coin
Coin of the Week: 2009 American Buffalo
The 2009 gold buffalo is a beautiful coin and a smart investment. The coin has a lower mintage and is one every collector should pick up. I would say why stop at one?
For more information check out the mint web page:
Grading Your Coins
This is a nice MS-66 Mercury dime
One aspect of coin collecting that can take years to get a knack for is grading. Every coin has many focus areas you must look for to assign the proper grade to a coin. The difference between a coin being Mint State and about uncirculated can be impossible at first to spot but with time you will learn to grade like a pro. The value of a coin not only lies with its relative rarity but it also has a great deal to do with the grade or condition a coin can be in. Coins are graded on a scale from 1 to 70 and they have designations from about good (AG 3) gem uncirculated (MS 70). The difference in one grade point can be in some cases thousands of dollars. Coins can be very common in one grade but virtually unseen in higher grades.
The best was to stat is to know the breakdown of the grading. Coins grade as follows:
- AG-3 About Good
- G-4 Good
- VG-8 Very Good
- F-12 Fine
- VF-20 Very Fine
- EF-40 Extremely Fine
- AU-50 About Uncirculated
- MS-60 Uncirculated
- MS-63 Choice Uncirculated
- MS-65 Gem Uncirculated
- MS-70
Each coin has many various middle grades between those major listed about. Each coins also has their own set of standards for each coin.
Here are my tips to learn to grade:
- Get your hands on an auction catalouge. Cover up the grades of the coins then guess what you think it is. After you have your guess look at the actual grade and figure out why you are off.
- Get a copy of The Official American Numismatic Association Grading Standards of United States Coins (Official American Numismatic Association Grading Standards for United States Coins)
- Look at dealer inventories of coins you collect. The guess what they are and ask the dealer how you did.
- Pick a coin like the mercury dime and obtain examples from all ranges of grades so you know what to look for in that coin.
- Always look first with you naked eye, then once with magnification. Scan the coin for wear or scratches, always check for rim chips, think about color and tone. Ask yourself if you think the coin is original.
- Always think what did this coin look like when it was first struck then work backwards from that point.
- Look for strike detail and compare this to wear. Do not mistake a weak strike for a worn coin.
It is very hard to learn how to grade every coin out there so pick a few at first and learn them inside and out then slowly expand. When you are grading a coin do not forget to think if the coins is authentic and if the coin has been cleaned.
The coin pictured is a nice MS 66 Mercury dime. The coin shows a nice as minted luster, the coin has good color, but the strike is a bit weak leaving the coin at MS 66 rather than MS 67 or higher. This is a good example of a gem uncirculated coin.
Good luck and happy collecting. Get out and grade.
The Great Quarter Eagle Crack Out
An MS-61 Quarter Eagle
Cracking out is when a coin investor buys a graded coin and then cracks it out of its slab and sends it in for regrading in hope of upgrading the coin. This is not in any means a beginner tactic to coin collecting because it requires an expert eye and the ability to grade coins on the spot. The focus of this crack out guide will be Indian Head Quarter Eagles.
First here are some tips you should always consider before cracking out a coin:
- What is my win/loss (how much can I gain from an upgrade and how much can I lose from a downgrade)
- Does the coin have the strike, luster and detail for an upgrade?
- Is the added cost of certification and shipping worth the chance the coin comes back the same grade?
- When cracking out a coin beware of damaging the coin while handling it. (I have heard a few horror stories about people cracking a coin out then dropping it the second it is out of the holder and turning an MS 64 St. Double into a AU-55 St. Double.)
- Be kind and at the end of the year send back all your crack out slips so the coin populations can be redone.
So that is some of the basic knowledge for a more in depth look check out The Coin Collector’s Survival Manual
For the lesson on the Indian Head Quarter Eagle I have picked three dates I feel have a great upside/ downside ratio. The reason I picked the Indian Head Quarter Eagle is because of the way the coin is designed and the complexity the coin presents to the grader. The coin’s details are sunken in and the surfaces are leveled. The coin is graded by the ANA as follows:
MS-70: “A Flawless Coin Exactly as minted… Must have full mint luster”- ANA
MS-65 “No trace of wear except for some small blemishes. Has full mint luster. A few noticeable nicks or marks may be present.”- ANA
MS-63 “A coin with attractive mint luster but noticeable detracting contact marks or minor blemishes” -ANA
MS-60 “A strictly uncirculated coin with no trace of wear but with blemishes more obvious than for a MS-63″ May lack full mint luster and brilliance.”
From this you can notice that the difference between a MS-62 and a MS-63 would be minor if anything but the value swap is huge. Or from a MS-63 to 64.
By the numbers:
|
VALUE IN GRADE |
|||
| DATE & MINTMARK | MS- 61 | MS- 62 | MS-63 |
| 1909 | $390 | $650 | $2,000 |
| BUY THE MS-62 WITH GREAT EYE APPEAL AND THE EXPECTED RESULTS ARE AS FOLLOWS | -$280 (LOSS IN VALUE AND GRADING PLUS SHIPPING) | -$20 (FOR GRADING AND SHIPPING) | +1,330 (PROFIT FROM INCREASE IN VALUE LESS COST OF GRADING AND SHIPPING) |
| MS- 61 | MS- 62 | MS-63 | |
| 1912 | $390 | $625 | $2,100 |
| BUY THE MS-62 WITH GREAT EYE APPEAL AND THE EXPECTED RESULTS ARE AS FOLLOWS | -$255 (LOSS IN VALUE AND GRADING PLUS SHIPPING) | -$20 (FOR GRADING AND SHIPPING) | +1,455 (PROFIT FROM INCREASE IN VALUE LESS COST OF GRADING AND SHIPPING) |
| MS- 60 | MS- 61 | MS-62 | |
| 1914 | $400 | $700 | $2,150 |
| BUY THE MS-61 WITH GREAT EYE APPEAL | -$320 (LOSS IN VALUE AND GRADING PLUS SHIPPING) | -$20 (FOR GRADING AND SHIPPING) | +1,430 (PROFIT FROM INCREASE IN VALUE LESS COST OF GRADING AND SHIPPING) |
***Warning: no results are guaranteed do not do this if you cannot afford the downside risk. As always you can damage your coins easily and there is no safe way to crack coins out. Not for people who do not have expert coin experience!****
Coin of the Week
The 2009 Lincoln Cent:
The birth place cent
The Log Splitter Cent
The Lawyer Cent
The Capitol Construction Cent (the three "c" penny)
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln Cent. The Mint has decided to both honor Lincoln and the coin by creating four new reverse designs. The cent has been hard to come by and very few have found their way into circulation. For more information check out the site Lincoln Cent 2009.
