Who pays much attention to the pop. reports?

[bigd5]

I don't. I haven't looked at a pop. report in so long, I can't remember the last time I checked, or asked someone to check for me on the pop of a particular coin.

I recently sold an NGC ms/64 1891-s Seated quarter to a dealer, and remember peaking (don't recall the exact numbers ) at the pop on that particular coin and it was fairly scarce (pop wise) in 64 and higher.

Got me to thinking is all.

I don't do much with moderns, and I imagine that's where pop's come more into play.

Anyone collecting classic stuff worried about the pop's?

 

I remember someone telling me my 1849/6 (pcgs ms/63 that is really a 4) is a lower pop coin. Maybe I'm numb, but the news was kind of a "non-event".

[Elcontador]

Darin,

 

If I am buying a type coin in a specific grade and several different dates are offered, I will compare prices and pop reports.

Ie., if I can pick up a coin which is a little more scarce for about the same $, I'll do it. An example is I paid right around sheet for

an 1883 Seated Half in 5, versus picking up an 1879 or 1877P, which have higher pops in the grade.

[Wihlborg]

I use the pop reports all the time when tiring to decide on what grade classic coin to go after.

 

I feel it helps give me a realistic idea of how likely I am to find a coin in the grade I’ am looking for. For instance, there is not much sense in looking for a MS-67 if there are none in that grade. Also I may decide to buy a nice MS-65 coin if I know that there are only 5 MS-66 coins graded and my chance of finding one is very slim.

 

John

 

[BushMan]

An awful lot of very high grade coins being made lately. Checking some of those population increases can really save you a lot of money. I think it is a safe precaution. Plenty of poor purchases made by collectors immediately after a big increase in population!

[PQSeated]

Pop reports for the most part can give an accurate representation of the rarity of certain coins, but for some coins the pops are so out of whack the true rarity isn't even reflected by the pop reports.

[cladking]

I wouldn't recommend putting a lot of faith in the pop reports for moderns yet. They are far better than trying to figure relative scarcity on your own, but they can only give one an idea at this point. There is a lot of correlation between quality for a date and the total number graded for that coin, but one can get a distorted view of the difficulty of individual coins from looking at these numbers. Some coins which exist in very high grades only rarely have not been submitted. This is likely caused by a multitude of factors. It looks like it may be another year or two before the gaps are filled in and the pops can give one an accurate picture of what was minted.

 

The best bet still is to get out and actually look at a few of these coins. It will still give you a better feel for what was made than will the pops.

[toyonakataro]

I DO care a lot when it comes to scare date.

If there's a lot in the grade I'm looking for, I'll try(yes, just try )to wait untill I find very nice example, but when it comes to a low pop coin, there's no room for choice.

[TomB]

In my neck of the woods, wonderfully toned coins, the pop reports don't mean a heck of a lot. It's all about the "look".

[DonHeath]

Reading the census is interesting, only because it tells me how popular a particular date/mm is among the submitters, and tells me where in the grading range the best of breed reside, but it doesn't indicate rarity in my opinion. I think a better indicator of relative rarity is the number of times a particular coin is offered for sale in any grade. Despite their presence in the population report, some coins are NEVER, or at least rarely sold publicly.

[Oldtrader3]

I do, I use them as a relative gauge of scarcity and grade distribution, knowing that fully well that some (many?) higher grade MS submissions are regrades. It still is all relative and it helps me evaluate if the price somewhat is in-line with scarcity in that series. The point being that a Saint a low pop., say 250 certified coins, has probably the same relative resubmission rate (%) as a coin with 450 certified coins. So relatively, you can gauge scarcity on a somewhat skewed scale, not absolute certainly, but probably statistically relevent.

[michael]

when you are dealing with really monster/extraordinary eye appealling coins then the pops are not really that much of a concern to me

 

i am sure in some cases it does help with information to make a btter decision or research

 

and sometimes the pops are helpful

 

but the pops depending on the specific coin need to be evaulated on a coin by coin basis!

 

simetimes it helps add to a coin in showing the coin it a true light but more often than not it is not accurate in showing a coins true scarcity

 

sincerely michael

 

 

[shylock]

For my personal buying favorites -- toning that 'speaks to me' -- like Tom & Michael the pops hold no significance other than how it influences the asking price. Factors that keep a coin at a lower grade can be much easier to live with on a beautifully toned coin, making them great buys. I looked through a collection of monster toned IH proofs at FUN and actually stopped noticing both the grade and the dates after a while -- I would have wanted all of them even if they were the same common date. Each was unique unto itself.

 

On the other hand, for the coins I follow more as a spectator -- MS red IHs -- the pops are important to me. Grade and eye appeal correlate more closely on these. Often not closely enough to justify the price jumps, but enough to make me eager to see the top pops in person and form my own opinion. They usually have at least some qualities rarely seen in their date. At the same FUN show the only two PCGS MS68 IH's were auctioned off. No matter how much I chant the "coin not the slab" mantra I was dieing to see both of them.

 

The pops can also create mystery coins that put the reports in their proper perspective. PCGS has a single 1909-S MS67RD IH listed that hasn't been seen by any major dealer or collector of these I know of. Some feel it doesn't exist, and it's amusing that a possible clerical error is all that keeps the few 66RDs from "finest known" status.

 

And yes, the NGC pops interest me too -- my icon in the other forum is one of the 3 NGC MS68RD Indian cents, a coin I regret not seeing in person.