Im Confused About Having A Coin Graded.

Mind you I'm far from an expert, especially in USA coins, but your coin dealer sounds correct IMO, after all do you see the logic in going to the trouble of having a coin graded if at unc condition it might get a few dollars.

Please note again that I do not know anything about Morgans so someone might give you better information. although that dealer did sound a tad rude from your description.

I would have to say it depends upon the condition of the coin. Common date Morgans in MS64 or lower are not really worth sending in. If you think a coin will get an MS65 or above grade, I think it becomes worth it. That's a call that only you can make. If you have a coin that looks perfect with bright luster and no contact marks that you can see, it is probably a good idea to send it in. You're still taking a chance as there may be something that you missed on the coin, but there is risk in everything, right?

Because of the cheaper grading fees, the fact that you don't have to pay for membership, and they don't bodybag coins, I'd strongly suggest ANACS instead of PCGS or NGC.

James Taylor, President of ANACS, faxed me an interesting write-up in the Blue Sheet dated March 3, 2006. Here is the excerpt.

...Late date ANACS Walkers made some stellar gains of their own with the 1942 and 1945 grading MS66 sharing a 33% increase. We see that renewed enthusiasm has also found ANACS material featuring impressive gains forCommemoratives (some up more than 100 percent!). Morgan dollars, Peace dollars, Mint State Type and Proof Type are all participating. Just look at an undervalued 1922-S Peace dollar in ANACS MS66 jumping an incredible 100% to $2500 Bid. Could these massive increases be fueled by the prospect of a new grading philosophy that coincides with the release of ANACS new standard size slab?...

Excerpt taken from "Strong Demand Seen In Several Areas - Spot Silver Claims Double Digits" article, Certified Coin Dealer Newsletter, Vol. XXI No. 9, March 3, 2006

When I said what I said I did mean to use common sence when sending in, you wouldnt want to send in a vg 1921 morgan you would atleast think it was ms-64 or above before you sent it in. What your dealer may have meant is that the quality of your coin just isn't there and they may have thought it was a low grade coin and if it is a low grade coin then I would have to say only send them in if its a key date like they told you. But if its a heck I will even go down to MS-63 or above I would probably send it in if it was one I was interested in selling just because it shows that the experts graded it at that certain grade and alot of the times pictures just dont do very well. I would also have to throw it in here that only go with a reputable grader some just slap a high grade on the coin and people will not pay the same price for lets say a coin graded by NNC/Capitol Coin Grading/or some of the others as they would pay for a coin in the same grade or even a lesser grade graded by PCGS/ANACS/NGC because these are the top grading companies.

Tpatna, first, welcome to the forum! As you have already seen, there's a diversity of opinion and experience here.

Second, taking a slightly different slant on your question, getting a coin graded and slabbed by a REPUTABLE third party grading service ( TPG)(i.e., ANACS, PCGS, and NGC are reputable TPGs; almost ALL of the others are not, ICG excepted) does not of itself increase the value of a coin. What such grading DOES do is give a potential buyer the reassurance that a particular coin is as advertised. In other words, professional grading may enhance the sellability of a coin, but not its intrinsic value.

Examples already given are divided into two categories: circulated and uncirculated (Mint State) coins. Sticking with Morgans, there are many, many circulated common Morgans available on ebay (as a for instance) that are barely worth bullion value ($10.37/oz at the moment). The sellers may try to fudge a little on their actual grade and take a coin which might grade as G-08 and try to pass it along as an F-12; the book value of a 1921 Morgan for a G-08 is about $11 while an F-12 is $11.50, neither of which price one would reach on ebay. It would cost from $15 to $50 to get this Morgan professionally graded, but it would not raise the value of such a coin. It WOULD guarantee to a buyer that the coin is at that grade, so s/he would be more inclined to buy it with this guarantee than if it were an ungraded raw coin which might or might not have problems.

Getting into the Mint States of the same 1921 Morgan, there are so many Mint States '21 Morgans available that the '21 Morgan doesn't start getting into real value until about MS-65 at a book value of $130. Again, if one were to try to sell a raw coin that s/he estimates might be of this grade, there is no way that a buyer will pay any more than maybe half the book value since the coin isn't professionally graded and certified and thus has no guarantee that the offered coin is actually an MS-65. A TPG graded MS-65 1921 Morgan is more likely to sell at closer (but certainly not at) its book value. The owner of said raw coin will have to determine for his/herself whether the coin is worth the cost of grading, based on what s/he paid for it. If the coin was purchased for $100 and it's gonna cost another $30 to have it graded, it's not going to realize a gain for the owner.

To further answer your question, your dealer may have misled you a little with the term "key date". For many experienced Morgan collectors, a key date is one with low mintage such as 1889-CC or 1893S. For others, a key date is any date/mint mark which might be uncommon only at higher grades, e.g., an 1884S which is very common in circulated grades, but very uncommon in uncirculated (MS) grades. And yet for even others, a key date is any Morgan in which they don't have one in their collection.

I hope this helps you rather than muddy the waters.

PF 69 and PF 70 is just a slabbing "scam" IMHO. Perhaps, NGC (I might be totally wrong) are more consistent in giving out such grades, but let's admit it that today's market is crazy.

The Paris mint agreed to slab some of their freshly minted coins, and quite a fair bit ended up getting PF 69, not PF 70. What honestly disturbs me is how people are willing to pay the preninum dollars for the grading figure.

Investing wise, it's all up to the mintage figure and survival rate. If you think people can't be bothered to keep such coins, including mint sets etc, it might be worth for an investment. But hey, thanks to the marketing scam by the mints these days, such coins are minted in millions compared to just a mere 10 thousands a century ago. Investment wise, I wouldn't bother, and instead go for the older and rarer, nicer grade coins.

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Originally posted by Morgan Fred

... It would cost from $15 to $50 to get this Morgan professionally graded...

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Wow, they see you coming. That's a lot of money for an opinion and the plastic slab. I'm suprised this practice is so widely spread in the USA. I'm glad slabing hasn't taken off here in Australia.

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Originally posted by toast

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Originally posted by Morgan Fred

... It would cost from $15 to $50 to get this Morgan professionally graded...

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Wow, they see you coming. That's a lot of money for an opinion and the plastic slab. I'm suprised this practice is so widely spread in the USA. I'm glad slabing hasn't taken off here in Australia.

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We all know; grading is expensive. Most TPGs charge less for moderns, as low as $11/coin although I'm sure certain dealers can get it done for less with large submission quantities. For any coin, it costs more for faster service and given that I move around a lot as a fulltime RVer, I often end up shelling out $50/coin so that I'll still be around to pick up the order at the Post Office. And these are just basic grading and slabbing prices; tack on another $5 to $15(?) for additional services such as photos and variety attribution (amounts and services depends on the grading service). Personally, I think it's gotten out of hand, but if I want a coin slabbed, I have no choice but to pay the price. The advantages are that a coin is authenticated and an approximate "official" grade is assigned thus leaving little room for argument about a coin's grade (all this under the presumption that the coin is graded by one of the top three TPGs - ANACS, PCGS, or NGC; most any other grading service, possibly ICG excepted isn't worth the value of the plastic slab and paper lable).

Tpatna, the most important thing for your coins, IMO, is that you know they are authentic. Today's grade may not matter much in 10,20, or 30 years. You can worry yourself to death about "who's better", who's best with grading. You'll not be alone doing it, it seems to be the national past time in coin collecting. And yet it most likely only matters short term to those flipping coins and playing the grading lottery.

What is called market grading is 100% subjective, and subject to change on a whim. Today's collectors may value strike more than anything else and be willing to pay a huge premium for a coin with a full strike. In 20 years they may look at the same coin and say that's too much to pay just for a split tail or a full bell line. And no one can say what collectors will like or dislike in the future. *No one can say that.* If you haven't noticed it yet, we're a pretty moody lot.

But if your coin is authentic today it will be authentic tomorrow. And that matters. And it's not just about rare and expensive coins. Counterfeiters will counterfeit moderately priced coins too. They are in fact doing it right now, embossing S mintmarks to 1886 Morgans.

And while everyone will argue, probably for nothing, about who's better at *today's* grading standards, few will argue about who's the best at authentication. ANACS is King of hill.