madyvoz

On 7/13/2023 at 6:22 AM, powermad5000 said:

I have one Redbook, and it is informative, especially for a new collector. It allows a collector to get familiar with different coins, different mintages, and "base" prices for coins listed in it. When it comes to price, though, it is merely only a guide. I use the term "base" when it comes to values listed because there are many factors involved in what the market price is for a particular coin : its quality, its eye appeal, its rarity and mintage number, its survivability number, the demand for a particular coin, its surface (whether or not it was cleaned or damaged). Right now, inflation is affecting coin prices. Also, coins at auction can go for substantially higher than even a dealer will charge as the bidders can get into bidding wars over certain coins while some auctions can end below Redbook prices if the coin does not garner much interest.

You may feel a dealer is overcharging for a coin, but they have to cover their costs and make some type of profit to keep their doors open. That is where your Redbook can come in handy if you are looking to buy from a dealer who actually IS overcharging by trying to sell a coin with high mintage for four, six, or sometimes ten times the Redbook value, it should be a red flag when buying from that dealer. You can establish a relationship with a dealer when you buy volume and pay cash from the same dealer helping move his inventory. Sometimes then, they will "cut you a deal" especially when you buy several coins at once. But, once again, you usually will pay the dealer asking price for quite sometime before that relationship is established.

If you use your Redbook as a guide, keeping in mind the situation you are making a purchase in (face to face, raw or slabbed, in person auction, internet auction, internet buy it now, etc.), the Redbook should serve its intended purpose. I tend to lean more towards internet price guides as they are updated frequently (sometimes weekly or in some cases daily as coins are graded by TPG's and bought or sold), but I do start my research on a coin that I fancy by looking it up in the Redbook first.

Thanks for the advice,I'll totally try to establish a good relationship with some dealers although some people it's quite controversial to engage with them and try to "bribe" them so to say.I remember having an assignment about the controversial speeches and how it's affecting our society.I've handled it pretty easy as I had some help from this team of pros  https://paperial.com/blog/controversial-speech-topics which helped me massively by searching for information and checking it.They prepared me in the best way possible.I hope it will help you as it helped me.

On 3/23/2022 at 7:00 PM, The Neophyte Numismatist said:

I can explain it.

I never cared about coins.  They were nothing but a pain in the neck... worthless items that i find on the floor or in my couch cushions.  The buying power is negligible, and all I really knew were coins that I found in change.  After all... all coins in change are the same, right?  

But... then a coin grabbed my attention.  It was a 1943 steel cent.  It was a grayish-white cull coin, and nearly worthless.  But, I had not seen one before.. and I saved it.    Then, I found it was steel and stuck to a magnet... again, I thought it was just the weirdest thing I had seen... and I thought I had something valuable.  Of course I was wrong, but I was interested.  I learned coin roll hunting and started doing that to find more (which I did not, further fueling my impression that the 1943 was rare).  However, I found that I could find a 2017 P penny... again... very neat and different, but worthless.  I didn't know if it was valuable or not, so I saved those, too.  I didn't know about coins, grading, or even that forums like this existed (frankly, I didn't care).

The "coin shortage" occurred, and suddenly I could not get rolled coins to hunt.  At this point I was accustomed to hunting change, and was enjoying it... my little kids enjoyed it, and that made it even more fun.  But now... it seemed to be over and I was disappointed, so I called a coin shop (thinking I would buy rolled coins from them, because I had never stepped foot into a coin shop).

When I got to the coin shop, I was shown a large cent.  I was amazed that a "penny" was this size of a half dollar... and how could something so old be in such great shape (my 1943 cent was the oldest coin I ever saw)?  I was "star struck" by these old beautiful coins.  I asked the price, and I almost fell over.  What?  $1000 for a penny?  These guys are nuts!  But, I never forgot about the coin... and I started reading on them.

Today, I own that 1818 N-10 that floored me in the coin shop.  I also know that what seemed like I was getting ripped-off on price was actually a good deal.  Then I learned that all "MS64" coins are not created equal, and why one 64 and the next 64 can be drastically different in price.

This hobby is extremely nuanced.  Any newcomer will not know these nuances, and many of you will forget more about numismatics than I will ever know.  However, I do know that many collectors start with a coin that they find, and find interesting.  99.999999% of the time it is not very rare or valuable... just like my homework was as  valuable...I even remember having difficulties finishing college if this site didn't help me I doubt i'd even finished it...It helped me with gathering useful informations and thoughts on topics i've got to make essays and assignments,It was really stressful working and studying without this team of experts helping you all the way to the good mark! and the love for coins is one that is cultivated over time.

Hope this helps, as I know that many of the seasoned collectors forget what it is to be new in this hobby. 

It clearly helped me,and I am amazed about your collection!

"SPMA" is not a standard coin grading abbreviation that I'm aware of. Coin grading typically uses terms like "MS" (Mint State) for uncirculated coins or various grades like "VF" (Very Fine), "AU" (About Uncirculated), and "XF" (Extremely Fine) for circulated coins. It's possible that "SPMA" is not a widely recognized grading term

On 7/23/2023 at 1:42 AM, jdickson586-pt said:

HI

I got 2 coins graded as "SPMA" and I don't know what that stands for; can you please explain it to me?

Thank you very much

 

Jorge Dickson

On 8/22/2023 at 11:06 PM, VKurtB said:

Yup, they probably should have called them Type 1, Type 2, and Type 3, and only 1 and 2 exist for 1979; and only 2 and 3 exist for 1981. But noooooo, that wouldn't confuse enough people.

Blob, neat, and flat-top.

it's not really that confusing 

On 8/23/2023 at 11:51 PM, Sandon said:

   The availability of specific issues of Morgan dollars in various grades usually has nothing to do with their original mintage figures. Some dates with relatively low mintages such as the 1885-CC (228,000) and the 1899 (330,000) had large quantities preserved unissued in Treasury vaults as backing for currency (Silver Certificates) until as late as 1964. Others with relatively high mintages such as the 1886-O (10,710,000) and the 1901 (6,962,000) are relatively scarce today in any uncirculated or higher circulated grade, presumably because most of the stored portions of their mintages were melted down as a result of the Pittman Act of 1918, and surviving coins are mostly more worn examples from those that had previously been placed in circulation. Of the original 228,000 1885-CC dollars minted, 148,285 (approximately 65% of the original mintage) were still held by the Treasury in March 1964 and were subsequently sold to the public in the GSA sales of 1972-80, and some additional 1,000-coin uncirculated bags had reportedly been released and obtained by coin dealers during the 1940s and 50s.

   In contrast the Treasury had only one uncirculated 1889-CC dollar to offer in the GSA sales. Reportedly, some 1,000-coin bags of uncirculated 1889-CCs were released over the decades before 1964, and there are certainly tens of thousands of circulated coins in existence, as indicated by the NGC Census and the PCGS Population Report. Interestingly, the NGC Census shows about 6,200 coins awarded various numerical grades and 23,328 pieces given "Details" grades, indicating that many 1889-CCs have been "cleaned" or otherwise abused in a misguided effort to make them appear to be a higher grade. (The PCGS Population Report shows nearly ten thousand 1889-CCs numerically graded but does not report a "Details" population, which also likely includes many thousands of pieces. Some of the reported population consists of resubmissions of the same coin, but there are also coins certified by other services and uncertified pieces like mine.) 

   There are no "rare" Morgan dollars by date and mint, at least among circulating (non-proof) issues. Even the 1893-S, which is definitely scarcer than the 1889-CC (and better referred to as the "king" or "key date" among coins made for circulation), has a likely surviving population of over ten thousand pieces.  Some dates and mints, including the 1889-CC and the 1893-S but also including the 1884-S, the 1892-S and the 1901, to name some, could legitimately be called "rare" in higher mint state grades, but they are always available in quantity in circulated and sometimes in lower mint state grades. Morgan dollars sell for high prices due to high demand, which is at least partly fueled by mass marketer hype and widespread ignorance about how common they really are. If I were a new collector, I would rather spend my money on less popular coins that are truly rare (such as the AU 1871 silver three cent piece I bought today) than on any Morgan dollar at current prices.   

So where can I find some rare ones