Lets remember that prices on vCoins and
ebay Buy it Now are asking or dreaming on the part of sellers who may or may not really care if they sell all those coins. Some dealers set up shop at shows mostly to buy; some will even greet you with "I can do better on that." When you see a coin on
ebay that actually sells, you need to allow for the fact that there are some buyers (beginners or the rich) who don't really know or care so even some actual sales don't give an accurate view of the market. Next there is the fact that big dealers like CNG, Berk and several European houses actually can demand premium prices since their buyers will value their expertise more than they will yours or mine. Just because you see an acsearch listing of a coin for $100 does not mean that you could sell the exact coin for $50 or even $25.
Finally there is the matter of grade. I recently paid too much for a couple coins simply because I recognized that the specific coin is rarely found in better grade. We all know that high grade coins sell for more but it takes a while to figure out that 90% of some types you see are EF grade while 90% of other types are rarely seen with over half of the legend or well struck let alone not being worn. You should't pay a great premium for that first group but you better for the last.
All this means, to me anyway, that collectors need to buy what they like and pay what they want to pay. Investors need to plan on losing money or obtaining a quick education. In many cases the best answer for a beginner is to find a dealer you trust to be selling fairly and stop shopping around. I wish I could do this but I end up buying things I want wherever I find them and hope it all averages out in the end.
For example, look at these two coins. One cost me $131 while the other was $25. Both are about equally rare/common and have some similarities in grade that might make them closer to equal value to me than those numbers indicate. Why pay more? It all averages out in the end.
. Thanks
Posted 11/17/2012 9:53 pm
