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Origin Of Bulk Non-Us Coin Lots On Ebay?

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Valued Member

United States
232 Posts
 Posted 01/07/2010  11:06 pm Show Profile   Bookmark this topic Add John Paul to your friends list Get a Link to this Message Number of Subscribers
Hello,
I have been looking at the bulk coin lots that various dealer have on ebay - the ones that are 1 or 5 pound lots &c. Does anyone know where these lots come from? Do brick and mortar dealers just end up getting lots of non-US coins when they buy estate lots? Or is there some sort of coin wholesaler who sells giant lots and then dealers break them up and resell?

Thanks

John Paul

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Sap's Avatar
Australia
16808 Posts
 Posted 01/08/2010  01:51 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Sap to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply

Quote:
Do brick and mortar dealers just end up getting lots of non-US coins when they buy estate lots? Or is there some sort of coin wholesaler who sells giant lots and then dealers break them up and resell?

The answer to your question is, "Yes".

While some US dealers refuse to handle non-US coins at all, many have a bucketful of common world coins they acquire, mainly through returning tourists and estates / collections acquired. Many of these dealers don't really sell too many of these foreign coins themselves, so they just accumulate in the shop. When the bucket gets too full, they offload them in bulk, either to a wholesaler or regular contact they have, or on ebay.

There are also large bulk coin processors. One of the most famous are the central banks in Germany, which bag up and sell all the foreign and obsolete coins handed in to the banks in that country. These "Bundesbank bags" are an excellent source for bulk coins. I think the standard Bundesbank bag is 10 kilograms (22 pounds). I bought one last year; see this thread for a breakdown of it's contents.

Bundesbank bags and similar "unsearched" lots are likely to contain more interesting things than a "searched" pile that came from a dealer's scratchtray.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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snowman's Avatar
United States
1840 Posts
 Posted 01/08/2010  09:56 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add snowman to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
It is really tough to generalize the origin of bulk lots. I'm sure many of these lots are Bundesbank bags while others come from a variety of sources. Knowing how to spot a good lot can net you a lot of coins at a low price.

I know from experience that buying a collection can net several fairly worthless coins. One world coin seller that I frequently do business with at the local coin shows throws any coin worth less than a dollar into bulk lots.

Other bulk lots can be a much better deal. There is a stamp seller on ebay who seems to acquire occasional coin collections in his dealings. I assume that he knows little about coins because these lots typically sell cheap. One that I bought from him over the summer had coins from 1632-1970. This included several 18th century silver coins.
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oih82w8's Avatar
United States
7840 Posts
 Posted 01/08/2010  11:15 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add oih82w8 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I have a small jug of non-US coins that I pick up on my trips outside the country, thanks to the government. Most military finance offices don't (won't) exchange coins (paper only) when you leave the country.

Who knows, these may go up for auction (sorted by country) when I get tired of them. My girls like to pour them out on occasion and locate the countries on the map...so they are fun and educational!
Edited by oih82w8
01/08/2010 11:18 am
Valued Member
United States
232 Posts
 Posted 01/08/2010  8:45 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add John Paul to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Thanks for the replies. I have seen people mention the German bank bags before but I never knew the whole story behind them.
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