The Crack-Out Game
Published by Larry on Tagged Coin Collecting Basics, Instuctional
It really is a game that many coin collectors and coin dealers play. It is a high- stakes gamble, very much like playing poker, where you ante in a small sum of money and hopefully win a sizable pot. Just how do you play this coin game and win lots of money?
The crack-out game is a recent coin collecting phenomenon. In the late 1980’s many independent third-party coin grading services came into being. The high demand for pristine, unblemished certified coins paralleled a gap between the real market value of mint state coins in the higher grades. A coin in MS-65 might bring five times more money than an MS-64. Wise traders began buying premium-quality (PQ) coins that were at the upper-end of their mint state level and “cracking” them out of their hard plastic holders so they could resubmit them to a different grading service in hopes of receiving a higher grade and make a big profit. This is a game to be played by experts when we are talking about rare and very rare PQ coins. The risks are big at this level and the game needs to be approached scientifically, calculating all the odds and playing your hand when the odds are in your favor. Sometimes the coin can be downgraded by a service as a result of a single hairline that a previous grader missed. The decline in grade could cause a hugh loss in the market value of that coin. Nearly a quarter of all certified coins have become a part of the crack-out game. The game should be played with less valued high quality coins when you first start so that you gain the experience without losing your shirt financially. To be a player consider these risks:
1. Coin graders have weaknesses and grading services have different standards.
2. Certain types of coins like the quarter eagle Indians and Standing Liberty Quarters are not easy to grade making them a higher risks.
3. “Cracking” a coin can damage it as plastic pieces adhere to the coin surface requiring a careful air brushing before resubmittal.
4. The volume of coins being resubmitted is hugh increasing the risks factors.
5. You have to play the percentages and develop and apply sharp grading skills or lose bigtime.
6. It takes pratice, practice, practice! The more experience you get the better you become at playing the game. You will probably lose before you can win.
I have chosen to play the game with a few (PQ) silver coins found with my metal detectors. My risk is lowered because I did not pay a premium price for the coin and my investment is in the cost of the initial submission and the resubmission of them. As a novice at the game, I am having fun and making a little money. I know that I am not ready yet to resubmit some of my MS 65-68 coins, but like a small time poker player, I am chomping at the bit to go to Monte Carlo. Here’s to “diggin It”! Larry
March 7th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Interesting post. Where do you get the figure of one quarter of all certified coins getting cracked out? Seems high.
“Nearly a quarter of all certified coins have become a part of the crack-out game.”
March 7th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
[...] post from Metal Detector For Coin Collecting takes a look at “The Crack Out [...]
March 9th, 2008 at 4:07 am
Thank you for the tip on “The Crack Out Game” It’s most definitely food for thought. I guess you have to be careful where you purchase your coins. Do you have any suggestions of where to purchase and get a realistic grading on the coins ?
Here’s to Monte Carlo and “Diggin It”
March 23rd, 2008 at 7:21 pm
I just received my magnificent coin since I was the winner in last months drawing. Thank you again. I just read your post on Historic, Maps, Photos and Books as recommended sources for potentially good treasure hunting. It’s very interesting but I would have assumed that many of these historic sites would be off limits to the public. The parks and fields are accessible by the public but are you free to use the Metal Detectors in these areas ? How about Civil War and other Historic Battlefield sites ? Thank you.
March 23rd, 2008 at 7:41 pm
All land public and private require permission to search. Historic maps are not necessarily tied to lands of historical importance. I have maps and aerial photographs that give me tons of places to go check out. I have a permission form and a liability wavier on another post. There are more private land areas including homesites that are loaded with relic of the civil war and training ground sites for our soldiers of the World Wars, that produce great finds. My brother, prior to his death, accumulated hugh civil war collections from the Virginias and Carolinas. Almost all came from home sites and farms using the permission form on this blog,
Larry