Iam not really a coin guy though i did collect St. Gaudens and Liberty $20 Gold pieces way back when :bigeyes: But my question is do grades matter on 1oz Gold and Silver Bullion Coins like the Buffalo,s, Silver eagles, Krugerands, Etc The thinking there is who cares what the grade is your just Looking at the precious metal content....Right???
In my opinion, if you are not obsessed with being number 1 of your PCGS/NGC registry set, don't even buy the coin graded! It doesn't matter at all, I can't tell the difference between a 69 or 70, don't know who honestly can. The only thing that matters, or that should matter with a BULLION coin, is the content, and the value of that content. Of course, there are exceptions to that. With coins with lower mintages and such, but if you are just buying bullion, and just want that precious metal, buy the dates that don't sell for more, and buy it for whatever you can get it at its cheapest. (Whether that buy original packaging or a MS69, or whatever) Hope that helps.
There is a small segement of collectors who think that the bullion coins graded as 70's are somehow special and thus worth a great deal more than their bullion content. But the vast majority of the numismatic community looks at these people, and the prices they pay for these coins, and just shakes their heads. So to answer your question - no, the grade does not matter.
I think it really depends on personal preferences and goals. If someone is looking to buy bullion for the sake of selling in the future to make a profit, then it seems that buying raw bullion allows you to buy more and takes away the uncertainty of whether or not you will ever be able to recoup the premium paid for grading. However, if someone is buying bullion coins for a collection (i.e. design, limited mintage, etc.) and would like "perfection" and perhaps to give it to a family member in the future, then grading may be the way to go. TC
Honestly, bullion is bullion. There is not a great big market for an MS70 bullion coin or first strike, or any of that other stuff
my 2 cents MS-70 & 1st strike add a hype element to a bullion coin.but I seen set of as MS-70 go for about $40,000.00 in a Ngc & in a Anacs holder about 1/2 that. To me the grade has not extra value add to it.
IMO, bullion coins that have dates are going to have a premium above the bullion value. People will collect them just as regular coins are collected. In this case it's not what "should be", it's what "is". Hence grade is significant. Easy example: Look at the proof ASE's. But bullion (note the omission of the word "coins") should only cost current bullion value plus a dealer's fee which should be less than 5%. (Note I said "should". The real world tends to get in the way of the logical world.) Silver bars, even with pretty designs, are in the bullion-only category. Hence grade is not significant.
It does to some and a nice looking coin always is better but It does to some and a nice looking coin always is better but these IMO are not coins. They are chunks of metal. They should not have ever been graded in the same catogory as coins made for circulation. The process is different, the intent is different, they were not made to spend (as face value), they are processed differently, vitually nothing is same as compared to coins meant for commerce.
Does grade matter in a bullion coin? It should not, the other day I was going through some bullion coins, and the dealer instead of selling it to me for melt started looking up prices in his world catalog, I had to put back some old sterling canadian quarters that I had picked, and some old sterling half dimes. If it is not bullion do not put it in the bullion bin. Now I think that the dealer thought I have some good knowledge of foreign coins, which I barely have knowledge of us coins, I was just picking up coins that looked interesting, that I thought would look nice in one of my foreign coin albums.
Yes, the grade matters. Personally, I don't think the grade matters when going up from 69 to 70. But going DOWN it certainly DOES matter. While true there are few low grade modern bullion coins, there are some which have been poorly handled and wind up with unsightly splotchy toning. In a world where there are millions of brilliant 69 DCAMs, it's easy to see why it's tougher to sell such a coin, and why it sometimes must be sold at a discount. Classic Gold has similar issues. In circulated grades, generic gold has almost the same greysheet price when dropping from AU all the way down to VF*. Why would someone pay $695 for a VF20 when another twenty bucks (3%) gets you an AU58 ? * edited to add - Yes, I know that greysheet prices can be off. But the point remains : the price vs. grade curve for bullion is very flat, which suggests that low-grade coins sell for almost as much as much higher grade coins. In reality, there are plenty of the better coins, so the lower grade coins sell slow, at a discount, or not at all. * ...and presumably all the way down to AG3. The greysheet does not price gold that low.
First I don't own any "First Strike" or "First Day of Issue" coins myself, but it appears that these do carry a definite premium. I think there are certainly more than a few these kind of designations are important to. I say to each his own, if that is important to someone go ahead and do it. A complete set of ASE's in MS70 are actually quite expensive I understand. It is a prime example of something I would like to own to sell rather than buying to own.
I think it matters to those who buy and sell them. The MS69 ASEs are quite common while the MS 70s are not, thus you pay more for them. If the bullion pieces are not slabbed the you try to get the nicest looking coin at closest to spot as you can. It might be harder to sell an EF 40 bullion coin down the line, than a BU coin. Many BU billion coin sell for about the same as a MS 69 coin, so I'd rather have my coin protected in a holder rather than raw. Bruce
There is a big BUT regarding that though. For while there was a time when that was true, it really isn't any longer. Ever since PCGS changed its policy regarding the grading of bullion coins as MS70 - the population of these coins has been exploding. With some issues graded by NGC the percentage of coins receiving the 70 grade approaches 80%. PCGS is pushing 50%. And as the population has been increasing the prices have been decreasing. Problem is, people buying these graded coins have not realized it yet. In 8 years or less prices for these bullion coins graded MS70 have decreased 50% or more. What will the next 5-10 years bring ? Given this, it's pretty hard to say that the grade matters any longer.
Just like to clear something up here, A coin that is made from silver if it was intended for circulation is not simply bullion, reason I bring this up is Chip said something earlier I had to put back some old sterling canadian quarters that I had picked, and some old sterling half dimes. Now these are coins, silver was commenly used in them LOL therfore the dealer was correct to check the price in the catalouge
I still maintain bullion coins have no buisness being graded as it relates I still maintain bullion coins have no buisness being graded as it relates to other (meant for circulation) type coins. Have any of you ever seen a MS-62 ASE in a TPG slab and what prey tell would that tell us other than somebody through their money out the car window? This is one of the problems I have with TPG companies. If they simply would have put a BULLION designation in front (or after) the grade I could live with that. If graded at all they should be "kept" in a seperate class of coins. For goodness sakes how many new people to the hobby have bought these things in MS-69 holders (and paid a premieum) only later to find out they are all (80%) MS-69. That plus the NGC and PCGS coins in MS-69 get no more money when sold than the same coins in rolls or singles that are raw, at least around here. A Mint State coin (MS-whatever) does mean a state of presevation but these very coins were meant to be "this way" and this way only. "If a coin is not ever intended for circulation should it be graded with the same other coins that are"?
I've read countless times that bullion coins grade between 69-70 almost 70% of the time. Thats a vast majority, which means an MS 70 coin should sell no higher than a VG coin, if you could even find an VG bullion coin. It's absurd to pay more, regardless of reason. Guy~
