Lower Grade Keys Vs Higher Grade Common's?

to the forum. I always try to remember that a coin is only worth what someone will pay you for it when its time to sell. I think most here collect for the enjoyment of it and hope that if we have to sell we dont loose money.

Thanks daviscfad for the Welcome and advise. And thank you JimR, good advise. So, the lower grade semi key's or key dates may be easier to sell then the higher grade commons.. That's the idea I'm getting.

Thanks again.

I read an article recently that had data showing that over the long term, key-dates in high grades appreciate much faster than commons in high grades. This is may be an obvious statement. Just click on the "USA Most Watched Coins" link to the left and you will see that everyone is hunting for the keys. Go to Mercury dimes, everyone is watching the 1916-D. Go to Washingtons, and it's the 1932-S and D that are hot. This high level of demand for these coins is never going to fade. This demand will always keep the prices going up. (assuming numismatics doesn't die out).

So I totally agree with JimR that you should try to buy the highest grade key date that you can afford. If in the distant future you (or your family) have to sell the collection, these key date will be where a [modest] profit can be all but assured.

Separately, depending on what you are collecting, you will see that buying high-grade (IMO, high-grade > MS63 for moderns) commons for not all that much more than an AU/MS slider.

I'm also pretty new to this. And the one skill I wish I had more of is patience. A few things I try to remind myself: All those holes don't need to be filled tomorrow. Save, and buy what you can when you can. Look for bargains. Know what your buying.

Good luck in your hunt.

Troy

for the investor.

Of course, that's not what I do! I get the commons as nice as possible and the keys in as good of a condition as I can afford. (That's why my 1916D Mercury dime is a FR-02!) I'd rather have a full album and then I can upgrade over time.

That way your collection is never done!

As you said, there is no correct answer and it depends on what you want to collect for. Personally, I would rather spend $100 on a lower grade key or semi-key than $100 on an MS-65 + common date. For me, it's just simple supply and demand. The rarer coins will always be in demand and very often there just aren't enough to fill the needs of all collectors. Just my 2 cents!

in your example I would buy the AU key date. I am not sure what type you are planning on collecting but allot of 63's in allot of types are pretty common themselves so when you say a common coin in a common grade its not going to net you very much money when selling as you said you may do sometime in the future. Now if its a super high grade like 67 or above in even common date types the price changes quite a bit. I know you can still buy common date Mercury dimes in MS-66 for about 20 bucks a piece so hopefully you can see what I am trying to describe here. But in the scenario you painted above I would say the key date

now is an excellent time to buy the key dates, in a series such as Mercury dimes, the coin market is feeling the pressure of MANY people, desperate people, they are selling what they can in order to pay their bills, this is pushing prices down, for the first time in a long time, it is possible to once again buy scarce coins for less than trends, do a 1916-d dime search on ebay. soooooooo many to choose from ! then do a search for an 1872-s dime.

IMHO, as long as a key date is absoltely 100% problem free, you'll be able to sell it when you need to. however, you'll be able to sell it faster if it's a higher grade. Another consideration, higher grade prices go up more than lower grade prices for key dates, so get the highest grade you can afford - your family will thank you in 50 years.