OGP Coin collecting vs graded coins or both advice 0

[Matt Stiefel]

Hello fellow coin collectors, 

 I am a collector of original government packaging coins (ogp) and have the idea of starting to collect graded coins by NGC and wanted to get some advice as far as how to go about making sure I don’t get taken advantage of price wise. I’ve  used the verify tool in the website for my few purchases. Any advice or suggestions are welcomed. Thanks in advance!! I know that we all love the idea of  owning the top tier merchandise (PF 70, MS 70, etc) but is there really that much difference between a 69 and 70 other than the price jump between grades? 

[BlakeEik]

Hello Matt and welcome! You ask some good questions. I don’t think you will get many answers but you may get a lot of opinions.

My advice would be to  collect coins not holders. You may want to limit grading services because of the registry, since both only allow their own coins to be counted. Otherwise grades may not reflect how much you like a coin or not.

 Probably the most important advice is to be careful determining the fair market value. I think PCGS does a much better job keeping their price guide current. The NGC price guide tends to be very inflated for certain coins.  The CDN price guide https://www.greysheet.com/cdn-collector-price-guidance Is grading service independent and can give a good idea of a fair market value. Also, in the NGC resources you can find past auction data that gives you an idea how much people are actually paying for coins.

 Your question about 69 versus 70 is a loaded one. I find it very hard to tell the difference a lot of times. I think the graders sometimes flip a coin on which should be.  I’ve seen some 69‘s that like 70s and 70s that look like 69‘s, but usually they all look the same to me When you talk about coins since 1990. But if you buy 69 instead of 70, you may have a problem selling them . A lot of people only want 70 because most modern coins from the mint won’t be graded under 69 anyway.  That’s why there’s such a price jump between 69 and 70 many times  

 If you go back pre-1964, you don’t really have to worry about 69 versus 70s because there are a few 70s. The price guides in the population reports are useful tools in determining why a coin cost what it costs. Bottom line, by the coins you like, and don’t pay more than you want to. Best of luck and I hope you get some going to happy with!

 

Edited September 21, 2019 by BlakeEik

[Matt Stiefel]

14 minutes ago, BlakeEik said:

Hello Matt and welcome! You ask some good questions. I don’t think you will get many answers but you may get a lot of opinions.

My advice would be to  collect coins not holders. You may want to limit grading services because of the registry, since both only allow their own coins to be counted. Otherwise grades may not reflect how much you like a coin or not.

 Probably the most important advice is to be careful determining the fair market value. I think PCGS does a much better job keeping their price guide current. The NGC price guide tends to be very inflated for certain coins.  The CDN price guide https://www.greysheet.com/cdn-collector-price-guidance Is grading service independent and can give a good idea of a fair market value. Also, in the NGC resources you can find past auction data that gives you an idea how much people are actually paying for coins.

 Your question about 69 versus 70 is a loaded one. I find it very hard to tell the difference a lot of times. I think the graders sometimes flip a coin on which should be.  I’ve seen some 69‘s that like 70s and 70s that look like 69‘s, but usually they all look the same to me When you talk about coins since 1990. But if you buy 69 instead of 70, you may have a problem selling them . A lot of people only want 70 because most modern coins from the mint won’t be graded under 69 anyway.  That’s why there’s such a price jump between 69 and 70 many times  

 If you go back pre-1964, you don’t really have to worry about 69 versus 70s because there are a few 70s. The price guides in the population reports are useful tools in determining why a coin cost what it costs. Bottom line, by the coins you like, and don’t pay more than you want to. Best of luck and I hope you get some going to happy with!

 

Thank you very much for this response.  It’s great to hear opinions vs advice cause they make us think about things we don’t know all about.  Much appreciated. I’ll buy the coins (ogp) and splurge on the special ones that I really like! With a graded coin every now and then. 

[BlakeEik]

Great to hear! 

After re-reading my own response, I do want to point out the most important aspect about buying graded coins. I DO NOT RECOMMEND BUYING UNGRADED COINS AT GRADED PRICES. For example, if a coin does not have a PCGS or NGC holder and the seller is asking for equivalent prices, be very careful. NGG and PCGS have strict standards, even though they may be different and even sometimes inconsistent. If you ever decide to send coins in to be graded that you did not get straight from the mint, you may be very disappointed in the results!

On the contrary, buying coins you like in these holders pretty much ensures you are getting the quality that is advertised.