Do differences in grade become more meaningful the larger the coin?
dan1ecu
Posts: 1,573
Greetings, All -
For something the size of a half dollar, there is a noticeable difference between a 66 and a 67. There is also a difference in price that reflects the difference in quality.
How about for something small, like a three cent piece or even a dime? Because of the small size, is there really enough difference in eye appeal between a 66 and a 67, or between a 67 and a 68 to warrant big differences in price? Wouldn't you have to look much harder at a three cent silver piece to see a difference between a 66 and a 67 than you would at a Morgan Dollar?
What do you think: are differences in grade more meaningful for larger coins?
Dan
For something the size of a half dollar, there is a noticeable difference between a 66 and a 67. There is also a difference in price that reflects the difference in quality.
How about for something small, like a three cent piece or even a dime? Because of the small size, is there really enough difference in eye appeal between a 66 and a 67, or between a 67 and a 68 to warrant big differences in price? Wouldn't you have to look much harder at a three cent silver piece to see a difference between a 66 and a 67 than you would at a Morgan Dollar?
What do you think: are differences in grade more meaningful for larger coins?
Dan
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Comments
Stuart
Collect 18th & 19th Century US Type Coins, Silver Dollars, $20 Gold Double Eagles and World Crowns & Talers with High Eye Appeal
"Luck is what happens when Preparation meets Opportunity"
Are they tougher on larger coins?
Dan
mcinnes@mailclerk.ecok.edu">dmcinnes@mailclerk.ecok.edu
However, despite the fact that differences in quality on smaller coins might be more difficult to detect, those differences can still amount to huge price differentials, just like with larger coins.
And, the (non-technical) eye-appeal variance can be just as dramatic among smaller coins as it can among larger ones. A really ugly, little bitty coin can look just as bad as a hideously ugly big coin and an amazingly beautiful tiny coin can still pack the visual wallop that a large one can, in my opinion, at least.
in short, yes.
K S
The larger coins getting banged around against each other in kegs and bags during shipment from the mint via trains across the country tended to develop more severe contact marks simply because of the heavier coins hitting one another and displacing more metal through abrasion and denting. I feel even more so on the older pre Civil War era coins
Therefore when you see a beautiful MS-67+ $20 Gold Saint or Liberty, or a well preserved high grade Morgan Dollar it can have a very dramatic eye appeal to it because it is lacking those marks which we are so used to evaluating and grading.
Stuart
Collect 18th & 19th Century US Type Coins, Silver Dollars, $20 Gold Double Eagles and World Crowns & Talers with High Eye Appeal
"Luck is what happens when Preparation meets Opportunity"
<< <i>..third party grading services and the marketplace are generally more forgiving of contact marks (bagmarks or kegmarks) on the larger size Silver and Gold coins >>
Stuart, I definitely agree with you on that. But, I'm not sure that translates into:
<< <i>are differences in grade more meaningful for larger coins? >>
But, maybe I'm not clear on how to interpret "meaningful" for purposes of this discussion.
Larger coins were produced in lower numbers so how many survived until today is definately not a high number. So an even lower number than that makes it to high grades.
I treat it as a pure mathmatical situation that leads to a straightforward outcome.
But the discussion that you have going should be considered very closely. <Crunches numbers and some Oreo's too>
It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house. - Proverbs 25:24
<< <i>Larger coins were produced in lower numbers so how many survived until today is definately not a high number. So an even lower number than that makes it to high grades >>
DrainBamage: Interesting observation and perception but possibly not true for larger coins because many did not circulate as much as smaller coins as a result of them being big & bulky and inconvenient to carry in quanity in one's pocket without ripping a hole in it.
However I can say with certainty that, although a numismatic anomaly, a very high proportion of Morgan Dollars have survived in Uncirculated Condition due to the fact that they were kept in mint sealed bags within Treasury Vaults for about 80 years.
However they may be the exception rather than the rule...
Stuart
Collect 18th & 19th Century US Type Coins, Silver Dollars, $20 Gold Double Eagles and World Crowns & Talers with High Eye Appeal
"Luck is what happens when Preparation meets Opportunity"
It would seem to depend somewhat on exactly what coin type you're talking about. Generally
larger coins are going to have more damage from more serious collisions, but a certain fraction
will usually avoid all such collisions. It would seem that collectors have expectations about
what a given coin should look like and that these expectations are going to vary somewhat
by the size of the coin in addition to the myriad other consideration.