Lower Grade "No Problems" vs Higher Grade with minor detractions... OR..

lkenefic

Many of us are on tight budgets these days. With this in mind, do you gravitate towards lower grade material to satisfy the hole in your album, or do you lower your standards for "problems"... minor corrosion, rim hits, scratches...whatever.

OR... Do you lower the pace at wich holes are filled in your collection... I'm tending towards this. I've had my fair share of "problems" and subpar coins in the past and can't wait to rid myself of them. As a result, I pay the price in a numismatic lesson learned. In these tough times, I can't afford to keep making the same mistakes and learning the same lessons.

Lastly, just an observation... lower grade and problem material has seemingly tanked in the market. There's either just too much of it, no one wants it, or both... Leo

MidLifeCrisis

I am buying less frequently nowadays...but I try very hard to make my purchases count so that I won't want to get rid of them later...and I always prefer the no problem coin over the problem coin that is technically a higher grade.

Musky1011

Buy what you like

MrSpud

I prefer lower grade no problem coins with original dirty surfaces myself.

veryfine

I agree with the "buy what you like" philosophy, but I try to consider the salability of my purchases. Go ahead and buy the rim bumps and scratches, but make sure you get a nice fat discount for these problems.
I prefer higher grades with minor detractions. These minor detractions should not keep the coin out of a PCGS holder. Given that criteria, it ultimately depends on the severity of the "problems." A few hits and spots on an average AU coin is often more desirable than a problem free F or VF.

partagas

For me its the series/rarity of the coin that makes the decision. If it's rare I will sacrifice and go with the higher graded coins with minor problems.

But for common dates you should just be patience and get the problem free.

bidask

'No Problems'

MrEureka

Buying "what you like" is only half of the answer. The other half is buying something that brings you closer to completing your goal.

From that perspective, it's a waste to buy a coin if you expect to upgrade it later.

Bcsican

Still looking for the best I can find, learned my lesson about just filling holes.

Im ok with a lower grade if the coin has that great eye appeal,

over a coin that has the grade but lacks I what I want for a set.

Also dont like sub par coins sitting around collecting dust
that I question myself why did I buy it in the first place...

It has been working well for me putting restrictions on just a filler coin....

RedTiger

Theory is nice. Show me some real photos of coins with real price tags and the exercise becomes much more interesting. I don't collect "theoretical" coins.

I will say that during my time on the forum, I have learned that only a small group of collectors are at all interested in having problem coins in their core collection. A large percentage won't even look at them if they are in a "details" holder or "genunine" holder. That means most dealers will offer very low for such coins, even if the asking price is high. And that finding another collector to buy will take much longer than a coin that is deemed "market acceptable" (in a slab) or perceived as a "no problem" coin (raw or slabbed, even though it too may have minor issues).

lkenefic

<< <i>Theory is nice. Show me some real photos of coins with real price tags and the exercise becomes much more interesting. I don't collect "theoretical" coins. >>



OK... This isn't an extreame example but here's a two center that I picked up a while back that's not quite the grade I was targeting [58/60] but it was close [AU50]. The price was pretty low ~$45 but then I noticed the hit in the lower left side somewhat hidden in the devices. I bought it anyway since the price reflected the minor detraction. In retrospect, I'll probably upgrade this piece as 2-centers are fairly ubiquitous and there's not much of a price spread between 50 and low MS.




This coin was a mistake. I was impatient and I purchased it to finish off the Nickels of my 7070. I had the $50 or so in my pocket at the time and I bought it because there's a fair amount of details still left on this piece, but it's obviously corroded. In retrospect, I should have passed and saved my money. A nice no problems 1867 Sheild Nickel w/Rays came by a couple of months later (XF45 at $175)... better date at a decent price. However, at this point I had no cash. Had I been patient, I'd have at least had $50 to put down on the more favorable coin.






Now here's one I got right... not all my coins are "dogs" I passed up an 1877-S Trade Dollar in VF-30 at $100 (this was some time ago) due to an obvious cleaning. The sales pitch went something like... "the majority of these have been cleaned or dipped at some point in their lives and I've knocked off some on the price to reflect the cleaning"... I passed because it was a tad below my targeted grade and because of the cleaning even though the price was heavily discounted. Quite some time passed and this piece became available... 1873 in what I consider to be a nice problems free AU53 with alot of luster left in the devices. I paid $275 at the time of purchase but I've never regretted waiting for this piece.

ColonialCoinUnion

<< <i>Buying "what you like" is only half of the answer. The other half is buying something that brings you closer to completing your goal.

From that perspective, it's a waste to buy a coin if you expect to upgrade it later. >>



This guy is a quote machine!

coolest

I always go with the lower grade coins.

besides I like the "used' look on coins it gives them character and contrast.

RYK

<< <i>

<< <i>Buying "what you like" is only half of the answer. The other half is buying something that brings you closer to completing your goal.

From that perspective, it's a waste to buy a coin if you expect to upgrade it later. >>



This guy is a quote machine! >>



And I am a broken record:

“Most coins are not perfect or original. Coins that are especially old, scarce, and or valuable deserve to be in holders, should their owners so wish them to be. The way that some imperfections have become acceptable while others are not acceptable is capricious and often irrational.”
-- RYK, on the PCGS chatroom, April 2008.

adamlaneus

Nope. Nobody writes a sentence that coherent in a chatroom. I don't buy it.

"Lol I hs gold coinz luz3rs rofl!!!"

That, I would believe.

RedTiger

<< <i>

<< <i>Theory is nice. Show me some real photos of coins with real price tags and the exercise becomes much more interesting. I don't collect "theoretical" coins. >>



OK... This isn't an extreame example but here's a two center that I picked up a while back that's not quite the grade I was targeting [58/60] but it was close [AU50]. The price was pretty low ~$45 but then I noticed the hit in the lower left side somewhat hidden in the devices. I bought it anyway since the price reflected the minor detraction. In retrospect, I'll probably upgrade this piece as 2-centers are fairly ubiquitous and there's not much of a price spread between 50 and low MS.




This coin was a mistake. I was impatient and I purchased it to finish off the Nickels of my 7070. I had the $50 or so in my pocket at the time and I bought it because there's a fair amount of details still left on this piece, but it's obviously corroded. In retrospect, I should have passed and saved my money. A nice no problems 1867 Sheild Nickel w/Rays came by a couple of months later (XF45 at $175)... better date at a decent price. However, at this point I had no cash. Had I been patient, I'd have at least had $50 to put down on the more favorable coin.





...
>>



Those coins don't look half bad. Those two would fit in well with many raw album sets, though probably not in an AU58 set. The "mistake" may have been paying the dealer asking prices. I would guess if some random person offers those same coins back to those same dealers, the "bid" is going to be less than half of what you paid, vs. bids more like 50% to 70% of their retail price for similar raw coins without obvious problems. I don't think the "market" has gotten much weaker for coins like that. The market for problem coins has always been thin, and dealers know it, and offer accordingly when buying.

If a person buys the problem coins at true auction, they often still pay an optimistic price, that only the two high bidders are willing to approach. Keep in mind, that the group of collectors willing to accept the coins with obvious problem for their core collection is small. Dealer asking prices are almost always optimistic on the problem coins, and dealer bids are almost always a lot less than their ask, and a lot less as a percentage than it would be on coins without obvious problems.