State Quarters Program - grading recommendation? 0

[CHunUSMC]

I have several unopened, uncirculated (a.k.a. U.S. Mint sealed) state quarters.  There are some online sources (Youtube - JB Coins) that state there are some state quarters (e.g. 2003 Missouri "P") that can be valuable in higher MS condition.

 

My question, with my unopened, direct from the U.S. Mint rolls, would it be worthwhile to send these to have graded?  If they are unopened & sealed directly from the U.S. Mint, should they not grade fairly high?

[VKurtB]

In a word, don’t. It is extremely odd that any state quarter would be worth having graded. MS67 would be pretty much a breakeven coin. You’d need an MS68 to make it worth doing.

[CHunUSMC]

12 minutes ago, VKurtB said:

In a word, don’t. It is extremely odd that any state quarter would be worth having graded. MS67 would be pretty much a breakeven coin. You’d need an MS68 to make it worth doing.

Thanks so much for the advice.  In your opinion or experience, do uncirculated/unopened U.S. Mint coins (generally) grade at a certain level (or is there no way to tell/know)?  With your input, I will not be spending the cash to grade a state quarter.  I was hoping for some good news on state quarters - my Dad had passed down several, several U.S. Mint boxes containing state quarters.  I will likely just hold onto them and pass them down to future generations in hope that something will happen to make them valuable enough to take action.  Thanks again.

[JKK]

Kurt told you what I would have. Here's the main trouble: what looks pristine to those who are not used to looking at a lot of coins, all protected inside the mint packaging, usually isn't as perfect as the novice thinks (which is natural, and nothing to fault you or anyone else for).

My grading guide doesn't have state quarter specifics, but here's MS-67's general description:

Has full original luster and sharp strike for date and mint. May have three or four very small contact marks and one more noticeable but not detracting mark. On comparable coins, one or two small single hairlines may show under magnification, or one or two partially hidden scuff marks or flaws may be present. Eye appeal is exceptional. [left out irrelevant part about copper coins]

What it says for MS-68:

Attractive sharp strike and full original luster for the date and mint, with no more than four light scattered contact marks or flaws. No hairlines or scuff marks show. Exceptional eye appeal. [same caveat]

So what you are looking for, in football terms, are fouls so ticky-tack that the replay refs spend ten minutes reviewing, then usually decide there isn't indisputable video evidence. Even professional graders do not find this easy. So yeah, keep and protect them; don't let the plastic-sealed packages bang into one another. But you'd be unlikely to break even, let along profit.

[Conder101]

2 hours ago, CHunUSMC said:

In your opinion or experience, do uncirculated/unopened U.S. Mint coins (generally) grade at a certain level (or is there no way to tell/know)? 

Since they are still just basically a random selection of business strike coins, I would expect a bell curve distribution of grades centering somewhere around MS-64.  That means 70% between 63 and 65 maybe 20% between 65 and 66 9+% between 66 and 67 and less than 1% better than 67.

[Just Bob]

7 hours ago, CHunUSMC said:

  If they are unopened & sealed directly from the U.S. Mint, should they not grade fairly high?

Keep in mind that these were not taken directly off the press and placed into rolls by hand. They went into a bin with thousands of other coins, and were then counted, sorted, bagged, rolled, etc., all the while being banged into by other coins. The odds of finding a pristine example are slim, as the others have stated.

Welcome to the forum.

[VKurtB]

I’d keep them as they are until you gain the knowledge and experience to recognize a likely MS67 or 68 coin. I avoided even discussing MS69, because they are ridiculously rare. In most years they actually don’t exist. My 2019-W uncirculated Lincoln Cent made MS69, but those were specially handled. 

[CHunUSMC]

14 hours ago, VKurtB said:

I’d keep them as they are until you gain the knowledge and experience to recognize a likely MS67 or 68 coin. I avoided even discussing MS69, because they are ridiculously rare. In most years they actually don’t exist. My 2019-W uncirculated Lincoln Cent made MS69, but those were specially handled. 

Agreed, thank you.  With having several, several dozens U.S. Mint wrapped/sealed state quarter rolls, I will remain skeptically hopeful.