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 Replies: 15 / Views: 1,613 |
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Valued Member
United States
139 Posts |
Hey all... Basically, I was kinda "forced" (all good) into being a part of a coin show, mostly because I do Token, Ancient as well as Variety coins and then there is everyone else, lol... My question is what to sell the cracked, culls, and barely detailed coins for? I was thinking of around $1 a piece or should I go lower? I have well over a thousand of these and to me, an ancient coin is still an ancient coin and part of history, no matter what shape it is in. Obviously, more detail and attributable devices on the coin, it will command a better price.
The other question is what is a good source for pricing on the attributed coins? I have been searching auctions to see what the going rates are and of course the acsearch for a reference.
This will be the first show I have ever done so I really don't know the common practices or anything else for that matter, as far as ancient coins go, so any help or hints will be appreciated! Thanks!
~ Wolfie
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2838 Posts |
Quote:
My question is what to sell the cracked, culls, and barely detailed coins for? Difficult to say for these - you may have rarities but its often not cost efficient to check prior to selling. Culls with no detail at all can be hard to sell at any price and often get mixed into lots of 'possible cleaners' and lower detail coins to make them easier to sell. $1 is quite cheap for lower quality coins that can be fully attributed, your best bet is probably to sell a mixture of 5-10 and hope to get a better overall price for them. I probably wouldn't just have a kind of bargain bin priced at $1 each as pretty soon all the reasonable coins will be gone and all you will be left with is unsellable culls! Depends how much time you have to sort them really - are they all fully cleaned or could they be improved upon? Maybe you could offer them as cleaners (again in lots of 5-10) with some info on how to clean them and how to ID them, you could snag a few people who find the concept interesting. Quote:
The other question is what is a good source for pricing on the attributed coins? I find searching ebay finished auctions by far the best way to get an idea of a coins desirability and 'actual' value. Coins are only worth what people are prepared to pay for them and if over-priced can sit for years without being sold. ebay is far more reliable than any rarity scale or published price guide. Search for the same / similar coins then decide how yours compare quality wise. This of course only gives you the estimated auction price and as your not auctioning you will need to adjust it accordingly, most shops or 'by it now' sellers seem to double this price by rule of thumb, some will treble it but others may just add 50%. The only other factor I think plays a part is 'eye appeal', impossible to explain really but some coins simply look good and some don't, attractive coins will always catch peoples eyes. Good luck. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2044 Posts |
There is also Vcoins. That is a good place to check for what sellers are selling particular coins for. This is also a good site to search through for values. http://www.acsearch.info/I also recommend showing us a photo of the coins you're selling, that you're planning on selling for $1. A photo of a small pile of them would be good. That could give us a better idea about the coins. |
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Valued Member
 United States
139 Posts |
Ok.. I am seeing the trend now... I will sort the coins and take pics when I get home tonight so you can see exactly what I am talking about! I actually divided them into a $1 pile and a $2 pile that I was thinking of selling at. There is quite a mixture of different cleaning stages mixed in from different batches of coins through the years. Which brings me to a question I was not going to ask but what the heck... I have over 2000 uncleaned that I have in packs of 10, all show some detail (the culls and such were pulled from these), I was planning on selling these at $25 for the 10, probably to low of a price on them too. I have had these coins for over a decade so I have no idea what the going price is... I will post pics of them also... Thanks for all the input, it is really appreciated! I was planning on doing this when I retired but I guess I will call this a pre-retirement since I didn't hit 50 just yet, lol...
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2044 Posts |
Who knows, maybe some of us here might be interested in the coins as well.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2838 Posts |
Quote:
I have over 2000 uncleaned  Look forward to seeing some pics - we have quite a few cleaners (I don't) and they will be able to point you in the right direction price-wise, maybe even buy a few bags off you! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4778 Posts |
I'm trying to clean some at the moment, but the wait is killing me lol. Might switch the coins to distilled water instead (have to go out and get some though).
I wouldn't mind maybe buying a few more uncleaned to try my luck at.
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
For me, the accurate attribution of an ancient coin adds about $5 to it's value.
I keep all of the ancients I buy. With the late Roman bronzes, I like to buy them unattributed, and enjoy the fun of doing that myself.
For a dealer, to my way of thinking, the first statement applies.
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Valued Member
United States
139 Posts |
Totally agree... you all know how painstaking some coins can be! This is to me a hobby that is turning into a business (same as the Variety coins). I mostly attribute the ancients for other people and am finally getting to my coins. I have about 1500 in various stages of cleaning and do them one by one. Family helps out a lot, and that is what I love the most, especially with the kids! Will be posting pics in a couple hours... again, thanks for all the input!
~ Wolfie
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10045 Posts |
Wolfie, I hope you hang around and sell some of the lots here on CCF. I know I would be a customer.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2596 Posts |
me too I will have to purchase some of these also. Sounds like fun with all the attributing to do!I always remember coins better when I have to attribute them myself and I have lots of emperors and types to fill. I am currently buying gall the fel temp fallen horseman coins I can get ahold of in any condition.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1549 Posts |
I would suggest offering the 2000 coins in two ways. One is a pickout pot - your choice while the second is dealer choice by random grab (just reach in and grab) at 10 coins for the same pickout price. The customer who values detail will pay extra to get extra while the one that just wants something old will get a handful. The cash value of an unidentifiable ugly is well under a dollar. Partly identifiable (by an expert) might be closer to a dollar while fully identifiable (not questionally) is more like $2. Going up to full legends and pretty coins will get pricey fast compared to the really bad stuff. Most uncleaned lots of the standard variety are mostly worth under a dollar while 'premium' uncleaned are $2-5 fairly, depending on your definition of 'premium'. The question is how many unidentifiable coins do you want to take home after the show? 2000?
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Valued Member
United States
139 Posts |
Alrighty... First off, as I failed to point out, these coins are mostly average and some above average. The "premium" coins I keep for myself to attribute and for my own collection... First pic is of some of my culls: broke, bendys, etc.  This pic is some of my uncleaned I pulled out of the jar... Might be some culls in there still because I haven't gone through these yet!  I can give you a better idea of all the coins once I get my work station set up. I love the ideas that were brought out! I will figure out a way to put up the coins so you guys can pick and choose what you want and I think we can all come to a price agreement... lol... thanks everyone! ~ Wolfie |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
870 Posts |
Second vote for ACSearch.info. Great database of ancient coin auction records.
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
Dawolfster: I was thinkin'.....  You have a lot of identification work ahead of you there. Picture a few of your coins that are head scratchers for you, and give US a go! Some of us would love the challenge of the ones that have most pt the legends, but otherwise have defied full attribution. Besides we would get to see some of your better coins! Would save you a bit of work, and we would have a bit of fun. Edited by sel_69l
02/10/2012 08:03 am
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Valued Member
United States
139 Posts |
Sounds good to me... Just tell me which one! lol.... out of their DW bath, a lot of cups on the left... I will work on my photography skills also, haha... I do have a countermarked one I will put up shortly...  Edited by DaWolfster
02/10/2012 10:22 am
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Replies: 15 / Views: 1,613 |
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Posted 02/09/2012 12:18 pm
