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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;ToughCOINS, post: 2931366, member: 20480&quot;]<font size="6"><b>&quot;At what price level is a coin worth being graded?&quot;</b></font></p><p><br /></p><p>Yours is a very difficult question to answer with universal applicability, but I&#039;ll give you the best answer I can think of without writing a book.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Grading Cost </b>- In the context of US coins, modern coins, &quot;regular&quot; coins, gold coins and major rarities all come with widely varying grading fees.&nbsp; Furthermore, for extremely common coins, bulk grading is available at very favorable rates, but the number of same-dated coins that must be submitted is quite high . . . usually 100 coins.&nbsp; The intent of the grading services is that the fee is roughly proportionate to the value of the coin being graded.&nbsp; Obviously, the variation in grading fees prevents one from answering your question simply, but more important than price may be some other factors.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Authenticity</b> - Is the subject coin known to be counterfeited and, if so, are the counterfeits easily distinguishable from the real thing?&nbsp; If counterfeits exist, and are difficult to distinguish, it would be best to have the coin graded to protect yourself, and your eventual buyer.&nbsp; If a coin is easily authenticated, you should probably not rely on this factor to justify grading.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Upside / Downside Risk</b> - The risk of being wrong on grade - What are the values of the coin in the next higher / lower grades?&nbsp; Are the differences significant in either or both directions?&nbsp; If not, do not spend money on grading to moderate this risk alone.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Liquidity</b> - Is the breadth of the market for the coin being considered so great that it will bring a fair price, even without a third party grade?&nbsp; If the coin is rare, you can rest assured you&#039;ll have willing buyers for it as a raw coin. If it is not rare, however, having it graded will place it ahead of its ungraded competition, all other factors being equal (same appeal, buyer and price).&nbsp; This is one of the primary reasons so many coins have already been graded.&nbsp; On the flip-side, because the supply of graded common coins is already so large, the value of continuing to grading a common coin for this reason is only marginal at best.&nbsp; Why?&nbsp; Because it would stand no further forward in line than all of the other coins which have already been graded.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Your Knowledge</b> - Do you trust your own grading, knowledge of the subject coin, and your knowledge of the market enough to be certain you have paid a fair price, or to know you are selling the coin for a fair price? If not, having a professionally assigned grade removes some level of uncertainty from the process.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Next Intended Owner</b> - It is important that the next intended owner possess knowledge and integrity - know the value of, and offer fairly for your coin.&nbsp; There are too many disinterested families who have been left coins by deceased collectors, and there are too many fly-by-night buyers out there who dabble in the coin market with insufficient knowledge, buying &quot;safely&quot; to protect their interests, and not yours.&nbsp; Do you trust yourself enough to find the right buyer for the coin, or to leave it as an inheritance to that individual who is patient enough and savvy enough to find the right buyer?&nbsp; If not, and there is the risk that you or your descendants may not recognize an offer as lowball, then it is best to have the coin graded, assuming one or more of the above factors point to the same conclusion.&nbsp; Grading a coin is no guarantee that it will bring a fair price, but it increases the likelihood that you and the next owner will make smaller mistakes, if any at all.&nbsp; This is an important reason to grade your coin(s).</p><p><br /></p><p><b>If to Grade, When?</b> - Not spending the money to grade a coin saves money on the front end, but may cost you on the back end if the next buyer would pay too little, knowingly or not.&nbsp; Might you instead leave grading of raw coins until just before the sale?&nbsp; This would leave you extra money with which to maximize your enjoyment with more coins, however it might also deprive you of the opportunity to recognize and improve unrefined grading skills, an important consideration.</p><p><br /></p><p>Among the many different reasons that could be used to justify grading, the value of the coin alone should not, all by itself, determine whether it warrants grading.</p><p><br /></p><p>- Mike[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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