There are myriad places on the internet to find coin blogs, coin show reports and coin commentary. Some of these are quite well written and at times very informative; others are sloppy, scattered and/or repetitive while a few are essentially no more than commercials for their authors. The TB Numismatics (TBN) entry into this crowded field isn’t meant to identify the next hot series or to tout an individual coin. Instead, it will be an infrequent contribution of notes or stories from the bourse, written with the intent of giving a glimpse of what it is to be a dealer in this field as well as some advice and lessons learned along the way. The first installment of this series is on a topic I think about and deal with quite often: but-coins. These aren’t curvy, full-figured, can’t-take-your-eyes-off butt coins with two t’s, but instead are otherwise or completely nice coins that for whatever reason just miss the mark. I advise my clients to avoid but-coins because the “but” part is likely to grow into a larger issue over time. I’ll use a few examples, from extremely obvious to very specific, to illustrate the point. No coin thread is complete without images of coins, so I will include a couple coins that are definitely not but-coins to me. Approximately a dozen years ago I was at my table at a show in NJ when a collector approached and offered for sale what appeared to be a wonderful 1877 Indian Head cent. His price was too low on the coin; it was about one-half of what I would have expected to pay for a choice EF. The obverse was a darker brown with little wear and no distracting marks, hairlines or gouges. The reverse was an entirely different story. Unfortunately, this particular 1877 Indian Head cent had been chosen to be the host coin for a love token and the reverse had been completely ground off to a flat plane. Around the perimeter of the reverse was the beginning of the engraving that would make up a finished love token, but it was never completed. It was a darn shame and something that I would not invest any significant money into acquiring. Some might buy a coin like this because of the remaining obverse details and they might assume it was a bargain, but it isn’t. After all, they would be essentially paying half price for half a coin. From the rather large pool of but-coins offered to me from the general public, this was by far the largest but-coin in the group and can be considered an outlier. More common is the recent experience of a client asking to see an early, branch mint dime. The images on my site were clear and I had purchased the coin with the idea that someone like this client would love the coin. I shipped the coin off and received a rather long, apparently tortured email response upon the coin’s arrival. It was everything he wanted in terms of grade, color, surface preservation and the number and placement of marks, but it was slightly weakly struck over one design feature. He apologized for ordering the coin, even though this area of weakness was clearly visible in the images, and he was trying to talk himself into keeping the coin. I told him to ship it back since it clearly did not meet all of his criteria. He may very well have decided to keep the coin without my urging him to send it back, but it really would do him no good to have a coin that did not meet all of his requirements. A similar, but slightly odder thing happened with a truly choice, VF 1700s silver coin shipped to another client. I had never thought of it, but some clients want specific die rotations for the coins in their collections and this client could not determine the die rotation of the coin from my images. It turned out that the reverse was rotated perhaps ten degrees with respect to the obverse and this was too much of a rotation for this collector to accept. It seemed extreme to me to return a completely original, beautiful coin that was so tough in this grade range, but again it did not match what the collector had wanted to incorporate into his set. The upside with the 1700s silver coin was that it sold quite quickly to another very happy collector shortly thereafter, in contrast to the previously described early branch mint dime that had been requested by two clients while it was en route to and from the client who rejected the coin. Those two clients did not want to see the coin after it was returned, presumably because they thought there was another issue with the piece aside from it being a but-coin. These three examples are not necessarily the norm for but-coins. The ground down reverse to the 1877 Indian Head cent is a far more extreme case than will normally be encountered while the branch mint dime and 1700s silver coin are very mild but-coins that were problematic to a certain segment of the collecting pool due to what many would consider a minor quirk or characteristic. In my experience, but-coins are often pieces that have one or more prominent digs in otherwise acceptable fields, feature rim dings, show a cornucopia of carbon spots on copper or nickel, reveal patches of hairlines when tilted, are dipped-out, or simply display secondary toning when they are being examined by someone who wants unmitigated originality. Personally, I do not like to include but-coins in my collection and I attempt to avoid advocating for such coins when it comes to my clients. It is important to note that not all coins are perfect and that waiting for an MS70 to appear in a VF30 holder will result in a mighty slim collection. However, it is also important to maintain some internal standards of quality not only for personal enjoyment, but also with the realization that most every coin that is purchased is one day sold and those coins that are enjoyed most by their current owners have a better chance to find happy homes rather quickly when the time for parting arrives. Therefore, I think it good advice to think about your collection, your collecting goals and the typical qualities of the coins that will be required to fulfill those goals prior to jumping into a niche collection headlong. Additionally, a little discipline can go a long way toward improving the overall eye appeal of a group of coins. Lastly, while some (not me) preach the power of the “filler” until a better piece can be had, the willingness to wait and pay up for the right coin is a critical trait, as is the knowledge to pass up the wrong coin even though it might be a “bargain”.
Question, Tom.......... If you happen to find a coin that is to your liking after a visual inspection without magnification, will it sometimes end up being a "but coin"? Do you tend to really pick a coin apart under magnification, or if the coin "stops you in your tracks initially" everything else is relatively minor? Chris
I don't expect perfection in any coin I purchase. To me, a but-coin would be more along the lines of an otherwise perfect EF Seated Liberty dollar with a nasty rim bruise that has flattened an obvious portion of the obverse rim. Some folks would buy that coin for rather strong money because they would reason that they couldn't afford an EF piece if not for the rim bruise. That may be perfectly acceptable to that person and it may or may not prove satisfactory in the future. In my experience with speaking to collectors, these types of issues grow bothersome over time. Visual inspection without a loupe can get rid of the vast majority of coins that will eventually be rejected. The loupe typically comes into play to inspect surface integrity, so I guess the answer would be that the loupe could definitely play a role in defining a coin as a but-coin.
Really enjoyed the post. I understand perfectly the definition and why I should avoid the "but" coin. It is hard at times to avoid getting that "filler" coin, but I try to remind myself that the "filler" coin will likely be a money loser, thus costing you more for the real coin you want to take its place.
I totally understand about but coins I bought several when I first started buying online at coin auctions they were coins I never saw locally and I was just getting real serious again so I bought coins that were fairly rare but all had problems now I'd love to get rid of all of them and use the money to buy one good example
I call them "but for" coins. "But for this (insert ugly mark, prominent scratch, harshly cleaned surface, black toning, etc.) I really like this coin." They do not get better over time and they usually mean, once dissatisfaction eventually settles in and a decision is reached to sell, a loss to the collector. That's been my experience anyway and it can be an expensive lesson!
So if it has a split grade of EF40/PO1 does that mean its net grade is VF20 lol... Thanks for all of your great illustrations!
That 1838 Reeded Edge Half is a perfect example of a but-coin. It's deliciously beautiful, but it should be in my collection.
