John,
The price is irrelevant until you personally inspect the coin. NGC has graded 18 1881-CC GSA silver dollars MS-65DPL. Of that group of 18 coins, some will be low-end for the grade, some will be mid-range for the grade, and maybe a few will be high-end for the grade.
The low-end examples will be worth much less than the two other grade ranges (comparable to MS-64DPL prices). The high-end pieces, with great eye appeal, will be worth premium prices. The best MS-65DPL coin out of the group of 18 pieces will be worth the most.
NGC has also graded 4 1881-CC GSA dollars MS-66DPL, and 1 MS-67DPL. If the eye appeal of any of the MS-65DPLs comes close to the eye appeal of the best MS-66DPL, it (or they) will be worth a substantial premium. And if any of the 4 MS-66DPL specimens approaches the lone MS-67DPL's eye appeal, it will command a high premium over the other MS-66DPLs.
It would be nice if coin grading and the pricing of coins were not so complicated, but that isn't the case. Third-party grading advanced coin collecting by leaps and bounds, but it did not solve all the problems collectors face when choosing their coins.
In the end, a collector must decide if he or she is satisfied with average- or low-quality coins that are available at discounted prices, or if he or she will only seek coins that will impress anyone who looks at them. The history of coin collecting is populated by both sides of this discretionary spectrum, and every variance in between.
All a person needs to do to discover these variances in grade-versus-eye-appeal-versus-price is study auction prices realized in major auctions.
Here's an example:
In Heritage's January 2011 FUN sale, three 1875-CC $10 gold pieces graded AU-53, AU-53, and AU-55 crossed the auction block. Following are the prices realized:
1875-CC $10 PCGS AU-53 - $12,650
1875-CC $10 PCGS AU-53 - $14,950
1875-CC $10 NGC AU-55 - $21,850
Which coin was the best buy? The PCGS AU-53 specimen that brought $14,950 was by far the bargain of the trio. It surpassed not only the other PCGS AU-53 example in quality, it outdistanced, in terms of eye appeal, the NGC AU-55 piece by at least 10 grading points (I would not have bought the NGC AU-55 coin if it had been graded XF-45—it was hideous looking).
PCGS Price Guide estimates for the value of 1875-CC gold eagles in AU-53 and AU-55 are as follows:
AU-53 - $19,000
AU-55 - $40,000
The person who bought the NGC AU-55 piece for $21,850, when using the above price guide as a reference, might have thought he got a great deal (a better than 45% discount). The buyer of the PCGS AU-53 coin, who paid $14,950, received a "mere" 21.3% discount off the PCGS Price Guide estimate. In reality, since his coin is premium quality, and actually qualifies for an AU-55 rating, he scored an even heftier discount.
The bidder who won the PCGS-graded AU-53 piece for $12,650 may be delighted at his 33.33% discount off the suggested retail price, but there again, his new purchase is low-end for the grade. He did, however, get a better deal than the buyer of the NGC AU-55 coin. Still, his AU-53 example will not generate much enthusiasm from those who view it.
If you have followed my train of thought to this point, I hope you can see that prices are relative. The hobby, the art, the discipline, the practice of coin collecting is, and always will be, very subjective.
Everyone can have fun with this great pastime, but the guidelines that govern it are not always as black and white as a person might suspect. That's where the learning comes in handy, and honestly, the learning is where the majority of the enjoyment emanates.
Rusty
