Tokens And Grading And Misc

to CCF.
John1

I am a newcomer to collecting trade/merchant tokens without much deep knowledge of this slice of exonumia.

My general impression is that grade is less of a factor. One has to ask him/her self "Am I likely to find another if I pass on this example?" For some issuers/locations better grade examples may not exist.

My preference is for circulated tokens showing wear from being used. Would I pass on an Uncirculated example or one with damage? No, I'd buy either and keep an eye out for others examples.

-MV

beancounter.

I'm a recent convert to tokens and SCDs.

As I'm sure you know, like anything else HTTs and CWTs have been faked. If I'm after a common, inexpensive variety I will usually take a chance. If it is a scarce or expensive item, I want to ensure authenticity. If I am not as familiar with a given specimen, I'm only going to buy one that has been authenticated. I certainly want a nice-looking example rather than going for a higher grade necessarily. Based on your previous experience you probably operate the same way.

Add to all this that there isn't a wealth of published price date for tokens in all grades. Whitman usually just gives pricing for mid and high grade circulated and one for "MS".

This forum doesn't appear to allow to quote and reply to a specific poster. So, thank you to everyone who replied!

Bump111 - I read in some Intro to Tokens book (Mr. Rulau or Katherine Jaeger?) that merchant tokens were so popular, that many restrikes were made a few decades after the fact. The author took the view that since no restrikes had been made in over a century, and since demand was such, that people didn't bother distinguishing between the original and restrikes. Do you view the restikes as counterfeit?

Circus - I presume when you say the "cost to get them done", are you referring to grading services such as PCGS? I personally have never used a grading service, and I have never purchased Encased Coins or token. In the past, the dealer made an assessment as to the condition, and priced it accordingly. I would then use my experience from coin grading to judge whether or not the dealer had properly graded the token.

I know there isn't a lot of pricing info for token, but sometimes the differences make my heart skip a beat. It's just all over the place...On Token Catalog.com, you can sometimes find historical pricing. I researched a token offered on ebay. The price paid in 2014 was $3.00, a dealer (in 2018) wanted $11. Even if you assumed a ridiculous 10% annual growth rate, that would make the coin worth about $4.20 (without compounding). Of course that $3 token might have been very worn or damaged, but there is no way to tell.

I gave up buying collectibles of any kind for investment a long time ago. I just collect purely for enjoyment, and for the challenge of finding the best I can.

to the CCF, "Bean"




Personally, I don't see a shift, as you say, Bean.

Grading, be it coins or tokens, can be a can of worms that many would rather avoid. Disagreement can result in arguments. Even the third party graders, the slabbers, make major errors in grading and attribution. Transactions tend to be far less complex when a seller says, "This is the piece, and this is the price."

The grades of tokens by top tier sellers like Steve Hayden, ARE emphasized. The grading problem that often surfaces with early tokens, having been privately produced, is that particular varieties often come weakly struck or have other anomalies that, in effect, make them more difficult to grade. Then too, in comparison to coins, even the most common nineteenth century tokens are rare; this, by virtue of low surviving numbers. So, given the low pops for early tokens, high grade pieces are less frequently seen .... often ensconced in the cabinets of die-hard collectors for decades.

Anyone who wants to see, study and/or buy high grade tokens should take a look at Steve Hayden's catalogs .... amazing! Of course, the top auction houses, like Stack and Heritage deserve mention, too.

@ Beancounter ....




Yes, as you can see, it does. Just take some time, studying the FULL REPLY mode.

to the Community!

that makes a lot of sense to me - this requires interest in the area and lots of patience

as for grading it is still used for tokens in Europe ; in the area of tokens I collect, it is remarkable that many of the survivors have good qualities (VF, EF), as opposed to money from the same period

could the underlying reason be that quite a few the tokens were kept from the beginning as memories => later collections, while the money was used in daily life