What viewing coins, which attribute of a coin strikes you first (no pun intended)?

RYK · December 8, 2009 8:55AM

Veteran auction searchers, bourse browsers, coin shoppe junkies, and anyone who has viewed thousands of coins probably responds to one attribute, first and foremost, when viewing coins. Is there one attribute that speaks to you first, before all of the others? If so, what is it? Has it changed over time?

ram1946 · December 8, 2009 9:27AM

To me , it's always been about the luster of the coin - how shiny it was when I first started collecting to the reflection of light as I matured as a collector. It is the attribute that encourages me take a second look.

adamlaneus · December 8, 2009 9:28AM

Well, first, there is Gold. And there is Not Gold.

coinbuf · December 8, 2009 9:31AM

Luster, always the luster

MrHalfDime · December 8, 2009 10:07AM

Assuming that 'variety' is synonomous with die marriage, that is what always catches my eye.

golfer72 · December 8, 2009 10:12AM

The strike. If the coin is not well struck nothing else matters. You are not seeing the whole coin.

kaz · December 8, 2009 10:19AM

For me, color, which encompasses everything from 'blast white' to wild portions of the color spectrum, to the 'circam' look I am drawn to in most older issues, or the reddish to greenish look of unfusstered classic gold.

STONE · December 8, 2009 10:21AM

Color, hands down.

For color, you are looking at a lot of factors all at once: metal composition, design, wear, luster, toning (to name a few)
From "Color" you further refine your search to more precise characteristics

85246 · December 8, 2009 10:22AM

the very first thing usually is the color, then the design, then the slab (if there is one)

IGWT · December 8, 2009 10:23AM

Luster speaks first; but, that doesn't mean it speaks the loudest.

RYK · December 8, 2009 10:25AM

<< <i>Luster speaks first; but, that doesn't mean it speaks the loudest. >>

I was expecting you to say the Shield.

yellowkid · December 8, 2009 10:55AM

Probably the color, or lack of, then the strike.

fcloud · December 8, 2009 11:10AM

I look solely for originality. I try to stay away from dipped/cleaned coins, so at a distance if the coin looks like someone messed with it I may look at it, but I most likely will pass. I have searched (probably) thousands of Mercury dimes and you just know when they are messed with even from a distance. Now when I first started collecting the series I was a blast white person, and learned pretty quickly that many of them are dipped out hair-lined and just simply are wrong.

This is probably a good spot to show one of the coins from Fairlaneman. He is the one most responsible for showing me what is wrong with white coins. Although, this image looks kind of white, the coin has a real pale pinkish/violet color. Just an awesome coin. This 1919-S grades MS66 if you are curious.

mdwoods · December 8, 2009 11:12AM

Luster, marks then color.

OKbustchaser · December 8, 2009 11:14AM

The denomination...then the design...then the variety

LotsoLuck · December 8, 2009 11:18AM

<< <i>Luster speaks first; but, that doesn't mean it speaks the loudest. >>

Well put.

Barndog · December 8, 2009 11:20AM

eye appeal...do I like it?

dirtybird · December 8, 2009 11:27AM

Luster and then strike.

pakasmom · December 8, 2009 11:28AM

First? - The strike.

Stuart · December 8, 2009 11:28AM

For me, in this order: Attractive Design + Strike + Luster + Originality/Toning = Eye Appeal

Price has to be realistic for me to consider purchasing the coin...

joebb21 · December 8, 2009 11:31AM

I like sharp strikes and lustered fields.

MikeInFL · December 8, 2009 2:32PM

<< <i>Veteran auction searchers, bourse browsers, coin shoppe junkies, and anyone who has viewed thousands of coins probably responds to one attribute, first and foremost, when viewing coins. Is there one attribute that speaks to you first, before all of the others? If so, what is it? Has it changed over time? >>

In hand, it's luster. In photos, it's hits/surfaces.

But really, on both, it's eye appeal (which wasn't listed).

CHAMELEON · December 8, 2009 2:52PM

Color, color, color. When I shop at shows I will flip through coins at light speed until I run across some colorful toners. I'm not interested in white or red coins at all, so when I shop I will not find near as many coins as most other collectors. However, I am able to pull coins that I am interested in a whole lot quicker.

magikbilly · December 8, 2009 2:57PM

Hi,

Well, I only collect Pr Merc 10c and Pr Jeff 5c 1938-1941. First thing I involuntarily see and react to is originality of surfaces & color or lack thereof. I know in a minute or less if I like it or not. I would prefer a fully original heavily toned attractive Merc in Pr 64 over any blast white 66 or secondarily toned Pr Merc. I hate the look of dipped/blast white Pr Mercs - they grate against my eyes like sandpaper just like the even gold of a Pr Merc dipped 15 years ago. I like the crusty brown tone (often with blue or green speckles "inside") when around the edges - something I call "flaky" tone as this encrusted tone/color looks like it could be lifted off in flakes with a scalpel. I like lighter centers with that mostly transparent milky original skin that seems to "fill" in the flow lines. I do not like "naked" flow lines as they scream "DIPPED" to me. I also look at the edges in between the reeds which is why I like the new NGC edgeview holders. And of course, I don't like the tone to obscure ALL the mirrors although some is OK with me. With Pr Jeffs I look for that semi hazy concentric flaming rainbow tone which I love, as long as the mirrors are not dead. Some haze is OK with me. Contact marks, unless in primary areas, are not my biggest concern as they are easily trumped, for me, by surface originality. Strike is important but not primary at all unless really weak. Oh yeah - sometimes I look at those little numbers on the slabs, but just for fun

I buy what I like. For what it is worth I have never paid to have a coin graded and never will. The only leeway really is with older Proof coins, like the Barber 10c of my icon, which I used to own. This was a Benson pedigree - a coin he bought in 1941 for something like $1.10. That coin had some hairlines and quite different tone on the two sides from the way it was stored but it was "original" (for a Benson and for the year/grade) and had stunning color as the Goldberg image shows. It replaced an 1892 PCGS Pr 63 Cam which had secondary golden toning. Most Forumites, but not all, liked the '92 CAM over the '06, but pop aside (both were pretty low), I liked the deep character of the '06 which was PCGS Pr63.

Best wishes,
Eric

Type2 · December 8, 2009 3:03PM

I like the strike. I see a lot of luster on some coins with out the strike But you will need the bouth if you want the top pop coins.

Bear · December 8, 2009 3:04PM

For me, it is a number of factors that go into my initial opinion

of a coin. I can not really single out a single factor. Certainly

luster, strike, grade, originality, color all play equal roles in making

my initial evaluation. If my first instinct, is that something is not right

for me, then I am always right. It is those first few seconds that is make

it or break it for me. Detailed examination then merely affirms my

initial opinion.

RYK · December 9, 2009 12:07AM

I look at the color, no matter if it is gold, copper, or silver. If the color looks really nice for the metal/date/grade, I am interested. If I do not like the color, nothing else is going to get me interested.

Longacre · December 9, 2009 12:10AM

291fifth warned me a long time ago-- beware a coin that speaks to you.

For me, it is the overall "look" of the coin, which I guess means the color. It is hard to explain but certain coins just stand out more than others in the case.

What viewing coins, which attribute of a coin strikes you first (no pun intended)?

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