Can someone explain the value of GSA Morgan holders to me?

I get that most of these more valuable sets sold in the 70's were Carson City dollars and in mostly UNC grades. I have two of the CC GSA coins. But I just saw a 1885 O in a GSA holder that was graded by NGC in MS64, and it auctioned for over $400. What did I miss here?

 

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What's the question? Too high or too low in your thinking?

Greysheet lists the wholesale price of a 85-O at $450 in MS-64. The CDN CPG retail guide says $585 in MS-64. One can quibble about the value and accuracy of price guides but they will usually get you in the ball park.

But in general, the value is what the market assigns to it by virtue of a willing seller matched with a willing buyer, to state the obvious.

 

Maybe I missed the gist of your question. If it's why is an 85-O going for over $400 in a slabbed GSA holder when Greysheet says a regular slabbed 85-O in MS-64 is listed at $82, then I can only surmise that people value the slabbed GSA coins more highly than a regular slabbed version. Exactly why, I dunno.

I know that back in 2021, I sold 8 of 10 inherited GSA Morgans with boxes and COAs to a local dealer, all common CC coins in unslabbed grades of MS-62 to 64 for $285 each. I thought I did OK but as it turned out, I caught the leading edge of a price increase in GSA Morgans that has continued to this day.

 

There are those who will pay a premium for dollars in GSA holders. Although a given date and mint mark combination might be common as a raw or slabbed coin, if the GSA didn’t have a large number of those pieces, the GSA holder and that coin, bring a premium. I think that the 1885-CC dollar is scarce as a GSA holdered coin.

Some GSA dates have been made scarcer, because there were many crack-outs in the 1980s. Some collectors and dealers didn’t like GSA holders.

 

Sounds a little on the low side to me.

 

Yes, that was my question. I paid less than a $100 for a 85 O in MS64. I can't remember if I bought it slabbed or had it slabbed. I'm scratching my head on the value of the GSA plastic holder. With the Carson City's, it adds very little to the value. Maybe other US Mint GSA releases are uncommon and makes it a novelty?

 

I don't like the holders at all, but I'm not cracking them out. I just send the slab in for grading, and all TPGs will sticker them. But the slab is too big for my tastes and doesn't present itself well in an organized collection. That is my beef with the GSAs.

 

If you crack a GSA coin out of the holder you’ll loose the value of it.

 

Value is in the eye of the beholder. I don't like GSA slabs, but most of the time you are guaranteed the coin was never cleaned and only subject to bag marks and rough reserve handling. Even so, there does seem to be a premium of leaving them in the GSA slabs. You can still get them graded without cracking them out as well. So it's really up to the current owner of how to handle it. Some people just like their coins naked in nice albums. I am not one of those people either.