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 Replies: 13 / Views: 3,298 |
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Valued Member
United States
462 Posts |
Hello, I realise that this may sound extremely rude and inappropriate, but as someone who's into coins, but not nearly an expert with coins, I wonder what people actually spend on them. I have the Red Book and it has a value set that the author calculated, but I also know that number is different from what people are actually paying (even on ebay). Listing the actual purchase price of an item helps us less knowledgable to figure out what a coins true value is. I've listed my purchase price in my posts whenever I buy a coin so that others can see what people are paying for that type and coin and mint. Is it wrong to ask people to give a purchase price of the coin they list even if they provide a range? For exapmle you could say "I got this 1882 Morgan dollar between 22 and 27 dollars. Where do you think it would grade?" It would give us less knowledgable collectors a guide of how accurate the books are and where things are actually at. Again, I appologise if this in intrusive. I have no problem showing what I spent on a coin for the sake of interest, but I know that others might. Thank you. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4846 Posts |
i like to know what people pay also, I don't think its rude or inappropriate.
im fine with telling what I paid
Edited by Adam_E
06/10/2010 11:22 pm
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Rest in Peace
United States
4849 Posts |
There is nothing intrusive or rude about that question. At the same time though, it is a virtually impossible question to answer because there are SOOO many factors at play in regards to determining a coin's value. The Red Book is a good guide, but it is exactly that....a guide. There can be HUGE differences in value between the same coin in the same grade, largely due to eye appeal, surface quality, problem designation(from mild to severe depending on the extent of the problem), and the coin market itself during the time of purchase. The best place to start in determining a value after you are studied on the RedBook is to view ebay's completed auctions(in the advanced search). You can pretty much find any coin in the grade you are looking for and determine how much it sold within the last few weeks. Heritage completed auctions is better for viewing certified high-end material, while ebay is better for looking at lower-end raw material. Also, go to coin shows and coin shops to view coins in hand. Talk with the dealers. Learn how to judge coins with exceptional eye appeal, and determine whether or not a coin is a problem coin and the severity of the problem. Read numismatic literature. Regardless, it is going to take time to understand how to determine value. The more you know, the better equipped you will be to make purchases. And most of all ENJOY! :-) |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10982 Posts |
All price guides are just a guide and nothing more. Retail price guides like Red Book, Coin Values, Numismedia, etc. tend to be upper tier retail price and are often unrealistically high unless the coin is high-end for the grade AND in top tier TPG slab. I use The Coin Dealer Newsletter (CDN) Greysheet most of the time. It's values are much more realistic. The "Ask" prices in Greysheet are what a dealer would "Ask" another dealer to pay for a given coin in a given grade on sight-seen sale. Rarities or scarce dates command premiums, as do attractively toned coins and those with great eye appeal. |
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
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There is nothing intrusive or rude about that question. Absolutely agreed. That said, I generally will not post the prices of coins I display and discuss here. In many cases, these are coins I intend to resell at a later date, and I do not wish to have original-price information for them floating around the Internet. Especially since Bobby is such a master at getting Coin Community links towards the top of a Google search.  You can assume that the book, whatever book, lists a price which is....enthusiastic. These "books" are generally authored by those with a vested interest in higher prices. For virtually any issue, ample pricing information exists for real-world sales. ebay is a more important arbiter of coin pricing than most believe; there are currently over 400,000 US coins listed on ebay, rather more than the next-largest dealer. Completed ebay auctions represent the largest-available store of real-world sales, and are therefore a very good indicator of a given coin's value. Say what you will about ebay, but quite possibly as many transactions happen there as the rest of the numismatic world combined. Heritage Auctions is the gold standard for higher-grade sales, and membership with access to their archive (currently over 1.2 million sales) is free. Furthermore, there are many here, myself included, who consider pricing information to be "part of the service" when replying in a thread about a given coin. If you ask, I will do the legwork for you. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2661 Posts |
I pay the lowest price That I can get. I like to use the prices listed on Numimedia and shoot for around 10-15% below that. I make an offer I feel is reasonable, if it is not accepted then so be it. I will not lowball an offer that would offend the seller, they have to make money too. With the economy still in tank, sellers are more motivated I have found, and will take a 30, 40 or 50% profit over the 100%+ profits they were wanting around here in my area a few years ago.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1934 Posts |
ebay can be quirky guideline. I took a bath on a gold 1859 BB Five Franc ($48) and another bath on a 1907 S US Philippines (silver) Peso ($5.50).
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8904 Posts |
Usually I pay less than the RedBook value, but that's after shopping around, refusing to Buy It Now (at ebay's seller's inflated prices) and actively searching many different auction/online sales locations. (There are differences in prices, so shopping around does really help!) But not always. I have, at times spent more than the coin is worth. Usually because I really want the coin or it fills a hole in my album. And that makes it worth it to me!  |
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Valued Member
United States
442 Posts |
KisNap if you want the true value of a coin before you buy it all you have too do is buy a blue book good luck !
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
As already well stated it is difficult to come up with an answer to such a question. With many items on the market you can base the price yourself based on age, wear, original costs, etc. Of course then too there is price and demand. For example if you wanted to buy a car and the original price was about $20,000 and it is now 10 years old with about 50,000 miles, it could be anyones guess as to what it may be worth. The insurance companies have a book that is supposed to tell you what that car should cost but then again, that too is only a guess. However, if that car is a 1957 Chevy Convertible, you could throw out any such book on values since the price is what your willing to pay. And that is coin collecting too. There are many price guides out there. The Red Book, The Blue Book, The PCGS web site, Numismatic News and on and on and on. AND they all mean nothing except what someone THINKS a coin is worth. Coins are much worse than other items like a car since the original price is face value, not a manufacturers list price. So a 1957 Chevy was originally about $2,700 but a Quarter was originally $0.25 and still is. However, if that quarter is a 1916 Standing Liberty quarter it is worth far more that a Quarter. As to what people pay for coins? That too is pending on so many things that are not apparent. For example there is a seller at a flea market near me that sells coins for a fraction of what they are worth in almost any price guides. He aquires his merchandise in an area where coin collecting is not to important so he gets his stock cheap and sells it cheap. At the many coin shows I go to again, prices are sort of pending on the area. In a ritzy sort of area the prices of coins are relatively high. In poorer types of areas, same types of coins are much cheaper. This is not always true but if the dealers know the area, they also know the buyers and if they want to sell, they should know this. An example of this is at one show I go to almost all the dealers have their prices as high as possible due to the area being rather on the higher end of economy. It's an interesting show and one of the largest of the 4/month around here but not a place to buy. |
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Valued Member
United States
120 Posts |
Keep in mind that you might buy for Red Book or less than Red Book price, but unless you have a rare date coin or someone really wants your coin, you are probably going to be offered quite a bit less than Red Book value, or perhaps blue book value. Then there'll be coins that no one will want to buy (ex. even though there might be a 4 cent listing for a 1988 penny in very good condition, who would buy that?) (But then again who would try to sell that either?) |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
581 Posts |
What I have noticed. Yard salers, find the highest ebay prices they can find or highest RedBook (regardless of condition) or just get what they can to get rid of it Flea Market hit and run dealers use Coin World RedBook or on very few occasions greysheet. Shops and shows generally seem to run greysheet. Like was said above, these prices are subjective as to rarity, condition and popularity. It all boils down to what are people willing to pay. Is a 100.00 coin worth 100.00 if nobody wants to pay that much for it? |
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Moderator
Australia
16829 Posts |
It's not a rude question, as long as it's asked politely, but please don't be either surprised or offended if some people prefer not to discuss what their coins are worth, or how much they pay.
People who spend lots of money on coins may not necessarily want it broadcast about that they do so. Likewise, people that get most of their coins from dealer bargain boxes or "for free" by roll searching, friends and family, etc might be embarrassed to talk about their "cheap" coins, especially if everyone else on the forum seems to be spending much more on coins than they are.
At the coin club I attend, discussion of prices paid for recent acquisitions is actively discouraged for this very reason. Millionaires and struggling university students can sit side by side at our meetings and talk about coins, with no-one made to feel awkward by discussing amounts of money.
As for the goal of determining a coin's "true value", I regard it as a somewhat quixotic quest. A coin has three values: face value (which is fixed by law), bullion value (determined by bullion traders who know little and care less about coins as collectables) and collector value. Of the three, "collector value" is the most nebulous, subject to the personal opinions of the specific buyer and seller of a specific coin, as well as the collective opinions of the coin market as a whole.
When I buy coins, the only value I pay attention to is the price ticket the seller is asking, and whether that number matches my budget and how badly I want that coin.
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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Pillar of the Community
Australia
585 Posts |
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When I buy coins, the only value I pay attention to is the price ticket the seller is asking, and whether that number matches my budget and how badly I want that coin.   |
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Replies: 13 / Views: 3,298 |
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Posted 06/10/2010 11:54 pm
