Condition Or Rarity, What's Most Important?

Yea, I'm with you on the grade wagon, I like pretty coins over low grade rare ones. Being I'm just getting my feet wet that could change in the future. I've already gone from just wanting junk silver to wanting pretty silver.

Rick

I think for me overall it's grade but I do feel a ton of excitement when I pick up a semi key Wheat cent over a common BU. I just started picking up Walking halves and the seven I have in F/VF are, to me, some of the most beautiful coins I own. They have this awesome sense of age and wear to them. I really do feel like I'm holding history with them. If coins get to worn, I pass.

Vermontensium's PO-1 chain cent might be had for the price of a PF-70 common year Washington quarter. Yes, I would always take that rarity over the common quarter's grade, but even if that rarity is arbitrarily assigned the same dollar value as the quarter's condition, it will always have a quality the quarter does not. We don't always appreciate that quality in the West, but in Japanese classical esthetics it's called sabi, which we poorly translate as "the beauty of age and natural patina." It can be seen in a gnarled tree, a ruined temple, or a worn chain cent, but it's why "rarity" will always trump "condition."

The problem with the question is that they are generally one in the same. Ever hear of "conditional rarity"? A high grade coin in a common date can be worth more than than a low grade, key date.

Rarity is what I like. Sure pretty coins are nice, but they are also always easily available. And yes I understand about condition rarity, but that is usually something like "There are only two of these known in MS-67!" Yeah, but there are 5,000 of them in MS-66 and 100K in MS-65. Whereas this coin over here is low grade but there are only 20 pieces known in ANY condition.

Now sure if you pass on the MS-67 coin you may never see one again,but you will have endless opportunities to pick up a "pretty" MS-65 or MS-66. But if I pass on the chance at that low grade rarity the odds are good that I will never have another chance in my lifetime to get one in ANY condition.

See previous

https://goccf.com/t/149290

You can have both and I'm sure most long time collectors do. I just wondered which held the most appeal for you, worth not being a factor.

Some people's taste changes and from what I comprehend the longer you've been collecting the more the scarce coins appeal to you. Me being an ultra newbie, "Ooooh, shiny" !

Rick

Personally, I've shifted on this over the years. When I first started collecting I was all after filling the gaps. And if it was a rarity, well, all the better!

But now .. well, I look at this:



Yes, there are only, what .. 3 coins known with this obverse/ reverse combination, so certainly rare. But .. why the heck did I buy it? Not sure. Even though it cost maybe $40 I'll probably never get back what I paid. And it's hardly a looker, is it?

So now I prefer condition. With the proviso that a 360 year-old coin should look 360 years old. I don't really like shiny-like-new.

Ideally, common coins in uncommon condition is what I'm after. And if I can pick up uncommon coins in similar, as Rick says, all the better!