I recently obtained some coins from a recently deceased relative. Among the lot are a couple of nice looking Morgans rated and slabbed by WGC. The little research I have done makes me fell less than confident the slabbed grades are accurate. Should I send them to one of the top 4 and have them regraded, and if so, should I leave them in their current slabs or remove them? Any opinions on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Here are a couple of pics of one of the coins rated by WCG. Please be aware I am not in the best setting for taking quality photos - the pics look a lot better without the shadowing.
The 1901 O that you have pictured looks like an AU Details, and looks to have been altered in some way (cleaned) It looks like a polishing, although it could be the shadows. I would say not worth sending in. The MAX value this coin could be is around $20, so I would keep it the way it is. If you have more, feel free to post more pics
First, I want to thank those of you whom have given me advice on the two coins I have asked about. Its amazing how one can be forced into learning new things in life, such as, when a relative leaves you a box of coins and have absolutely no idea what you are looking at. In the few short days I have had the opportunity to begin educating myself I have come to believe WCG is a less than desirable rating company - I know eBay isn't totally on the up-and-up but it is a good place to find the unscrupulous. I have checked a lot of coins being sold on eBay that have been rated by WCG and can't seem to find any with less than an MS state - that, in and of itself, raises red flags for me. Anyway, I now have a box full of mint sets, proofs, various denominations of coinage (some of thses have been rated by PCGS), silver certificates, and approximately 85 Morgans in various states, unslabbed and slabbed - rated by PCGS, NGC, ANACS, PCI, and WCG (these last two rating companies not being reliable I assume). Where does one go to see if there is value in the coins, and more importantly, since I think I might now have the bug, how does one get more educated?
Well dmr, you apparently have ambition enough to search things out for yourself - that's a dang good start. Many tend to just ask questions of others and not ever try to find out anything for themselves. That said, just stick around here and feel free to ask whatever questions you may have. But while you're at it, spend some time reading what you find at the various links in this section of the forum - Numismatic Resources Just about any question can be answered by using what you find there
Coins in WCG holders should be treated as if they are uncertified. Most of the ones I have seen images of have been so badly over-graded as to make the grades meaningless.
If any of the PCI slabs have green labels and 10 digit serial #s they may be graded about right. After that I don't feel they did a very good job. Just something to consider.
For Values of the PCGS slabbed coins you could always use the PCGS price guide I use the Numismedia Price Guide for all my coins though Here are the links to both www.pcgs.com/prices http://www.numismedia.com/fmv/fmv.shtml
The PCGS Price Guide prices are often unrealistically high. I don't know either way about Numismedia prices.
Well in a few weeks/months redbook 2010 will be waaaay outta here. PCGS is high, which is why I gave the link to numismedia, because that is what I use to put a value on my coins. Now don't just use these two things, compare, and see what makes the most sense, get The 2010 Guide To United States Coins, or redbook. I use the redbook, the numismedia price guide, and ebay's completed listings, to see what the coins go for, and what they are valued at, so I can value my coins accordingly.
