Hello, this is my first post. My question is on whizzed coins. How far does whizzing knock down the market price of the coin? Say for example you are looking at coins that are not top end, but maybe rare. Example) an 1804 Bust quarter. Say condition is VG to Fine. But...at some point there was whizzing. I see two coins in available retail for $4k-$5K. What if they were whizzed? My perspective. There are a few cons I would love to own. If I can pay $1K instead of $5K...I would not mind, even if I know the marked value is in fact $1K and the investment retuns going forward would be small. Why? I am more historian than investor. I just think early American is magical. My concern would be if the coin, regardless of rarity of type or year, would become essentially worthless. Thanks for your help! Thaler
Best way to get the answer you seek is to search the Heritage archives. You'll find several examples of damaged, harshly cleaned, whizzed coins there.
This is a highly subjective question. It depends on the rarity of the coin, how severe the whizzing is, and how much it bothers the buyer. If I really wanted a coin, and the whizzing was light, I would hope for a 25% discount from the normal price. If I had little to no use for the coin, or if it were badly damaged and someone wanted to sell it to me, I may only pay a small percentage of the normal value. Each individual case has to be considered separately. In general, if you're getting a coin that would normally be $5,000 for $1,000, I'd say it's been whizzed pretty hard.
I don't knowingly buy cleaned coins. I either save until I can afford one with original surfaces OR I do without. I also pass on coins with intentional damage (initials, counterstamps, etc.) Coins with unintentional damage are evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
