Featured Eye Appeal of Circulated Coinage; One Collector’s Opinions Including Lots of Images

And many do.

And for a lot folks (meaning potential buyers) the reputation of the seller, or the person helping them, is enough. But what happens down the road if that buyer decides to sell that coin to somebody else ? That reputation is gone now, or perhaps it won't mean anything to the new buyer because he does not know the previous seller. And that's where the TPGs and CAC come into play.

That's the very concept that made the TPGs successful. And when people lost confidence in them, then made CAC successful. The slab and the stickers are there, they stick around. Reputations of previous sellers, helpers, do not.

 

Great post. I bolded the point I liked best, to reinforce for others.

@torontokuba as much as we have to agree to disagree on a lot of points in other threads, you clearly are a pretty sharp collector, so I'm confused why you don't understand situations exists where another collector would take a lesser numerical grade coin over an available higher grade coin.

The cliche example would be choosing a nice AU58 over an MS63 coin. Many people, me included, would choose a beautiful and original AU58 to a dipped and baggy MS63. Another example might be a VF30 with attractive circulated cameo over a higher grade coin that might be cost prohibitive even a few grades up. In some cases, coins of a particular date and mint-mark might be readily available from low grades VF up to Low MS grades. As a collector, I'm often stretching to even afford the circulated example, but you seem so incredulous that I wont just go for the available MS examples.

Sometimes it's all we can afford, and more importantly, sometimes its a coin that we find more pleasing than an available MS example, no matter how quick a search it would have been. You are being quite myopic by assuming that it must be because some collectors are too lazy to check for a higher grade MS example of the Type. Maybe we cant afford the MS Type, maybe we don't want the MS type. To me at least, I'll take an original circulated coin with a CAC sticker and original surfaces all day long over some generic MS coin, even if the MS coins is slightly cheaper. I hunt for coins several hours a day to feed the hobby addiction, and I see pretty much everything available online in my budget for the Types I want. Don't assume I chose a circulated coin because I was too lazy to see the MS coin.

 

There are. Even in all of my years of collecting and studying coins, and I started in 1960, I have never once submitted even a single coin to a TPG, any of them. And CAC didn't even exist when I quit collecting coins. There are many like me.

But there are many, many more who do what all collectors should do, they completely ignore the slabs and the stickers when they buy a coin. That will never change. But to do that you first have to know coins.

 

Even when you like the look of the lower graded coin better than the higher graded coin ? Really ?

edit - I'm assuming, that when you say 5 points higher, you are referring to an AU55 vs an MS60. While that may be 5 numbers higher, it is only 2 grades higher.

 

I think we may be derailing Tom's thread a bit. But I'll add one more reponse on this topic and then we'll just have to have a gentleman's agreement to agree to disagree.

(1) I don't overpay for CAC label. I buy only coins at a price I find acceptable for the quality of the coin. I bid and lose on many CAC coins, however, I bid and win on enough coins that I spend all my coin budget and then some.
(2) I don't think I have ever cried over a price of a coin that I bought. Maybe some others have. I do know there are alot of coins I need and want that I can't pay for, so maybe you mean that?
(3) People often say I am "limiting" myself by only looking at CAC approved coins. I can tell you, this is absolutely not the case! I have too many CAC coins to choose from! The problem is a lack of financial resources, not a lack of targets. (incidentally, Warren Buffett has the opposite problem, lots of dry-powder, not enough elephants)

 

Both. I have submitted quite a few coins myself, around 100 coins. lately I buy mostly coins already CAC unless I am fairly certain they will sticker. I feel really poor at the moment, so really i am trying to spend * time * and not money on this hobby currently.

 

Hang ups ? If your comment means that you and think very, very, differently about many things, with that I would agree 100%.

And yes, I have explained that many times. But if by that you are implying that this dime changed in the slab - I'm reasonably certain that is not what happened.

 

While that single example may illustrate your point, it in no way proves your point. You even comment on that yourself in that same thread where you say - I see the problem .....

 

I think pretty much everybody here knows that I believe the TPGs have more than a few problems. But even with their problems they still serve a purpose, and a valuable purpose, for those who wish to collect coins and who do not know coins, or have the personal ability and knowledge required to grade them and authenticate them by themselves. And CAC serves a valuable service for them as well.

That said, if one has ability to do all of these things themselves, then there is no need to use the TPGs and or CAC.

 

That's easy, all that is required is that they want to, and that they are willing to put forth the effort to do so.