Do you find that you simply MUST have a coin in the top X% for the grade?

[James_OldeTowne]

... Or are you happy to settle for a coin that's "nice", but maybe only a touch above average? In other words, how many of us simply refuse to buy any coin at a particular grade unless it's quality is believed to be in the top 5% of all coins for that particular grade?

 

Speaking for myself, I am virtually always content to buy coins that are "nice enough" for the grade, according my personal standards.

[physics-fan3.14]

I buy coins that are solidly graded. I don't care if its the top 5% or 35%. I want an MS-64 coin that is actually an MS-64 coin.

 

Now, if I can find one that's particularly nice, an MS-64.8 or 65.4, I'll buy it. But I don't go seeking them out. I want great strike, good luster, terrific eye appeal - all appropriate for the grade.

[jgrinz]

I think it depends on what someone is collecting.

 

In my instance ..

 

If we are talking my 1883 Proof set - I was unmoving on what I wanted, the best that I could find ( When I had Money ) ) , Not many out there.

 

If we are talking Morgans, unfortunately, I had to settle for something I can afford. The FUN for me,collecting this ominous set, is having a price range in mind and finding the best available. One coin in particular that stands out is the 1901.

 

I still think it to be an extremely NICE version of an AU .. BUT I paid well BELOW what I think it is worth because of its details.

 

 

[World Colonial]

No, because I almost never have the choice of buying two acceptable coins at the same time or even in close proximity, much less in a particular grade. If I do not like the coin, I will not buy it but oterwise do not consider this question.

 

Outside of proofs for one of my series, I only recall a handful of ocassions where two coins of the same issue were available at the same time in better (AU or above) grades.

[michael]

james; great thread by the way (thumbs u

 

for my personal standards any coin i am considering has to be at least high-end for the grade assigned in the ngc plastic if not higher

 

2--- has to have extraspecial, extraordinary qualities about it if not more

 

3--- have to have at least way above average if not monster eye appeal

 

if not the coin is a pass

 

 

[Tradedollarnut]

Given a choice, yes. But most of what I collect is rare enough that one really doesn't have that choice.

[DC Dawg]

It depends on the coin. There's something about low grade large cents I find very appealing. I also like a little worn Barber coins. I don't know why, but I like those coins in lower grades.

 

[James_OldeTowne]

... Or are you happy to settle for a coin that's "nice", but maybe only a touch above average? In other words, how many of us simply refuse to buy any coin at a particular grade unless it's quality is believed to be in the top 5% of all coins for that particular grade?

 

Speaking for myself, I am virtually always content to buy coins that are "nice enough" for the grade, according my personal standards.

I guess what I'm saying is: I personally will only collect coins in the top 95% of their grade .

[Old Pueblo]

I wasted money and time buying bottom 5% coins cause the coin sold at auction for well below market. What I received was an education.

I have sold many of the "C" for grade coins with great difficulty and in most case for a small loss. I am willing to "pay up" for higher quality today.

 

 

Cheers

 

OP

[cpm9ball]

It's a good thing I don't have a basketball player's hands because my pockets aren't that deep. I buy what I can afford, but if I don't like the look, I'll pass.

 

Chris

[JStull]

... Or are you happy to settle for a coin that's "nice", but maybe only a touch above average? In other words, how many of us simply refuse to buy any coin at a particular grade unless it's quality is believed to be in the top 5% of all coins for that particular grade?

 

Speaking for myself, I am virtually always content to buy coins that are "nice enough" for the grade, according my personal standards.

 

I buy the grades that fit my collecting budget.

 

 

[MikeInFL]

It always seemed rather silly to me to not buy a coin simply because it was low end for the grade. If the coin's a good coin and priced right, why should "where it sits in the arbitrary grade continuum" factor into the equation? I just don't get it.

[Tradedollarnut]

It always seemed rather silly to me to not buy a coin simply because it was low end for the grade. If the coin's a good coin and priced right, why should "where it sits in the arbitrary grade continuum" factor into the equation? I just don't get it.

 

Of course if you got it at the price equivalent to its quality then you're ok .... but the reality is that plastic carries value. That value can be positive or negative. On an overgraded coin, the value of the plastic and insert is wildly positive. On an undergraded coin, the value is negative. Because of this, buying low end coins almost always causes one to overpay and buying high end coins is a relative bargain.

[michael]

It's a good thing I don't have a basketball player's hands because my pockets aren't that deep. I buy what I can afford, but if I don't like the look, I'll pass.

 

Chris

 

this is why i don't collect anymore, can't afford what i would like to collect in the quality i want, demand and need

[JCM-Houston]

For common coins I actively try to buy the finest around, but some of the stuff I collect you can't be all that picky about. If one comes up for sale you buy it, regardless of what it may or may not grade. For instance in Victorian Pennies most dates are relatively common so I try to get 65 or better, but there are a couple of essentially uncollectable dates, if one of those shows up in a mangled net good you buy it, it may be the only one for sale in your lifetime.

[mike169]

For common coins I actively try to buy the finest around, but some of the stuff I collect you can't be all that picky about. If one comes up for sale you buy it, regardless of what it may or may not grade. For instance in Victorian Pennies most dates are relatively common so I try to get 65 or better, but there are a couple of essentially uncollectable dates, if one of those shows up in a mangled net good you buy it, it may be the only one for sale in your lifetime.

 

I believe some of us are misinterpreting the question. The question is not if you buy the highest grade, but within the same grade, do you need one that is essentially a "+" for the grade.

 

The answer for me is no, and besides, I can't tell the difference other than "it looks good to me"

 

[MikeInFL]

It always seemed rather silly to me to not buy a coin simply because it was low end for the grade. If the coin's a good coin and priced right, why should "where it sits in the arbitrary grade continuum" factor into the equation? I just don't get it.

 

Of course if you got it at the price equivalent to its quality then you're ok .... but the reality is that plastic carries value. That value can be positive or negative. On an overgraded coin, the value of the plastic and insert is wildly positive. On an undergraded coin, the value is negative. Because of this, buying low end coins almost always causes one to overpay and buying high end coins is a relative bargain.

 

Of course plastic carries value, and I see what you mean.

 

But a cool coin is still a cool coin. The coin certainly doesn't know it's low or high end. When I scan a dealer's case, or I look over my coins or the coins of another collector, I look at the coins...and in the end the grade is really incidental to the price for market graded coins.

 

So to me, at least, it's much more about (a) the coin and much less about (b) the price. It's even less about © the grade and further less about (d) less high or low end for the grade. So on Mike's importance scale, at least, it's a>>b>c>d.

 

Take care...Mike

 

[Walkerfan]

First thing that I do is try to figure out what is the highest grade for a certain issue that my budget can handle, then, absolutely, I do look for the best that I can find. Certain coins however are NEVER going to be perfect, so you don't want to drive yourself crazy and spend YEARS searching. When that is the case, I buy something that I feel is WELL above average and SOLID for the grade, b/c you can always trade up later if the opportunity presents itself. The other thing is that certain 'higher' grade coins are, many times, just not worth that sometimes enormous markup. A case in point: is the 1918 S WLH. Right now a GOOD MS 64 can be had for about 3K; that is 1.5-2K less than about 5-6 short years ago and they're VERY plentiful in MS 64. The MS 65s, on the other hand, are 5X that or 15K!!! And MANY of them are simply no better than the really good MS 64! So.....if you're gonna stretch for that gem and have that kinda financial clout; you better make darned sure that it is a worthy specimen (i.e. very lusterous, well struck THROUGHOUT--including head, skirts, thumb and breast feathers--, and also nearly mark-free), b/c MANY simply are not worth the money. The long and short of it is 'yes'; I try to find the best, in that decided grade, within reason. It is ALWAYS better to find a SUPER SOLID lower graded coin than a poor quality HIGHER graded one.

[World Colonial]

For common coins I actively try to buy the finest around, but some of the stuff I collect you can't be all that picky about. If one comes up for sale you buy it, regardless of what it may or may not grade. For instance in Victorian Pennies most dates are relatively common so I try to get 65 or better, but there are a couple of essentially uncollectable dates, if one of those shows up in a mangled net good you buy it, it may be the only one for sale in your lifetime.

 

I believe some of us are misinterpreting the question. The question is not if you buy the highest grade, but within the same grade, do you need one that is essentially a "+" for the grade.

 

The answer for me is no, and besides, I can't tell the difference other than "it looks good to me"

 

In my prior response, I answered the same way as JCM and yes, it is an answer to a slightly different question. However, the original question implies that most or all buyers will have the luxury of actually having multiple coins available in the same grade and probably within close proximity from a timing standpoint.

 

With this assumption, then yes, it makes sense to "hold out" for the coin the buyer considers good enough. But this is a luxury which only or primarily exists for buyers of common coins or those that are moderately scarce but are still available regularly or fairly regularly. This probably applies to over 95% of US coins but proportionately not to many world coins outside of a relatively small number of countries.

 

If I took the approach of only buying coins in a particular grade with an even more narrow eye appeal requirement, I essentially would not have a collection at all. Proportionately, there have been very few coins in my series that I have seen twice in the same grade and most of these were the more common ones.

 

For the coins in my series, here is a summary of what I have seen, Many coins, I have NEVER seen at all. Examples include the 1931 circulation strike South Africa three pence and pillar minors from Peru and Guatemala. (Presumably, some coins were actually available in lower grades but I just did not see them.) Most coins, I have never seen in a specific grade, especially the better grades.. For example, Heritage has a 1926 South Africa PCGS 2/ up for sale in April but there are only handful known in MS and only slightly more in AU. So the potential buyer cannot choose between this coin and even an MS-62 or MS-63, much less another MS-64. With some slightly more "common" issues, I have seen them in a particular grade on multiple ocassions (this over a 10 year period) but almost never at the same time. Maybe months but almost always years apart. Except for the more common issues (which are generally still not that common or at least available), most of the time when I have seen repeat appearances, the grades vary widely.

[okbustchaser]

Grades in general make very little difference to me other than as a starting point for discussing price. As long as it really is AU I really don't care that much whether it is a 50 or a 55--let alone where it ranks next to the other 55s.

 

Based on the continual errosion of grading standard during the last 25 years of TPGs it will be a 58 in a couple of more years anyway.

 

 

[DirtyGoldMan]

If grading is an opinion, slicing grades into 5% increments is extremely subjective and very difficult to reproduce from one viewer to the next. That said, I like to acquire coins that look nice for what they are, backed up by my personal experience of viewing a lot of coins in my area of interest. I may or may not agree with what others consider to be top 5% for the grade, and I do not spend a whole lot of time thinking about it.

[coinman_23885]

... Or are you happy to settle for a coin that's "nice", but maybe only a touch above average? In other words, how many of us simply refuse to buy any coin at a particular grade unless it's quality is believed to be in the top 5% of all coins for that particular grade?

 

Speaking for myself, I am virtually always content to buy coins that are "nice enough" for the grade, according my personal standards.

 

As long as the coin is priced appropriately, who would really care? Isn't an MS65 - essentially the same thing as a MS64+?

[Oldtrader3]

With me, it really comes down to three things: budget, scarcity and relative goodness for grade. If a coin is common and easy to find, I am fussy to the extent that I will budget for that particular coin and look for a graded coin which reasonably represents that price level. If a coin is R-3 or above then it becomes what grade will the budget bear and what is the best representation that I can expect in that grade. The length of time that I will look for a particular coin is also based on its relative scarcity, cost and finding a coin to buy when I find one that meets my expectations.