To grade or not to grade? (2015 P penny)

Welcome @Kristine Garrant
You have some good questions and show that you are truly interested in learning. That can't be said for many new people here. Like you said, they are looking for the pay out and don't actually care to learn.
If you can put up with the (mostly good natured) ribbing from the members here, you will learn quite a bit.
Keep searching and keep asking questions!

 

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Kristine,

I've been a member here now for going on seven years. I had the same complaint you do when I first became a member about negative comments. Comments were not directed at me, but I noticed a lot of negative responses to new members (and new collectors) who were simply asking questions to further their knowledge. This seems to be one way to drive off new members of the coin collecting community. One thing that will help with some of these snarky responses is to do a little background inquiry (Google if nothing else) to brush up on the topic before asking a question or making a comment. That seems to deflate some of the negativity in response. Nonetheless, you keep asking your questions and then pick through the responses. Those of us who are really interested in helping to further the field of coin collecting will continue to answer questions from new members without the ridiculous responses. If necessary, you can "block" any posts by individuals you simply don't want to hear from. There are a lot of great members here with tons of experience who will answer your questions, as @Randy Abercrombie and @Paddy54 and @Kevin Mader and @longarm, and others did. Keep on searching! Have a great day!

 

My 2c in a nutshell because some here are fast typists or have more free time than others.

Kristine Garrant, asked: :Ok so i do understand that I am searching for opinions only. Being new and all...would you get this graded or is it to 'new'?

NO, unless you have a particular personal reason. Others here -have taken the time to explain some of the reasons/choices. After reading ALL you have written, I know, you understand that there is virtually no chance that anything found CRH is going to be worth a $35 grading fee, postage both ways, and at least a three month wait!

I think a better way for you to understand your coin would be to post a "Guess the Grade" and ask posters for reasons they assigned their grade opinion to the coin.

 

Welcome to this 'zoo' we call Coin Talk. It is a good place to learn about the hobby but you have to temper yourself to getting some flippant answers. Most of the members here try to HELP collectors, new and old, but you need to follow the forum for a while to learn which ones to "weed out." There is no test or degree required to join and give your 2¢, so take answers with a grain of salt.


As for paying to have a coin graded, authenticated, conserved, or slabbed, the answers given from members above are good guidelines, in my opinion. I, for one, have never send anything to a TPG as I keep what I like and if I want protection for the item, I self-slab it (you can buy slabs for just about any size coin).


The reasons I can think of for sending anything to a TPG, is to One: get a professional assessment of the grade for value purposes, Two: have something authenticated, Three: have it conserved (repaired, enhanced, etc.), Four: have it sealed for its protection due to historic or sentimental value.


Age has very little to do with it, so being too new usually isn't a factor. I've read about people that have items graded and sealed simply because they love looking at it and want it protected while handling it, while others want to hopefully increase the value to sell it, so everyone has their own reasons for spending money to have a company do what they do.


Having your father and brother (sorry for your losses) as collectors has probably left you with the curiosity a numismatist has, so welcome to the hobby. I have to assume that you have access to a Red Book, old or new, doesn't matter. It has a ton of good information regarding coins, but don't rely on the values as they fluctuate too much to be accurate.


Feel free to ask your questions here, posting FULL IMAGE photos of both sides that are in focus, and cropped to show just the coin, and close-ups of particular areas of concern, and members will give you their FREE opinions.


Good luck

 

It's a zincoln a million anomalies to one found error. They are out there but you would be better to change the effort to pre 1982 cents. Thanks for sharing and good luck.

 

When a member averages around 25 posts/day, everyday since he joined 16 months ago, you might expect poor quality of some/many.

 

Thank you!

 

To be honest I am loooking at the differnt varities, errors and specifics of US couns in general. I guess for example I could sit in the drivers seat of a car, but unless I knew how to operate it in the correct consecutive steps and how to maintainand identify the parts of a car...then it would just be a shiny metal thing that I could ooh and ahh over. Lol

 

But isnt that what i said? Lol. I am trying to understand the nature of things because I see alot of variances in how people adddress a coin and i look at most pictures that are clearly defined and swear all I see is the letter "R" (for example). I can not precees without a better understanding, not to mention maximizing time and curbing redundancy. Thank you for your time!

 

Welcome!!!

Comparing good images and graded coins in hand (if possible) is the best way to judge. Especially if what you're looking for are coins in exceptionally high grades.

Look at the the smooth unaltered "fields" of highly graded coins.
Then notice the lack of contact marks on the "devices" (all the details of the design).
There is a lot to take in! You'll realize and learn more as you go
When you start to get into those amazing grades, 68, 69, you will learn that much more matters because the grading gets exponentially more detail oriented...dings on the edges, slide/scrapes you only notice from one weird angle, eye appeal, centering, strike quality...

Simple tip...rotate and swivel the coin as you look...do that while the coin makes a full 360 and you're going to notice things you only see from one or two angles.

One of the best resources is the actual coin listing like @longarm mentioned above.

Another is the PCGS Photograde https://www.pcgs.com/photograde

Here is one I cherry picked for condition recently.
Not showing off, just want to show you a comparison coin...because I do think this one will be worth grading, hopefully...always hopefully! lol.

 

Sold listings on eBay show this coin in MS67 RD condition went for $28-$75. Your coin would NOT get that designation, so you would be throwing good money away.

The Zinc Blisters(Gas bubbles) are actually a result of the internal zinc cores not being washed properly before being copper coated. Ultimately they are cancer for the coin, it will deteriorate to nothing over time with the core being exposed to the elements.

I hope this helps you

I will also add, that the guidelines given for determining whether or not to grade a coin given above are good tips. I personally have only graded one coin as it's grade was borderline Very Fine and Extremely Fine. The VF coin would be worth $350, XF $1100, it turned out to be XF, so in my case it was $60 well spent.

 

If you're looking for errors and varieties, the key is understand the minting and die making processes. Here are some sites to get you started. As with anything, it takes time and study to get good, but in the long run, you won't waste time on PMD and be able to recognize true errors that you may now be missing

The following sites are good to bookmark if you haven't done so
Minting process

https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=104&v=mqPvKxJXC_Y&feature=emb_title (an actual YouTube video that's good)

https://www.coinnews.net/2014/01/06/how-the-denver-mint-makes-dies-to-produce-coins/

https://www.doubleddie.com/58201.html

General errors and varieties
https://www.error-ref.com/
Www.doubleddie.com
Www.varietyvista
http://www.maddieclashes.com/
https://www.doubleddie.com/144801.html (characteristics of MD and other worthless doubling)

There's lots of good info on these sites (For example, Doubled die has RPMs and OPMs), so browse through them frequently. Hope this helps

 

i did find it funny, just would have liked a explanation (your opinion) behind it

 

Sorry @Kristine Garrant. Just in a silly mood that day. Catch you on the next one.

 

great information! i guess this is something that is going to take time for me. I was told by a guy, Blue Ridge Silver Hound i think, on YouTube that there are modern coins with NO errors in great condition that have sold for high dollars. Just because some collector wanted their collection to contain the "pretty shiny ones" and even at a newer year there were hardly any certified at high grades.. He said to check population reports. If a certain coin's highest (i.e pcgs) grade is a 68 and there is only a few and the next highest is a 64 with only a few recorded, then his take on it was a grade of 65 or 66 would still command decent cash.

So I went to pcgs and there are only 2 at 68 and i think that's 180 at grade 67and 6 at 67+. So I would have to have to have a 67+ or above grade for it to be worth anything? and because the price guide says, if i am getting this right, $22 was the going price or what it was sold for? Cause then I see that one on Ebay went for several thousand, Is this just a buyer who was not smart and maybe duped? i just find the differences in price wildly confusing. that's why i picked this 2015 P to get opinions on. I am trying to understand how the value comes into play when estimating for a sale. And the 499 coins that have been graded by pcgs are you saying that all 499 wasted their money on such a new year coin?

thanks for your time!

 

I have been on Wexler's most of the day. it is extremely informative. and thank you for all the info you put out.

But let me give you an example of my confusion. Take the site Variety Vista, lets look at the 1975 DDO-002. ( i have no comprehension of what the 2-O-IV underneath that number means). ...but if you click on it, a series of pictures come up. I am assuming these are in helping to identify that coin and the doubled die properties? but anyways, the first six pictures that are listed--I cannot tell one bit what I am supposed to be seeing as a reference. I understand it should show doubling but they just look like regular letters to me, no different than on a normal coin. then a lot of the pictures of the DDR on this site are of Lincoln sitting in the Memorial. Am I to assume that is the ONLY spot on the reverse that will show the DD?

Also, are the gas bubbles a detriment to the grading score? How much damage has to happen for a coin grade to drop from the uncirculated MS70?

 

i went and check. it seems like the difference might only be determined by one small scratch???!! lol i am more confused. but you do think the picture i posted depicts a Red designation?

 

They are listing die markers to aid in identification. Usually die polish lines, minor cracks, or chips. If you have the variety, you should be able to confirm it also has some/most of the markers

 

I wouldn’t get that coin graded. The grading fee would never pay for itself. But if you’re collecting a Lincoln album, that one would fit in.

 

My intent with this post was just to learn from experts with way more experience and knowledge than me. In trying to learn all the different avenues that go into coin roll hunting for varieties and errors. I picked a coin to use as a sample. I needed to understand the 'why?' behind it. For better comprehension on how to handle a coin if I was serious about one in an attempt to cut down on wasted time and redundancy. Also, I have seen non-error high quality older coins go for decent prices. If it was at high grade and over 30 years old, I get, but I didn't see the allure of recent coins pulling high dollars, because logic would say that a 2015 would have more higher grades available than a 1975 coin. But I was still seeing high prices at auction for some of these newer coins and was trying to see what was so spectacular, it just being a regular strike.

Also, I am trying to get a gist of what i see as far as quality and what another person's opinion might be. I look at examples and I don't see a lot of difference from the one I posted. But on here everyone seems to think it wouldn't get a very high grade if sent off. Of course, I have an untrained, inexperienced eye, so I was attempting to see through yalls eyes. Even looking at PCGS images I still don't understand the difference shown on the 68 and 67. They look the same to me. Now i can see the difference in the 67 and 64. So I guess I now know that it doesn't take much to drop a grade. Very small margin in between. I was hoping for it to be more discernable, thus making a guess at the grade a little easier.