Technical Grade Vs Eye Appeal

While my answer does not address your question directly, it may be noted that new NCLT mint product, especially silver, comes airtight encapsulated. This is obviously to prevent toning.

Toning irrespective of weather it is blotchy or even is really a form of corrosion, even if it is only one molecule thick.

Personally, for a number of different reasons I don't collect NCLT mint product, but at least there is very little chance of such material being fake.

A coin with superior eye appeal will always command higher money than a coin with very little or no eye appeal in the vast majority of cases. That's why you see common date MS63 Morgans that are rainbow toned sell for moon money and other Morgans in higher grades sell for only a small fraction of the toned Morgans. Eye appeal also affects grade so there's a chance a technical 64 coin with great eye appeal is a 65.

Also, there are some who like and pay huge premiums for attractive toning while there are those who prefer blast white coins. It's a matter of preference.

The answer varies depending on the type, date, etc...But...if we're talking about the same price for both pieces then I'd normally go with the MS64 with excellent eye appeal.

I prefer white coins that still have lots of original luster. It's pretty easy to spot an over-dipped coin.

If I see two coins, one is MS64 and the other is MS65, but the MS64 has more eye appeal I would get that one. You can have three MS65 grades but one of them may be have a better eye appeal. Conclusion: I like to look at my collection often thus I like them to look nice no matter what is the grade.

Eye appeal absolutely is a major driver in my buying decisions ...... and I have on many occasions purchased a lower-graded coin because I preferred the visual aesthetics.

What has not been discussed in this thread is another very important characteristic ...... strike quality.

Same as eye appeal ...... I always cherry pick my selections based on strike quality ....... and most often than not find that I am faced with two 'identical' graded coins but one exhibiting an inferior strike.

The general population out there does not .... IMHO ..... place a premium on strike quality .... which presents a great opportunity for those who do their research and pick their coins selectively.

Sooooo ...... IMHO ..... the 'process' to select a coin for purchase follows these four steps in order ....

1. Overall visual appeal. I agree with BadThad ...... hold it in your hand and are you thrilled with how it looks to your eye?

2. Strike Quality. Is it full or weak?

3. Technical Grade

4. Last .... price. If I get to here and the coin is a bit 'overpriced' I'll still buy it ..... by now I have a great looking coin in hand with strong strike ...... and to me that's worth a premium.

Long answer to a short question.

David

I think daviscfad has touched on an important point. So often, a coin popped out of a holder does regrade identically. As an example, the opportunity lies in finding a MS-64 with great eye appeal. if you think it may be able to grade higher, especially with the + grading now, you can make money. I have seen so many coins that I really like that I thought should grade higher. Depending on the coin, it is another way to cherry pick.

Jim