I just came in possession of this coin from my grandfathers collection. The coin has been incased in cardboard and a plastic window. I would like to sell it for as much as possible but in this case I was wondering if I could get more money from a deal if I had the coin graded professionally by PCGS, for instance. The coin has a grade written on the cardboard case, says MS63, but I'm not sure how much weight this would carry with a dealer. There's the Long Beach Coin Show coming up this week and I wanted to get some advice before then, as to whether I would benefit from having this coin graded before selling it or just attempting to sell it without having it graded.
Welcome to CoinTalk. You don't have enough time to get your coin graded before the Long Beach show (unless you pay for Rush service - which will cost you a pretty penny). I would recommend that you take your coin - as is - to the show and get opinions from several dealers there. The dealers will disregard the grade that is written on the 2X2 and grade the coin themselves. Whatever you do DO NOT do anything to the coin. DO NOT clean the coin!! Anything you do will only damage the coin and reduce its value.
For that matter the dealers will disregard the grade on a slab and grade it themselves. Selling a slabbed coin vs a raw coin is only of benefit when you are selling the coin to somebody who does not know how to grade for themselves. Knowledgeable collectors and dealers alike ignore any grade assigned by a TPG or any grade written or a flip.
Thanks a lot! I have collected coins myself and know not to clean them. This is however the first time that I've decided to sell a coin and also I don't have any graded coins. I take more pleasure in just finding these coins myself, most of which have been given to me by relatives who have held onto coins from years past. Once again, thanks for the advice!
Ninstarmon, you will learn a lot over here and I would recomend you not to sell the coin (if you are interested in coin collecting). Instead, I recommend you to learn more, research about the coin and learn how to grade.
Man...Hobo hit the nail on the head. Get several dealers opinions. You'll be surprised how varying the amount of money each will offer you. I would do some research before you go to the show, just so you know what to expect.
