Quality Garbage (PO01coins…for Catbert.)
SimonW
Posts: 1,059 ✭✭✭✭✭
I keep trying for a PCGS PO01 CAC Gold, it has thus far eluded me. I thought the draped quarter was a lock! I’m not sure if they even do that with PO01 coins. Has anyone ever seen a gold bean lowball?
Show us some quality garbage, if you’re so inclined.
I'm BACK!!! Used to be Billet7 on the old forum.
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Comments
peacockcoins
So when they "Green Bean" a PO01 does that meant the coin is in "poorer" condition than what PCGS suggested?
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
It means that the coin is solid for the assigned grade.
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
So you have an A or B PO01, and not a C? Would the C not be the most coveted lowball?
Right, there needs to be a red bean only available on P01's with that meaning.
Does a gold CAC bean on a Poor-01 coin hurt the value to a low-ball collector?
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
I’m confused about this too as a bean would indicate the coin is ‘strong’ for the grade when in reality you’re looking for the LOWEST possible grade/condition, yes? 🤔🤨
A more descriptive thread title would be courteous. “Quality Garbage (PO1 coins)”
"Got a flaming heart, can't get my fill"
I appreciate the irony of a high quality lowest grade, like anyone, just shooting for that converted gold! 😂
I'm BACK!!! Used to be Billet7 on the old forum.
As others have suggested, a beaned lowball seems less desirable.
Since the “lowball niche” seeks the lowest grade possible things at CAC should work in reverse. The coins in the OP, having received a green sticker, should be seen as higher quality then a similar coin which failed and wasn’t stickered.
I think there’s some nuance here that sometimes we don’t pick up on. I do appreciate (and seek) the irony of a high-quality, low-grade coin. I snicker to myself about it regularly.
I’ve seen a lot of low grade coins, some are just dog ugly, some are quite charming. A, B and C level coins aren’t strictly a quantitative measure of wear, it’s also a qualitative assessment. You can “make” a PO01 with myriad (minor) nice, dings, scratches, REALLY ugly surfaces and pitiful toning. A Poor coin, however, can also be quite beautiful. I have some of both. If I were in the CAC sticker factory, I would certainly award beautiful coins with a green sticker. I would assume that, even within that grade level, one would expect qualitative variation. I wouldn’t do gold stickers, because the wear has to be pretty bad to garner a 1, I would refuse to award a gold 1 with the wear of a 2, just on principle (which is why I want one so bad, I guess. I want something I think shouldn’t exist.)
I think collecting lowball is more fun, and cheaper, than collecting average coins. If I could play in the condition census arena, I would, but average US coins really don’t excite me that much. It’s not all I collect, it’s just a fun, back-burner endeavor.
I'm BACK!!! Used to be Billet7 on the old forum.
Kind of a bit off topic, but I’ve often wondered how long many of these coins were in circulation to end up slicks like these? Buffalo nickels are notoriously worn, but how have so many coins been worn to such minimal details? Makes me wonder just how many people handled the coins during their journey into a collectors hands. 🤔😉
Some people have cough, cough deep pockets.
I'm convinced that many of the lowballs, if not most, have spent time in the ole rock tumbler. The results of artificial wear process is what you are seeing in many a lowball.
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.-Albert Einstein
Certainly there are some, especially the ones that are impossible to find (Kennedy Clad) but I doubt most of them are. Just watching the huge amount of material pass through the local coin shops, you see very worn pieces quite regularly, especially Morgans, standing quarters, barbers etc. Before lowball was a thing I probably certified 8 PO1 coins, mostly rare dates among the large cent arena. Today you don’t see more of them, from what I can tell, they just sell for more money.
It certainly happens, which is really not in keeping with the whole idea of “this piece got worn out…the stories it could tell!”
I'm BACK!!! Used to be Billet7 on the old forum.
I ignored this thread when it was titled garbage. I chose to open it when you baited it with the name of a quality poster like Catbert. I do not pursue low ball coins, although I do have some very low grade Seated coins in my collection.
it is my opinion that the vast majority of extremely worn coins got that way the natural way.
I happen to be inordinately fond of old coins that did their job. It is funny how sometimes the tiniest things allow you to distinguish that which is worth knowing or having and that which is not. james
I’ll never understand the pathology of striving to collect the worst possible examples. 😳
Logically and theoretically, a gold sticker on a PO01 should be shunned by Lowballers, as CAC graders are saying it should be the next grade up, thus it actually has the technical attributes of a FR02 and is truly not the worst.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
There is, "Godwin's law" with internet threads.
We here on this board should have our own. "Tumbler law" whenever lowball coins are the topic.
peacockcoins
I completely agree. How in the world are you going to get a kid interested in collecting when you show them a totally common coin that is essentially a slick disk versus a coin that costs less but you can easily make out all the design elements. A 1968-D Kennedy in Poor-1 is priced at $25, the same price as a Gem Unc! That’s insane. No way did that coin circulate in commerce for 30+ years to wear down to that condition.
To each his own, but why is it our job or responsibility to "get a kid interested in collecting..."? May each of us simply collect what we enjoy without carrying the weight of the hobby on our shoulders?
That’s funny you mention this. One of the reasons I started collecting coins is because I remember my great grandfather pulling out an old peace dollar from his pocket, worn almost completely slick, but you could just make out the date. He’d been carrying it around for quite some time. That might be one of the biggest reasons I like the idea of lowball collecting, a way of honoring my great grandfather, thinking about that coin and many others rattling around in his pocket on the farm or walking around town.
A lowball got me interested in coin collecting. Why do you think it wouldn’t have the same effect as a well detailed piece? It’s still an introduction to a bygone ancient place. It was big and old, that’s all I really needed.
I'm BACK!!! Used to be Billet7 on the old forum.
For sure, I don’t need more competition for the stuff I collect 😂 (which isn’t lowball, for the record. Lowball is a simple curiosity for the most part.)
I'm BACK!!! Used to be Billet7 on the old forum.
Agree.
I also doubt, "Hey kid. Check out how you can see all the steps on the building on the back of this nickel" will generate much excitement. Or, "Hey kid! Check out where this ray on the back of this Peace dollar goes over the letter and not under it!" will also have much of an encouragment.
Each of us discovered this hobby on our own.
The next generation either will or won't also do so, on their own.
The key word is old. Clad 40% Kennedy’s in poor-1 are a bit questionable in my opinion, and the price structure is something else.
I collect for my own enjoyment and benefit but the hobby is a lot more fun, when you share it with others. Encouraging and helping young people with numismatics gives me a good feeling. When I was a beginner, I had people mentoring me, and I appreciated it and needed their help. So, now I give back. Also, It ensures the popularity and health of the hobby, so that our own coins are still worth something years down the road. In a strange sort of way, you’re helping yourself, as well.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
That half is one of my favorite coins ever.
God bless all who believe in him. Do unto others what you expect to be done to you. Dubbed a "Committee Secret Agent" by @mr1931S on 7/23/24. Founding member of CU Anti-Troll League since 9/24/24.