PCGS Price List

Although finding pristine examples of modern Zincolns is rare, PCGS price guide tends to be quite inflated.

The PCGS price list is wildly inflated and purely speculative. One classic coins their pricing is more realistic as most high grade, high value coins have been sent to third party graders for authentication, "official grading", and encapsulation for easy sale. For modern releases you have to realize that nearly all high grade coins in Proof State and MS are not submitted by these grading companies because the cost to grade and slab a modern coin is more than the coin tends to be worth.

A 2008 Lincoln Cent in BU condition is still only worth 1 cent. Would you invest in grading of this coin if you thought you only had a 50/50 chance of it being graded past MS65? Probably not. I know I wouldn't. Would you pay $75-80 on one at MS69? when there's hundreds if not thousands of MS70s out there in the population as of yet ungraded.

Business strike Zincolns are fairly tough at 68, very rare at 69, and virtually nonexistent at 70. The Mint uses a planchet rinse that causes black spots to form on almost all Zincolns over time, those spots are what precludes the coins from receiving those lofty grades. PCGS has graded exactly one business strike MS70, it was later downgraded to MS69 after it developed a spot. PCGS had to write a huge check over that one and they now have an unwritten policy of not grading ANY business strike MS70 as they assume it will eventually develop at least one flyspeck.