on the subject, there just aren't many technically high grade commens to be found, for a variety of reasons. Sure they are probably some, but relatively speaking, most aren't much more than 65, if that.

MacCoin

<< <i>When does grade not matter anymore >>



grades aways matters its just what grade it is.

mdwoods

I guess you just get to a point where you begin to appreciate a coin for just what it is

Well said Sir Pug.

Baley

you're preaching to the choir, my man.

LAWMAN

If you like the coin and want to own it so you can look at it from time to time, then the grade doesn't matter. If you are an "investor" or playing with somebody else's money, then I suppose you have to care about the grade.

Grading came into vogue in the 80's because people got sick of 'buying high and selling low,' to coin a phrase. The coin was BU when you bought it, but when you tried to sell it back to the dealer, it became AU. IF YOU REALLY LIKE A COIN AND WANT IT TO BE A PART OF YOUR LIFE FOR A WHILE, WHO CARES WHAT THE GRADE IS?

SDCollector

An example of when grade doesn't matter for me:

I've recently realized how much I dislike Morgans in XF. The luster, if any, is flat and lifeless and they just have no eye appeal for me. And yet they are almost always more expensive than Morgans in VF. In many cases the VF's are much more attractive. So for me I would never pay a grade premium for a Morgan in XF.