Lowball Canadian Coins
By thecanadiannumismatist | Tuesday, 13 December 2022
There are as many ways to collect as there are collectors. Contrary to the general norm of getting the best-preserved coin in existence, some people seek out and hoard coins with as much wear as possible. First made popular in the United States, this type of coin is nicknamed lowball.
To be described as lowball, a coin must be free of any imperfection (cleaned, corroded, scratched, polished, etc.) and must generally have a grade below VG-8. The number of examples with these characteristics must be small for a particular combination of denimation and date to be popular.
For example, the 1875 25 cent coin in low grade exists in appreciable quantity. Because of this, it will be less appealing for coins collectors of lowball than a 1 dollar 1935 AG-3 coin. Because of personal preferences, some people will be willing to pay more for this low grade silver dollar than a dollar of the same year certified MS-60.
Most attractive lowball coins in Canada are silver 1 dollar pieces. A modern coin with a lot of wear is generally not considered since this wear is obviously not natural. Natural wear can come, for example, from a coin kept in a pocket or a coin used by a magician.
A pocket piece is a coin that someone carries in their pocket primarily to wear down (although sometimes it can be used for conversational reasons, such as an UNC morgan dollar in an air-tite) its surfaces.
- YoloBagels, American Numismatic Association
Very high grade coins will always retain a higher value than a pocket coin, but the latter may still be of interest to some collectors who will be willing to pay more than the face or bullion value.
Lowball coins sold at auctions
- 1 dollar 1945 ICCS AG-3 - $320 (2021)
- 1 dollar 1935 ICCS FR-2 - $150 (2022)
- 1 dollar 1939 ICCS BS-1 - $75 (2019)
- 1 dollar 1936 ICCS FR-2 - $65 (2018)
- 1 dollar 1964 ICCS G-6 - $48 (2021)
- 1 dollar 1938 ICCS G-6 - $47.20 (2022)
- 1 dollar 1949 ICCS AG-3 - $45 (2020)
- 1 dollar 1951 ICCS G-6 - $36 (2021)
More articles
- Canadian coins
- Canadian banknotes
- Canadian tokens and medals
- International
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