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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;kaparthy, post: 23181, member: 57463&quot;]When NateBe123 asked A Few Questions, the thread got around to damaged coins.&nbsp; Love Tokens are, technically, &quot;damaged.&quot;&nbsp; However, they are recognized as numismatic items in their own right.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Holed coins are a similar problem.&nbsp; Of course, a coin with a hole in it is generally not worth as much as one without. I am not alone in having more than a few.&nbsp; How the work was done, the hole is placed, and other details can tell you something about the intentions.&nbsp; I have a US Seated Half Dollar, a Spanish 1 peseta and several Dutch 1/10 guilders that all have seemingly identical holes, two on each side.&nbsp; My estimate is that these came from the same jewelry, a belt perhaps, and likely early 20th century or late 19th by the dates of the coins.&nbsp; So, these are sherds of an artifact, a different situation entirely.&nbsp; No, the Seated Half Dollar is not suitable for a collection of Seated Half Dollars, no matter how great the bargain price.&nbsp; As something else, well, it is something else.</p><p><br /></p><p>On the other hand, there is the trap of paying VF money for an XF coin with damage.&nbsp; Rimnicks, gouges, scratches, cleaning, and other problems are just that: problems.&nbsp; If you get a coin with &quot;XF details&quot; at the VF price, what you have is a coin that likely will not sell for VF money when you want to sell it.&nbsp; The coin is damaged and unattractive. </p><p><br /></p><p>I believe that many collectors are &quot;penny wise and pound foolish.&quot;&nbsp; If a VF costs $58 and an XF costs $136, they will say that they &quot;cannot afford&quot; the better item.&nbsp; Yet, if you can muster up $58, getting the other $78 is only a matter of time.&nbsp; It is better to set aside the money, not make the purchase, save, and later buy the collectible that is worth owning.</p><p><br /></p><p>Of course, there is a <i>reductio ad absurdem</i> to this.&nbsp; Why not save for a lifetime and buy just one coin for $4.4 million?&nbsp; Well, obviously, this is a hobby based on acquistion, so, we do like to enjoy the ownership.&nbsp; All that is required is to keep to the middle of the road.</p><p><br /></p><p>I look at it from an &quot;order of magnitude&quot; perspective.&nbsp; I know what I earn per day.&nbsp; That is my range.&nbsp; If I find a lesser item for a lesser price, what would a higher price bring me?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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