Rare Vs High Grade For Future Price Appreciation

IMO investing in rare coins is not a very profitable way to go. However, collecting the best coins you can afford to get, understanding the series you are collecting, eventually you will probably make money when it's time to sell... in 20-30 years.

I also don't think there is much profit to be made in coins under $1-5K range these days.

There's really no telling which of the options you posed will have more value in the future, you'll get good arguments from either side of the fence. With that in mind I'd buy the coin that you feel better about owning. Which one will give you more pleasure to look at, talk about, read about and share with others.

If you're hoping for more money down the road from it I'd probably recommend a lot of different options before either of the ones you posed. And I doubt it would be a coin.

I was told in the very beggining by 3 big guys in the Coin World to buy rarities. They always have value and will always rise. That was four months ago. I LOVE Morgan dollars (suprise) but have started purchasing key date coins in all series. For example, I buy every 1932 d and s Washington quarter put in front of me. I dont have any monster ones, just lower grade ones as I was told there will always be value. I purchased a 1939 d (i think) Jefferson nickle in ms67 or 68 (dont remember) because I was told it was a key date and the only one graded that high. It was under $200. My feelings, and I could be wrong, is that nickel should be good down the road unless someone find a hoard of them. But the biggest reason I buy a coin is because I like it. I bought a $10 commem a few days ago where everyone said to me "why". I like it a lot thats why. Being new to the whole Coin World, I dont really know much. I pick up a book and look at the mintage for different coins. Usually the low mintage of any type of coin is what I go after. And I alway always buy a PL morgan because I love them haha

Although coin collecting has been around for a long, long time, even that falling apart is possible. You should never consider any hobby as an investment. Yes some or all coins may well go up, up, up bot also may go down, down, down. So many hobbies have collapsed or almost. Think of Beanie Babies or Hot Wheel cars for example. Worse yet is all those Sport type cars my Son had accumulated and found no one wants them at all. At one flea market there is seller that sells those by the box of a few hundred cards per box for $1. Although the present day usage of coins is fading away as well as currency, still those left may end up similar to oil paintings. And those too in most instances are selling for practically nothing. And with coins there are so many counterfeits out there today, you could end up investing in something that is not only not rare but not real.
But back to coins. I'd say just collect coins for FUN and ignor any possible future gains.

I only collect for the enjoyment of the hobby. I hope to never need to sell my collection so that I can pass it on to my kids, but if I was going for an investment option I would definitely want the rare coin instead of a high grade coin. I enjoy the history of coins and I actually like the look of a circulated old coin that shows a nice tone/patina, so I might as well get an investment coin that I like.

I wish my dad had bought us common silver dollars instead of modern clad proof sets....

Having collected and accumulated coins for 50 years, I've come to prefer coins that have intrinsic value and rarity over high grade. I like coins that are interesting too, and have branched into collecting French and Spanish Colonial silver. I also collect sterling and coin table silver, which is often priced lower than bullion coins yet is attractive and often exceedingly rare. San Francisco silverware made by Schulz and Fischer, for example.

Collect what you like. Unless large numbers of coins are lost or destroyed, most rare and high condition coins are a hedge against inflation at best. Worse, you could be jumping on a trend that will go out of style, losing a great deal of money as your $200 coin in 2014 dollars becomes a $100 coin in 2064 dollars.

The biggest chance to make a quick buck in coins is to accurately predict a trend--eBay barons managed to buy 2009 cents by the box at face value and turn them around for $200-350 per box back when they were rare and nobody had them--now they're worth $50 on a good day.