BU walking liberty halves

I have 3 rolls (60 coins) of BU walking liberty halves, 2 rolls of 1944, and 1 roll of 1942. I have submitted 1 coin to pcgs which came back as an ms66. I am wrestling with the problem of how to market them. Should I have them all graded, which seems very cost prohibitive, or market them raw? I am concerned that selling them raw will probably bring ms63 or 4 money for what are truly ms65 or 6 coins. The flip side is should I invest $1200 in grading fees? And the thought keeps popping in to my mind " what if we hit an ms67 or two in the bunch? What would you do?

 

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If you want 66 or 67 money they will need to be graded, a lot of buyers probably won't even give you 65 money for raw ones. If you honestly think they're all that high of a grade I would at least send the ones in I thought were 66s.

 

What makes you believe they're "truly 65-66 coins" or better? Are you judging the individual coins themselves or the fact they were supposedly from an original roll?

 

The 1 representative coin I submitted came back as a 66. To my amateur eye, they all appear to be that nice. There are two coins with slightly less luster, but the strike looks good on all of them. I guess to summarize I am basing my opinion on the 1 graded coin. The coins have been stored since the early 1970's and are seeing the light of day for the first time since. I believe they were acquired by a local coin dealer not as an original roll.

 

I had 15 rolls of 1909 vdb cents original and red and went through and selected the best ones to send in. None came back less then ms64. You could always do a bulk submission if you come up with 40 more coins but can only split those 20 coins between 2 other date/mint combos of the same denom.

 

Nevermind. Looks like pcgs did away with most coins being eligible for bulk submission. Just shows me that their services are going downhill to me, well that and the results of my last pcgs submission.

 

Congrats on the one return, but I would respectfully caution against assuming this the automatic standard. The fact is that coins, just like people, are unique individuals, and this holds true even for examples that fall into the same numerical grade; each must be judged on its own merits and shortcomings, and not those of another coin.

With coins such as these, grade is of absolute importance as any that don't reach your set level will be a waste of time and money. Unfortunately, having a "novice eye" can be costly, so perhaps your best bet would be to have someone genuinely knowledgeable (not someone who just says or thinks they are) screen for you prior to submitting. Over the years I was able to get my hands on many rolls of later date Walkers that, like yours, hadn't been touched in many decades, and can promise you that grades can and do vary, even in true original rolls. Unless you have in-person access to knowledgeable collectors/buyers, and even then, it's likely to be difficult for you to sell raw as anything top of Ch BU, so if you wish to maximize potential, submit only those that will, with a high degree of certainty, grade out at X and sell whatever remains as-is.

 

Oh the choices one is forced to make.

 

If they were mine, I'd call all three major TPG (ANACS, NGC, and PCGS) and try to work out a bulk deal to get them all graded. If I could get them all slabbed for $7-8 each, which I've worked out before, it would be worth it to pay the cost of grading (as one or two higher grades will likely pay for the entire lot, and the rest will be easier to sell because buyers are laaaaaaaaaazy.)

 

Excellent ideas all- I do appreciate your perspectives. I had heard of the bulk submission option but it looks like that is no longer an option with pcgs. I wonder if it still is with ngc?

 

Regardless of what forms or websites say, you will get better results if you CALL and talk to a person. My guess is that ANACS will probably quote you the best price off the bat, and then you can use that number to negotiate with the other two.

 

Do they negotiate?

 

Yes.

 

You might want consider going to a major show with some of the best that your eyes can tell, and talk to a few dealers or visit one of the TPG booths and see what they say. You may be able to cut a submission deal right there in person.

 

good idea Tommyc- I think I'll take them to the long beach show and see what I can do.

Isn't pcgs having some kind of pre long beach submission drop-off. Wonder if I could negotiate there?

 

Nice problem to have ;-)

 

It needs to be understood that the "best price" isn't ways the lowest, or best overall decision, when making such a recommendation. There are other factors to consider than simply getting his coins, regardless of if they deserve it or not, into the cheapest holder possible.

 

All 3 TPG's usually have a booth at the major shows. Hit them all up, write down their quote and then decide. Coin holders and TPG's are always going to be subject to different opinions here and although NGC and PCGS have better marketability come time to sell, I can honestly say I have never had a problem with ANAC's. I'm not sure if it has expired or not but ANAC's was running a $25.00 off special recently, five coin minimum, not including special requests like attribution, etc.

 

I would try to pick the best 10-12 coins that you think would grade MS66 and 67 then submit em to PCGS.

 

Here's a thought too if you sold some of the coins raw for 63-4 money and then used the money to send the rest out for grading and try to max out the dollar value on the rest or to pick the very best coins send them in and sell them and grade the rest Personally I would send them to either pcgs or ngc not anacs. Anacs coins never bring the same money