Bucket of Coins

As tradition has it most of us get started in coin collecting by acquiring coins that are in “Raw” state. “Raw” is a coin that has not been sent to a Third Party Grading company and encapsulated in a semi-permanent holder with certificates of authenticity. Some examples of raw coins are:

1. Coins found in pocket change.
2. Coins acquired from the US Mint.
3. Coins from bank rolls.
4. Coins in any other type of preservation or storage such as books, folders, hard plastic holders without certification, 2 x 2 plastic flips, cardboard 2 x 2s, etc.

Raw coins are obtainable usually at a lesser cost since they haven’t been examined, graded, certified, and preserved by a Third Party Grading (TPG) company. The idea behind TPGs is that it takes the guess work out of grading and authenticating of a coin. Since grade and condition has such a huge bearing on value. There are some coins that just one grade point up could be a $10,000 difference! Hence, this is the number one reason to get a “professional grading opinion” by a reputable TPG. They are also trained to identify all the new fake coins being produced in China and other countries. It has also been reported that fake TPG holders with fake coins have made it into the marketplace. Educate yourself!

There are some things to consider before spending the money to have a coin graded.

1. Research the TPG.  Find out which one fits your need and your coin. Some grading companies will simply holder a coin as Genuine, while others will grade the coin for a “net” grade after taking the things that lessen the grade if it didn’t have things to drop it’s grade. For example a coin without distractions could grade out as AU50, but after taking in consideration of something that is questionable the “net” grade could lower the over all grade to XF45. TPGs that practice this type of grading will often comment on the certification about the questionable item. There are also some TPGs that conserve coins, which essentially means professionally cleaning them to bring them back to there former glory and so accurate grading can be determined.
2. Realize some TPGs have a reputation of grading a little easier than other companies. While one company with a good reputation but appear to be a little lax in criteria to make a grade, another company with more stringent guidelines may grade the same coin at a lower grade. If this is consistently the case, the first company’s value in the market place may be of a lesser percentage of value when compared to the second company’s comparable grade. You must remember grading is subjective. I have always tended to lean toward the tougher criteria, therefore devaluing my coins in the past.
3. Listen to what other people say and watch the sales of similar coins in TPG holders. This is very important. If you hear of XYZ TPG coins are always overgraded, the word will spread and your coin will be undervalued no matter what is written on the holder. With the Internet, there are tons of comparables for you to use and make conclusions on which TPG will be right for you.
4. If your raw coin has an unnatural appearance, hairline scratches, corrosion, or damage it may be wise to get a few second opinions on forums or from other collectors before spending the money to get the coin graded. Remember your goal with TPGs are to certify, grade, and perserve, to eliminate disputes of subjective grading between what you see and what someone else sees. It helps to take out the guess work. Like I said earlier, you do not need to take this carte’ blanc, you need to examine each and every coin you plan on acquiring because not all VF, AU, MS, and PR coins are graded equally.

Personally I have loved my raw coins. I have done many type, year, and denomination sets over the years and have cracked out 100’s of coins from TPG holders (some I wish I hadn’t). If you ever decide to crack a coin out of a TPG holder, take a photo of the obverse and reverse and point out distingiushing  features in the phot tha will help to identify the coin in hand is the same coin in the photo. Also keep the certification paper from the holder to for additional support. Truthfully, there is something about holding a coin in your hand and looking at it through your loupe that give you chills feeling it between your fingers, where as TPG coins most of the guess work is out the window. I would suggest do a mixture of both stick with the basics with raw coins unless you find a diamond amongst the lumps of coal with potentially high market value or a coin that you wish to perserve.