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What is meant by.... average circulated??

tincuptincup Posts: 4,748 ✭✭✭✭✭
Average circulated.... I see this often. But what exactly does it mean? Does it mean AG coins? or G-VG coins with some problems? Corroded coins? Does it mean different things when buying or selling? Or does it depend on who is buying or selling (in other words... no set standard)?

Thanks for any opinions - info...
----- kj

Comments

  • INXSINXS Posts: 1,202


    << <i>who is buying or selling (in other words... no set standard) >>



    That kind of says it pretty good. It may have a very broad hobby set definition, but not a concrete definition.
    "Well here's another nice mess you have gotten me into" Oliver Hardy 1930
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    BST successful dealings with:MsMorrisine, goldman86
  • wam98wam98 Posts: 2,685
    When I here "average circulated", for some odd reason I think below VF. That's just me though. image
    Wayne
    ******
  • RYKRYK Posts: 35,772 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I would assume the worst. It means that you will be lucky if you can read the date.
  • LincolnCentManLincolnCentMan Posts: 5,347 ✭✭✭✭
    Technical: Poor 1 to AU58. Generally: AG-Fine. If your talking about sets: it generally means that all the good dates are junk, and all of the crummy dates may be ok coins, but arnt worth the listing fee to sell individually.

    David
  • braddickbraddick Posts: 22,995 ✭✭✭✭✭
    If you think of todays pocket change, average circulated would be somewhere in the VF range. Unfortunutely, if you see and ad in CoinAge or what have you, and the dealer is stating the mix of coins is 'average circulated', you can pretty much be warned you're going to receive coins mostly in the FA02 to AG03 range with a few problem GD04/VG08 coins thrown in. I'd imagine, by looking at old Barber coins and Standing Liberty quarters that 'average circulated' back in the 50's really meant what the dealers continue to allow it to mean today.

    It's not by accident the dealer is still using that term instead of properly grading the coin today.

    peacockcoins

  • UncleJoeUncleJoe Posts: 2,518 ✭✭✭
    This term very often refers to AG coins.

    Joe.
  • tincuptincup Posts: 4,748 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The replies so far... are all in agreement with thoughts I have on average circulated.

    The reason I asked the question.... I frequently check out 'buy' lists from several companies. I noticed that Littleton Coin Co. is now listing buy prices for 'average circulated'. The buy prices are less than the G+ buy price. So it would seem to imply that they are expecting something less than a G+ coin.
    ]
    But I also know that Littleton can be very selective when purchasing coins (kind of a surprise, given the usual price and quality of the coins they sell to novices....). So... if I had to quess what average circulated meant to them..... perhaps an AG++ coin, or an average G coin with no damage...

    ----- kj
  • LanLordLanLord Posts: 11,672 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Average circulated techically means average wear for coins of a particular time period.

    The older the coin, the lower the grade that average cirulated will refer to.

    Average circulated for a 2005 state quarter would be MS or AU, but for an Indian head cent from 1865, perhaps G or AG.

    But that is just my opinion.
  • krankykranky Posts: 8,709 ✭✭✭
    Just like tincup said, if you look at people's buy prices the price for avg. circ. is always less than the price for coins in G condition. So I always assumed avg. circ. meant AG/G, no damage.

    New collectors, please educate yourself before spending money on coins; there are people who believe that using numismatic knowledge to rip the naïve is what this hobby is all about.

  • mirabelamirabela Posts: 4,954 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Generally: AG-Fine. If your talking about sets: it generally means that all the good dates are junk, and all of the crummy dates may be ok coins, but arnt worth the listing fee to sell individually. >>



    Bingo. It is all grades beneath the grade where it becomes worth paying anything for the coin. So, for a 21-D Merc it might be Fr2; for a 38-D Buffalo anything on up to XF or so. Older IHC's strictly AG; 20th century might include coins grading Good, etc.
    mirabela
  • morgannut2morgannut2 Posts: 4,293
    I always take it to mean you can see a date, it's worn out, but doesn't have a hole/isn't bent/scratched etc. I suppose a coin a dealer wants to sell at a F-12 price and buy at 2X bullion.
    morgannut2
  • BillJonesBillJones Posts: 33,427 ✭✭✭✭✭
    It all depends upon the coin.

    If it is a "junk silver" coin to fill a hole in a circulated set, it might be Fine-VF. If it's an Indian cent, or most anything except a Morgan dollar or gold from the late 19th or early 20th century, it's probably a Good.

    I've not seen 19th century coins offered with this grade from a long time, but you do see an ad, plan on a Good or maybe bit less than that.
    Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 45,301 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Bill Jones---Gold coins from the late 19th and early 20th century is rare below VF.

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.

  • LindeDadLindeDad Posts: 18,766 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I alway think of it a junk coins the seller wants more that melt value for.
  • BillJonesBillJones Posts: 33,427 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Bill Jones---Gold coins from the late 19th and early 20th century is rare below VF. >>



    I thought a sort said that ...

    Yes "average circulated" late 19th and early 20th century gold will be in VF at best. Chances are anything lower will graded that way often via net grading from damage.
    Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
  • 777777 Posts: 1,056
    What is meant by... average circulated? You can expect AG...
  • dorkkarldorkkarl Posts: 12,692 ✭✭✭
    "average circulated" means "way below average, circulated", in coin-dealer-wannabe parlance.

    K S

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