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 Replies: 15 / Views: 2,333 |
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New Member
Canada
48 Posts |
Hi all, So I was out in Toronto today and they had the antique and collectible market going at St Lawrence Market so I decided to check it out and came away with these: (sorry for some of the glare on the coins)   I ended up paying $32 for everything. I had a few questions for everyone: 1) Do you think that I paid a good price? 2) a) Since this was my first time buying, I was a little bit worried about encountering fakes and not knowing. I used some common sense and my own gut in terms of choosing which vendor to go to (lots of coin sellers) as well as looking at the coins themselves. When you all purchase coins, how do you generally ensure authenticity? Do you actually bring instruments? (scale, ruler, etc) or do you go by what you know to look for? b) Is there anything about these coins that would make you concerned? Thanks as always for all your help, CCF.     Edited by mokpie
05/20/2012 5:13 pm
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Valued Member
Canada
212 Posts |
you got a great deal none of the shops where I am have any thing dating back to the first half of the 20 centery
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2366 Posts |
You can look up the values of the Canadian coins here. There is also a section on how to grade them so you can determine the correct value. http://www.coinsandcanada.com/coins-prices.phpThis site lists values for the US coins (although they seem high compared to what I usually pay so take these ones with a grain of salt) http://www.bestcoin.com/united-stat...ng-guide.htmAs a general rule the counterfeiters are going after the valuable varieties so I generally don't worry about it for the cheaper coins. Much more common problem is someone has overgraded the coin and therefore overcharges you for it unless you know enough to challenge them on it. If you search this site you'll find a number of threads talking on the subject of counterfeits. As a general rule, you hope to identify a counterfeit by design elements missing or in the wrong place, or simply by poor quality. |
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Bedrock of the Community
Canada
10743 Posts |
 mokpie I would say you got a real good deal  Enjoy your stay and find lots of coins.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3184 Posts |
nice coins and nice variety
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
610 Posts |
to the forum mokpie Yea you did great |
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Valued Member
United States
117 Posts |
Far be it from me to rain on your parade but IMO you paid too much, the opinions of others here notwithstanding.
Not WAY too much but too much.
Better you should spend your money buying some basic guide books before spending your hard-earned money on coins.
Just my 2ยข
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New Member
 Canada
48 Posts |
Hi all,
Thanks for all your comments.
I did refer to CoinsandCanada and I do own a Charleton but from what I understand, aren't the prices quoted in those, especially coins and Canada, overstated compared to what actual buying and selling prices are? How can I use books or sites to help determine what the real price should be?
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New Member
Canada
20 Posts |
thats a question I have have been wondering about myself .
I have a 1893 quarter in the g/vg range .
what would anybody buy/sell it for?
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Valued Member
United States
117 Posts |
Quote:
I did refer to CoinsandCanada and I do own a Charleton but from what I understand, aren't the prices quoted in those, especially coins and Canada, overstated compared to what actual buying and selling prices are? How can I use books or sites to help determine what the real price should be? If you are going to start collecting Canadian coins - which I recommend! ;-) - the Charlton Catalogue is the first place to go. Consider subscribing to Canadian Coin News - it's published every 2 weeks and in addition to articles, it has a price trends section. Then join the Royal Canadian Numismatic Assoc. (www.rcna.ca). |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
815 Posts |
$15 for the dime is outrageous in that shape IMHO. The half is worth 15-20 pts above melt, so ~$12-15.
Overall, $32 isn't too high. Maybe $20-25 is what my dealer would have charged me. Great assortment of coins! Love the proof half.
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New Member
Canada
48 Posts |
Ahjohl - yeah, the prices on the 2x2s weren't what the guy was actually charging. and for everything except the dime and the liberty half were $1 each. Thanks for the input!
I figured for $1, might as well pick up the proof half since I liked it.
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Pillar of the Community
 Canada
9864 Posts |
The 1980 half is not proof.
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Moderator
 Canada
10458 Posts |
mokpie, are you planning to attend the Coin Expo, held in downtown Toronto in early June? That should be a good place to look and learn about Canadian coins. All coins, of all grades will be there, and lots of dealers and collectors are quite helpful. The auction can provide insight into what the actual coin market is like, versus printed catalogue prices. The eye candy, priced at 4 and 5 figures will be there to drool over. For newer collectors, some dealers may have stuff half price from "junk bins" and the like, for circulated large cents and tokens. Dealers Mike Findley and Andy Greco usually have a large bin for novice collectors to rummage through. http://www.torontocoinexpo.ca/
"Discovery follows discovery, each both raising and answering questions, each ending a long search, and each providing the new instruments for a new search." -- J. Robert OppenheimerContent of this post is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses...0/deed.en_USMy eBay store
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Valued Member
United States
397 Posts |
Welcome!
For just starting out, and your first buy, I think you did just fine as far as price. =)
And yes, as a general rule, the more time you spend educating your self online, through guides, and by going to shows and looking at coins, the more money you'll save yourself by getting fair prices.
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Valued Member
Canada
457 Posts |
But.... the more you learn,  the more you want to spend  Its a problem most of us here have  But its a good problem to have  |
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Replies: 15 / Views: 2,333 |
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Posted 05/20/2012 5:58 pm
