Q. David Bowers
Getting the Best Value for Your Money
In buying silver dollars, it is desirable to get the best value for the price paid. The "best value" will vary, of course, from person to person. I am assuming that a person of reasonable financial means would like to obtain, for example, 10 different coins in MS-63 grade instead of just one or two in MS-65. However, if money is no objection and your name is Rockefeller, then value might not be important. There is no hard and fast rule. One California client desired to build a set in MS-65 grade, with no exceptions. If he couldn't find an MS-65 coin to suit him, he did without the variety in any grade.
Before proceeding with a collection of any silver dollars, common or rare, it is best to read extensively about them. Good pricinginformation can be found in current issues of The Coin Dealer Newsletter, The Certified Coin Dealer Newsletter, A Guide Book of United States Coins, the "Trends" section of Coin World, the "Coin Market" section of Numismatic News, and in various other periodicals and updates.
While my previous suggestion of using the population analyses is, in my opinion, an excellent one, you may wish to modify it in order to obtain the best value for your money for certain varieties for which a small difference in grade means a big jump in price.
For example, if a particular coin in MS-65 grade costs $4,000 but in MS-63 grade costs $1,000 and in MS-60 grade costs $200, you can determine what price level you wish to seek for this particular variety. Sometimes the levels are dramatic. An issue of the Coin Dealer Newsletter listed the following prices for these silver dollars and illustrates the different price ranges possible:(Issue of September 4, 1992.)
• Example No.1: 1878-CC VG $16.00, F $20.00, VF $24.00, EF $28.00, AU $40.00, MS-60 $65.00, MS-63 $120.00, MS-64 $235.00, MS-65 $1,350.00.
For the 1878-CC, it would seem to me that for the average buyer, or even for the well-moneyed purchaser, an MS-63 or MS-64 will fill the bill for a high grade collection. To be sure, an MS-65 is nicer than an MS-64, but is it sufficiently nicer to merit a price of about 500% higher? This is a question you will have to ask yourself. If it were my money, I would opt for an MS-64, even if I could afford an MS-65, and use the $950 savings to buy other coins in my set-or to start on another collecting specialty. Often, there is very little real difference between an MS-64 and an MS-65 example. In this instance, if you used my previous analysis list and had a budget of, say, $1,500 maximum for an MS-65 dollar, after which you would acquire MS-64 and lower grade dollars, it might be worthwhile for 1878-CC to acquire an MS-64 anyway-even though it is within your guidelines.
• Example No.2: 1891-0 VG $7.50, F $8.50, VF $11.00, EF $15.00, AU $26.00, MS-60$66.00, MS-63 $175.00, MS-64 $575.00, MS-65 $5,000.00.
The 1891-0 is an even more dramatic instance of big price jumps for every little jump in grade in the Mint State ranges. An MS-64 costs over three times more than an MS-63, and an MS-65 costs nearly 10 times the price of an MS-64. Even if you wanted to spend $5,000 for an MS-65, it might be a better value for your money to acquire an 1891-0 in MS-64 grade. At least, that is what I would do if I were forming a high-level set of Morgan dollars.
I believe I write with an unbiased viewpoint here, for as a dealer, I certainly would, be happy to have you buy an MS-65 from me. But, if you ask me my opinion, which, in a way you have done when you bought this book, my opinion is that MS-64 offers a better value in this instance. I should also say that not everyone is concerned with value. It is just that I am.
• Example No.3: 1900-0 VG $7.50, F $8.00, VF $9.50, EF $9.50, AU $11.00, MS-60 $14.00, MS-63 $27.00, MS-64 $37.00, MS-65 $135.00.
This third example illustrates a coin' which is relatively plentiful in the higher grade ranges. For the 1900-0 I might indeed buy an MS-65, for the expenditure is modest. For sure, I would buy an MS-64 instead of an MS-63, for in that instance the price differential is very small.