I was looking on ebay and i noticed that a 1982 uncirculated Washington half graded by pcgs ms-68 sells for little more then $25 but that same coin graded ms-69 sells for well over $100 I have seen coins sell for twice as much graded ms-70 vs ms-69 but 400%?!?! that is nuts.
I find that from the 90s - present, ms69's are much more common. And it's not uncommon to see ms70's reach as high as 400%. It's not practical though to spend that much, i judge commeratives on the individual coin rather than just the slab grade, because that can be stripped easily by another TPG.
What is even more nuts is people actually have these things graded. There were over 2 million of the BU and over 4 million of the proof minted. Buying or having 1 of these graded makes about as much sense as buying a 2012 ASE graded at a premium or having it graded. There is positively, absolutely nothing special about it. If a person likes the design or significance of the coin, he/she would be better just buying the raw coin and enjoying it. Coming soon: The "Beware of the Lunacy of Having Highly-Minted Modern Bullion Graded" club.
These coins are not "Bullion" but i do agree paying much more for one grade higher is nuts. I have over ten of these raw but none graded, if i was confident enough in my grading ability and i saw one that had a good shot at getting MS-69 i would probably have it grading and flip it to buy more. i dont think that would make me nuts but the person that bought it from me would be.
While I don't put much stock in the price guides from PCGS and Numismedia, I do rely on the census numbers. I don't have access to the PCGS census, but NGC lists 839 graded MS68 and only 72 graded MS69 with none higher. If the PCGS numbers are anywhere in that ballpark, it would be understandable that the 69's would be considerably higher. What do you think the values would be for an MS70 if one existed? Chris
For what it's worth, the value of the 68 is listed as $26.00 and the value of the 69 as $200.00 on Numismedia. I paid $14.00 for mine raw and it will always be a 69.5 to me.
In my opinion paying a large premium for a condition rarity MS-69 or MS-70 (or PF-69 or PF-70) common modern commem is sheer folly. If you cover up the grade on the slab most collectors would have a hard time distinguishing the 69 and 70 from a 68.
