PCGS – Low Ball Coins
Posted on January 7, 2011 by Jaime Hernandez
Can you believe that a coin graded PCGS Poor 1 will bring a higher premium than a coin that is graded PCGS MS63. It’s unbelievable.
(Image Courtesy of vamhead)
This 1897-S Morgan Dollar graded PCGS Poor 1 sold for $565 on November 2010. The same coin in Uncirculated PCGS MS63 grade sells for under $120. And there are many more PCGS Poor 1 examples in the market realizing even more.
Who would have ever thought that a coin that is almost completely worn and has the date and design just visible could be worth more than a coin in Uncircualted grades.
At PCGS, a coin assigned a grade of Poor 1 is a coin that has most of the design and date missing due to excessive wear from circulation. However, in most cases the coin has to be identifiable by its date, mint mark and type before PCGS assigns it a grade of Poor 1.
Not only do some coins in grades of Poor 1 command higher premiums than in most other grades. Numerous times collectors have sent in coins graded PCGS Fair 2 under a grade review, in hopes of getting their coin downgraded to a grade of Poor 1.
Perhaps coins in grades of Poor 1 are much more desirable because they circulated heavily, and therefore have much more historical significance. Or, it can be because this is the lowest grade possible and it’s really hard to find a coin in this one specific grade. Is it because it takes just a bit more wear before it becomes un-greadable. Or, is it because of the Set Registry and several collectors want to compete in Low Ball sets? Or it may be because collecting Low Ball coins is really fun.
Whatever the reason is, its fun to see Low Ball coins attract this much attention in the marketplace.
Filed Under: News
I paid that price for the 1897-S PO01 for numerous reasons. First as a PO01 Low Ball coin it fits perfectly into any low ball set without question. Next its a “S” mint coin and most “S” mint coins are rather scarce in a PO01 grade except the 1921-S PO01. Matter of fact there are several dates where no PO01 coins are found in “S” coins. I appreciate the PO01 Morgan dollar and the look that every PO01 shows off. This coin has now been in three different Top Pop sets and I am sure being also the only one of a kind coin it adds to the value to any set it resides in. Thank you for posting this information and if you have questions please contact me for further information. -Mike
I think that poor quality coin just as shown here, should be melted down for silver bullion! Because I never collect poor quality coins!
Hi Michael,
Nice to hear from you and congratulations on winning the coin imaged above. The Low Ball sets seem very fun to participate in and I am glad you are having a great time buidling this set.
Thanks, jaime
Hi Koichi Ito,
That’s what makes many collectors appreciate Low Ball coins, as they are almost unrecognizable and most of them in this condition have already been melted.
Thanks, jaime
I’ll admit that I had my doubts about low-ball collecting, but I have come to recognize it as a collecting genre in its own right. I do have to wonder if we will soon see a push for minus grades, stickers for “bottom for the grade” coins, and coin doctors puttying away at F and VF examples, trying to fake the look of a well-worn P01. Low-balling is both a serious game in its own right and a rather quitchy parody of the serious games.
Hi Jon,
After seeing hundreds of thousands of coins in my lifetime, I have to agree that finding a low ball coin in a grade of Poor 01 is very difficult. I have never found one personally even in coins from circulation, so its definitely a challenging set but also a lot of fun.
Thanks, jaime
The phrase “history in your hands” romanticizes coin collecting . Think how many more hands a P01 coin has passed through than, say, a proof 65. Use your imagination; what path did that 97-S travel to wind up in your hand?
What would the rarest low ball coin be? Maybe a 2012 penny in P01?
Anybody out there low balling anything but dollars? I’m thinking of doing Indians/Flying Eagles.