MS 63 or 64 for a Saint Gauden?

I have previously only gone with bullion but decided I wanted an old coin. I don't plan to sell it but I also like to keep my options open in the future. I have previously posted and got good advice from the board where to search. I have found 5 PCGS graded coins that to my novice eye look good and I would be happy with. They are all common dates and grade either 63 or 64. I decided that I didn't like anything I was seeing MS 61 and below. It seemed like 63 was a point where I was seeing some nice coins. I have a real hard time even seeing the difference in a 63 and a 64. I don't want to pay the jump from 64 to 65.

What I need help is deciding if paying an extra$150 to 200 is worth the jump from 63 to 64? If I were to ever sell is there a minimum grade to be concerned with in terms of buyers interest. If 63 and 64 will rise or fall at the same rate should I keep the extra money and go with a 63.

Any insight or experience would be appreciated.

 

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Tough to say without pictures. The difference between a C 63 and an A 64 is going to be very noticeable. Due to how baggy gold can get I find it's typically worth it to go for 64 or better, but I still consider 63 to be an attractive grade. Below that and you might be better off with a nice 58.

 

I agree 100% with @Jaelus. Generally speaking, if I'm looking at MS coins, I don't even look at anything below MS63. If I want MS and can't afford MS63 or better, I start looking at nice AU55 and 58's.

In your place, I'd look at a lot of MS65 coins just to see what they look like, and then find a coin where the label says MS64 but the look says MS65. They're out there!

 

The greysheet bid b/t 63 & 64 is only $70, So IMO pay the extra $70-$100 for a 64 coin.

 

Not worth an $150 for a 64 coin. These common date $20 will rise and fall with the price of gold.

 

If you choose a really common issue like the 1924, 1927 or 1928 take a MS64 with good eye appeal.

Maybe the better choice would be a hand selected rarer year of issue like the 1913 D or 1910 in MS63.

 

Checking eBay completed auctions, 63s start around $1300, which is 15% above today's spot, and you need to be quite patient to find them there at that price. Median price appears to be north of $1450.

64s start around $100 higher; the median for them appears to be around $1600.

Of course, spot has fluctuated during the period spanned by those auctions, but not by that much.

 

Common date St. Gaudens are basically bullion, with minimal extra numismatic value. I would get the prettiest coin I could afford, regardless of grade. This is, unless it is one of the fewer key dates.

 

If they sold it at a 10% premium above spot they'd be taking a loss after listing fees, final value fees, PayPal fees, and of course, grading fees (and the risk). Assume they need something around spot + 15% just to break even.

 

That depends entirely on how much they paid for the coin, of course. Heirs, thieves, and poor planners are still regularly selling gold to dealers for less than spot.

 

When people say 15% over spot are you assuming the spot of 1 oz of Gold or an adjusted spot for the gold content in a Saint. Its not huge but there is some difference in dollars.

 

I'd assume that meant the actual gold content of 0.96750 oz.

 

About $45 difference based on today's spot gold price.

 

That is interesting. I'm not sure how to interpret those discrete numbers ($1292 and $1351), nor the ones that went for $1233 -- after factoring out the 17.5% buyer's premium, those sellers got a good $100 under melt out of their coins.

One message I can take out of this is that HA is apparently a terrible place to sell commodity Saints -- in general, you'd do better just selling them off to a place like Provident.

 

And, as a general rule, the people who sell this type of material on Heritage are a bit less knowledgeable than those who sell on eBay. More buyers on eBay make for higher demand and higher prices. Why would anyone want to sell this type of material on Heritage?

 

I can't see the prices without login.

Do the final prices factor in the buyer premium?

Would it be $1518/1587?

 

Yes, the final prices we were discussing included the buyer premium. So, no, the final prices would not be $1500+ for these coins, although there were some 63s that did go that high or higher, presumably better dates or otherwise more appealing coins.