You ever buy a problem coin just because it's what you could afford?

Wow strong reverse xf45! Definitely an after college purchase for me! Looking forward to seeing it!

 

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I have, even after being advised against it. Sometimes it's your only option, unless you have deep pockets. Besides, it's MY collection, lol.

 

I don't own any details graded coins. I always prefer a lower problem free grade with honest wear to a less worn coin with other problems. I do have a weakness for colonials and have a few that are straight graded but would otherwise be details if not for more lenient grading.

 

I own too many problem coins after all these years. I still love them but understand I will have to sell them at some point. That's not always easy. I can't add more to that task.

 

Coin roll hunting

 

As has been mentioned, anything below 70 has problems, it is just a matter of what problems you are willing to tolerate. Those of us with little money but a love of history find the same history in a torn bill or a corroded ancient. Still, we all prefer the best we can find for what we can pay.

 

It honestly depends on how you hold it. It ranges from light brown to almost blue depending on lighting. It has developed a truly beautiful luster I would usually only expect on toned silver. The face stays a pretty consistent brown and the damaged area always contrasts with the rest of the coin, even though they both exhibit colorful toning.

This is one that would do well with a video clip of the coin showing the different looks as the coin position changes.

Here is an angle which shows the blue luster best. It is not photo shopped to enhance the blue. It is just lighting using the LED on the microscope with the incandescent lights turned off. The same color appears if held at the correct angle with all lights on.

 

Forget the criticism. This is the seller's photo:

 

All coins suffer something with age. Buying is comparison, and some details coins are more handsome that those that are not. In my Liberty nickel collection, the corrosion factor, party caused by washing the coins for return to circulation, makes appearance over grading my guide.

 

I have before and I would again. Some coins are just simply out of reach in any grade straight graded. Not all problems are created equally and sometimes I just think they were being overly harsh anyway

 

I agree with you. It all depends on how much money I either have or am willing to spend. Some coins I want are just too expensive. For higher priced coins I tend to buy certified as many raw coins are priced too high; especially if I'm buying online without seeing them in hand. As mentioned earlier, there are some very nice early coppers which may not get a straight grade due to some minor environmental damage. Depending on the series, I have no problem buying a details coin.

 

Not to derail, but using the other person's image in this scenario is perfectly fine - You're using it for educational purposes, and not using his photos to sell it.

Now back to our regularly scheduled thread topic...


I'll buy details coins, but usually only raw. I don't see the need to pay what typically turns out to be a premium because the selling party had to spend money to be told what is clearly visible. Only exception would be when I find something I want at GC or HA, as all of their stuff is usually slabbed. But I won't pay a premium because they had it slabbed.

 

I have become increasingly picky with the US coins for my collection, particularly since I am starting to abandon collecting US coins altogether.

But here is a details coin I bought. I paid $400, and most dealers gawk over the obverse detail (though one offered me $20 for it, to which I replied I would happily triple his money on anything similar he acquired).

 

With coins, cosmetics are king. Even with a "details" grade, people will pay a good price for some problem coins
Personally, I would buy a problem coin, ie, a cleaned one, that was not cleaned with sandpaper, etc. This is especially true with Type coins, as most just want a really good representative of the Type, not rarities

From browsing EBay, I have seen many anCosmeticsd many details coins, with the seller asking the price of the details grade, without regard to the fact its a problem coin.
Cosmetics are primary. I once saw an obviously whizzed dollar on EBay. You could easily see the curved scratch marks, but bidding was high.
EBay has the numbers, and you can find anything, but it seems most are trying to pass off junk to the ignorant, at real coin prices

 

So is everything on Amazon. The coin is indifferent these days. It's the slab, the grade in ink under it, the tracking even.

 

The coin makes the label and grade so really not sure what your point is.

I agree as well. Sometimes I just don't care something is a details grade, other times I'd like something more than an ugly coin that actually has some details. A lot really just depends what happened to it, plenty of details coins are still attractive.

 

Every once in a while, I will buy coins with a "questionable color" designation and then put them in my Dansco 7070 album. Some coins, particularly ASE's, are often artically toned. However, I've gotten a few coins that I'm pretty sure are naturally toned at a low price.

 

Some eons ago I really wanted to get a Mexican Maximillian Peso. After finding out that buying a nice specimen might mean forgoing nourishment for a week or two, I gave up and stored the longing desire on a neuron. Later, possibly on E-bay (the wonderful early days, at least) I saw a Maximilian Peso selling for far less than I ever thought I would ever see one. In other words, I could afford it. The catch: it had a hole at 12 o'clock, smaller than a BB but still a hole. You could read a magazine right through it. On top of that, the coin wasn't in exactly museum quality condition, but the price sucked me in like a lamprey on bass. I still have it. It gives me a good laugh now and then. I probably made that dealer's day.

 

Just remember I have the first shot if you decide to dispose of this "problem."

 

I would counter that "honest wear" with what I feel is "honest damage". No one attempted to "fix" the coin I bought, it's just that whatever storage solution that the person who originally had it in, just didn't work out. And for the coin I got, I feel that the original curator tried pretty hard!. Could have been humidity, coin composition, poor storage or could have been numerous things. But it was still honest.
To consider coins unworthy due to a glitch in their lifespan to me is kind of silly. If you like it, well just like it! And heck, I would gladly have my less than perfect coin than a worn "perfect example for grade".