Hey everyone. In preparation for a coin show Saturday, I was scouring heritages recent auctions to get an approximation on what I should pay for a nice MS Indian Head Quarter Eagle, when I realized that recently, (all 1909) a MS62 sold for about $500, a MS63 sold for $1000, and a MS64 sold for almost $2000! What I would like to know is if anyone has any advice on how to tell the difference between these grades. I feel as though that knowledge could be very useful, for instance if I saw a MS62 this weekend at the coin show,but It just really seems MS63 to me, that this could really enlarge my coin collecting budget. I feel like knowing the differences between these grades could one day potentially give me a nice break. Any advice?
I have three bits of advice. First, start with an easier to grade coin. Indian head quarter eagles are the toughest US coin to grade because they're small gold coins with incuse designs. Second, the way to learn to grade is to look at a lot of coins. Seriously, look at at least 1-200 Indian quarter eagles before you think about buying one. Finally, find a trustworthy dealer or advanced collector and learn everything you can from them.
I appreciate your advice...and that may be why on my earlier post the grades people said my Indian Head was ranged from XF to almost mint. But that sucks because I love collecting them /because/ they are incusive. That very fact makes them stand out!(haha that's a funny thought). Anyways, this seems like a very interesting set of coins to pursue. And very tough. Exciting!
Don't get me wrong. They're great coins. I'm considering starting a collection of them at some point. But, I know I have a lot to learn (and I've been collecting in general for years).
I have to say, if you cannot really tell the difference why pay the money? Find a nice 62 that YOU like, tell the TPG to go to heck, and pay only $500. I don't let anyone, especially a TPG, dictate what I wish to purchase. As a background, though, I have been collecting for almost 40 years now, and started before there were TPG's. I had to learn to grade and appreciate what the coin was worth to me, before there was any "help". Seriously, every grade will have a wide variation of coins within it. There are many 62's I would wish to own over some 64's. Never confuse technical grade with desirability. Way, way too much technical grade collecting and too little visual appeal collecting. In the end, the only thing that matters is your appreciation of the coin.
Heck - some really nice AU coins are even better than low MS grades. There can be some big price jumps between the MS grades as you have seen.
Heck yeah. 20-25 years ago AU55-58 seated and capped bust halves was my sweet spot. I simply found the value outstanding. Today, I believe most of these probably reside in MS holders, but I was having a great time buying very slightly worn 19th century coins for a quarter of MS prices.
Zackly! By buying certified coins at the outset, you will be able to pick up on the nuances of grading them. Chris
Nothing like looking at many examples of graded coins and understanding why they graded as they did. Spend the first part of the show inspecting graded examples. Then understand, if a coin carries a huge premium between grades, many times ungraded examples may have minute problems that prevent them from attaining high grades. Or, that huge premium may not hold. You may also start now by looking at PCGS's photo grade at: http://www.pcgs.com/photograde/#/2.5Ind/Grades
Thanks @statequarterguy , I did think to myself I should probably go around the show observing all the quarter eagles I could. Oh the opportunities to look at coins is getting my excited
Normally, this is great advice. But, Indian quarter eagles are probably some of the most heavily faked gold coins. I recall reading that something like 40% of all counterfeit gold seen at PCGS is Indian quarter eagles. That isn't to say you should rely on TPGs, just that there are a lot more missteps one can make with this particular series.
I agree sir. Maybe I wrote this post badly. I was meaning to say if you want a slab, fine, (I like them for authenticity as well), but if to your eye you cannot spot the differences between a 62 and 64, why pay the money? Find the prettiest 62 you like and pay a lot less for the coin. I wasn't trying to comment on slabbed or not sir, at least on this thread.
