ok, we all know about Heritage Auction if one wants to sell off their collection. I was fumbling around the web one day and came across another coin-specific auction house called Great Collections.
I do not have any connection in any way with them, so to get that one out of the way. they seem to be a full, and I mean a FULL service business. They have thousands of coins for auction or buy-it-now and dozens of other services. And will have your uncertified coin get certified if you want to at a discount price. It is a really fun website, you can spend all day on it looking at stuff and different subjects if you have no life like myself.
I emailed the owner about the value of a gold item I have and want to sell, I received an answer within 24 hours, with him advising me the value and why, etc. Excellent consumer service.
I was surprised to see that Amazon also has a LOT of coins for sale.
In other word, ebay or your local coin shop is not the only place to buy or sell your coins.
p.s. my apologies to those of you who already know this stuff, I was just thinking there might be a few people who might find the information useful.
be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the pages to see what else they can do for you or offer or LOTS of other coin-related stuff, resources, services, advice, news, etc. as the top of the page just has some basic stuff. if you want him to advise you of your coin's worth, go to the "sell coins" page.
one thing I learned was not to totally believe or go by NGC's coin values. I saw a $30,000 coin on there as valued by NGC's page, then saw the same coin on ebay for less than half that amount...
I've been watching GC for a while, done a handful of transactions with them. I did have to return one (big toning spot not in the picture) -- the return process was clear and the response was quick and professional. A month or so later, I got a "please give us feedback" automated email which I replied to (referencing my spot-induced return) and *that* response was quick and professional, and restored my confidence in further purchases. If only my budget were similarly restored as quickly.
As for the prices there compared to ebay, I see the same kind of effect at David Lawrence. It almost looks like their customer base is either more sincere or less trusting than the average ebay buyer (or both). There is the occasional bargain to be had but if I hold out, I can probably find what I want cheaper on ebay.
Then again, I'm mainly collecting "type" coins now, while GC and DL may be more specialized -- so some prices may seem higher because the specific items are scarcer. But I haven't done enough research to figure out if that really is the case.
I find that most auctions on GC are started at a high reserve and do not sell. HA has a big enough client base that things will never go for fire sale prices so people feel comfortable having zero reserve for most lots. David Lawrence is high end coins and often start at a high reserve as well.
Another thing about GC is the very high quality images. Nothing like buying from great photos plus if you buy a coin you then have great photos for your files. And Ian is an awesome guy. Great business model he has too. He only charges sellers 5% for items selling under $999 and 0% for items selling for $1k+ plus a fee of I think $3 per coin. "Great" in the name of the company wasn't just a word to garner intrest. Its true
I've just started buying from them, 3 coins just received and have bids on two more. I like how they list all of their colored coins as "toned". Helps out a bit
I've bought some of my toned coins from GC. They have a good selection, but starting prices can be high. You just have to sort through all the high priced stuff if you're looking for a deal.
I've checked Great Collections for a while now. They have a pretty bad interface for world coins, and most of the coins I'd consider are often low grade or details coins. It's usually below average material. They also put high reserves on some of this low quality material. I'd like GC if they got better material, but they haven't yet.
I think HA is really only a good option if you have super high-end material. $300+ per coin. I'll always do ebay before I go to the LCS, and I'd only go away from ebay if I felt like I had some really high quality or rarer stuff that could benefit from a higher profile auction.
I've bought on both and both offer nice coins. You have to put in some work to get coins at the price you want like anything else and sometimes you win and sometimes you don't.
GC and Ian is a great resource. They're not aimed at the HA/Stacks/Kagins/et al of the auction world, but rather a middle of the road presence. They are limited to selling what people consign, so if nobody consigns in your specialty, there's nothing to buy.
Ian is a stand out. I've emailed him about problems on the weekend and had responses in under an hour. He's also a nice guy to talk to at shows.
-----Burton
50+ year / Life / Emeritus ANA member (joined 12/1/1973)
Life member: Numismatics International, CONECA
Member: TNA, FtWCC, NETCC, EveryCountry (online) coin club
Owned by three cats and a wife of 40+ years (joined 1983)
On coin prices use past auction relized sales to determine coin value. On coins under 5K GC is an excellent auction house. On coins with a value over 5K, I would to go with Hertiage tied into a major coin show for maximum exposure.
Disclaimer: While a tremendous amount of effort goes into ensuring the accuracy of the information contained in this site, Coin Community assumes no liability for errors. Copyright 2005 - 2026 Coin Community Family- all rights reserved worldwide. Use of any images or content on this website without prior written permission of Coin Community or the original lender is strictly prohibited. Contact Us | Advertise Here | Privacy Policy / Terms of Use
Posted 02/13/2017 2:32 pm
