Please, Stop Asking "Should I Send My Error Coin In?"

For the life of me, I honestly don't understand why so many people ask this question. Here are some points to ponder if you find yourself asking it.

1. Do you know what the error type (or types) is and what diagnostics the error type should feature? (Or errors as many have more than one.) If you don't know, why are you sending it in? Do you really have $60-$80 to waste? Chances are, collectors who really don't know or study error types often just submit coins that are just damaged/altered.

2. Do you even know if it's genuine? If not, why pay $60-$80 for someone else to tell you that information? (And on top of that, wait several months for the answer.) There are experts you can ask, including myself and many others in this forum. (Don't ask your local coin shop dealer. Chances are despite their so-called "confidence" and "expertise," they very likely have absolutely no idea.) And if you don't like our answers, then why are you here, and why did you ask? If you want someone who will do nothing but praise you and tell you how smart you are, then just ask your mother.

3. If you already know what the error is, again, why are you sending it in? Why do you want to pay $60-$80 for someone to tell you what you already know? Save that money and buy more coins, or better yet - buy some books.

4. Be prepared to eat the grading fees. Don't think for 1 second a smart collector is going to cover your grading fees when you go to sell it. Only an idiot would pay $120 for a $40 coin, or $300 for a $220 coin, just because it is entombed in a clear plastic coffin with a paper headstone. You want to pay for that service? Expect to eat the cost or lie about it's value to a foolish collector.

5. Do you even know the approximate value of your error coin if it even is genuine? Why send in a coin if it is worth less, equal to, or only slightly more than the cost of sending it to a grading company (around $60-$80)? The fact that so many people send in coins worth less than $100 is mind-boggling. Why throw away your money? As I said already, save your money and buy more coins, or better yet, buy some books to educate yourself or read some online error pages on the web (most of which are free!)

6. With Mint errors, be prepared that your attribution might be incorrect or partially incorrect. (A friend of mine in Buffalo collects error coins with the wrong error type on the label; he has over 60.) Or your description might be way too general ("defective planchet" instead of "blow hole") and not be as satisfying as you'd like.

7. Another issue is that all the error types might not even fit on the label. For example, look at the coin below. There is no way everything would fit on a label, and for some people, because it isn't on there then it leaves room for doubt to an uneducated buyer who might say you are "lying to inflate the value."

This coin below is:
1. Broadstruck
2. Double struck with a 50% rotation.
3. The 2nd strike is Off-center by about 50%.
4. There are multiple clashed dies.
5. The clashed dies, however, are only on the first strike. This means the second strike came from a different die pairing.



How the heck can that all fit on a label? I certainly wouldn't want anything missing from it as all those factors help increase it's value.

8. Coins in slabs are more of a pain to store, and they scratch easily which can ruin the enjoyment of looking at them. And scratch-proof holders have other issues that make them undesirable.

9. Sometimes (and I have no idea why they do this and why they don't think it is a problem), the date and/or mintmark - the most important thing error collectors want to see on a coin - is hidden! For example, PCGS and NGC have prong inserts that hold the coin, yet I have several coins where in doing so the date/mintmark is hidden or partially obstructed...WHY??? Are you KIDDING ME???





10. I submit coins to grading for only FIVE reasons.
a. I want the provenance or archived collection printed on the label, because where it came from matters.
b. I want the coin conserved.
c. I found a "Discovery" coin.
d. The coin will likely fetch a heck of a lot of money if I list if for sale, like at an auction (over $2,000), and certifying it as genuine and undamaged will attract more serious buyers.
e. I want fakes/altered coins slabbed by ICG for use in seminars.

Other than that, I highly recommend you just keep them in a paper 2x2 or a non PVC plastic holder. Your wallet will thank me later.

~Joe Cronin

 

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Great advice but you are mostly preaching to the choir. Most of the people who will read this are CT regulars and already know what you trying to get across. Some of the best advice is buy a book and educate yourself. This post makes a great "Cliffs Notes" of your book which I have read. You tube educated error hunters will still be posting road kill and asking "is this an error?", "how much is it worth?". Many will argue with the honest and knowledgeable responses. If I have the time and patience I will copy and paste this post as a response if you are ok with that. At any rate thanks for a informative post and an awesome book.

 

We can share this thread with the newbies who ask
"Should I get this graded?"

@Dynoking
Ha. You said it!

@JCro57 The thing that irks me the most is when the newbies state.. "I'm positive this is not damage" or "I'm 95% sure this is not PMD"

 

I'm 95% sure I'll never find a coin in the wild worth enough to even consider sending in, lol

 

lol...if you guys would stop collecting quality control failures errors, there wouldn't be a market for them anymore. Poof...no more questions!!!

 

Great post Joe. The biggest problem in summary is, you can only lead a horse to water

 

Great information for both new and old collectors! I've been collecting for years, but just started learning about errors since joining CT in December of last year. I don't plan on ever sending an error coin anywhere! I post them here and wait for expert advise from members! Then I put them in a 2X2, note what they are, and keep them!

 

Some, you need to kick into the pond, hold them down and drown them . . . .

(the horses . . . . not the posters . . .)

Z

 

We may have left out the true reason we see the question. Most people are too lazy to research their own coins and they hope that the fine folks on this forum will do it for them.

 

And let's not forget the largest influencer of them all ~~ YOUTUBE!! Pocket change to Bitcoins ! ...or such videos. Everyone is then a self_+ youtube = 100% error Expert.


disclosure.
(I have used YT for educational videos and lectures over the covid years of teaching because they have a nice (and free) Closed Caption capability which teachers are required to provide online for videos, so I do not blame YT for the platform).

Jim

 

Newb: "Should I have my coin graded?"
Me: "Yes."

 

I have used YT to save hundreds of dollars in repairs. A $400 repair to my car cost only $24 and took 1 hour. But, like you say, it does get abused.

 

I have to disagree on question #3. Having a coin authenticated and slabbed by a well known TPG can; validate the coin, protect it from damage, and in some cases increase the value. Having said that, I've never sent anything in to a TPG, but probably will in the future, like my raw three legged Buffalo nickel.

 

Here's another most websites need updating. The history is there but really hard if not lack of info to go on as business strikes from circulation coins but there and harder to find. 10 have checked out and sent in will keep posted on the news when I get the coins back.

 

Last question I couldn't afford all to go to the same grading place without signing a profit of 30% interest rate is that high to sign for

 

Whoosh.. Right over your head!

 

I haven't the slightest idea what you just said.

 

Not much into errors but that 99 Jefferson is way cool.

 

Hmmm, can we think about that for a bit?