Question from a slabbing virgin
Compa
Posts: 583
Hello, first a little introduction: I've been collecting off and on since I was a kid back in the sixties. My parents disposed of my early collecting efforts years ago when moving (lost some wonderful complete Lincoln sets). In recent years I've been involved in mostly type collecting of Mexico and Central America stuff. But lately I've started again on US coinage and become somewhat addicted to the idea of slabs.
I've been wondering about this for a while now and this is the perfect place to ask! Several questions here, all related. First off ... Daddy, where do the coins in those slabs come from?
Seriously, speaking of latter 20th century stuff, do they all come only from mint sets, are they from mint bags, can they actually be found in bank rolls? Do the big dealers have a dozen people searching through coins looking for likely submission candidates or how do all those statehood quarters make it to eBay? Do any of the 3rd party grading companies slab their own coins for selling to dealers?
Speaking of mint sets, if they don't positively say "unopened" can one assume they have already been looked at and considered for submission and therefor not really worth purchasing? (same with proof sets I would assume)
Bottom line, can one build a good modern certified set by submiting coins they find on their own?
I've been wondering about this for a while now and this is the perfect place to ask! Several questions here, all related. First off ... Daddy, where do the coins in those slabs come from?
Seriously, speaking of latter 20th century stuff, do they all come only from mint sets, are they from mint bags, can they actually be found in bank rolls? Do the big dealers have a dozen people searching through coins looking for likely submission candidates or how do all those statehood quarters make it to eBay? Do any of the 3rd party grading companies slab their own coins for selling to dealers?
Speaking of mint sets, if they don't positively say "unopened" can one assume they have already been looked at and considered for submission and therefor not really worth purchasing? (same with proof sets I would assume)
Bottom line, can one build a good modern certified set by submiting coins they find on their own?
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Comments
Madmarty Cherrypicks other dealers
Sure you can if you have places to find nice coins. Depending on the value of the coins you are interested in it might be easier and more cost effective to buy them already graded though.
Yes, you can certainly build a nice modern set cherrypicking. Don't overpay for the raw coins you purchase (you can always resell the mistakes). Look at as many sets as you can in dealer inventory. Try to pick out coins to submit that'll cost more than $20 to buy already slabbed. Look for superb specimens (not just great). Rolls, bags, and mintsets all have merit, but mintsets are usually the most labor efficient. Spend enough time within each series to learn which coins are difficult and what to cherrypick. The more you know about oddities, varieties, errors and the like, the better your odds will be. Sometimes raw sets or collections can yield a few choice coins which can be replaced with coins that match the overall quality of the rest of the set, allowing the original set to be resold. Sometimes "key" coins can be found in less popular holders, and once you become accustomed to what PCGS likes, upgrades are possible and crossovers likely. Good hunting.
and it sets us apart from practitioners and consultants. Gregor
42/92
Depends what the quarter grades and what you can buy one for already graded.
Also what you belive is a MS68 might comeback as a MS67 unless you know how pcgs grades state quarters very well.