I made an implusive buy tonight and I hope I made a good choice. (How very noobish of me...I really was going for an 1884 CC Morgan Dollar but he didnt have any :desk: :headbang First I bought an 79s Morgan Dollar MS64 - $70.00 (originally he was going to charge me 100 but he's a good guy and gave me what I thought was a heck of a deal. NGC values that coin at $60) Second one was 1878s Morgan MS64 for $120.00 (the dealer said he had to sell me it at that price and couldnt go lower. NGC values the coin at $107.50.) So, how did I do? Thanks for looking -Shrek
78s Observe with Line I thought this was kinda of interesting and how it didn't (or maybe it did) effect the grade of the 78s Morgan. You can see there are lines running horizontal like it was cleaned with a brillo pad or something else.. What do you make of this?
Those are polish lines, they happen during the minting process, if the die had been wiped or polished. (Usually in many cases to remove clash marks). As for the coins, if you're happy with them that's all that matters. I wouldn't rely much on the NGC and PCGS Price guides, they tend to be on the high side. Auction results are usually most accurate. From Heritage the last 5 auctions for a 1878-S MS64 are between $79-$89, and the last 4 sales for a 1879-S MS64 are between $56-$69 (not including 1 toned coin that sold in the 80s).
well there's some good news and bad news but that's ok. in the event that I dont make a choice that may not be so wise, could I go to places like Heritage and get an idea and then go to the dealer and negotiate a price or is that rude? (I realize that there is a normally a little wiggle room, I am just not sure how much and how to go about politely asking it, I wouldnt want to offend him/her)
The problem that you are going to have is that many dealers bought their inventory some time ago. But prices have been dropping steadily. So if they bought the coin 2, 3 or 6 months ago - they paid more for it than the coin is selling for today. Thus they are reluctant to sell at current prices because they don't want to take the loss. So when you are buying coins it is best if you go pre-armed with accurate information on current pricing. If the dealer can't or won't meet those prices - and you don't have to tell him, he already knows - then you are better off to politely say no thanks and look elsewhere.
