Buying A Gold Coin Discussion

Seems like I still have some research before I pull the trigger. Jaobler I always see the "no motto" $20 eagle up for sale so I assumed it was common. I'll try to look for years outside of those you mentioned. I kind of like the observe of the $10 Indian too but I'm not a huge fan of the reverse. What trusted sites do you guys recommend outside of ebay? I used to use APMEX but most of their listings are either for a generic grade (doesn't show the coin) or its for just a random year.

Well..I sure didn't hold out for long. Saw this go up for sale and made an offer. Seller originally wanted a little over $400 but I got it for $375. It's a PCGS MS62. I ran the number to validate but there's no pictures on PCGS to know for sure. I know it's definitely not perfect.. I see some hits on the reverse and a scuff. I did think the price was right and I didn't break the bank though. I hope it was a good first purchase to better understand this type of coin. Any opinions?

As far as low mintage gold I think some real values are in the Liberty Head gold coins. Many had a very long history so making a full set would be a job. However, there are many with very low mintage that sell for a small premium over much higher mintage coins. This is a better time to buy than sell so be ready to hold onto your purchase for a while. I agree that the bigger the better since you get a better deal for Liberty Head $20 than Indian Head $2.5 or $5 or $10 as far as the gold value IMO. I see 1892 Liberty Head $20 with mintage of 4430 that sells for around $2000. If this were a Saint it would sell for ten times that much probably. I cannot explain it but there it is!

I got it today. Luckily it doesn't look as "flat" as the pictures. I was afraid maybe it was dipped from the pictures. The reverse has that cartwheel type luster. The observe is a little more dull. I think it is a slider and could have went either way (AU or MS). It looks to be problem free with no indication of a cleaning. Overall I think I did fine for the price. I can see why people recommended getting at least a $5 piece. Anything smaller would be tough to see the details on. The problem now is I want more but gold isn't something I can afford to buy very often!!

Thanks giorgio11. I tried Harlan but almost every coin says "call for price." I emailed them about a coin and just got a short generic reply to call. I'm not interested in calling every time I want the price. I just want to use the webpage and buy something. I've also tried provident and APMEX and all their listings are for a specific grade but random date. I'm not interested in that either. This is why I usually go to ebay. I really wish I had a trusted dealer locally. Do you still deal coins? If I did that I'd end up keeping everything haha!

@ssa330206 yes I am a dealer and a collector as well. My website link is below, and while I would welcome your business, I am not soliciting you. Exactly. I understand the reluctance to call about a specific coin, but if you establish a personal relationship with a dealer, or sometimes just ask for the best price you can, you can save considerable money. You can't do that on a webpage, although some sites like Northeast Numismatics/Northeast Coin do have a Make Offer button.

There are lots of dealers, many of them one-person or small operations, who are collectors at heart. Those are the ones I especially like to deal with, as they believe as I do, "Life is too short to buy ugly coins." But large firms (and small) have to keep up with the market, so with a larger inventory it's hard to price every coin, esp. gold.

Good luck in your searches!

Best Regards,

George

What is a good price for Saint Eagle in MS60 for common coin? I ask the same question about the Double Eagle Saint? If it were me I would try and buy one of the rare Double Eagle Saints like 1908S, 1909D, 1913S or 1914. These coins all have mintage less than 100,000 and except for 1908S do not sell for huge premium over more common coins. I see some of the Saint Eagles with low mintage that also sell for not much more than common ones. I did read in "Coins" magazine where one of contributors took some $20 rare Saints to Heritage and got only $1900 for 1908-S in VF and 1914 in MS62 for $1800. That is pretty low for coins with mintage less than 100,000.

I could be wrong, but I think the lack of premium on some what should be scarce gold coins comes from the fact that there are very few collectors out there attempting date and mint mark sets of gold compared to other coins.

Most gold collectors I know are like me. I want the US type set which I define as the $2.50, $5.00, $10.00, and $20.00 coins. Liberty Head and Indian / Saints.

I don't include the gold dollars. I don't include the $3 or $4 coins. I don't include the older coins or exotic mintmarks. Just can't justify those purchases on my type of budget / income.

Maybe it is just the crowd I hang with, but a type set is more than enough for most gold collectors I know. After the type set, I just look for good gold coins. My sweet spot in buying gold is the $5 piece and the $10 piece. $2.50 coins have too much premium and $20.00 coins take up too much paycheck.


Gold is pricey regardless of the spot price of gold. I just try and cut spending to pay for my gold habit.


Store bought coffee in the morning, no thank you. Make one at home and get the rest free at work. Right there you just bought yourself a nice $5 Liberty Head coin every year.

$15 haircut every few weeks, no thank you. I'll buy a $15 set of clippers and wear the buzz cut and enjoy my extra $5 Liberty Head every year going forward.



As for buying a gold piece, I'd recommend either David Lawrence or Doug Winter. Doug has the wow factor, Lawrence has a huge selection.