Once again I return to What's It Worth and the experts at CoinTalk. You guys have been very accurate in the past and I appreciate the input. I have an 1889 Morgan (2 pics), an 1921 Morgan (2 pics) and a 1922 Peace dollar (4 pics). Please grade and value as you see fit. If you need additional pics (different angles or lighting etc.) let me know. I'm not good at taking pics of coins. I do the best I can with what I have.
Here's a few more pics of the 1889 Morgan in a different light. The surfaces are highly reflective. I hope this helps. Thanks .
The 1889 Morgan is AU; lots of wear in the hair, and eagles breast is worn and has an x scratch in the middle of it, would probably get a DETAILS label or damaged. $35-$40. The 21, AU, maybe low MS, just slight wear in hair over ear, and eagles breast. Around $40. The Peace dollar, AU, wear on both sides and the distracting mark off the corner of her eye. Around $35.
1889-XF Around $30 1921-AU Around $35-$40 1922-AU $30 to $35 All prices are what i think you can get at Auction.
You guys are pretty consistent with each other. The facts are the facts I can't wish a coin to be nicer than it is. It's a shame about the 1889. It was given as a gift 30 odd years ago taped to the inside of an envelope and there it sat until recently. There's a tape mark across the front and the coin is dulled where the tape was. All tape residue is gone it's permanent damage to the coin. The rest of the coin appeared to my untrained wishful eye to appear shiny and like "new". But now, after taking off the rose colored glasses, I can easily see each of the points you guys are making. Thank you.
The 1889 does have a lot of shine to it, but i do see a lot of wear on the hair line and then on the chest there are no feathers and the damage. The 1921 and 1922 are nice coins, but really common.
Is it really worth paying the premium to buy the key dates or the not so common Morgans? Is it a better value for my money? Should I stick with slabbed coins? Granted I'm a novice at this and just learning and following a lot of eBay auctions. I start getting confused because it invariably begins to seem like all Morgans are being marketed as must haves, key dates, low population, proof-like, monster toning, et al and/or special in some way. I want to make some additional (modest) purchases and have been doing a lot of looking. I use the PCGS Price Guide, well, as a guide. I've stopped being optimistic about grading the coins I see. I take my opinion of the estimated grade and automatically knock it down a grade or two. Still optimistic about my own coins though! I believe this price guide is for retail pricing. So when I'm trying to determine the price for a coin I see at auction I use the price guide and any grading knowledge I've acquired through osmosis on CoinTalk to determine a fair value to pay. I need to buy some books. They've been recommended to me before now I should just read (for about 3-5 years it seems).
Here is a few things i will let you know. 1. Everyone on here can tell you that they have over paid for a coin or two. The main point is that if you like the coin thats all that matters. 2. A slabbed coin is always going to be the safe bet, but you are going to pay more for the coin 3. PCGS is High Retail 4. Never believe what a seller is saying in the title as far as grading goes. If you notice they will say a coin is BU, but then they will tell you to grade the coin yourself. 5. A good price guide is the Grey sheet. You can pick up a current copy for like $5.00 online. You can also pick up the Red book, but it is only updated once a year. 6. Never give up you will get the hang of it.
I've only looked closely at the one, but the 89 is not gradable - that's far from simple wear you're seeing - has clear damage well beyond that caused by any tape, and at this point is melt material unless there is personal sentimental value attached. One should always grade the coin for themselves, raw or slabbed.
As far as grading a Slabbed coin that has already been graded by PCGS or NGC is pointless due to the fact that the person or group of people that graded that coin have more experience then you. however you do what to look at the slabbed coin because a coin can grade high but look like crap and it will effect the value
Perhaps, but there is a difference between what something is worth and what some schmuck may pay at auction. It is far from pointless, sir. If you wish to blindly accept whatever a TPG slaps on a coin as absolute, undeniable, and unarguable fact, that's your call, but it's also your loss.
I will admit that some of the time they may grade low or high, but most of the time their grade is accurate. I'm not saying you can't grade the coin yourself but as far as resale the coin will sell as per TPG. It is good to grade the coin yourself to gain experience on grading. This will help when you come along raw coins
The 21 Morgans have been selling for around $50 in 63 grades, as have the 22 Peace dollars same grade.
Perhaps, but accurate to when: today, tomorrow, ten years ago, or...? Standards have and do change. To an extent, yes... but if this were absolute, how can you explain the fact that some coins of the same assigned grade from the same TPG can sometimes sell at widely different prices, even without factors such as a variety or toning? It is just the bidders, or could this have something to do with the fact that not all coins of the same listed grade are equal? If the OP were to blindly buy a common white 18xx PCGS64 Morgan and assume that his coin is the automatic equal to every other white coin of the same date and grade, he would be making an unfortunate mistake. There are plenty of dogs residing in top TPG holders, and such coins often get passed around like a hot potato until someone willing to blindly accept whatever the label says bites. As another example, not too long ago a certain certified RD cent was for offered here and was described as being full red even though it had clearly changed and was no longer what the seller and label claimed. Considering that this coin carried a significant RD premium, if sold "as per TPG", the buyer would almost certainly have been forever buried. On this I agree, and to take it one step further have long felt that submitting can teach a great deal, but even this is no reason to blindly accept whatever number is written on a label. However, the fact is that not all coins, even those of the same presently accepted grade, are equal.
