So, you are filling an album and wanting to put the best looking coins in the album. You have a coin with very minor wear, but yet it is there, and the rest of the coin is super clean. Then you have a coin, full mint luster but obvious marks from things that happen in the process (hairlines, bag marks, coin dings, ugly color from mint set packaging, etc.) Which do you prefer to have in your collection? The higher grade according to the 70 point scale, or the lower grade yet prettier coin? Let's hear opinions, I know there are many out there.......
The answer depends upon many different variables . Generally , one would be better to be drawn to buy the lower grade coin that has better attributes ( eye-appeal etc ) than the coin that is graded greater and has very little or no eye-appeal for perhaps a significantly greater cost .
I have yet to see a MS-70 that doesn't look better than an AU58. But, as I work at building my Morgan collection, I have more often than not seen AU58 examples that have much better eye appeal than BU coins. I think eye appeal is huge. And why wouldn't you buy a coin that looks better, especially when it costs a little less? I know some would disagree, but why would a coin sell for more just because it has no wear, but has bag marks in the most noticable places?
Both of these gentlemen nailed it! As a collector, it is ALL about eye appeal! Investors? Probably not so much, they may tend to "Buy the Grade" for future resale as values continue to spiral up! Just my 2 cents. Steve
Thanks for adding that, sgiorgis. It's a very good point, and just proves that I'm much more of a collector than an investor. Of course it doesn't keep me from having a little silver in my retirement portfolio.
It depends, if i'm doin an UNC set i will always go with an UNC coin but if I'm just filling up the album with anything then I'll go with which coin looks better. For example I really like the look of XF-AU SEated Dimes so i might try to get those grades if i was collecting them. -Russ
Hi, A dealer friend of mine once told me that a AU58 coin is a no problem AU coin but a MS 60-MS 62 coin is a mint states coin with some kind of problem. This does not always apply but seems to be true more often than not.
It sounds like the AU64 dilemma has reared it's head in your album collection efforts. Please read a thread I wrote about this subject a few years ago. The elusive AU64 Slider
When I started my Morgan Date/mint set I wanted to buy the highest grade coins I could afford, but after buying a couple low MS coins 60-63 because I couldn't afford the 64-66 I decided any coin I cant at least afford the 64 I will look for a 58 or an AU64. I would rather have nice looking coins than higher grade dinged/scratched coins. As many have said on here before if you don't like it when you buy it or have to say it's nice except for.....You will be disapointed later. I am living it.
I have been doing raw coins for years....I am not a slab guy as I like to collect based on my own opinion. I have many coins that are beautiful and have great eye appeal, and recently another collector was giving my Kennedy "non-proof" collection a series of rather negative terms because I called it a Kennedy BU collection with many AU64 type coins in it (great post Lehigh). He was commenting that I must not be a true coin collector because I prefered a little wear to perfect luster....thus, the debate. Kennedy's are known for die polishing and the associated "hairlines" that come with it....I do not like these coins as compared to a great looking coin with a little wear on the typical high points....so I guess I have an AU64 collection of Kennedy's.....love the rating as it is so true.
