The toning thread was informative and quite interesting, guys! And I do like toning. But the question of valuation still bounces around. How do you come to a final decision on how much, if any, premium you will pay for a toned coin? Or is it a matter, as a famous Supreme Court Justice once said about obscenity, "I know it when I see it." I have seen a few toned Morgans that I would have liked to add to my collection but the premiums knocked me backwards. I ask this in the quest for knowledge -- and not to provide fodder for challenge or argument....
There are no price guides in the toned coin market. You have to follow the market, understand that not all toning is equal, and be able to evaluate both the toning on the coin along with the overall quality of the coin. A common method of valuing toned coins is to equate the toning to multiples of the established price guide price for that coin in that grade. But if you have a toned coin that was bumped in grade for the color already, you need to be able to discount the price of the coin accordingly. For example, if you have two MS65 Morgan Dollars with exceptional and similar obverse rainbow toning, each coin might drive a price of 10X the established price guide price. But if one of the coins has surfaces that really only deserve a grade of MS64, it becomes necessary to discount the price of the coin accordingly. If you value the coin at 10X MS64, it now becomes worth only 4-5X the MS65 price. Knowing when to make those adjustments based on the overall quality of the coin with respect to all of the elements of grading determine who will get a good deal and who will end up needing a shovel.
Thanks. This is going to take some study and work but you certainly have provided a good starting point.
This one cracks me up "Pop of 1!" http://www.ebay.com/itm/1885-CC-Mor...407452?hash=item2ca320f65c:g:5-MAAOSwAYtWHWi9
Yikes! Seller is dreaming. He's probably hoping for someone to make him a deal. I don't even like that coin. The white balance in the photo must be off because I see all kinds of contact marks on that obverse. AU58+? Not from those pictures.
Not sure about individual coins, but Eternity and Sahara are well over priced...many times above the NGC or PCGS price guides.
Yikes is right! You may feel differently, but I really do not like what 58 has become. It used to offer an opportunity for great value (individual coin dependent, of course) but it seems those days are now past. There simply is too much going on with this coin for it to deserve a 58 imo. The plus? Absolutely not.
I see others doing the same and setting the market. When you want lobster, you pay market price... It's not the worst priced coin though. Far from it.
There's certainly nothing wrong with wanting lobster, and paying for lobster... unless it's actually imitation crabmeat in a plastic shell. "Monster toned" it is not.