Investment Level Slabbed Coin At MS-63?

You paid just a bit less than retail for it (maybe $20). I think there's not much to be gained by reselling it at the moment (especially if you sell it on a "for fee" site like ebay). Personally, I'd hold on to it and maybe keep it from being lonely by getting another one or two different ones to keep it company.

Sell it quickly and use that money to keep a coin you would be proud to give to your children or grandchildren. I cannot imagine keeping a coin I didn't like. I'm curious: did you buy it as an investment or some other reason? Did artistic merit enter into this?

Commems in general are pretty poor investments.

And why do you say they are poor investments Biggfredd? What are "investment" level coins? Just being curious, I'm trying to learn more and more about the hobby.

I also live in Maryland ... outside of Baltimore.




That question is impossible to answer in regards to all coins.

There are many books and articles written about 'investment coins' ... my advise is forget about the possibility of future price growth and simply collect coins that bring you pleasure.

Hoping you can show us a photo of your MS63 Maryland.



David

Commems are largely a manipulated market with very little collector interest.
Can you imagine a WL half with <100,000 mintage? How many SLQ collectors do you know? Yet even in poor condition, a 1916 is worth more than most commems with much lower mintages in xf.

Investment grades are generally 65 and above.

I mostly tell people if they are wanting to invest money into something to stay away from coins, you can make money on them sometimes but you will more than likely lose a little more than you gain and there are other areas you could invest the same amount and get a far better return on your money than you ever woyld on coins unless you can play with the big dogs and get the rarer items in super rare condition

weighing in here on "investment". You can only make wise investing choices when you can account for most of the variables. In coins you really can't "invest" in that way. The "investment" grade in each coin or each series requires really good knowledge of what is out there. Classic commemoratives are a poor investment in common grades but a fair to good investment in premium grades. The typical grade of each coin depends on the series. Maryland's tend to come pretty nice so that MS-63 is on the lower end of the problem free surviving population. Having something on the low end of the population typically is not a good idea only because people want the best of what is available.

Let's pretend that you have a coin in MS-63 and these are the populations and the values:

MS-63 $150 13,250 approximate pieces MS-64 $220 8,252 approximate pieces MS-65 $350 3,252 approximate pieces MS-66 $500 850 approximate pieces MS-67 $1,500 103 approximate pieces MS-68 $8,000 6 approximate pieces

what can you gather out of these values. Does the 63 look like the coin you'd want? Is it worth jumping from 63 to 65? Keep in mind, numismatics has some tradition in play to color people's expectations. MS-63 and MS-65 are traditional steps and 64 is considered an in between grade. I avoid 64 whenever possible because most dealers consider 64 to be a pretty 63. Needless to say, it's not a 65 and collectors like 65 and above.

Your coin could be great. Lots of 63s are. So don't get down on your coin. Just think about what I've just laid out. Think about the variables you can control and how you can read what's out there. Conditions very per coin, per mint, per series, per date... the more you know the better your potential for making money in selling the coin later.