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 Replies: 17 / Views: 524 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1284 Posts |
I primarily collect Peace dollars and walkers. In these series there are quite a few years/mm that typically are weakly struck. I actively target these "typically weak struck" coins as I find it to be a fun hunt to look for the few that have a solid strike. Anyway I really don't see much competition at all. You could put a well struck Peace dollar side by side with a weak one and as long as the labels are the same (ex ms63), there's zero premium. Feels like almost everyone on ebay buys the holder and not the coin. How much do you let a coins strike quality weigh into your decision to buy it or not? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1328 Posts |
If you are gona tell me there are going to grade the same I want the one with the better strike. It shows the details better.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
881 Posts |
As a general rule, I would definitely prefer a well-struck specimen with some circulation wear to a poorly-struck UNC coin. I prefer detail lost by doing the work coins are made for, to detail that was never there to begin with. On the other hand, one of my favourite coins is not particularly well struck, though it has a pretty amazing reason.   So far as I can tell, this coin was struck in the process of setting up the coining presses at the Bangkok Mint, which had been ordered from Heaton in Birmingham, along with dies, by King Mongkut for his project of replacing the "bullet money" ticals by a European-style round, flat coinage. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
79819 Posts |
To me, it doesn't really matter much.
Errers and Varietys.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7372 Posts |
Quote:
quite a few years/mm that typically are weakly struck. That and price are the main reasons why my Peace dollar Album is halfway filled. Work in progress for over a decade. Edited by Greasy Fingers
10/07/2026 9:35 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2330 Posts |
Strike quality definitely matters to me. I've passed on many coins that didn't make the cut. Unfortunately you're right, most collectors buy the holder, not the coin.
You realize when you know how to think, it empowers you far beyond those who know only what to think.
-Neil deGrasse Tyson
Edited by NumismaticsFTW
10/07/2026 11:21 pm
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Moderator
 United States
196880 Posts |
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On the other hand, one of my favourite coins is not particularly well struck, though it has a pretty amazing reason. Very interesting!  |
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Valued Member
United States
104 Posts |
Despite my strenuous warnings my wife decided to start collecting Walkers (because they ARE gorgeous coins) and I told her that was fine, but she had to learn how to grade them before we started laying out for MS coins.
Getting weak strike/circulation wear right on these is really, really hard. It's too easy for coin show bozos to ezest an lustrous AU (or even XF) coin and claim it's weak strike that unless you really, truly know what you're doing and where to look/what to look for to establish strength of strike, it's just too easy to get smoked.
What you're saying is definitely correct, but I question if the tides of numismatics are flowing in such a way that there will be enough people capable of making that distinction for it to meaningfully show up in market prices. It did in the 90s, but today's a good bit different.
Edited by LandonM
10/08/2026 11:23 am
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
8062 Posts |
Yes.
My collection is probably 75% hammered coins. So the strike quality from which to choose s all over the map for most of them. I find it amusing that slabbed examples of weak or ugly strikes can get AU or MS grades,when lightly circulated examples often have much better eye appeal.
Edited by tdziemia
10/08/2026 11:59 pm
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Valued Member
United States
104 Posts |
That's a good point but also illustrative of why a lot of advanced collectors swim in the 'high eye appeal' lustrous AU range.
You're often times getting coins what are WAY nicer looking than low MS without paying MS money. That being said, the internet is on to this now and several coin podcasts have discussed it.
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Valued Member
United States
227 Posts |
I'm in the same boat as tdziemia: Nearly all of my coins are hammered, making strike of utmost importance. Some issues were poorly struck in general, so it's a matter of picking the least worst you can find.
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Pillar of the Community
Portugal
736 Posts |
Yes. In ancients and in moderns. Beauty matters! But I also like mint defects and errors. Perhaps I am strange  Edited by jecz79
10/11/2026 7:14 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2471 Posts |
Just think of this: Some so-called "AU Cleaned" coins look much better than some AU58 - MS60 coins. |
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Moderator
United States
196880 Posts |
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Some so-called "AU Cleaned" coins look much better than some AU58 - MS60 coins. This is true.  |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1284 Posts |
Just to give you guys an idea of how bad Peace dollar strikes can be. This is a MS64 coin..  There are so many Peace dollars that look just like this. See how flat the wing feather details are? The S mint Peace dollars are notorious for this. If people ever "wake up" and realize how few well struck clean Peace dollars there are, I could see the prices tripling over night. If a TPG offered a "full hair" or "full wing" designation - price guides would have to be rewritten. IMO the toughest year to find with a great strike is the 1925-S. It took me years to find one that I thought was acceptable strike wise. |
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Moderator
United States
196880 Posts |
Quote:Just to give you guys an idea of how bad Peace dollar strikes can be. This is a MS64 coin..  Quote:
IMO the toughest year to find with a great strike is the 1925-S. It took me years to find one that I thought was acceptable strike wise. |
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Replies: 17 / Views: 524 |
Posted 10/07/2026 8:14 pm
