I am a new collector and I went to a coin club two weeks ago. I had a nice time and decided to join. I brought an 1897P Morgan with me that I bought for $35.00. I wanted them to give me their opinion on a grade and the consensus was MS-63. Some said MS-62. Anyways they gave me a free certificate to get it graded at ANACS. I live close by so I wouldn't have to ship it. Is this something worth doing or should I wait until I get a nicer coin to use the free grading for?
ANACS is the way to go for varieties and VAM attribution. If you are concerned about your Morgan being a valuable VAM, send it in. If not, wait until you get a coin with a rare variety.
Thanks for the advice. I am going to a coin show this weekend with a budget of $100.00. I was thinking about getting another Morgan at about that price point. I would be getting it raw and am a new collector so I'm not sure if I should do it or not. I have some bartering material ($20.00 face value of 40% Kennedy Halves) but I am not sure if the dealers would be willing to accept them or not. Is that a bad idea to try and do that?
Don't know about the trading thing. If the dealers won't accept them, try to find what dealer buys them for the highest amount.
Hold on, now! > You're a new collector. > You don't know how to grade. > Do you know how to spot a problem coin? > Are you a member of ANACS? > If not, have you inquired about their appointment policy for non-members? > You want to spend $100 on a raw Morgan. What is wrong with this picture? Chris
Yeah, thanks for the wake up call Chris. I was getting impulsive. I have til September to get the free grade. Hopefully by then I can get a decent coin. As far as the Logistics with ANACS the guy who gave the certificate to me said it wouldn't be a problem. I'll call their customer service to make sure when the time comes.
It's one thing to have money burn a hole in your pocket, but when you lose all your change through that hole, it's makes you go tinkle tinkle! Chris
Buying raw Morgans at a show is just another aspect of the most important skill for a numismatist - due diligence. If you're standing in front of a dealer who has three cases of slabbed Morgans and two cases of raw ones, and you're having trouble reaching him because of the business he's doing, you can reasonably assume that the Morgan you buy from him is going to be genuine. If, on the other hand, he's a World coin seller who has a half-dozen raw Morgans in a corner of a case, more caution might be warranted. Exceptions exist in both cases; that's just a simplistic illustration of the process. Do not be afraid of raw Morgans. It's not like they all have to be slabbed; there is a decent demographic of collectors (myself among them) who prefer to buy raw. Of course, extra caution is warranted for a newer collector like yourself.
