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 Replies: 14 / Views: 955 |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
6449 Posts |
Now that I am making the occasional purchase on ebay, I like to take advantage of combined shipping. Once you've shelled out the $4, might as well tack on some more inexpensive coins for free shipping. One of the things that always catches my eye is individual proof coins. They appear to be from broken up proof sets, possibly where a more valuable coin has been sold. Are individual proof coins commonly available, and what are they actually worth? I have looked at price lists like PCGS to try and get an idea, but their pricing on proof coins is crazypants and completely divorced from what auction prices show, and those are slabbed coins anyway. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7273 Posts |
Depends on the coin but regular proof coins cost from $2 to $15. If you want silver proof coins expect around $15-$35. That's for most proofs of circulating coinage. If you want proofs of Morgan's/Peace or ASE you'll pay much more. If you want 80's-90's proof it's much cheaper to get the full set, please note that many from that time look pretty bad so getting a full set not all coins maybe appealing. Edited by hfjacinto
12/05/2023 8:51 pm
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
6449 Posts |
Ok, thanks for the guideline. I am nickel focused right now, and I like the way that 1950s and early 1960s proof nickels look. Most of the bidding seems to start at $1 but then sometimes it gets to $5-10. No rhyme or reason, I haven't gotten a line on why it jumps on some years. I just didn't want to pay two or three bucks for each nice proof nickel, and then later discover you can buy them for 25c at a coin show. I also thought about picking up some first year or last year proofs. 1958 and 1959 for Lincoln cents, for example. I do realize that if I start going to 1938-1949 for Jefferson nickels that the proofs might cost more. But I thought it might be nice to have a full set of nickel proofs from 1938 to 2005, and maybe to the present. |
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Moderator
 United States
34393 Posts |
Quote:
I thought it might be nice to have a full set of nickel proofs from 1938 to 2005 Sounds like someone has settled on their 2024 collecting goal!  "If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7273 Posts |
Something like nickel proofs your best bet is a good coin shop. My local one has most proofs from 1960's to 2000's fairly priced most from $2 to $20 for the early years. Pre 1950's sometimes get pricy. And conditional rarities also get pricey. Some of the early proofs aren't very nice looking. The 1942 silver will be a pricy proof.   |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6449 Posts |
Quite possibly. =) I think it's a bounded goal, and also relatively attainable without breaking the bank. One of the concerns I had was scratches on the proofs. I can see some in various ebay pictures, presumably because the coins have been unprotected. Milk spots at least seem easier to avoid. |
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Moderator
United States
56855 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6449 Posts |
Ok, so the consensus is that Numismedia has reasonably accurate prices? That has been one of my ongoing challenges, because I can see that PCGS, greysheet, and the Red Book do not always line up with what actually happens on ebay, Great Collections, and other auction sites. Also, the lower the price or grade, the less accurate those sources seem to get. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7273 Posts |
Issue with anything (including ebay) is that prices are not stable. There are so many proof coins out there that there is fungibility in value. The third party grading prices are for a slabbed coin. ebay has the extra ebay costs included. Local coin shops might have a lot or the proofs may not be very active so prices go up/come down. The Red Book is outdated the day its printed. Your best value for Raw Price is GreySheet as many dealers use that as to what starting price should be and adjust up or down based on economics. I just checked grey sheet (I have one from May 2023), the prices of Proof Nickels from 1950 to ... range from a high of $52 to $1. The early years are pricy. And remember that a dealer may conservatively grade (so any proof is either PR62 to PR65) and charge a PR64 price. (This is what my dealer does). Others may grade everything and Charge PR66+ rates. |
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Moderator
United States
56855 Posts |
Gray sheet is a good source, but not everyone has access to it. ebay sold value shows current value and what people are willing to pay. John1  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6449 Posts |
Well, after checking Numismedia, there seems to be a lot of missing data for Jefferson nickels. I will take the guideline of a couple bucks for the post-1950 coins, and work with it. Do you guys know the reason that 1956 proofs seem to be priced considerably above 1957-1964? The listings start higher and seem to get more bids. I have not run across any reason yet, for example that fewer were struck, many were struck poorly or without full steps, or whatever. The higher 1956 price seems consistent across a few dealers, so it's not just random. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7273 Posts |
Quote:
Do you guys know the reason that 1956 proofs seem to be priced considerably above 1957-1964? The listings start higher and seem to get more bids. I have not run across any reason yet, for example that fewer were struck, many were struck poorly or without full steps, or whatever. The higher 1956 price seems consistent across a few dealers, so it's not just random. Grey Sheet has the 1956 from .25 to $15 the same as most of the 1950's. The Deep Cameo is $450-$1100 which means it must be rare to get a deep cameo on the 1956. Quote:Gray sheet is a good source, but not everyone has access to it. ebay sold value shows current value and what people are willing to pay. John1 ebay prices are pretty high all around, I would avoid ebay for common date raw coins. You'll do much better at a brick and mortar real store. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7273 Posts |
@Brandmeister,
You have email turned off, if you turn in on I can send you the price list.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6449 Posts |
Try it now. Much appreciated!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7273 Posts |
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Replies: 14 / Views: 955 |
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Posted 12/05/2023 9:17 pm
