lowball registry sets
CollectorX
Posts: 4 ✭
Does anybody else here participate in any lowball registry sets?
I only have two sets currently listed, but am working on a few others. It's a fun and challenging way for us poors to participate and have a shot at a banner.
2
Comments
Welcome to the board and cool sets! There are quite a few like-minded collectors (lowball and southern branch mint issues) but this Set Registry forum tends to be a little sleepy.
I would recommend you re-post this in the US Coin Forum -> https://forums.collectors.com/categories/u-s-coin-forum
chopmarkedtradedollars.com
It's hard to justify spending the money on a coin that typically isn't going to be worth half the cost of grading. Definitely hard to classify it as a poor-man's game
lots of ppl are into lowball. @braddick has some great pieces
Proud follower of Christ!
Nice sets!
Lowball problem_ free early _gold has always intrigued me. Yours are spectacular.
peacockcoins
Thanks. Straight graded ( or straight gradable) lowballs are super difficult to find. I SAW Nothing even close to helping my sets at Baltimore.
Been collecting LB for probably 20 years, have both full type set 1792-1964 and seated liberty halves, 1839-1891. I have as much FUN as any other collector and spend a whole lot less!
PS: Braddock got me started.
If I had it my way, stupidity would be painful!
Just an observation - having done some low ball sets a while back. I was doing an inventory on my PCGS coins and found that the lowball coins have - for the most part- gone down in value. Most of my other coins have seen good gains over the past years. Luckily I didn't invest much in the lowballs- but I would not do it again knowing this.
I guess that's the difference between someone who collects coins and someone who invests in coins.
I like the challenge of putting together a difficult set. I anticipate no return if I ever decide to sell.
I collect lowballs for the challenge.
It is much more difficult to find a PO1 than a MS65-66 in most series.
For 10 years, I have been searching for the solitary PCGS graded Fair-2 1878-S liberty seated half. Of course, the coin may not even exist anymore...maybe just a tag. NGC also shows a lone graded Fair-2. It's that search that keeps me going , knowing that maybe some day I will find that coin. That's the thrill of collecting.
If I had it my way, stupidity would be painful!
I have always wanted to try to get into lowball gold coins, but they are hard to find at a decent price. The higher the denomination the harder it is to find a lowball version. I would love a PO-01 $20 Lib and Saint.
as soon as people start collecting the prices of the lowballs might exceed the value of the actually nice coins
I still have a bit of difficulty understanding the joy of having the worst coins, lol.
Steve
My collecting “Pride & Joy” is my PCGS Registry Dansco 7070 Set:
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/type-sets/design-type-sets/complete-dansco-7070-modified-type-set-1796-date/publishedset/213996
I like them but sometimes the good ones get pricey
I like to buy raw lowball silver coins when they are available at little to no premium. Since silver coins saw heavier circulation than gold coins, they are not only more affordable but also more readily available. I have an 1877-S Seated Liberty quarter and a 1916-D Walking Liberty half dollar waiting for my next PCGS submission, and I can see both of them getting PO1 - if the walker does, it'll be a pop 1!
Young Numismatist • My Toned Coins
Life is roadblocks. Don't let nothing stop you, 'cause we ain't stopping. - DJ Khaled
That is the misperception.
Lowball defined is not the worst coin. Many hundreds of thousands of coins are mutilated/damaged/whizzed/altered/harshly cleaned/tooled, and on and on.
A true Lowball is a coin that has heavily circulated and somehow escaped the calamities of commerce.
Even and smooth wear over hard surfaces that display just enough detail for total recognition and identity is key to a lowball set.
The true aficionados of these coins reject problem coins and also understand many collectors misunderstanding of this segment of the hobby.
We're also a forgiving bunch, especially in regards to those who easily mock our interests (yet continue to hunt for their VAMS or Full Steps or whatnot...).
The long and the sort of it: To each their own.
peacockcoins
To pile on, lowball collecting and chopmark collecting are not so distant cousins in my mind. The coins show they were used for the exact purpose for which they were designed and minted. They have the history not just of the mint and commerce but the history of circulation evident in the coin itself.
I like pretty coins too but there is something to be said for a blue collar coin that got its elbows dirty
chopmarkedtradedollars.com
If I may:
The appeal of this coin to me is that the date is just barely visible, as nearly all examples this worn are missing the date entirely. And the color is just perfect IMO.
Young Numismatist • My Toned Coins
Life is roadblocks. Don't let nothing stop you, 'cause we ain't stopping. - DJ Khaled
A classic case of a PO1.
Well worn with no damage. Of course if the date cannot be made out, it isn’t a lowball
unless it is a one year design where the design can tell you the date.
...> @Colorfulcoins said:
It exists. I briefly met and complimented the owner about it once.
I bought this lowball because of its nice color, and it is virtually flawless. I submitted it to CACG at Summer FUN. Maybe someday CACG will get around to grading it.
Someone who"Gets it" !! Finding some series in PR01 is almost impossible. As the days go by and Silver hovers at the $50/Oz level, untold shovels of Silver coinage are turning into bars and lost to the Low Ball community forever... How many MS66 or MS67 type coins do you want? Something relatively easy to find in the marketplace, but try finding that 1886 Seated Quarter in PR01; none graded! Or for that matter, how about an 1879 Seated Quarter; NONE GRADED!! A Low Ball set of just about any series is a challenge, and I'd venture to say the inverse challenge of putting together a set of high grade coins; much, much harder, and really more fun!!
A couple of recent buys! The half I believe to be a 28-S
Nice Half!
Thanks! I think the 28-S has a small shot at a PR01 but most likely, FR2; too many letters... The 1881 Japanese One Yen I would grade a solid AG3... Picked the Yen up at the Mexican American show in Flagstaff a few weeks ago... Perfect for a World Low Ball Set!
The Walker is definitely 1918-S, based on the style of the 8. I believe it is a solid PO1 (having a little lettering doesn't bother me considering how hard it is to find any technical PO1/FR2 liners with any date left).
That said, I just got grades back today on my most recent submission and the 1916 Walker I posted earlier in this thread got Genuine P/FR Details (98 - Damage). I'm guessing they thought it was artificially worn, which I guarantee it is not.
The other lowball coin from that submission, an 1877-S Seated quarter, was another lock PO1 that is showing up as No Service/Not Holdered. The date is definitely there, and frankly, it's easier to see than the 1916 Walker, so I don't know what's up with that.
Young Numismatist • My Toned Coins
Life is roadblocks. Don't let nothing stop you, 'cause we ain't stopping. - DJ Khaled
I'm not a Walker expert by any means, and looking at the coin, I thought I viewed the diagonal of a "2" but then again maybe not?? This coin was a "Right place at the right time"... I was looking through a bunch of World coins at a small show at a dealers table I've known for years. I was at the table for almost an hour, and a guy walked up with 5 or 6 glass jars filled with half dollars. My dealer friend is running them through a small coin counter as I'm paying for the world coins and pulls this coin out and hands it to me!! Out of about $500 face he pulls this coin out!! What are the odds?? Spoiler alert; he knows I do Low Ball. Probably the best pick of the entire show!
Part of the PCGS problem is for the most part; their graders DO NOT have the expertise when it comes to the opposite side of the Sheldon grading scale....
Thanks for the expertise on the half... It has already been sent for grading and should arrive tomorrow or actually Wed since the PO is not delivering on my holiday...
What series are your Low Ball sets covering? What chance is there that your 77-S is a Horizontal S/S?? That would be a GREAT Coin!! I've been chasing a Low grade one for years, my lowest is a G6...
I just buy any raw lowball coin I can find. I hadn't checked for the Horizontal S/S but I think mine is too worn to tell.
Young Numismatist • My Toned Coins
Life is roadblocks. Don't let nothing stop you, 'cause we ain't stopping. - DJ Khaled
This 1860 Quarter was first graded by PCGS an FR2! Absolutely over graded... Over the years, I've wondered what the ratio is at the 2 ends of the Sheldon Grading scale? How many high end MS and or PR 67, 68, 69 coins are graded versus Pr01 and FR2 coins?? A thousand to one, ten thousand to one or more?? Probably way more, and more than we think? How many collectors and dealers have never stopped to contemplate the grade of a worn-out coin before throwing it in the junk box or worse, into the trash!?? This imbalance in experience at all of the grading services is evident when it comes to the Low Ball Genre...
What's troubling is grading Low Ball coins is way easier than their high-end counterparts! It's not how many ticks, marks on the cheek or fields. It's not a super-slider with just that slight hint of rub that most might have missed. How many marks are on the face of Liberty or on the Eagle of that Morgan, and is it Proof Like or Deep Mirror Proof Like? Has the coin been "Whizzed" or is that just unfinished die polish? Throw all of that out the door!
Grading that PR01 Barber Half is easy in comparison; let's see...basically no stars or a few partial ones on the Obverse with Lady Liberty worn flat, and "In God We Trust" mostly unreadable with maybe a few of the words/Letters partially showing with a just readable date. The Reverse lettering is unreadable with the rims worn into the inner fields and melding with the Eagles feathers, and most of the Reverse stars worn smooth. So, the basic criteria for grading Low Ball coins is wear! Sure, is the coin bent or with some kind of damage, OK, and is the coin real? Pretty basic stuff
The pictured 1860 is now in the correct PR01 holder, but should have never passed "QA" before leaving PCGS the first time! AND, I nor any other collector or dealer should not have had to spend their time arguing the fact to have it correctly graded!!
X... Noticed you lack a PR01 1853-O Quarter? I have a duplicate PR01 if interested? 90nospf@gmail.com
This might be the first PCGS PO01 that I have seen with full date shown.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-lane-70227a21/?lipi=urn:li:page:d_flagship3_feed;RsXsE1RvQz+RYPoiXRtW0Q==
Look at some of the posts and you'll see some additional fully dated PR01 coins!
https://images.pcgs.com/trueview/56042518_medium.jpg?_gl=1*1krr5ec*_gcl_au*MTE2Mjk0NDAxNC4xNzU4MDY5NDc3LjE4NzA3NDA5MTguMTc2MzA2NTIzOC4xNzYzMDY3MTg0*_ga*MTUyODMzMTc3MS4xNzE4OTMyOTcx*_ga_J41JKCY50Z*czE3NjMxMjg5MjAkbzE4ODIkZzEkdDE3NjMxMjkyNzUkajYwJGwwJGg3MDkzNTQxNzQ.
How about a 1974-D IKE In PR01...
2nd Try!
First 2 photos are PCGS PhotoGrade of a Flying Eagle in Poor One. The last photo is a Flying Eagle PCGS just graded FR2... Was the grader Ray Charles or Stevie Wonder!!?? It's almost like PCGS is making this into a joke? How serious can their finalizer be when this isn't returned for the correct grade!!??
If I'm the teacher assigning grades; F MINUS...