How much of a premium is eye appeal worth?

Appeal is in the eye of the beholder. Tho I've seen several coins is 60ms to 70msfor me range that I've been attracted to, for my eyes it's a slightly used, a little dirty, natural looking coin. Especially the ones from 1800s. Which on my limited funds works well. For me, I'd rather pay 100 to 150 for say a capped bust in f to vf than 500 or more for a mint state one.

 

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That quarter is definitely worth a premium. It looks like original skin, and may upgrade - and/or gold sticker. Easily worth up to money between 62 & 63 greysheet.

 

I separate toned coins from pure eye appeal, which can be a combination of luster to strike. But eye appeal is probably more definable. Toned coins in my book are like works of art and appeal to different collectors. Like art the prices realized go for many multiples of any stated prices, but probably start with the rarity of the coin.

Several years back I think the Sunnywood "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" Morgan Collection sold for well north of $2 million
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/do...rculation-strikes-1878-1921/imagegallery/7520

There is a great article by Doug Kurz explaining coin toning that is well worth reading before you step off that ledge. Toned fakes abound on eBay and I only buy pre-certified toned coins as a protection of sorts because even the TPGs can be fooled at times.
http://www.1881o.com/assets/sunnywood-toning-classification-system2.pdf

 

Stumping for the seller? Haha, just kidding. Yes, if I like it hand I will hope for a "sticker."

 

Here's an example - an enigma of sorts - and perhaps an opposite case. I obtained this a number of years ago for a price that was about 2/3 of the price guide. A difference of over $1,000. It's a first year of issue, very low estimated survival rate, has great luster and is a rare variety of the issue with a highly unusual good strike (most 1840-O's have terrible strikes) - however it has that ding on the reverse. Did that ding on the reverse, which isn't even in terribly bad location have that dramatic effect on the perceived value - or is the quarter eagle market just that bad? haha. Since I was collecting US coins minted in 1840 at the time, for me it was great find. Au55

 

No, this coin was cleaned in the past. It was considered market acceptable enough to slab, especially since it is a scarcer date/mint. However, the value you got was because the coin is clearly not original - you paid a discount because the coin has negative eye appeal.

 

I only know that compared to most other coins from the O mint and this date it's a gem (not literally a gem, just in comparison the usual ). Perhaps that does have something to do with the grade, etc.

 

Hopefully not, and the grade is the grade and not relative.

 

You got that! Hopefully not is right.

 

Well I have never seen an AU coin elevated to MS because of eye appeal and hope I don't see one. Otherwise all grading is even more subjective.

 

All true, but my point was someone intentionally elevating a coin from circulated to uncirculated. I have seen them in AU58 or MS60 holders that I wondered which side of the line they were on. But I don't think I have ever seen an XF45 elevated to an MS65 because it was nicely toned or had faint traces of mint luster.

Back in here somewhere I pointed people to the Sunnywood collection over at PCGS. This one sold for astounding numbers, so toning is worth many multiples of quoted prices to many. But I take eye appeal to be a broader issue including quality of strike, luster, etc. Give us a well struck Morgan with rainbow toning and price is a different deal.

This is a favorite from my 1881-O collection and I think worth a premium, but I like toned coins.
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Definitely worth a premium, but hard to calculate how much. Already a spendy coin in 65+, so the toning won't be as big of a multiple as it would on a 83-O, for example. There are, however, only three 81-Os toned like this in PCGS's TrueView gallery in better grades -- a 64, a 65+, and a 66 that's not as attractive. None of them link to specific auction sales, though.

 

To me they are like art. Some appeal to no one, some appeal to most, and some appeal to everyone. But how much they are worth is in the eye of the collector. A Picasso is nothing but paint on canvas to some, and priceless to others. Buy what you like and enjoy it. If it happens to rise in price great, but not an objective.

I would have agreed with you on the multiple until I saw the prices on the Sunnywood collection. In the future the highest premiums might be the combination/marriage of grade and color.

 

So, hmm - back to the original coin (attached here) a question - I have this in hand now and it is just as good as the pictures, maybe a little less colorful but no dings, nice strike, really good surfaces. Why isn't it an ms63 or better? (I'm not complaining, just wondering what the factors would be - I own very few MS coins, most of mine are XF or AU and I find the grading to be far easier to understand in those arenas). What would one be looking for to consider resubmitting a coin in hopes of a higher MS grade? What could the grader have seen here that cost it points?

 

Ahh, that's helpful. I can see that. It has luster, but not extremely. The only coin I have to compare it to is an MS64 Morgan that's also toned and between those two I can see that the Morgan has a little more luster - but the toning on that one is also less consistent - i.e., a little blotchier. Some coin issues have more original, i.e mint made luster than others, is that right? So does the grader have to know how much luster a coin has relative to others of that specific issue? Or do some issues only have enough original luster to get to a certain grade level, like say for example MS64 with none ever being higher? Put another way, hypothetically does an MS63 of any silver coin supposedly have the same amount of luster as any other MS63 silver coin (I assume that gold would be judged differently?).

 

Not being able to see the coin in hand, it is likely the luster. There could also be some hairlines hiding under the hazy toning in the field. Perhaps another attempt at grading would give you a 63, but there's no way to know without trying, and I wouldn't recommend trying without seeing the coin in hand. Take a look at the PCGS CoinFacts images of this date. Even though they're only photos, they might give you further insight.