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 Replies: 11 / Views: 1,074 |
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New Member
United States
4 Posts |
If a coin comes back from a grading service with, for example, a grade of "Au 50 Details", does that mean the coin is, indeed, a 50 and I should catalog it as that or is it actually some other grade because of the damage. Really bummed I sent in 12 coins and 11 came back with at least one of the following: corroded, altered surfaces, cleaned, recolored, scratched (including a 1909-S Indian (AU 50 Details)). I paid this company to try to "fix" any damage and still everything came back negatively. Not blaming company, however. I guess my question is: how should the coins be cataloged and valued? Opinions, thanks.
Also, I do believe from hereon I will only buy certified coins. Never know what I'm getting otherwise since I'm not an expert coin grader. A couple of the coins, my mother-in-law purchased from one of those mail-order companies, came back from grading service "cleaned". When she purchased they were sent to her encapsulated in THAT company's slab without certification to make it look fancy.
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
18661 Posts |
 to the CCF, j5x429! Sorry to hear about your learning experience. In the future, you could post pictures here on the CCF of coins you are considering purchasing. We are always willing to help each other out with this. Quote:
how should the coins be cataloged and valued? Catalog them as "' TPG' - Grade - Details". As for value, there are Details and then there are Details. Much depends on the coin and the extent of the damage. In some cases there will be little effect on the value, while in others the coin is rendered worthless. It's very much a case-by-case issue.
Inordinately fascinated by bits of metal with strange markings and figures
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Moderator
United States
71929 Posts |
to CCF.
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Moderator
Australia
16334 Posts |
There is no "catalogue value" for Details-graded coins. That's because, unlike undamaged coins, there is no consensus on what the damage actually means in terms of its effect on value. For an AU-details coin, some collectors won't be bothered by the details grade if it still looks nice to them, and will happily pay almost-AU-50 prices for it. Other collectors will refuse to own such a coin and will refuse to pay anything above scrap metal value for it, because as far as they are concerned the coin is already scrap.
If you're looking for a good middle-of-the-road ballpark estimate of value, ask yourself this simple question about your coin: If I took this coin and used it as a pocket piece, wearing it down with "good honest wear" until the source of the damage is no longer visible, how badly worn would the coin have to become? The catalogue value for that hypothetical grade becomes the "true market value" for your coin.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17501 Posts |
Agree with all above. Photos, large and sharp of a sampling of your submitted coins would be interesting to see--one coin per thread works best. Thanks.
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Moderator
United States
164145 Posts |
to the Community!
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Valued Member
United States
394 Posts |
Anyone who has sent coins off for grading knows the frustration of getting a Details grade. I guess it's just part of the education, it's best to assume any raw (non-slabbed) coin has some 'details' problem when you buy it, otherwise it would have already been slabbed. This board is a great source of wisdom on these subjects, hope to see your collection & hope you can still enjoy them. Cheers!
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
7160 Posts |
Quote:
it's best to assume any raw (non-slabbed) coin has some 'details' problem when you buy it, otherwise it would have already been slabbed. This is absolutely NOT true.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5182 Posts |
Agree with TDZ .
There are plenty of nice original
coins out there waiting to be certified.
The original problem , I would guess.
Learning exactly what and what not to submit .
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New Member
 United States
4 Posts |
All the coins I sent in were because they look, from a layman's eyes, fantastic. I knew the 1909-S Indian had a small scratch near the nose but I figured every coin has at least some scratches if they're a 65 or less, but never thought it would be detailed as such, which killed my illusion of grandeur. All the coins, except two, came back at least a 50 so I didn't send in rubbish. My 1849 large cent came back "recolored" so I put it next the 1850 and can absolutely see the difference. Again, I'll save the grading fees by buying all ready certified. Thanks for everyones responses.
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Valued Member
United States
394 Posts |
Quote:
This is absolutely NOT true. Quote:
There are plenty of nice original coins out there waiting to be certified. OK, I meant for a new collector, not a seasoned pro, hoped that would be implicit. I wish someone had given me this advice when I was new. Like the OP, I bought a bunch of coins thinking they were beauties, but upon learning more they mostly had some kind of problem. I stick to my advice but will phrase it more clearly - until you get good at spotting subtle problems, assume any raw coin of value has some problem when pricing it, or else spend the extra and buy slabbed. Better?
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5045 Posts |
A lot of great problem-free coins are not slabbed because they are too low a value. I think that your experience could be an incentive to learn more about how to grade and recognize problem coins. There are a lot of resources available to learn, and I believe that anyone can become fairly good at this. Everyone of the TPG employees (like all of us) originally knew nothing about coins and grading. |
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Replies: 11 / Views: 1,074 |
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Posted 03/06/2025 06:56 am
Uncirculated American Silver Eagles 
