How Much Does A Problem Impact Coin Value

IowaHawkeye
I am hoping we can get some positive discussion/opinions

I have heard things like, if a coin is cleaned it can be knocked down a whole grade in value. Of course I have seen very polished lose more than that.

On another problem area, no date Buffalo nickels. Some harder date coins get the dates restored and bring 10% of G 4 price ...or more.

Also I see members buying and selling no date 1916 Standing Liberty quarters for some very good money.
Which is very cool .. but I am thinking these coins
would be considered problem coins.

I am thinking the higher end collectors are not going to want problem coins.

I also think album/folder collectors may accept some sorts of problems, for coins that will fill those higher priced holes.

I have another coin I bought a few months ago, 1972 DDO Lincoln.

Some of the opinions on here were to pass on the coin, because it had spots. I did some trading to get the coin and have about $160 into it. I have since taken it to a local coin show. I asked three dealers, who had a lot of
Lincolns at their table, what they would give me for it.
Two of them offered $200 the other $225. So I guess sometimes a problem coin can be a good deal.

Yes it would be nicer to have a problem free 72 DDO, and if I run across one that is priced right, I think I would buy that one also.

In defense of the experts on here, for me when I take pictures of coins, the negative areas of the coin, show up much better than the coin looks in hand.

I think most collectors end up with problem coins, Some of mine are so bad I am thinking of giving them away just to be rid of them. But some them have problems that are not so bad in my eyes ..

There is no set formula. It depends on the coin and the problem. This has been discussed many times, try using the search feature.

A dealer at a recent show I went to said that cleaning knocks coins down 2 grades, according to most people he deals with.

I recently bought a certified cleaned coin that I paid about 1/3 what it would have gone for non-cleaned. I also bought a Peace dollar with a small scratch on the obv - that is hard to find - at just above melt when it otherwise would go for at least $180.

I tend to stay away from most "obviously" damaged or cleaned coins but these two were otherwise real beauties. Some sellers seem to still want list even for obvious damage, but most are willing to reduce the price substantially.

Think of a used car you want to buy. You look it over and notice it is dirty. How much do you deduct for that? You find a dent in one fender. How much do you deduct for that?
Tires are a bit worn but by how much? How do you deduct for that? Then you notice the condition of the seats, under the hood, trunk condition, spare tire(s) and on and on. So where do you stop. Meanwhile someone walks up and buys it.

At a coin show last Sunday a dealer I know showed me a Walking Liberty half, 1919 in about AU and he said no one wanted it at all. I asked why and he said can't you see the damage on the edges? I didn't even notice the edges were all smoothed over as if it was in a charm or pendant. If put in an Album, no one would have seen that at all. Just to many types of damage to ever figure out a pricing system.

Evrybody has their own opinion.

It would heavily depend on the series of coin, the year, mintmark and how readily available it is in the market in all grades.

Thge deduction can vary. As Carl said depending on the severity of the type of damage, the deduction of grades could vary from -1 to -20 as an example. Each coin would have to be deducted on its own merits.

So there can not be a definate grade point deduction that can be used as a standard

A polished coin loses some of its material, not to mention damages the collector value. Melt value would be a gift. I would even go as far as to say that cleaned coins should be boycotted unless marked as such, because they misrepresent the coin (it was tried to be improved upon, fraudulently). I would generally say that if an imperfection is major then the coin loses all collector value, save for key-dates. Minor damage can mostly be attributed to handling and circulation - all good features, as no one in their right mind would simulate a circulated coin via a mint-state coin - the value would drop anyways. (Hope this puts it into perspective. I view coins as "releases" by government mints of standard monetary units with potential collectors' value, factoring in scarsity and collectors' demand with eye appeal.)

(Threads exist as current event discussions. To refer to a past discussion is a bit static. Imagine if someone were discussing atheism and was interrupted by a bibliography of references that you should 'just go read'. There is no definite answer, of course, and every situation is different, which is exactly why we should continue dicussing it here in the present and not in a three year old thread. Not everyone is on the "same page" as the rest.) - Trying to put that in a postive way.