What is the most valuable coin that you have cracked out?

Crack outs come with risk. Hidden issues on old holder, the mishap in the process, an unexpected downgrade.
What is the most valuable coin that you have cracked out and what was the result if you had it regraded?
I cracked this very rare and very nice Pillar 8 from Guatemala which was N64. Result P64+. $50-$75k coin.
16
Comments
Low 4 figures
No result
Did not resubmit
Old holder NGC 64 1827 original quarter. Pcgs 65 first time through.
Certified 16-D dime to complete my set in its Capital Holder.
1818 50C O-112 PCGS AU53 CAC - cracked, resubmitted, came back AU55 CAC
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I betcha @ColonelJessup will have me beat on this one!
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
I like that one.
Cull Anacs Morgan's for melt.
Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value. Zero. Voltaire. Ebay coinbowlllc
Too bad i didn't give it a crack..😅
I did send it to CAC as a 53, wonder why no gold bean 🤔
@Boosibri
The coin was originally in an N64 holder??
Yes. The 1765-G 8 reales is the rarest Pillar 8R from Guatemala. It was N64 and undergraded so I cracked it out. Going to try for a 65 a few times as that is what it deserves.

Latin American Collection
I cracked this one out after a couple of crossover attempts. It came back body bagged. I was shocked. I sent it back you can see where it is now in the second image. Great learning experience.

Most likely a !901-S 25c NGC MS66 cracked (no cross-overs in 1989) then PCGS MS67.
ex: Jas A. Stack 1975 $5,000, David Akers fixed price list to private collector at $10,000, Auction '80 to Renrob (Bob Rose), Ron Iskowitz to Martin Paul (1989) @100K,, to Rick Sear at $110K later the same day. Crack, then MS67. Sold to JD at $190K (he sold it to Mike Blodgett), ... unknown,.. late 1990's-HS Berk to Gene Gardner at $87.5K (approx), Gardner sale to @Sunnyside (sic?) at $240K or so (PCGS MS67+ CAC).
I likely disclosed this when I first entered the Forum. Someone posted I'd dipped the J.A. Stack coin and I wanted to correct the record. Likely they confused it with a PCGS MS66 Magic Mark (Chrans) cracked out, dipped, and then went NGC MS68 at much the same time (Superior at $500K or so), later PCGS MS68+ CAC.
What dealers do , for Forum purposes, is essentially unrelated to what the vast majority of collectors do.


Best example here so far is @tradedollarnut's '27 quarter.
A $500+ score for the other 99.99% of collectors can be as much (or a greater) thrill.
Every upgrade, no matter how expected, produces satisfaction.
Occasionally, profits get taken so more coins can be purchased.
Amen
Sorry for the random pics above. Here is the starting point before crack out.
If you include crackouts you include you submit through a dealer, I believe it's the 21-S PCGS/CAC 64 that later sold in my Levoi set in 2016 for $70,000 ( think probably still the highest auction price for a Walker in 64). Persons before me likely tried it as I did with no success. There are a lot of success stories above so it might be worth adding my no success.
It ended up in an unstickered NGC 65 that is a no longer a good cert. so people must still be trying it.
"Look up, old boy, and see what you get." -William Bonney.
This coin was the discovery coin for milled edge proof 1838 Sovereign. I submitted it to hosts and came back with a ridiculous "tooled" grade. I cracked it out and did not reholder it, subsequently using it as part of a large trade with Baldwin's for some other very rare 20th. C. patterns. The milled person (S. Hill) there at the time and probably the world's leading expert in "late" pre-decimal milled silver and gold agreed with me that not only was there no tooling, but that it was the discovery piece.
Maybe someone can find the pictures as I was unable:
As for value? At least 50k USD, but has not come up to auction as they sourced it privately.
Well, just Love coins, period.
VG-20 1885 V Nickel out of the slab, into the Whitman.... Set complete.
1950 ICG MS64 FBL Franklin 50c crossed to Pcgs at same grade. About an $85 coin.
~$120K for this medallion minted by Emperor Constantine for the founding celebrations of Constantinople on May 11, 330 AD, one of only a handful of which survive. I used a hammer and towel and thankfully didn't destroy the coin!
Henry the 8th hammered gold, PCGS AU50. Larry Stack wouldn't consider buying it in a holder, so he bought it after I cracked it out.
I cherrypicked a 1939-D/D Mercury Dime in SEGS MS64FB. I bought it for $40, cracked it out, sent it to PCGS for grading and attribution and it came back 65FB. It was a stand alone top pop but has since been tied by two other examples. I sold it in 2015 for $2250 via Great Collections auction.
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
You suck
1932-D quarter. MS60? I don't remember the exact grade. Just to fill the hole in a Whitman album. What was I thinking?!? Dumb move.
Heritage ANA sale has a 1921 $20 NGC PF64+ CAC. Purchased as a crack-out target from a previous Heritage sale while in a PCGS MS 63 holder for $1,495,000. No brainer
My friends are bored with these stories. I have to buy them wine to get them to listen, @Tomb, who provoked me into the earlier vanity rant, has an excellent palate ($$), though not as exquisite ($$$) as that of @MrEureka.
Nothing wrong with that. I did it, except it was a Dansco.
1922 no D PCGS VF 35 and 1909 S VDB PCGS XF 45 - both went into the Lincoln Dansco album.
Rattle holder ms60 draped bust half came back pcgs ms64
Cracked an 1895 proof morgan that I paid just over 100k for in an old NGC 65 holder. Came back 66 cameo at our hosts. 7 years ago or so.
Balls
A MS64 1917-S (obverse) Walker was cracked out after not receiving a CAC. Received a MS64+ and then a Green CAC. Went from an $8,000 to $12,000 coin. Unfortunately, I gave up when it didn't get a CAC the first time around.
A 1934 DDO-001 25c that was in a SEGS MS64 slab. Cracked out and sent to PCGS where it graded MS66. I sold it for over 10 grand.
An 1836 reeded edge bust half dollar graded PR45 to put in my album.
Another one was a 1916 Buff in a SEGS MS65 slab. When sent to PCGS it got a PR65 grade. I had a pretty good idea that it was a proof when I bought it.
1980-S SBA $1 - ANACS MS66 - PCGS MS67 - "valuable"

1924 Lincoln NNC MS66RD for $20 - PCGS MS64RB

1863 $ ngc XF details
PCGS VF35 👍🏻
<———- that 1802 half was in an ANACS holder. Wonder where it is today.
1893-S Morgan in PCGS VG10 to complete my Morgan Dansco set.
PCI 1950 PF67 Cameo half dollar, now graded PCGS PF65 Cameo.
ColonelJessup and TDN have seen and heard many crackout stories and as the Colonel has stated, too numerous to relate on these boards. BTW TDN, was the 1827 25c the one from the 2006 San Francisco ANA Pre Show? We were set up behind each other that show and I seem to remember you showing me that coin.
7500-10k ish but knew what I was dealing with
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
I assume you mean @Sunnywood , as I recall his posting a very high end 01-S quarter he'd acquired many years ago, and then subsequently essentially dropping off the map here. Our loss.
True, but they each gave an example.
Do you have a crack out story?
I cracked an ngc65 morgan and crossed it to a pcgs66 and doubled it's value...from $200 to $400

And the colonel nailed it (again) when he said: "A $500+ score for the other 99.99% of collectors can be as much (or a greater) thrill.
Every upgrade, no matter how expected, produces satisfaction.
Occasionally, profits get taken so more coins can be purchased. "
"If I say something in the woods and my wife isn't there to hear it.....am I still wrong?"
My Washington Quarter Registry set...in progress
Kudos to TDN and ColonelJessup who have cracked some big ones. But today would they just submit for a regrade?
Both cited NGC coins which were subsequently submitted to PCGS. Regrade doesn't apply.
Maybe his wife found out what he paid for that quarter.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
@Sunnywood is correct. TY. Has a great eye for color
> @CoinJunkie said:
When I submitted the 1901-S 25c, it was NOT a regrade.
If you were around in 1989 you would have known that. Finally, conclusive proof that the young are clueless.
There was no crossover service then. Less relevant to my case is TDN's upgrade, but he stated "crack-out" too. Crossover rules preclude an upgrade..
Not "but knew what I was dealing with".
AND knew what I was dealing with. More knowledge, less risk.
He asked what you'd likely do today. The rules in 1989 don't particularly apply anymore.
Which doesn't necessarily prove I'm not clueless or that I'm young... mind.
The rules in 1989 still apply with one exception. We now have a crossover option. I can offer you a work-around to almost any set of grading rules if you're willing to pay the costs.
Cross the coin over. Then submit for a regrade.
Shipping insurance is not irrelevant. Its costs pale in comparison to other fees and charges.
1) percentage of value on initial crossover.
2) percentage of value increase if regrade generates an upgrade.
3) is there a special tax on any $100K and more coin?
Now, today, anyone who cracks out a seriously-valued coin for a potential up-grade knows this.
Since a crossover is a lock, you know it won't go down in grade.
No one breaks a coin out of a holder based on "stones". It's done based on skills
I am sure I can provide exceptions to any of my "absolutes".
Pease don't try to out-think me on this. Two and a half reasons.
1) @tradedollarnut and I are outliers.
2) based on the law of diminishing returns, the search for "truth" is sometimes is not cost-effective.
2a) even if you can show me to be deficient in either my methods or my description, you're wasting everyone's time.
2a.1) Like my ex-wife said "It's not about me, it's about you". It is, perhaps, relevant that she was right
'16-D Merc, in NGC VF Cleaned. Straight graded 30 at PCGS, sold for a decent profit. Don't remember specific numbers. Coin had some weird surfaces but not weird enough to justify a details grade.
"It's like God, Family, Country, except Sticker, Plastic, Coin."