Why the value of a coin has little to do with the slab, or additional attributes, sometimes
TahoeDale
Posts: 1,785 ✭✭✭
We all rely, to some extent, on the TPG grading the coin, the approval( or lack therof) by an expert review, the + and or *, the CAm designation, the full head or full steps........
But what about the coin itself? We can never really know, in many cases, if the coin has been to CAC, if it has been reviewed and did not cross from another TPG recently, and if an expert in the series doesn't like it because of the color/surfaces.
We have all seen the large difference in price realized for the same date/variety/grade. Frequently 4 to 5 times.
Examples: a CBH in PCGS 64( generic) recently traded for under 2000. This same variety has brought 5000 in recent years, and the PC guides show 3200 for a median grade.
Several of the Lib nickels in the recent Goldberg sale, all with the CAC approval, failed to sell at the reserve posted by the consignor. But some sold for new records. One was even plussed by PCGS, and that didn't make a sale happen.
I recently consigned some CBH's to a Sheridan Downey sale at Baltimore, none had CAC or plus designation, and 2 sold for record highs. Neither of these coins had ever been reviewed for such status.
So, what do we do? I suggest a consensus of knowledgeable collectors in the series under discussion. Can that be accomplished? Yes, if you can take the time and have the people available.
That's what happened in the recent sale of the $20 UHR Saint in Pr 69. And a lower price realized than what occurred 5 years earlier was the result.
And it goes the other way too. An NGC CBH in MS 66 was really a proof, and an auction in Jan 06 resulted in a 50,000 + price, for a coin that would likel;y have been an $18,000 coin.
Many will continue to rely on what's on the slab, and what's not--you are missing many coins if that's all you do.
But what about the coin itself? We can never really know, in many cases, if the coin has been to CAC, if it has been reviewed and did not cross from another TPG recently, and if an expert in the series doesn't like it because of the color/surfaces.
We have all seen the large difference in price realized for the same date/variety/grade. Frequently 4 to 5 times.
Examples: a CBH in PCGS 64( generic) recently traded for under 2000. This same variety has brought 5000 in recent years, and the PC guides show 3200 for a median grade.
Several of the Lib nickels in the recent Goldberg sale, all with the CAC approval, failed to sell at the reserve posted by the consignor. But some sold for new records. One was even plussed by PCGS, and that didn't make a sale happen.
I recently consigned some CBH's to a Sheridan Downey sale at Baltimore, none had CAC or plus designation, and 2 sold for record highs. Neither of these coins had ever been reviewed for such status.
So, what do we do? I suggest a consensus of knowledgeable collectors in the series under discussion. Can that be accomplished? Yes, if you can take the time and have the people available.
That's what happened in the recent sale of the $20 UHR Saint in Pr 69. And a lower price realized than what occurred 5 years earlier was the result.
And it goes the other way too. An NGC CBH in MS 66 was really a proof, and an auction in Jan 06 resulted in a 50,000 + price, for a coin that would likel;y have been an $18,000 coin.
Many will continue to rely on what's on the slab, and what's not--you are missing many coins if that's all you do.
TahoeDale
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Many will continue to rely on what's on the slab, and what's not--you are missing many coins if that's all you do.
these ...
nice analysis Dale, and you're right (of course)
As the slabs, the designations, and the stickers have permiated the market more and more over the years, for all levels of coins, often I have to ask myself a pretty simple question. Would I set it free ... crack it out ... let it breath?
Whether I do or not is a different matter, but would I? Would the coin stand on it's own without its dinner jacket?
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242