when to have coins graded?

Z-man, You have to be somewhat of a grader yourself to start with. Obviuosly you would want to have coins that are "Key" or rare graded and slabbed. But you also need to educate yourself as to what is valuable in what grades. Some coins have a higher value in mint state (MS) than they actually do in proof (PF) grade as the number of MS coin minted is far less than the number of PF coins etc. My general rule is; if the cost of grading is outweighed by sale of the coin then it is worth it. Also a lot of collectors want a graded and slabbed coin as they are "Genuine" coins in theory and not forgeries or copies. So bottom line is this; 1) if you want to know if the coin is genuine, 2) if the cost of grading is outweighed by the coins value/sale, then it is worth grading. WOLF

I've only slabbed a few of my more expensive coins. All my "collection" is going to my kids anyway........I'll let them decide what to do with them.

Dusty

Thanks guys! I'm concentrating on trading up and buying only more rare coins and only in better condition. It seems like i can get decent coins regularly, but really nice rare coins are a bit more difficult. Here's one i'm thinking of maybe having graded before selling, reason being if i put it out as is without grading it would probably go for like 50 bucks and i'm looking for a bit more...

Z-man, what are you looking to get for it? I've found a value of $22.50 in BU. So is this a rare one somehow? I am not real knowledgable on the Mexican coinage. WOLF

Nevermind, this spot answered my question. http://www.coinquest.com/cgi-bin/cq/coins?main_coin=3850&main_ct_id=35 I would get it graded and slabbed Z-man. WOLF