Help me decide which coin to get

Assuming both are genuine, I'd go for the CB quarter, because I don't have one and I think they are more interesting from a historical standpoint. I don't have a Franklin graded MS66, either, but I do have a few Franklins. But that's me. None of us can judge which you would be happier with. If you are thinking of investment, either is a gamble, because, as noted above, even rare coins can go up or down depending on collector/investor whim, and certainly that can happen with not-so-rare coins.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I am ever so slightly leaning towards the quarter, since finding another affordable specimen will likely be much harder than finding another nicely toned Franklin. But, I don't know, the toning on that half-dollar is pretty sweet!

 

Good points. I shouldn't say the CB quarter is problem free since what do I know. But it does look nice and doesn't seem to have any glaring problems.

Coming into modern coins from ancients, I guess I don't have quite the ingrown revulsion to things like cleaning, holes, dings, etc. that many modern collectors do. That can cut two ways: I'm more likely to be able to afford and enjoy coins that others wouldn't, but I also won't be able to easily recoup costs if I ever decide to sell.

 

The older the better. In coins that is.
Best farm fresh from a field.

 

I'd go for the newer coin....PCGS graded MS-66....probably has very good eye-appeal.

 

While I do buy some raw coins for grading I mostly stick to graded coins. But I do like some of the nicely toned moderns. I would go for the graded coin - but my current type set contains VF to MS-67 (all moderns). I have yet to find the franklin with my type of toning that I would buy - of course since a modern I do not look real hard. I keep waiting for one of my favorite dealers to get one that I can just buy. I seem to lose all auctions I bid on.

 

A simple solution to losing auctions is to just bid higher. I think most coins at auctions will cost you more but higher bids does help.

 

Fun fact... a lot of the time, the dealer is your competition at the auction. I can't tell you the number of times I wasn't aggressive enough in bidding, only to see that same coin marked up a certain percentage sitting in some dealer's inventory.

If you bid a bit more, you can cut out the middleman. In the end, the auction will usually be cheaper.