What ONE Factor Is Most Important to YOU When Buying a Particular Coin?

RKKay

1) Eye Appeal

2) Grade

3) Rarity (uniqueness)

4) Availability (chance of never seeing it or its equivalent again)

5) Price (likelihood of a good profit)

6) Your need (to complete a set, etc.)

7) Vanity (the ability to show it off)

Crazy4Coins

It's eye appeal for me...unless of course it is a Peace VAM.

Russ

Guess which one I picked.

Russ, NCNE

mgoodm3

Eye appeal, for me that means cleans surface, try to avoid spots.

michael

eye appeal is number one

ColonialCoinUnion

Eye appeal, which to me means beautiful originality.

Gator5220

<< <i>Guess which one I picked.

Russ, NCNE >>



Vanity?

Coinhog

Whether I like it and want to spend my hard earned money on it.

ABC123

The Seller !

Baley

I picked rarity. Very common, very high grade, and very pretty don't do much for me.

gimme a coin with fewer than 1000 known in any condition, and I'm happy as a clam, even if it's an AG

Longacre

The eyes have it.

123cents

Luster and eye appeal.

Barndog

6) my need (to complete a set, etc.)

golddustin

Rick - Since I have been concentrating on US Patterns, you can appreciate my initial impulse to choose availability (which doesn't seem too much different than rarity..). But after giving it a bit more thought, even if a coin I need is available, if it dosen't appeal to my eye, I don't bid/buy. My rankings:
Eye appeal
Rarity/availability
Grade
Need to fill set
Price ( for most patterns, the price is pretty much set at the time of transaction) - but NOT looking for profit...this will be a lifetime pursuit.
Vanity - I don't show them to anybody but my brother-in-law and wife!

Neat poll!

C

LanLord

The most important thing for me when I buy a coin is that it needs to grab me and talk to my heart, sorta like dating a girl, it's gotta be the right one at the right time.

curly

Give me eye appeal...every time.

JrGMan2004

I can overlook a fugly coin, if it's incredibly scarce... and it really depends for me... I obtain many of my common marriages unattributed. I usually just end up finding a nice grey VF that matches my "perfect set" and I buy it and attribute it later. Sometimes I've gotten a little bit scarcer die marriage, but mostly they turn out to be commons... now on the other hand, I was willing to spend MS63+ money on a harshly cleaned, ugly G4 coin... b/c it's an R.7, or possibly R.6++++++ now...

RKKay

<< <i>Rick - Since I have been concentrating on US Patterns, you can appreciate my initial impulse to choose availability (which doesn't seem too much different than rarity..). But after giving it a bit more thought, even if a coin I need is available, if it dosen't appeal to my eye, I don't bid/buy. >>



Hi, Chuck. Boiler and I had this discussion a while back regarding some unique patterns. He said, "They're ugly." My response was, "but they're unique." In retrospect, I agree with you and Boiler.

boiler78

I think you already know my opinion For me eye appeal is number one followed by rarity then grade. A unique POS is still a POS!

MacCrimmon

I have a zeal for Eye Appeal!!

1. blinding lustre
2. original skin
3. smoooooooooooooooooooth surfaces
4. and nothing (like spots) to suck my eye into a black hole.

I can never later rationalize a coin which bugs me now.

Aegis3

<< <i>1) Eye Appeal

2) Grade

3) Rarity (uniqueness)

4) Availability (chance of never seeing it or its equivalent again)

5) Price (likelihood of a good profit)

6) Your need (to complete a set, etc.)

7) Vanity (the ability to show it off) >>



I picked need as the most important. If it somehow doesn't fit into my collection, it doesn't matter how nice it is. At the next level is eye appeal, price (only to the extent that the price is something I can afford, not that a profit is likely), and avaliablity (I do try to get those items which will be tough to find later). Next down after that are grade and rarity. Finally, vanity doesn't matter at all.

AlixTCat

The most important thing to me is eye appeal, then grade. I won't buy an MS66 just because it is an MS66. If it has no luster, I'll pass it on by. I also have been known to look at the possiblity of turning a coin for a profit. I won't lie and say it is all eye appeal for me. I have to eat and in order to buy the coins I want to keep, I have to make a profit on some. I usually do that by selling US Mint stuff that I buy from them and sell on eBay.

Jonathan

lkenefic

Eye Appeal AND Need for me...but I will pass up many coins in search of the one with the right eye appeal regardless of how much I want/need it for a set.

Leo

TomB

You left off mine, which you may define as you please-

Value

coindeuce

#1-eye appeal. I live for that short burst of adrenalin that raises my heart rate and makes my knees shake

MrEureka

As a collector, I picked availability. If I think I can get an equivalent coin later, I'll usually pass. Better to keep my limited funds available for the rarest opportunities. Naturally, if a relatively common coin with unsurpassable eye appeal becomes available, I'll buy it, because I may never get another chance at a coin of that quality.

dizzyfoxx

<What ONE Factor Is Most Important to YOU When Buying a Particular Coin?>

The way it appeals to the eye. Well, both eyes actually.

Conder101

It has to be need. I don't care how nice the eye appeal is, how good the price etc. If I don't need the coin why would I buy it? (I don'tbuy to resell.)

Elcontador

Does the coin look like I think it should for the grade & the $?

edsondl

<< <i>1. blinding lustre
2. original skin
3. smoooooooooooooooooooth surfaces
4. and nothing (like spots) to suck my eye into a black hole.
>>



Are we talking coins or women?

PerryHall

That it represents good value for the money being spent.

roadrunner

I like Tom B's interpretation of "price" = "value"

If the value doesn't make reasonable sense for the coin, you should pass. While you may be vindicated down the road, even be lavished with profits, the odds are long against you in the long run. The eye appeal could be astounding but the value may be horrific.

roadrunner

PerryHall

Paying a premium for nice eye appeal may or may not be good value depending upon how much you pay.

Stuart

Rick: I personally prefer to collect high eye appeal coins, for what I consider to be a reasonable price. If the coin does not appear pretty to my eye, then I do not consider it to have enough eye appeal for my personal collecting taste.

I also believe that eye appeal is comprised of the sum of Strike, Luster and Preservation State.

This is of course very subjective, as beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

STONE

I'm still working on my budget collection, so that takes top piority, but other than that I look for the best grade of the best coin for the best price I can find.

Of course I also look for those few coins I need to complete the sets.