Proof versus MS

PF coins have generally been minted in smaller quantities than their MS brethren, but the percent of PF coins that survive can be much higher than the percent of any business strike issue in MS has survived. This is particularly true for classic US coinage where some issues from the 1800s only had several hundred PF coins issued vs. hundreds of thousands of business strike coins issued. However, perhaps 50% of the PF coins from those years might still be in the PF60-PF70 range whereas perhaps less than one-tenth of one percent of the business strike coins from any particular issue in that era will still be in the MS60-MS70 range. This means that the more "rare" PF coin (based upon initial mintage) can be less expensive than the much more "common" MS graded coin.

 

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