What’s your favorite grade to collect?

[WinstonWare]

I know, I know, we often prefer different grades for different series but for the sake of this thread what’s your overall favorite grade?

 

Personally I prefer high VF to low XF coins. I like to be able to make out all the devices but I also like a coin that’s changed hands a few times. I like to think about the denomination and the times in which the coin may have been used in circulation. What was its value at the time and what types of items or services may it have been used to purchase?

 

Originality is also important to me. I can’t say exactly why but I feel that a coin that has been recently dipped or cleaned has lost a lot of its history; that somehow the transactions that the coin has been in have been erased from its history. For that reason, original VF/XF make up the vast majority of my collection.

 

[WoodenJefferson]

Very good question, for me, it has actually evolved over time from collecting coins from circulation in any condition from worn, all the way to brilliant uncirculated.

 

Then I got a bit more sophisticated and started buying strictly uncirculated coins, well at least that what the trend was, so by doing so, I thought I was being sophisticated collector. I still enjoyed the really older worn circulated coins more, so that’s about the level I stayed at for years and still to this day.

 

Yes, original condition is most important for my needs and always has been.

 

Boy, you should have seen all the "tanished" coins I passed up in the 70's & 80's!!!

Had I known what I do now, I would have picked them off for future plans, but alas, they did not appeal to me and my hind sight is not even 20/20, more like 60/40.

 

The proof and mint sets are fascinating in their own right and are an integral part of my collection. Since they were specifically targeted at collectors they were purchased basically “as-is” condition, as a no brainer.

 

[RWB]

Is "poverty" a grade? That's what I collect now....

[TomB]

The VF and EF grade range is fantastic for most coins. Certainly, you must have an example or two, right?

[brog]

I like a circulated coin myself. My walking liberty sets are from vg8 to ms65. as do all my series.

[Mark T]

Bust Halves - AU 55 - Au 58

Gold Indians - MS 62 - MS64

 

 

I do not collect other coins because I am close minded. J/K

[Bugmann1974]

VF to XF is the range I like as well for my date sets. However the date sets that I am working on now are getting old enough where it is easier to to find and afford coins in the F-VF range. Though I do usually try to get the best grade I can afford for my Slabbed type set. I also have been known to grab cheap slabbed Morgans in the MS64-65 range.

[WinstonWare]

The VF and EF grade range is fantastic for most coins. Certainly, you must have an example or two, right?

 

You may remember this one. This is a perfect example of the grade and originality that I enjoy in my coins.

 

 

[WinstonWare]

However the date sets that I am working on now are getting old enough where it is easier to to find and afford coins in the F-VF range.

 

I hear ya' brother!

[physics-fan3.14]

Overall, generally I prefer the grade EF-40. To me, these coins, *with the right look,* are perfect. Its finding the right look that is so darn hard. The bustie that I just bought embodies this ideal.

[michael]

depending on the affordability AND value/opportunity factor

 

EITHER THE FINEST KNOWN or the grade just under the bump/multiples of price

[prudden]

For me,it depends on the type of coin.Mostly, I collect Morgans and the higher the grade the better. PL and DMPL even more so. For most others,I like to have at least one in an AU or MS grade but the rest can be VF to AU. Secondly,it depends an price as well.

[okbustchaser]

My favorite grade???

 

 

[WinstonWare]

EITHER THE FINEST KNOWN

Wow. I never even thought of trying to purchase the finest known of any coin. Even in moderns I generally can't find the defect in a MS or PF 69 so I never want to spend the extra money for the 70.

[Schatzy]

Well I like collecting coins in all grades with great eye appeal.

I still find myself collecting old wheaties because of the eye appeal,

there are still some great looking coins out there.

 

My current obsession is my PF70UC. I am working on my 1992 - Present

proof set in all PF70UC. I have been studying PF70 coins and I am getting

better everyday and on my last submission I was shooting over 60%!!

I can't wait till I can get between the 90-100% range. Happy Hunting!!

[PerryHall]

I like the highest grade just before the big jump at the next higher grade. I especially like the AU58 grade since you get all the detail and most of the luster for a fraction of the MS price and it's frequently much more attractive than a low end MS coin.

[Oldtrader3]

Perry, I agree and collect AU58 coins wherever they can be found in the series that I am working on. Also your mention of the wisdom of buying at the "economic grade point" as espoused by many dealers for any series.

[michael]

EITHER THE FINEST KNOWN

 

i agree but with me this is why i put OR after it

 

and usually i am interested in pre 1900 coins so sometimes finest known could be the 1871 proof 65 ultra cameo coin i once had or the 1860 ms68 star coin i once had and yes even though in holders they met my standards and most likely were finest known and remember KNOWN IS THE OPERATIVE WORD HERE

 

there might be one, some, many better but are currently unknown but to a few that keep it secret or as yet undiscovered

 

usually with either finest known-----OR--- the grade right before the jump

 

it is usually the grade befofe the jump THAT I USUALLY WOULD GO AFTER OR I SEE

 

but in your search with what you specialize in ande collect you can have at least one piece that is either finest known or pretty damn close to it a good variety with all the rest the grade right before the jump

[toyonakataro]

As a collector of seated half dimes, I love MS62-64 grade.

Affordable, yet pretty. Here's one of my MS62

 

 

Having said that, I really love your bust half winstonware (thumbs u

[dean1345]

When it comes to EAC I woulf prefer AU58. There are alot of MS61 & MS62 that do not have as nice of eye appeal as the 58's.

[WinstonWare]

Having said that, I really love your bust half winstonware (thumbs u

 

Thank you. I was fortunate enough to have that offered to me by TomB. I have been admiring your growing half dime collection for a while now (thumbs u

[PerryHall]

When it comes to EAC I woulf prefer AU58. There are alot of MS61 & MS62 that do not have as nice of eye appeal as the 58's.

 

There are also a lot of 58's in MS61/62 slabs.

[Coin]

I haven't thought of the grade range for my over-all collecting .

 

Walkers: low grade....I just remember them this way as I found them in change as a kid

modern halves : high grade

modern silver quarters '32-64 : MS65/66

modern Proof sets : high grade

Jeffferson nickels : no grade level , but FS

Winged Liberty dimes : not really a grade , but FB(FT)

EAC: VF

Indian head/Bison Nics : ones with personality ...slightly toned , worn but with EF details or better

gee , I could go on an on for each , but I guess each series has it's own flavor for me and not a 'one grade fits all' with my approach to collecting when it comes to a grade .

[zrlevin]

I'm a big fan of VF, but a deeply toned 58 is also swell.

[TJ'S Coins]

What I can afford

 

In pre-1900 non-silver dollar coins I can be quite content with a range from VF30 to XF45 as others have also suggested.

 

On Morgan and Peace silver dollars I like MS64-65

 

Early commemorative coins are great in MS65 or 66

 

Overall, a nice VF35 in any series is hard to beat.

[World Colonial]

It depends upon the series but I seldom buy coins lower than AU. A recent example of one was a 1765 Peru 2 Reales that ended up grading XF-45. Gilboy lists this coin as "Common" in VF or bettter. But I do not recall seeing another one before.

[Houston Investor]

I like MS 64 - 65 commems (a few issues in 66) and MS 62 - MS 64 US Gold Type Coins. The coins in the next grade or two up are just too expensive, too over valued, grossly over promoted, and like humpty dumpty poised to take a big fall.

 

If you collect commems, I highly recomment Harry Laibstains book on Certified Commems written in 1994. It will help you key in on the really desireable issues and make suggestions as to which grade they should be acquired in. I still consider this a valid reference along with my CDN when I bid on these on Teletrade.

 

I like coins with the best basal value for their particular issue - if MS 63 is $150, MS 64 $200, and MS 65 $500, then I like the MS 64.

 

Sometimes a BU roll is a better deal than a super quality single. Take the 1950 nickel in BU. I recently picked up a really nice BU roll of thse for $110 and according to Coin World Values an MS 66 is worth $57. Hmm maybe I should search my roll.....

 

I like BU rolls - I like to look at them on a felt jewelers tray while enjoying a highball mixed from Jamesons Irish Whisky and Canada Dry. 2 parts Jamesons with 4 parts Canada Dry.

[lehigh96]

Is that what they drink in Arizona?

[BillJones]

When it comes to early U.S. coins, my favorite grades fall in the AU-55 to 58 range. For coins from say 1820 to the late 1850s, I'm looking for MS-63 and 64. From the late 1850s to the present, I start looking for Proofs although I'll buy a nice Mint State piece too. The exceptions are rare pre mid 1834 gold coins. For those I'm looking for AU-55 or 58.

 

Once you hit the 20th century, I'm looking for MS-64 or 65 for coins that you can't buy in Proof, like Standing Liberty Quarters and PR-66 for pieces you can buy in Proof. For the very modern stuff, I want PR-68 or 69 with a cameo. I usually will not pay the feight for PR-70 because I don't think the coins are worth it.

[MikeKing]

a lot depends on the coin

vf-xf gives you a great hunt and great reward when you find the perfect ones

great for early dollars, draped busts, original gold, all copper including lincolns

Bust Halves, I'd have to go with AU58 where you've got all of the good stuff, and none of the bad.

 

great thread