Collecting PO-1 Coins

We call this Lowballing, and it's a niche some are rather fanatical about. Don't look at my avatar.

As of right now, there's only collector pressure on Morgans and Peace dollars in this niche. It's simply not that popular for other issues save maybe Ikes, but that category is occupied by people who unabashedly admit they "manufactured" the wear so I'm not trusting it.

It started with Morgans, a subspecialty populated by people who are carefully studying their coins for varieties as it is, and this was a sort of organic outgrowth of collectors striving for "good" attributions of ever more worn examples.

Some issues do not lend themselves to Lowballing due to mint mark locations and speed of date wear. An appropriate P01 must be identifiable by date and mint mark and if they are not somewhat protected those features will wear away prior to the P01 point. Peace dollars are diabolical in this regard - they may or may not retain the MM into P01 condition and are a tough group from that standpoint.

This is just another one of the thousand different ways to collect, no more or less valid than anyone else's.

Another challenge of PO-01 collecting is that it very few coins that wear down that low do not also sustain some form of damage that would keep them out of a TPG holder. Typically one of the requirements for a PO-01 collector is that the coin will grade problem free.

All that matters, really.

I readily admit to being a passionate fan of honestly circulated coins ... and lowball collecting certainly occupies a portion of my collecting efforts.

My interest started many years ago with a quest to collect the 50 coin type set of classic silver commemorative in honestly circulated state ... a quest that continues today one coin short of the goal.

The true collecting difficulty in lowball collecting is my statement of 'honestly circulated', coupled with verification of the coins specific date/mm.

Many (most) truly worn coins have suffered some sort of damage through their lifetime to render them as 'details' at any TPG. Honestly circulated coins in true lowball grade ranges are very difficult to come by.

Then there is the issue of specific validation of the coin date/mm ...

For one year type coins (1921 Peace $, many classic silver commemorative) the single year type alone suffices.

For all other series ... the coin must be identifiable by both date and mint mark - a tough putt indeed for series such as the Peace $ where the mint mark wears away ahead of the date.

For me it is an enjoyable and very challenging way to collect ... and adds some pleasure to by occasional pursuit of coins for my MS sets.

Bragging just a bit ...

I have the current #2 PCGS set of lowball Peace $ ... with seven PO01.

My PCGS #1 Walker set contains the only PO01 Walker ever certified by PCGS ... Pop 1 of over 367,000 coins certified by them. There is a thread somewhere at the CCF discussing this example.

And my true circulated passion classic silver commemorative set has taken over 8 years ... with alas only a single PO01 ... an outstanding 1893 Columbian Half that occupied a few pages here at the CCF discussing the date.

For many ... the pursuit of honestly circulated lowball coins is an enjoyable collecting challenge ... and not as easy as some might think.

David

Found that thread you mentioned, nickelsearcher: https://goccf.com/t/178161

Some collectors only collect lowballs.

You can find well worn examples of common Morgans in a dealer's junk box. Then all you just have to keep it in your pocket for a few months to finish the job.

In Canada, this is also popular with our silver dollars... a coin like this one, is coveted by many trying to find worn examples from the late 1960s, and worth a premium well over melt value.