| Author |
 Replies: 9 / Views: 1,350 |
|
|
Valued Member
United States
53 Posts |
I'm just getting back to collecting, and I'm starting with the Liberty nickels. Does anybody have any advice on where to purchase quality coins? The graded coins on ebay look to be overpriced (understandably with ebay's fees, but that's another topic.) I'm scared of buying raw coins, because I honestly just don't know what I'm doing with them yet. I don't know how to spot a cleaned coin, and I'm not comfortable with my grading skills (yet). So far I have a PCGS 1883 w/o Cents MS65 and a PCGS 1912 MS63, both gorgeous coins. I don't mind paying up, but after looking at greysheet prices, I feel like ebay is ridiculously overpriced. I paid $20 over ask price on the 1912 at a local dealer, and that seemed fair. Is it normal to have pay significantly over ask (say 20-50%) for premium graded coins? Any advice on buying raw or how to snag deals online? I want to put together a set of Liberty nickels in MS+ condition. I collected when I was 8-10, and I'm 26 now. Any other advice for somebody that's basically just starting out? |
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1959 Posts |
I would find out when coin shows in your area are and start there. The coin shops of yesteryear are becoming fewer and farther between. I am lucky to still have one I can co to and get quality coins and fair book value or a little less in most cases. Also, something I haven't done is joining a coin club and establish a relationship with other coin collectors and trade/buy among them. I used to love going in old dingy coin shops when I was younger. Only two good ones left in town now. The others post their stuff on ebay and have only junk under the counter. |
|
Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
Liberty nickels arent my thing but I will say this, remember grey sheet prices are often low since theyre more geared towards dealers. If you own a coin shop using them as your guide is good, as an individual buyer not buying in bulk you might be hard pressed to find a lot of things in those ranges. Checking the ebay completed listings is a good way to see what people are currently paying. ebay is really the best place to find the most over and under priced coins. Some sellers will accept offers if you email them as well. At any given time though the prices for a certain date or coin in a series could be higher or lower depending on how much competition it currently has. Auctions that end at weird times too are great to try and get on as well as the interest is usually down. If your patient though you can put together nice sets at good prices from there. Aside from the largest coin shows you wont find a larger collection of coins for sale in one place. Patience is the key though if you want a good deal.
|
|
Moderator
 United States
56855 Posts |
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
 You just can't beat a coin show. Look up coin shows on the internet. Find any that are near you. Even some that are sort of far away, may well be better than ebay, coin stores, on line dealers and for sure, ebay. At a coin show, you see what you get. There is usually no parking fees, no entrance fees, no taxes, no postage and handling fees, no lost in mail, no wrong coin sent, etc. You just get what you see. And Nickels are rather on the cheaper side of coins collected so you should find a lot of really great buys if you can find a coin show. |
|
Valued Member
 United States
53 Posts |
heh...I'm looking at $500/each for a number of the liberties on ebay. If that's the cheaper end of coins collected, I'm in trouble. |
|
Moderator
United States
56855 Posts |
Did you check out my link? John1  |
|
Valued Member
United States
53 Posts |
I did, and the site looks good. I'm actually looking to put together a full set of Liberty nickels business strike PCGS MS63+. 3 down and only 30 to go! |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
500 Posts |
I also got back into collecting a few years ago after a long hiatus. Only I started back with a gem+ slabbed herd of buffs instead of V nickels. LOL Be patient and it is difficult to find nice ones at greysheet prices. Most dealers/sellers want the NGC/PCGS retail prices or better. I've had some luck with http://www.collectorscorner.com/Coins/ for slabbed coins. A number of dealers list there and you can make offers via their system ( so no such thing as a BIN price LOL ). If nothing else, you can find dealers with nice coins and go to their website directly to check them out. I like cheapslabs, but their pics aren't the greatest and they use one set for multiple listings when they have a bunch which can be dicey, IMO. I only buy there if it is the actual 1 coin pictured. They do have bargains here and there tho! Good Luck! |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
500 Posts |
It can be difficult, but I highly recommend trying to find the slabbed V's you want on auction at ebay. Most of my best ever bargains have been from finding auctions there that were not heavily contested. The only V nickel I've bought was a 1910 MS64 PCGS one - to complete a 1910 year set. I got it for $96 in an ebay auction a couple years ago. Last I checked I think retail for it was like $210. It is rare to find that good a bargain, but getting close-to wholesale via auctions is not unreasonable. GL! |
| |
Replies: 9 / Views: 1,350 |
|
Posted 04/23/2013 01:51 am
