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Ah, now this is a pickle.

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Revenant

Entry posted by Revenant ·

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Well, I managed to convince myself to stay patient, wait, keep my money in my pocket and wait to see if an 1877 Netherlands 10G would show up... and now 2 have!

One is an MS65 in an old Fat NGC slab. One is in one of the new, nifty, pretty edge-view holders, graded MS66. The MS65 ends in 3 days. The MS66 ends in 9 days....

This is quite the choice... If the MS65 is ending at a good price do I go for it? Or wait, hold out, and go for the MS66....

The holders are an interesting angle on this as well in some ways. Several of the earlier coins in the set are old fat slabs with 9-digit serial numbers that start in 195 or 196, like this 1877 MS65...

Again, points wise, the MS66 would be the better addition for the registry and for points, but my 1876 and 1879 are old fat slabs with 195 serials, just like the one that's on sale right now, and those three could make quite a group together.

Granted, the 1888 is in one of the new edge view holders and, if I ever get around to crossing it, the 1875 would be in one too. Really, to make the whole set match I'd need to either re-holder all/most of them or swap out some coins for ones in old fattys...

Boy, this is a choice that has me stumped at the moment though.

Although... depending on what the final sale prices are... I could try to get both... Would that be crazy? Probably, yes. But being sane is over-rated. I've thought that for a long time.

The more I look at the pictures (such as they are), the more I think the MS66 is probably the better-looking coin. The real question I think I'm going to have to answer is: Do I have the guts to pass on the MS65 and go after the MS66, knowing that if I don't win it I'm going to have to wait for the next coin to come around, and knowing that these are the first ones I've seen in 9 months (other than an MS64, which I just didn't want. I'll take an MS64 for a rarer, more key-date coin like the 1887, but not one of the more common dates in the series)?

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coinsbygary

You are in somewhat of a pickle. In the end you have to go with the one you like the best. That said, there is something about those old holders. Points should be the least of your concerns. 

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Revenant
3 hours ago, gherrmann44 said:

Points should be the least of your concerns. 

At the end of the day you're right but I'm too competitive and numbers obsesses to completely ignore it. Lol I had hoped that the entry would sound more joking and make it clear that that wasn't the main or over-riding concern for me.

Even if it was more of a concern, the price and point value for most of these coins doesnt increase much from MS64 to MS66 - its not like, say, the roosevelt dimes. This category in the end favors the more complete sets and grades usually only come in as a tie-breaker, which is something I actually love about it.

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coinsbygary
27 minutes ago, Revenant1 said:

Lol I had hoped that the entry would sound more joking and make it clear that that wasn't the main or over-riding concern for me.

I wasn't insinuating that points were the main concern after all we are all a little competitive which is part of the reason we participate in the registry. In the end the most overriding concern is that you like the coin! Many times have I chosen nice AU-58 coins over MS-62, 63 coins simply because of the contact marks on many low end MS coins. You have to be happy with the coin in the hand, that in my estimation is priority 1. There are also those times that I bought a coin with a higher grade that I regretted buying. My bad, I've been educated at the school of numismatic hard knocks! These days I am very picky about the coins I buy. Eye appeal is everything and when the time comes to sell this is what other collectors are also looking for. Of course all this is regulated by my budget. I buy the best coin I can afford. Another thing I have learned is to wait for the right coin to come up for sale. 

Edited by gherrmann44
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Numismatic, A.A.S.

I think it boils down to this...do you want the higher registry points and a better looking coin? 

Or do you want a possible sweet set up for sale down the road...those old fatty's will show consistency in your collection and inspire someone to think about regrades or the history of them together? 

I personally would look down the road on this one...remember, there are alot of raw foreign coins not holdered with collectors retiring everyday...not saying your coin type isn't rare or anything, I would just think long term...or as stated above go for the Highest if you must...I understand your predicament... p.s. alot of people would love to be in your situation...

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Revenant
15 hours ago, Numismatic, A.A.S. said:

I think it boils down to this...do you want the higher registry points and a better looking coin? 

Or do you want a possible sweet set up for sale down the road...those old fatty's will show consistency in your collection and inspire someone to think about regrades or the history of them together? 

I personally would look down the road on this one...remember, there are alot of raw foreign coins not holdered with collectors retiring everyday...not saying your coin type isn't rare or anything, I would just think long term...or as stated above go for the Highest if you must...I understand your predicament... p.s. alot of people would love to be in your situation... 

Well, in this case anyway, like I said, I think the MS66 may be the better looking coin, looking just at the coin, based solely off the pictures (which is never a perfect thing with these online listings).

The prospect of re-grading / possibly upgrading them was one of the things that drew me to the fatty's I have in the first place and I just got a little lucky with picking up a few over time. I ended up with 3 of 6 coins in them so far and it became an almost accidental theme of the set. the 1884 is in an old fatty mostly just by chance. That's just simply the only one of those I've ever noticed come up for sale and it happened to be in an old fatty.

I agree with you on more old foreign coins getting graded on the time. I've been watching the census on these the last couple of years and the numbers are going up for sure.

And... Yup! A truly wonderful problem to have.

Edited by Revenant
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