Difference Between MS-69 And MS-70

The premium is high because fools will pay it, which ought to also answer your second question.

Keep in mind, "70" is not the lofty and near-unattainable goal that it was a couple of decades ago. These days, with the coins which the Mint really takes care to produce, it's more of an "expectation" than a "goal." Many collectors have not yet moved the goalposts in their expectations to match this new reality.

Furthermore, TPG evaluation of 70's is all over the map. PCGS is the strictest of them when awarding 70's, but I've seen what should be considered egregious errors in their slabs as well. A 70 is perfect. Any deviation from perfection, at reasonable magnification, is not a 70. I've seen plenty of "true" 70's in Heritage Auctions' massive, high-resolution auction archives, and also examples in "70" slabs with flaws easily-visible at that resolution.

It's too haphazard for me to believe a 70 under normal circumstances, and too easily-achievable to assign the kind of premiums they're getting.

The biggest difference is not in the quality, but in the market place. People seem to be a lot more willing to pay a premium for a percieved (?) Miniscule upgrade in quality. Keep that in mind, if you foresee selling somewhere down the road.

Theres a reason why no one is ever willing to attach their name to such claims.

What really gets me is, besides buying a coin graded a 69 or a 70, they are trying to sell said coin at a premium depending on what 'label' the slab has, i.e. "Flag", "San Francisco Mint", etc... When will it stop!!

rodorr

Once again, the age old debate, what makes a collectible ?
Is a red car more valuable that a green one ? No, but ask any dealer and he will tell you people will pay more for the exact same car in red. Is an Upper Deck Jeter rookie card better than a Topps Jeter rookie card ? But some people will pay a premium for a Topps, Donruss or UpperDeck card.

No one can say that a MS70 isn't worth more than a MS69, because quite frankly it is. Check the marketplace. Intrinsically they are all one ounce of silver and worth no more than 1oz of silver. The desirability in the market place will tell you what is worth it and what is not. Tell me why an MS 1893s Morgan is worth with a mintage of 100,000 is worth 50X more than my MS 1998 Libertad with a mintage of 67.000.

Collect what you like , get your best deal from the marketplace and don't consider your selve a " fool " for valuing a 70 over a 69.

Grade 70 is supposed to be a perfect coin.
Grade 69 is flawed.

People want to go for the best of the best and don't mind competing for it. If they want the best they won't want to own a flawed coin. So their willing to pay ridicules amounts of money.

Unlike me, in my date sets I try to keep everything at least a 12 (though some are 10)... ..

There shouldnt be such a thing as 70. It should simply be an unobtainable grade that we hope to find someday but never do. But some of those coins the mint produces are prettttty darn close.