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Personally I enjoy coins that have had some wear but still have the majority of their details and are attractive to look at. So on a grading scale, I prefer high VF to XF coins. It also helps that for older series the VF/XF coins are much more affordable than a coin in MS (Mint State).

I dislike MS coins because I'm afraid of damaging them (having little idea of, or indeed place for, proper storage methods), and yes, VF/XF is usually a lot cheaper than MS while having almost as good detail.
That said, for many of the coins I try to collect, I can't really afford a VF example either; alternately, a VF example might cost as much as a lower grade but be a lot less common (this seems to be the case with 4th century bronzes). So over time I ended up collecting (and appreciating) a lot more coins in VG and lower (up to, and including, Fair and Poor - some of my favorite coins are of Fair grade as best) and a lot less in VF or higher (though I still buy the occasional nice 20th-century world coin - especially if it's from an exotic country).