Here is an interesting coin that I ran across recently (did not win). It is in an old Hallmark slab and a much better date than one normally sees in a non top 5 (PCGS/NGC/Anacs/ICG/CACG) holder. Hallmark called it PQ and it has survived in the old holder. If you were trying to price this coin, what would you do? Based on the photo (that is all I have), would you consider it PQ for the grade, acceptable, or overgraded? And how would that impact your pricing? Here are some guide numbers from Heritage as a reference
Does “PQ” mean “Proof Quality”? An obsolete term for “Proof-like” (PL) maybe? Looks like it would walk the walk in a crossover, to me, it’s an excellent coin. MS63+PL.
I would reason that PQ means 'premium Quality,' an old Paul Sims trick at grading. Judging by the photog, I'd hazard the coin itself is undergraded.
well lets start with the coin itself.. from those pics (very good overall i think) I would give it as high a grade as 65, but that brown spot on the reverse I think held it back and would likely do similar with a top tpg... I do however think it would lose the "PQ" or "PL" If I were buying it I think i would offer MS61-62 money(no PL) but if he wouldn't take less I think straight ms63 would be my max offer.
PQ = Premium Quality Nice coin in a nice vintage holder. Hallmark slabs (which used the same parts as old PCI) are kind of rare. From what I've seen, they were pretty conservative, too. I'd be inclined to agree with the PQ on that one, and would imagine the coin has upgrade potential if it were submitted to a modern TPG. I wouldn't do that, though. I'd keep it in the rare plastic.
I would look at it as a normal (not PL) raw coin and from the pics would value it as MS63 if it were to be graded by the big 3. It doesn't look cleaned and if I were to make an offer to buy it I would give MS62 dollars.
For more on the listing, it was part of a lot on Great Collections (linked below). There were 10 total Hallmark slabs ranging from common to slightly better coins. And this Morgan was the standout (as it was worth much more than the rest of the coins). I found it odd that someone would list a lot like this instead of selling the Morgan on its own (probably sending it to PCGS/NGC first). I valued the Morgan somewhere in between MS 62 and 63 greysheet levels (from the Heritage snippet) and was hoping that the whole lot would sneak by at the price of the Morgan as 63 (about 2,200 total). It did not happen as multiple other people saw the lot and it ended at 3,487.50 with the buyer's fee. That might still end up a decent price if someone gets a good grade on the Morgan and splits up the rest of the coins. https://www.greatcollections.com/Co...ection-in-Off-Brand-Hallmark-Holders-10-Coins
93s and 95s worth big bucks any condition any mint mark.. I actualy thought the prices on the low side. god knows I paid 400 for my 93 in f12 (but really vf15-20) and that wasn't a bad price at the time I believe list for f12 was 400...
I would say that it meets the grade and no more. “Hallmark” was the name of this company when Dave Bowers was involved with it. My experience was most of the coins were okay, but NGC and PCGS beat them out in the market, and the company was sold to become ICG. ICG graded coins have been all over the place with respect to accurate grading. Some could cross to the “big two” at the same or even higher grade. Others couldn’t.
Yes, my relative inexperience with the series is showing. I haven’t collected Morgans by date much- only as type coins. I knew about the ‘93-S, of course.
Hallmark was sold to PCI, who then went through several ownership changes across the following decades. The early PCI was generally considered solid but the later generations became gradually worse (someone still owns it to this day and is now on the verge of a basement grader). from Conder101 about Hallmark: "The company was probably counting on the excellent reputation of their parent company, Bowers & Merena, to help them make it in the market place. Begun around 1987, Hallmark only managed to survive for approximately four years before it went out of business. Once they closed, PCI bought all of their slab shells and supplies."
That’s a tough date coin, not the key date but hard to obtain. I think it would grade a point higher if sent to cross. It’s at least a $2300 coin. Given the overall price for the set I would have bought them myself if I knew about them.
