Nuestra Senora De Atocha Coin- Is It Worth The Buy?

Yeah, that was one of my concerns. I don't know to what degree it matters, but the certificate lists the grade as "2". Does that help the cause at all?

Obviously, being the coin is from the late 1600's and shipwrecked, it's not going to be perfect, but is this particular coin far beyond that of other coins to this era?

Thank you!

Thank you for your words and suggestions. The gentleman I am/was considering purchasing this from is selling for three hundred usd. Obviously I wasn't expecting the 2,000 mark, but I was thinking possible getting 600-700 for it.

Do you think that is out of the realm?

Thank you all!

This is exactly why I ask people who know what they are talking about before doing anything drastic.

I really appreciate you guys letting me pick your brains about this matter.

It's crazy how Melvin Fisher is still in business after ripping people off as bad and his company does. I know there are crooks in every field, but this just seems absurd to value something worth nothing as $2,300 dollars!

Again, thank you all!

This whole thread is rather amusing... I understand you have a kid coming, you're trying... but let's look at this for a minute: "Hi, I'd like to buy this, and I'm hoping the seller is only charging half of its actual worth so I can flip it for double. However, I know nothing about these at all, and have done close to zero research (didn't even bother checking ebay completed auctions). Can you please then tell me if I can indeed flip this for double?"

"Oh, and what's with this Melvin guy (whom I clearly am not familiar with at all since I call him "MelVIN") charging all that money for the stuff that they salvaged? It's not worth that at all... they should be made to charge ____ amount so collectors don't have to bother learning anything at all."

Anyway... specifics - As everyone else said, the Fishers' $2300 appraisal is tourist hype price, not reflective of general market conditions. The market for this isn't perfectly rational, of course, but that much can be stated without any question. However, it isn't worthless or only a $100 piece, either...

You are showing a Grade II Potosi 4 Reales... no special variety with this coin, assayer not visible (but it's a typical 1610's piece), decent weight, though the shield is a bit smeggy for a Grade II. Nevertheless, with the cert (and there's supposed to be a 2-inch flip insert tag there also)... depending on how well you display it, this type of piece will normally bring somewhere in the $225-325 range on ebay - which I'm guessing would be your outlet. There seems to have been an uptick over the past year or two in prices, looking at ebay and other auction results... seems like one could nab a piece like this on ebay for 150-200 two years back.

Note, BTW, in the case of Atocha coins, most of the value is in the original paperwork (as was mentioned, people like the romance, hunting for treasure, blah, blah... get "pirates" or "doubloons" involved and people really get in a tizzy)... If this was just a generic shipwreck cob with no papers, it would be a $60 or so piece.

Really, if you can't get this for $200 or reasonably close, you won't make anything on it... If you want to make money buying/selling, a good first step is to LEARN a little about what you're trying to sell. At least you asked before jumping... Good luck with the baby.

4R and 8R go for about the same money, generally... If you can find Grade II Atocha 8R (or 4R) for $100 a pop at these large shows (ACTUAL Atocha pieces, with proper Treasure Salvors photocerts and flip tags, of course... not generic sea salvage)... you should back the wheelbarrow up!

.. not a lazy socialist ? Maybe a lazy ...
whatever, politic don't have its place here ;)

I hope your friend will manage to resell his coin, but he will hardly get as much as he paid (and I fear he won't win anything) ...
The best place to sell it would be at the museum itself, that's where peoples pay much premium.