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 Replies: 11 / Views: 1,764 |
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Valued Member
United States
175 Posts |
Doing a little research last night and I came across something rather odd. "Lowballer" How much stock does one put into this? What justifies a lowballer, and what's the niche? Is there any real desire for these? If so... Wouldnt we all just start buying up junk silver? At these prices, me thinks a lot of stackers are sitting on a mint!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1192 Posts |
Lowball is even more wear then what I see most junk coins but you have to be able to determine a date. Most of the super low culls were melted. A true lowball would grade around at 02 by a professional grading company. This also means it has to be problem free, nothing that would get a details grade. I think you would waste a lot of money on grading fees getting g+.
Some people enjoy collecting them but most won't pay over the price of say the same coin in g. I collect it for my 7070 cause I can't afford nicer examples on most of the coins. I think it's cool most of them were former pocket pieces. It's definitly a niche market.
Edited by Bertensgrad
02/22/2016 9:19 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4963 Posts |
Quote:
A true lowball would grade around at 02 by a professional grading company. Try a bit lower. Most hardcore lowballers aim for coins certified as PO-01. The appeal for lowballs is due to 1) the extremely low portion of coins that circulate that much. 2) the fact that most coins in that grade range have had some sort of damage or are missing the date and/or mintmark. 3) the fact that TPGs hand out the PO-01 grade very sparingly. 4) the history behind them. 5) the fact that they look cool. I can't call myself a lowballer, but I do find them interesting. I don't have many (maybe any) coins that could really grade as PO-01, although I'm trying to wear down some pocket pieces (an 1885-O Morgan and a pair of 1899 quarters) to that grade. Edited by Numisma
02/22/2016 9:46 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1314 Posts |
1921-S VAM-29  It is of interst to VAMmers. Try to identify the die used to make the coin. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19961 Posts |
Quote:
The appeal for lowballs is due to 1) the extremely low portion of coins that circulate that much. 2) the fact that most coins in that grade range have had some sort of damage or are missing the date and/or mintmark. 3) the fact that TPGs hand out the PO-01 grade very sparingly. 4) the history behind them. 5) the fact that they look cool.  The biggest problem is actually finding one that's not damaged or corroded. With many issues, I firmly believe a quality lowball is harder to find than a gem grade one. I think the rarity of some lowballs is often overlooked by collectors. Personally, I love a nice quality lowball Lincoln! Lincoln Cent Lover!VERDI-CARE™ INVENTOR https://verdi.care/
Edited by BadThad
02/23/2016 11:09 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4963 Posts |
Lowball Lincolns are pretty nice. I have a 19XX-S which is worn just slightly too much to read the last two digits.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19961 Posts |
Quote:
I have a 19XX-S which is worn just slightly too much to read the last two digits. To be a collectible lowball you must be able to read the date. Lincoln Cent Lover!VERDI-CARE™ INVENTOR https://verdi.care/
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1316 Posts |
The fun in these is the look, the history, and the thrill of the chase. I think there is a little rebellious spirit here as well. Lowball Morgan's are beautiful coins in their own right, I've seen some stunning Walking Liberties too. It's undeniably fun to discuss why ones coin s worse than the rest as if it's a great thing. In terms of rarity, you will probably find more MS67+ Morgan's on the Bay than PR1s, even including FR2. They are really tough to find. I have a 1797 large cent that might pull a PR 1 should I get around submitting it, only the faintest of dates and profile of the bust remains.
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Pillar of the Community
Russian Federation
5174 Posts |
A lot depends on the series - on some types, dates can hold for a long time, on others they wear away quickly. If there's a mintmark to consider it can get even harder to find a fully identifiable lowball coin. IIRC, there is exactly one known TPG graded Poor-1 Walking Liberty half (and a year ago there were zero); also IIRC - a lot less sure here - the lowest known grade of a type 2 Standing Liberty quarter is something silly high like VG-8, because the date on these wore down very easily. Just as a comparison, here's my 1923-S Peace dollar (not actually bought as a lowball, ironically), showing nearly the lower limit of mintmark identifiability...   This isn't actually worn enough to count as a lowball; I've heard that there are some even more worn examples that still show the mintmark clearly enough. Never actually seen any. Then there's the case that some series just don't circulate much (for whatever reasons). A few CCF members are trying to assemble a set of (silver) classic US commemoratives in "circulated grades"; by which they mean anything that isn't MS (though the lower the better). IIRC, for some of the commemorative types, all the TPG graded non-MS examples known are in one of those CCF members' sets - they're really that rare! Similarly, a set of well-circulated Lincoln Memorial cents would be quite challenging (even if it doesn't try to include zinc). |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4963 Posts |
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To be a collectible lowball you must be able to read the date. I know that. I've been trying to get a date off it, and I still think it might be possible. |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
5828 Posts |
See if VDB is on the shoulder. If not, it is pre-1918.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4963 Posts |
I've already tried. I don't see it, but it's a little late to tell.
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Replies: 11 / Views: 1,764 |
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Posted 02/22/2016 9:42 pm
