Err I feel so uneducated with all this stuff, seems I'm always finding out something I don't know about. So got this Maryland state quarter recently in a random assortment of coins. But the grade has no number? It's just Brilliant Uncirculated (BU?). Anyways probably a stupid thing to ask . Thanks as always guys.
This coin is not graded, however it is certified by NGC to be a Mint State (BU) coin. So it is probably somewhere between MS60 and MS62. Between MS63 and 64 it would be certified Choice BU, and above MS65 it would be certified Gem BU. I am not 100% positive, but I believe this is how it would come from NGC as a certified, but not formally graded coin.
Ahh interesting, thanks for the info howboutatrade. At least I got some graded ones in the bundle lol. One more question any idea where I can find a site to help me price my auctions? Like 1960 P MS70 and some other modern coins.... tried google found responses like "lol worth a penny" >.>
I am a little confused. Are you saying they don't give actual number grades to modern coins? Why wouldn't it say MS61 or MS65 ?
The TPG's do grade moderns, but some folks send coins in and just have the certified MS work completed as it is cheaper. Maybe they ask the TPG to only grade above MS65, and others get certified but not graded. Usually done when a dealer / collector sends in a big batch they may have not reviewed themselves, like early issue rolls where the packaging has to be sent as well so they can get First Strike, or Early Release designations.
Basically, here's the deal... Normally, grading fees are around $20/coin or more. But why pay $20 to certify a coin worth $10 ? Certain common coins are submitted in enormous bulk lots - thousands of coins. The submitter gets the coins slabbed cheap as NGC doesn't have to get picky about the difference between MS62 and MS63... they just crank 'em out as "BU" and they're done. They probably do 'em an entire roll at a time... They spend 15 seconds on an entire roll of 40 Washington quarters, for example. That's less than 1 second per coin, so their costs are low. Even Morgan dollars are done that way.
Oh wow, I did not know that. So I understand, it is possible that the coin in a slab with "Brilliant Uncirculated" can in fact be anywhere between ms60-ms70?
Typically when you see a slab labeled Brilliant Uncirculated it is because of a bulk submission with a minimum grade stipulation. Someone send in a bag of quarters or whatever and says don't grade them unless they are MS-66 or better. Everything MS-66 and up comes back graded, everything else comes back BU. The rate charged to the submitter is based on how many come back graded. The more coins that make his minimum grade the less he gets charged per coin. If enough come back graded he may only have to only pay for the ones that grade. (It's interesting . The more that come back as high grade the more money the dealer will make and the less money PCGS will charge him.) These deals are now only available to authorized dealers.
