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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;satootoko, post: 17512, member: 669&quot;]Hi Josh.&nbsp; Always remember that the <i>only</i> stupid questions are those not asked.As you know a &quot;PF&quot; graded coin is a proof and an &quot;MS&quot; graded coin is a business strike which is still in &quot;mint state&quot;.&nbsp; Typically there are much smaller mintages of proof coins than business strikes, an the mint takes much greater care in producing the proofs, using highly polished planchets and usually multiple strikes.&nbsp; The proofs are generally well struck, where many business strikes come from worn dies or have weak strikes for any of a host of reasons.&nbsp; The market price of any coin is based primarily upon the law of supply and demand, with condition and specific markings (years, mint marks, etc.) factoring in.&nbsp; The more people want them, and the fewer there are, the higher the price.&nbsp; The higher the quality and the more specific factors collectors are looking for, the higher the price.&nbsp; If you have an unlimited bankroll, by all means go strictly for high grade proofs.&nbsp; If your bankroll is more like mine, go strictly for the nicest examples you can afford of coins you like having in your collection.&nbsp; (I&#039;m assuming here that you want to &quot;collect&quot; coins, not &quot;invest in&quot; coins.) <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><br /></p><p>(BTW just because coin A is more expensive than coin B, doesn&#039;t mean that coin A is &quot;better&quot;.&nbsp; There is a gold double eagle that is valued at a huge multiple of my entire collection.&nbsp; But I enjoy collecting (among other things) circulated Japanese moderns, and I don&#039;t enjoy collecting double eagles (or virtually any U.S. coinage), so to me an AU &quot;high dot&quot; 1871 gold 1 yen is much more desireable (<i>i.e.</i> &quot;better&quot;) than the double eagle.Knowledge is king in the coin collecting game.&nbsp; Before you buy your next coin get a good magnifier!&nbsp; Until you know where you want to go in your collecting, frequent your local library&#039;s coin book collection.&nbsp; If you have a real interest in some particular facet, BUY THE BOOK.&nbsp; As far as identifying a 42/1, or any other overprint, compare your coin, under magnification, with the pictures in the Red Book, or some other reference.&nbsp; With the great disparity in numbers between normal &#039;42s, and &#039;42/1s, assume that you have the former until you can prove it&#039;s the more valuable variety!Buy the book!&nbsp; If you think you may want to specialize, or semi-specialize in silver eagles (or anything else) Buy the Book <i>before</i> you buy the coin.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Edited to add</b> I was still typing when Jody hit the &quot;submit&quot; button, but I think we are both telling you essentially the same thing about where your priorities should lie.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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