Other than 1 error coin, I have never submitted a coin for grading. Just like to know what your thoughts would be on these coins. Would you keep raw or submit? What type of grade could I expect on those you feel should be submitted. Please be honest, you won't hurt my feelings.
Well for starters I love the bust half. There is a nice die crack on the reverse near the rim. It's hard to tell but I think it may of received an old cleaning. I would grade it at AU-50, at least XF-45. Numismedia values it at $210 problem free slabbed, and $330 for Au-50 So yes, I would slab it and hope it makes AU. I don't like the finish on the trade dollar. I also see a few hairlines, so it might of been an old cleaning too. I would grade it at F-12. There is a rub on the LIBERTY. Numismedia says $150 problem free. I wouldn't leave any trade dollar "out in the cold" so I would certainly slab it. I'm not good at grading morgans but I would say VF-20. If problem free, your talking about $100. Since it's a CC, it wouldn't hurt to slab it. The barber half looks cleaned and I would grade it at VF-30. Problem free it's worth about $140. So you might slab it. I would definitely slab the 14-D cent.
Truly, I would keep them all raw. The 1837 RE half dollar has a rim bruise at 7:00 on the obverse that might get the coin into a problem holder even though otherwise it appears quite nice. The Trade dollar is picking up hairlines very well in the image and I wonder if it might, too, end up in a problem holder. The 1882-CC Morgan would likely show no benefit in value if slabbed and this would go for the 1902 Barber quarter as well. Lastly, the 1914-D Lincoln is of low enough grade, and might have issues, that I would leave it raw.
My bad. I didn't realize the barber was a quarter. I wouldn't slab it. It would be too cost prohibitive.
Wow, now I am really confused. Two responses with 2 different recommendations. I was thinking of having these slabbed because I intend to save them for my 2 grandkids. I thought if I slab them, they would recognize that they were a little more special than the rest. My Dansco 7070 is complete, but mostly lower grade coins. When I started the collection years ago my goal was to complete it, not to collect the highest grade possible. Budget you know. Now that it is complete and I am more knowledgeable (from this site, and reading, reading, reading) I am slowly upgrading the coins. I realize these coins have minor problems, but they are still nice coins. I was considering sending them to ANACS because of the lower cost and because they seem to have more credibility than the lower tiered TPG. I am convinced PCGS and NGC would either body bag them or detail grade them. Even a genuine grading would preserve the value of the coins. Thoughts?
I've recommended to folks many times that ANACS certified coins are often looked at as being either raw or as a problem coin when the time comes to sell. Others may disagree, but this has been my experience as a full-time dealer of type coins. As for certification so as to indicate that these may be better coins; I do not necessarily like this idea. The best way to make certain folks realize what coins are better is to either educate them or to leave detailed, clear instructions attached to the album that the coins are stored in and then to go over these directions with whomever would be responsible for the album. I gave more brief thoughts the first time, but will go into more details here. The RE half dollar is a VF/EF coin and not a possible AU coin. I would grade it as a Ch VF and the possible rim ding really hurts the coin if it is, indeed, a rim ding. The die marriage is a GR-17 and this is an R1, which means it is common and carries no die marriage premium. Coins like this are generally around $150, perhaps less with the possible rim ding. The 1877 Trade dollar looks like an EF to me, but I am somewhat afraid of this coin because the lighting is picking up a few too many obverse hairlines to make me feel comfortable with the surfaces. As a problem-free coin this is about a $200 piece, but if the hairlines are too much and it gets put into a problem holder then the value, obviously, will be hurt. The 1882-CC Morgan dollar appears to be a Ch F to me, but this coin has a very flat price structure and most circulated pieces are $75-$90. If I am interpreting the images correctly, I like the look of the 1902 Barber quarter and think it a VF/EF piece. This puts its value at $50 or thereabouts. The 1914-D Lincoln cent is obviously a better date and has the details of a G4 or so, but the surfaces look a little scuffy. Of course, this may simply be due to the lighting. If it has nice surfaces then it may well be worth upwards of $200 or a bit less. For me, the individual value of each coin is low enough so that the cost of certification eats into the overall value at too high of a percentage, especially if any of these coins come back in a problem holder. The option of ANACS is not attractive to me because I always try to look at downstream sales and the market does not embrace ANACS to the same extent, in my opinion. Others may think that spending approximately 10% of the value of the coins is a good investment for somewhat common coinage, but to me it is too much. Again, it may be worth it to you, but you asked for advice in my advice would be to keep them raw and educate those who may be responsible for the coins or albums in the future. Good luck.
Thanks Tom, this is what I was looking for. Your grading assessment agrees with my personal grading with the exception of the Trade Dollar. I had it at VF and you suggest XF. The RE half is one of my favorite coins. I will confirm the rim ding. However the die crack and the reverse rotation make the coin unique in my opinion. I graded the coin at XF vs. your VF/XF. Close enough, but I respect your grading. I am only a collector, not a dealer, so your experience carries more weight than mine. My other option is to put them in an after market slab such as the ones offered by Air-Tite and label them myself. This would separate them from the Dansco however. I do have a PCGS VF25 1859-O Seated Liberty Dollar outside the album. I placed an IKE in the hole and placed a cutout of the photo over that. Perhaps I could do the same with the others. I have already made the decision to only purchase PCGS or NGC graded coins on any that I upgrade in the future. My concern was to make sure my heirs are not faced with someone thinking they were not genuine. Thanks again for you detailed advise, I really appreciate it.
If your concern is about your heirs, the only 2 I would submit would be the trade and 14d. Other than that I personally wouldn't slab any of them, but would leave a detailed note staying that they are better coins
To me, this seems like your best option for the time being. Putting them into an airtite or hard plastic 2x2 with your notes will serve the purpose of separating them from the "common" coins you have, and allow you to notate them for anyone down the road. It will help preserve the coins better from any damage from booking them, and slow down the effects of being exposed to the outside air. Personally, I like slabs and I would send them in if they were my coins if my budget allowed. But, that's me.
Hi, Sonlarson, I would follow Tom's advice and not take Detecto's. Enjoy them raw and make sure the grandchildren understand their value and importance.
Wouldn't it be a good idea to get the trade dollar slabbed? I know many people are weary about buying a raw trade dollar.
I don't think the marketability of the slabbed Trade Dollar would be enough to off-set the inherent risk-premium associated with submitting the TD. Basically, it looks problematic, so the value of slabbing would be diminished.
Yeah, they are nice coins for sure...you do have good value there. But as others said they aren't really worth getting slabbed if the desire is to sell them at all in the future. If you want to do so just to appease yourself and pass them on, that is one thing and is up to you. But as far as cost vs. premium once slabbed, it isn't really a great difference at all. Personally, even if I was saving them for the long haul to pass them on, I'd just put them in air-tites and be done with it. Nice coins though, and thanks for sharing!
