Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

Is it safe to sell gold on line? Is it better to try and sell to forum members or is it better to sell to one of the many on-line stores? I have an E-Bay account but I�m not sure if that would be a good idea or not, I�ve heard too many bad things about selling and buying on E-Bay that scares me a little.
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Two of the coins I have came from my grandfather when I was young, I�m in my late 50�s now. He also gave my mother (his daughter) several coins that I didn�t know about until I had to put her in a nursing home a couple of year�s ago for Alzheimer's.<o:p></o:p>
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I only have two coins shops around here and neither one is able to help me. I think it�s because I live in the country and these are just small mom and pop type stores. One of them said they would sell them on consignment but I have a feeling that would take forever where I live.<o:p></o:p>
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I�ve never had them graded but last year I took them to a few coin shows and was told by several vendors that these coins would grade MS64 or higher. I was shocked to find out how much a few of these coins were worth. Does gold coins sell for anywhere near the list price? Or do you take what you can get? I know I collected baseball cards for years and never got the list price when I went to sell. Will that hold true for gold coins too?<o:p></o:p>
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I joined the forum here a few months ago but ended up in the hospital from a heart attack and never asked about them. I think it�s time to get rid of them before it�s too late. So any pointers would be appreciated, thanks!<o:p></o:p>

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

First thing you need to know is about how much your gold bullion coins are worth!

I usually use apmex.com as a reference of value

http://www.apmex.com/shop/buy/goldbullion.asp?orderid=0

They also buy collections as well.

http://www.apmex.com/faq.asp?orderid=0#selling

Although Ive never sold to them, Apmex is a reputable company and I dont think you would have to worry about them screwing you on the prices.

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

Depending on what the coins are and where you are located, you should be able to sell them online fairly easily.

You can also describe what you have here, I am sure someone may be interested.

If you do not have a current eBay account, you may have a little trouble selling expensive items with no feedback rating though.

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

I agree with Rob about using Apmex as a price guide.

The list prices you see are pie in the sky, you'll never get that much. Selling something on the net as "some dude says it's MS 63" isn't going to work either.

Depending on what the coins are, you might want to take them to a large, reputable dealer and have them look at them. The problem being that you don't know if the guy is going to tell you that your coin is a POJ and try to buy it for nothing.

You also might join PCGS, and have them graded. PCGS grading will be expensive, but what they say means something, and you'll be able to sell them for what they're worth. It might be cheap when compared to selling a 5,000 frn coin for 600 bucks.

Bottom line: there is no easy solution, but then you knew that.

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

Also you need a good number of feedbacks on E-Bay to get a fair price, not just a perfect rating.

Otherwise buyers will discount your merchandise because of it. Probably 3 to 5, up to possibly 10 percent discount would be normal for a low feedback

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

California Numismatics Inc. will buy them from you for bullion value. E-Bay is safe if you are the seller, and it is easy.

I sell on E-Bay but I use an assumed identity (Waypoint-Trading) and use a PO Box to collect any checks. That way someone cannot trace me to my home address and potentially set me up for a robbery.

If you need more information or if I can help you just e-mail me at Waypoint_Trading@yahoo.com.

Just my $.02 worth.....:cheerful:

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

Thanks everyone for all the info!

I think I'll stay away from E-Bay and think about trying apmex.com.

The coins have a list price starting at around $1100. for one and as high as $21000. for the most expensive one. I don't even know anyone that collects gold coins in that price range, but if anyone here is interested just pm me and we can talk about it. For that matter if there's enough interest I'll post what I have here.

Thanks again!

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

I use the completed auction portion of ebay to get an idea of how much the coin is selling for. Where are you getting your estimates from?

If you post the details (Year and mint mark) you should be able to get an opinion of a fair price.

65GT350

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

If you sell on ebay, don't accept PayPal.
That's where most of the seller risk is.

http://www.paypalsucks.com/
http://www.paypalwarning.com/

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

If you have a coin valued at the multiple tens of thousands, you may want to go that a major coin show. There many very knowledgeable coin people about and there is a bunch of buying and selling happening. You should be able to get 10-15 knowledgeable appraisals in a morning.

At a big show, there are buyers too.

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

Great advice Tom.

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

The prices I stated above are from a combination of different places and there list price, not what they would sell for. I knew before I asked they weren�t going to sell for that much, at least I didn't think so. When I took them to the coin shows the prices I was given as far as there worth was pretty close from each vendor, but that's not what I would have been paid for them, they were just giving me book price. And they all told me because my coins had never been graded they would sell for a lot less.

Will places like ampex.com buy coins that have never been graded?

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

i might be interested in buying your coins.

what are they?

what is apmex paying?

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

I also would like to log an open invitation to sellers. I am only buying (no selling) and have no real limit on price ranges. Mostly interested in early US.

Otherwise, net research will tell you what is a fair price- you don't need to take someone's word for it. Now, finding a BUYER, well that is something else.

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

What kind of coins are you talking about?

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

If you have a scanner, make a scan of them and post it here.

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

Try an auction house.....

http://www.coinresource.com/directory/auctions.htm

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

Geez trhanks for the heads up on PayPal Sliver ! I am about to list gold and silver bullion on Ebay,as it seems it is difficult for some customers to access it any other way.Being a newb to selling,I may have to figure another way to make customers feel secure.Any suggestions anyone??
P.S. always read EVERY post on EVERY forum,as you may learn something invaluable out of something that may not appear to be any use to you in the begining...

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

Guess I'm not a real coin collector. When I see $21000 for one coin , I think of buying 40 ounces of gold in coin form...Never understood the fad of numistatics(sp?) collecting. or baseball cards, or stamps, or paintings....plain old bullion seems just as pretty and rare(relatively)

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

I'm with you there. Then tshtf, that $21,000 coin is worth whatever an ounce of silver or gold is worth. I was at a coin show a week ago and got to hold the $76,000 coin shown below. Not me! You'd have to be nuts to want that over 129 one ounce gold American Eagles or Maples.

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

The feedback rating the is most important thing used in determining trustworthiness, but since your a self-confessed newb, there are a couple things you can do.

1.) Make sure you have good looking pictures

2.) Offer to refund their money if they aren't satisfied (after they ship it back to you of course) This could bite you in the ass with bullion because of market fluctuations, but might go a long way in convincing someone to bite who is leery of your low feedback. Once you have some solid sales feedback you can omit this.

3.) Offer free shipping or some other value item. People start to lose their inhibitions when they think there getting a good deal.

Even with those steps you probably won't get quite as much as someone with a high feedback. It might be cost effective to consider selling some other junk first just to get some positive sales feedbacks.

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

And UNTIL TSHTF - or if it never does - then this coin is still worth a lot of money to collectors.

The mentality on this board is so "WTSHTF-ish" that we forget - people have been predicting the worst forever! SURE - the odds are good there will be some sort of economic collapse - but even during those times - collectables have retained their value!

Yes, its possible that one day things will get so ugly that collectable coins will ONLY be worth the gold or silver they are made from........but odds are things will never get that bad.....and even if they do, while its smart to prepare, one should not live their lives like its the end of the world as they know it cause, one day you may go to your grave and realize, its never been the end of the world and you have not really lived or enjoyed your life.

Historically, people have expected the end of the world at the end of every century - they were wrong. And nine times out of ten, those fearing the worst (like with Y2K) were wrong too.

NOW - PERSONALLY - I have junk silver put away in case of bad times - I have gold bullion put away in case of bad times - but I also have a small percentage of both in numismatics.........

WHY?

First, its fun! Its a great hobby! You learn a little history - and get to hold a little history in your hand!

Secondly, its profitable.

And while its possible things might get as bad as some here worry about (yes, I have food and ammo put away - just in case) - I refuse to live my life in fear!

Thirdly, I have posted the following before - people tell me I am wrong (including Ponce who was enough of a gentleman to admit, later, he checked it out and I was right.......others challenge it but never come back and tell us they found something different)



FINALLY - TO $SILVER - I have only been collecting a short time but have a bit of experience with it and a few coins shops and references I go to to check..........the proper place to get a clue what those coins are worth is not AMPREX or PCGS - they are great sources, I use them both, but they both are retail prices and, frankly, differ quite a bit. The best place is the Greysheet, which collectors and coin shops use.

If you wish, I would be willing to help you in figuring out what they are worth and possible ways to sell them (tho the others on this thread have given you some great pointers!)

Just let me know!

Cheers!

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

Well it figures, I've not had a single computer problem for two years now. But as soon as I ask a question my browser stops updating for some reason. Been trying for two hours and it just now started working again. Don't ya just love computers? :D

Anyway, just so everyone knows! I didn't really start this post to sell anything. I mean they are for sale but I was just trying to find out the best way to go about it. I don't expect anyone here to buy from someone with only one post without first doing a lot of checking on that person. But on the same hand I don't want to say there not for sale, if your interested we can talk about it and I'm sure I can prove to anyone that I'm on the up and up.

Here's a list of my coins: (One of each).

1904 $20.face

1924 $20 face

1932 Indian head $10 face

1854 $1.00 face

1906 $2.5 face

1907 $2.5 face

No mint marks on any of the coins.

I welcome any and all help!

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

It helps SOME - but what you can't determine from that is the condition of the coins - like stamps and comics - a tiny mark or imperfection can make a LOT of difference..........

And if they are in very good shape, they could be worth a lot! Sellign them or not, its worth knowing what you have.

I have a friend whose mom 2 St Gaudin's gold coins (1 ounce gold) that they had no idea if they were worth anything, were worth TWICE what they thought - and some people think they've got rare coins that are common or not in such great shape.

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

I have a cheap scanner and will try and scan them tomorrow, but if they don't turn out good then I'll wait and take some pics of them.

Like I said before, I took them to two different coin shows and two different local coin shops, plus a good friend of mine from out west came for a visit last year that I really trust, and just about everyone agreed that all of these coins would grade at MS64 or higher. But again, I don't expect to sell them as graded coins. I'm not a collector of gold and wouldn't expect anyone to take my word for it. But these coins are beautiful and I'll show them to anyone that's really interested. I'm just not sure how much info I should post on an open forum about me or the coins. I don't want to be sorry, if you know what I mean? :smile:

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

YES, I totally understand - its good to be cautious........MS 64 and MS 65 can (sometimes) be a hugely different..........sometimes one can tell by eye - but they grade using microscopes and sometimes things do not show up by eye that they catch........but if they are either 64 or 65 it mioght be worth getting them graded - people, even on Ebay, tend not to trust grading unless done by one of the two main services (and I prefer one over the other)

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

I agree, that's why I don't expect to sell them as graded coins. The buyer will make out if they turn around and grade them someday, right? I'm not interested in doing that myself. I know to some that sounds stupid. :)

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

Not stupid- its something collectors do but the non-collector wouldn;t bother with........and then, collectors only do it if they have coins they think its worth doing it for. I have some that I can look at and tell, if I get them graded they will still be only Fine or AU or BU (Almost or Brilliant Uncirculated) but not in the MS 64-70 range (where - very generally speaking - the prices really go up depending). Then again, I had a couple even my coin dealer friends felt iffy about that we got graded and came back a grade better than they expected....

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

Must have used NGC huh? :D

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

Nope, but I got the joke! :rofl:

I only use PCGS anymore!

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

I understand your concerns about privacy. However, I don't think you'd be going out on too much of a limb to post some pictures. Just don't take the pics in a way that we can see the street sign in front of your house, license plate, and SSN... ;)

As much as I hate ebay, it IS the best place to get near retail for your gold. A dealer knows what he will buy and sell for. With ebay, you get to play slightly discounted dealer. Same goes here in the buy and sell section too.

Expensive numismatics were mentioned as well. I guess if you had to move $1 million USD out of the country and in your pocket, A stamp or other Numismatic coin might be the way to do it...

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

I tried to scan a couple of the coins but they didn't turn out that good, see what you guys think? It's two coins front/back. And there all about the same condition.
http://goldismoney.info/forums/attac...1&d=1160676620

http://goldismoney.info/forums/attac...1&d=1160676932

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

I know nothing about numismatic gold coins, but i must admit, those are beautiful.

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

Nothing like old gold.:coolbeer:

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

Thanks guys! And there really out of focus too, my scanner is not the best for this sort of thing. I know it would be imposable to really grade coins from a pic, but anyone have an opinion? Do you think they would grade MS64 or higher? Thanks!

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

My guess is that you would get from 650 - 750 for each coin from a private party. It might go higher but raw coins are tough to sell at more than PCGS AU money on line.

Yes, if you sent them in they might comeback 63-65 but you won't know until it comes back. Try going to a large coin show. The problem is that these two dates are pretty common so there might be alot of 64-65. Does anyone have a pop report from PCGS?

65GT350

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

Honestly - being so out of focus (remember they grade these using microscopes, things you can't even see with the naked eye!) I couldn't begin to guess. However, let me say this - on the surface, based on what I can see with all taken into account (including what you have been told), they are probably good for MS 63 and maybe MS 64. If we could see things clearer, it would be easier to tell.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
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NOW - I just called one of my best coin dealers and asked him to look it up on the Greysheet, the professional coin dealer sheet (not a retail pricelist like PCGS, which is usually priced 1/3 over what a dealer or someone on Ebay would pay).<o:p></o:p>
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Based on what I could see - the Golden Liberty 1904 would be worth $810 in MS 63 and $1250 in MS 64. <o:p></o:p>
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The St Gaudens would be worth $730 in MS 63 and $835 in MS 64. <o:p></o:p>
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They are both gorgeous coins, but not terribly rare or difficult years.<o:p></o:p>
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Remember, that's wholesale - what a dealer or knowledgeable person on Ebay would pay. Most pricelists are retail and prices are jacked up much higher than a knowledgeable person would pay.<o:p></o:p>
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It's like my old stamp collection as a kid. Catalogues told me it was worth $3500, but when I went to sell it I was lucky (after checking many places) to get $500 for it!<o:p></o:p>

ONE LAST THING - Those prices are if they were graded!!!! Ungraded, or raw, you would probably get a lot less on Ebay......so if its ungraded its best to go to a dealer than Ebay. Ebay buyers, with good reason, tend to be wary of ungraded or raw coins.

My guess - you might, on a good day, get $750-800 for the 1904 and $850 for the 1924, although, I have bought both of them for about $650-750 on ebay ungraded.

Hope this helps.

Cheers!

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

Thanks guys!

The prices you guys have quoted for these two coins are in line with what I've been told, maybe a little low but I figure that's because of the scan pics. I agree they're out of focus and look much better then the pics, so I see why your quotes would be a little lower.

Last year I had a dealer at one of the shows offer me $825.00 for the 1904. I hadn't done my research at that time and turned it down. He had one for sale that wasn't as nice as mine and wanted $1400.00 for it, so I didn't think it was a good deal at the time. I know now I was wrong and should have taken his offer.

Here's another one:
http://goldismoney.info/forums/attac...1&d=1160713842
http://goldismoney.info/forums/attac...1&d=1160713842

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

That may not be so - it might have been good you turned it down - again, they look these coins over under a microscope when they grade them. I had five proof Buffalos graded - all came back at PR 69 even tho they were all unopened from the mint - couldn't figure out why they were not PR 70. Put on my special magnifying glasses for coins - STILL couldn't see why -added the extra loop to magnify things more and saw a tiny little pin-prick of a hole - you couldn't even see it with magnifying glasses alone - my point being - these pictures tell us a lot but not enough......and not even what you can see holding the coins.

If you saw the dealer selling a lessor looking coin for that much more - it MIGHT have been a rarer coin (not all similar type coins are the same value - different years are rarer than others) or it might have been the dealer trying to rip you off, figuring he could get twice as much by re-selling it.

I am not saying he was doing anything wrong - we don't have enough info - just mentioning possibilities.

Without seeing the coin under a loop - or without you getting them graded - about $30 each and well worth it cause they will bring you a lot more in the long run, either from a dealer of from Ebay - its very hard to be sure.

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

The $10 indian looks like it has wear from circulation. On the "heads" side there is no discoloration between the stars on the top left, but there is a circular area next to the stars that has been rubbed a deeper copper color. Probably would grade AU.

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

I think what your seeing is just a bad scan, the coin really looks much better then the pic. Thanks for your input!

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

Hi $ilver,

The $10 Indian is one of my favorite coins. It is a beautiful design. I have looked at many of them, and sent in some for grading to PCGS. The circular pattern of wear that I described in the previous post is very common.

Here is an image that I grabbed from somewhere on the Internet. Most pictures or scans of these coins have areas of the deeper copper color that results from the lighting. See how the deeper copper color envelops the stars and doesn't have a circular border next to the stars? That is how it sould look on an MS-grade coin.

You also have what looks like a bad nick up in the feathers.

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

$ilver,

Based on this information I would assume that the dealer thought that your coin would go MS-64 or higher. I have an ad from 12/05 that shows dealers selling 1904's NGC or PCGS for MS63 725 MS64 1250 and MS65 3600. I would assume that the coin he was trying to sell for 1400 was MS64. I think that the dealer offering greater than MS63 money for your coin is a good indication that the coin will grade higher.

65GT350

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

RossL

By moving the coin on the scanner bed to a different spot it came out a little better then the first one. But I still can't get rid of the dark areas which are not on the coin. The glass on the scanner is in pretty bad shape and is even cracked from my wife dropping something on it. Based on what your seeing I understand why it looks bad to you, but like I said the coins all look better then the pics. I have a feeling I'm cutting my own throat here posting these scanned pics. I have a brand new Cannon camera that I had to send back for a repair, when I get it back I'll take some more pics and see how they look.

Thanks everyone for all your help and input!
http://goldismoney.info/forums/attac...1&d=1160762829

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

That is a much better scan. When I have sold coins on ebay, I have gotten much better response when I have included a large, hi-res scan. That way the bidders can see exactly what they are getting.

You are right, your previous scans would scare off the bidders. :eek:

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

Yeah, a picture may be worth a thousand words, but that's ony if it's a good picture. A bad picture is only worth one word (yuk) lol. Thanks again!

Re: Advice on selling gold coins needed
 

As much as you seam to be against I think it would be in your best intrest to have them graded it will help you resale value as its a know standard to buyers.