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Where is your value threshold for certification?
conrad99
Posts: 372 ✭✭✭
When buying, i mean. I ask because this seems like an unmolested key-date Peace Dollar but the seller is asking ~$1200 and I can't help wondering why it's not certified at that level. I figure my own point is around 400 or 500, with certain notorious issues being higher or lower I suppose.
Where is your value threshold for certification?
This is a private poll: no-one will see what you voted for.
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I would not buy any coin without a PCGS/NGC certificate. However, I don't want to have more coins than my safe deposit box can hold, so ideally any coin I buy to complete a set would be worth at least $200.
I prefer all my coins to be certified, regardless of value.
+1; my threshold is $0.01. For practical matters, the least expensive was probably a chopmarked Thai baht that I bought for $30
Chopmarked Trade Dollar Registry Set --- US & World Gold Showcase --- World Chopmark Showcase
My bad! I should have made a choice for "All Coins Should Be Certified" — This is the PCGS forum after all.
Well, that'll just get subsumed in the $100 option as I see no way of editing the poll. $100 will win this one in a walk!
There’s something off with that peace dollar.
Type collector, mainly into Seated. Young Numismatist. Good BST transactions with: mirabela, OKCC, MICHAELDIXON
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Lately the only uncertified coins I’ve gotten have been for my kids (well below $100).
I bought one slabbed coin 2yrs ago that was under $100 and most days I regret it.
That "coin" doesn't look right.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
I prefer my coins raw but for the rarer ones I own that are already graded I keep them graded. Or if I buy a coin in AU/MS I will also keep it graded. Any coins lower than AU unless rare I will break out. I put them in Mylar 2 by 2's and I am happy that way. Takes up much less space and I do not see myself selling anymore coins I own and will leave them to my family once I pass. They have good careers so no difference to them.
I was a big fan of graded coins but not anymore I simply can't enjoy them as much. I always keep my better coins at my bank vault and that is where they will stay. I like looking at my cheaper coins but even they go into my home safe. Anything over 400$ goes to my bank. It is not like I own many anyways the series I collect are not expensive for the most part.
Future owners can have them graded if that is their thing.
They are much easier to enjoy in a binder with 2 by 2 page slots:
Coin collecting interests: Latin American early pillar 1 reales
Sports: NFL & NHL
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I will take anything attractive and send it in for slabbing.
Feel I owe it to the next collector.
Making money isn't always the goal, but it happens most times.
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That peace dollar looks very suspicious.
Zero for US coins. Maybe $200 for foreign. No limit for medals. I slab the foreign that I buy and keep medals raw.
This is why I posted it, as I'm neither a buyer nor seller. Something slightly creepy about it! But can any of us be more specific (and hence instructive)?
Seller (easily found on eBay) seems reputable yet has a lot of these coins. The worst anyone has to say is that some may be polished — hardly unusual.
The reverse looks like it was worked on.
Looks fake. The features look soft and slightly fuzzy so it may have been struck from transfer dies.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
Voltaire: Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero.
That’s what I was thinking too, the surfaces look matte and suspiciously clean.
Type collector, mainly into Seated. Young Numismatist. Good BST transactions with: mirabela, OKCC, MICHAELDIXON
There isn't really a dollar value. It depends. I have bought, for example, raw gold eagles or pre-33 with a $2000 value. I would not, however, so readily buy a $2000 Merc dime unless certified due to the grade related value.
It also matters whether I'm buying in person or at a distance. If I'm buying from an auction house where I can't view the coin in hand, my threshold is lower than if I have to coin in hand.
I don’t buy anything raw over my threshold. The $1200 Peace Dollar pass for sure. There is a reason those coins not slabbed!
Ronnie might but he would really low ball heck out of them, hedging any uncertainty. Take responsibility and get your coins slabbed if you want all the money.
I think real but whizzed
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
I would love to see that baht.
DPOTD-3
'Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery'
CU #3245 B.N.A. #428
Don
I like submitting certain coins. I currently have a Cheerios Sacagawea Dollar , a DDO 1976 Bicentennial Quarter (for a customer) , a DDO '55 Cent, and MEL 2021 VA. Innovation dollar in for grading/encapsulation. My last submission was 20 pre-33 gold coins,.
There isn't a threshold of value, per se. It's more about significance. Some coins (to me) just seem like they should be authenticated, even ( or especially) in their original package.
Angle of view ? Maybe cleaned, but it looks authentic. I've seen LDS specimens with a whole lot less detail.
When buying, my threshold is way lower than $100 because I’m now buying modern AU58s to extend my 19th Century Circulated Everyman slabbed type sets into the 20th and even the 21st century. Here are some examples of certified coins I’ve purchased for way less than $100. They are actually hard to find because few submit such coins on purpose. I tried making my own modern AU58s by carrying some Uncirculated ones as pocket pieces for a month, but they all came back from PCGS as MS instead of AU, so much cheaper to buy them already slabbed as AU58s. But they rarely are available so I grab them when I see them.
Mr_Spud
Always ask yourself why is this key coin not already certified, when it is proven that certification adds to value. Usually, you will find the reason.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
Never, and I mean never buy a $1,000 + unholdered coin. I would drop that down to $500 +. I consider any seller trying to pawn off an expensive unholdered coin as a bona fide 100% scam artist. F that seller.
One dollar more than the most expensive coin I own. And since that coin is not going to be eclipsed, then I will continue with not certifying any coin, though I will and do purchase them since that makes storage and protection that much easier.
Depends if buying from a B&M/dealer with coin in hand vs internet shopping and if my series. Although I haven't been buying much lately, just upgrades and all were certified, I have bought raw coins up to several hundred $'s with no issues. Even bought raw on EBAY that turned out well but that was 15+ years ago when deals were readily available.
That coin has issues, but not everyone slabs their nice coins. I have plenty of 1K plus coins that are raw.
@TwoSides2aCoin can we see your Cheerios dollar?
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That luster doesn't look right for a 28. Something is definitely wrong with it.
I do occasionally buy raw coins in the $500-$1000 range, this would not be one of them.
Collector, occasional seller
*if you don't know what you're doing
Chopmarked Trade Dollar Registry Set --- US & World Gold Showcase --- World Chopmark Showcase
One side of it
I agree, if you are very experienced and viewing the coin in hand. On the internet...good luck.
If you mean whether or not to send it for certification, I have a $200 added value rule.
I do keep the PCGS/NGC labels when I break out a coin. And always will do that.
Coin collecting interests: Latin American early pillar 1 reales
Sports: NFL & NHL
Successful Transactions with the following board members: Pruebas & SimonW
Depends on the venue and the source does it not? My answer included eBay coins - no tolerance. Plus all my coins are certified. I don’t have the patience to submit raw coins, nor the need to take the various risks to save a few bucks.
That's my best guess as well—something like that. I'd wager it might come back Altered Surfaces. Here's another of his coins.
BTW I'm deliberately not calling him out publicly because I have no desire to hassle him (nor to advertise him!). But I can share the link privately if anyone wants it and can't find it on his own.
@TwoSides2aCoin If you cant see the reverse then how do you know that its a Cheerios dollar? The packaging does not make it a Cheerios dollar. It has to have the reverse with the engraved tail feathers. Not all of them are the valuable one. Numismatic researchers discovered that not all of the Sacajawea dollars placed in the boxes have the enhanced tail feathers as initially thought
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I agree. However the numismatic researcher who discovered this, also discovered an obverse die marker PUP( pick up point ) , that has been a trademark of the boldly detail tail feather design. Not only that, it is part of the reason why I'm submitting the coin. It came from him , and has that die marker.
It also fits one of my criteria for the use of the TPG. The "threshold".
Anyway , it is in house, so will report back, soon.
A coin deriving 90% of its value from bullion content is very different than a half cent which likely derives 99.9% of its value from the numismatic value. A generic Saint from a reputable dealer is perfectly fine to buy raw.
A peace dollar like that? Somewhere around $200-300 is my personal limit, depending on its look, but that coin isn’t right.
I look at more than just the value of the coin.
I look at what I already have in the coin and ask myself several questions.
Will it sell for more if I invest the grading fees?
Is it a variety that needs to be shown on the label?
Is it a coin that most want in a slab before buying?
Do I even want to mess with selling it raw? That's not easy for me.
Do I even want to sell the coin? Coins I hold in my collection don't have to be in a TPG holder.
I don't buy US, so sometimes my only choice is to buy not graded or not buy it at all.
This one has intrinsic silver value
Sure, who doesn't have limits on what they can spend/bid but the coin mustn't have anything major showing, be as lustrous as can be expected for the age and have an EDS strike or as close to an EDS. That is, if for mint state... Recently returned a coin with a large hit and a very noticeable spot on the forehead and it was graded MS66? But I'm talking Jefferson nickels here, not too worried about encountering counterfeits in the raw.
To any ebay sellers here, if the coin is worthy, please spend $5 for the TrueView. Not everyone lets themselves get stuck with whatever is handed to them.
Leo
The more qualities observed in a coin, the more desirable that coin becomes!
My Jefferson Nickel Collection
I voted $1,000, but the number can be higher. For British and ancient Roman it is much higher.
I bought this 1809 half cent in an EAC auction years ago. It was raw, but according the EAC grade it's an "MS-60."
I bid over $1,000 for it without batting an eye. I have never had it graded.
I paid over $1,000 for this 1857 large cent. It's raw too.
I paid well over $1,000 for this Richard III groat (4 pence). It has a long pedigree and is a plate coin from one of the articles than an authority wrote on the subject years ago. Richard II coins are hard to get in high grade.
I have no number, but ask myself - Can I sell this for more than the cost of grading plus what I would be able to sell it for raw. If it's a coin that I paid $10 for and could get $30 for it raw or $120 graded - I don't see why not to throw it in my submission box and and send it out with the other coins I deemed worthwhile.
I have no real number, but I think it's prudent in todays world to consider anything over about $500. as a reasonable point where the protection is warranted, especially if you want a problem free (market acceptable) coin ... more especially if you can't view the coin in person ... and even more especially if you can't grade well, or detect problem coins, counterfeits and other issues with some confidence.
Of course, some people will want that for all coins, or at a much lower threshold, so i am a little bit of an outlier. I would buy a 5.k raw coin from a series I have solid knowledge in, under the right viewing conditions.
FWIW, the Peace Dollar will NOT straight grade. Not at a reputable TPG. I would count on that.
“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
I chose $250 but as I look through my Box of 20, I have a couple of certified coins that I only spent about $100 - $150 for... Hard Times tokens and a chopped 8R...
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No real number but I put $500... It really depends on what I have into the coin. The higher the value the more likely I will get it graded. Sometimes I just want to know if my grading skills are improving so will send some in of lesser value, so it's not really a hard and fast minimum per se.
As for the peace dollar, as others mentioned it definitely looks off, and I'm no expert in peace dollars and I can see it. I am very cautious buying anything raw. I've been burned way too many times. If I do, I try to stick with reputable sources, such as some of the fine folks on the sales forum here. I've picked up some great raw pieces here!
https://www.the4thcoin.com
https://www.ebay.com/str/thefourthcoin
I put $250, though my threshold might be a bit lower. To date the most I’ve been willing to spend on an uncertified coin is about $180.
But that’s for online purchases. If I had the opportunity to evaluate a coin in person, my threshold would probably change.