How do you get the best price for a coin?

Agreed! It is a hobby to enjoy.

 

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How do I get the best price?

Bribery & threats.

 

In your case, that would probably work. I wouldn't want to incur the wrath of CNG.

 

I doubt I ever get the 'best' price but for the coins I do win or buy I get them at a price I am willing to pay which is good enough for me!

 

Yes! On top of that we all have to decide if we are collecting with money we ever hope to see again. I thought I was above that but when the coins I sent to JA to sell fail to find a home at what I paid for them I found myself trying to decide if I'd rather sell for a loss or give to someone who doesn't really want them. The other option is melt them. Having such thoughts even pass through my head means I failed at thinking of the money in the same manner as I do for the money I spent on lunch yesterday.

 

Agreed.

 

It sometimes works but Sam Colt usually does most of the convincing.

 

Colt is bankrupt...have to go with a winner... G

 

I did not know that!

 

In all seriousness, I get some pretty good deals. The key is to develop personal relationships with your dealers. People will actually call me up when they get a coin in that they know I need for my collection. I've had dealers hold things indefinitely for me and even give me long term payment plans.

If the dealers don't know you, they can't know your collection.

 

This is working well for me. This same advice is often suggested in other parts of the forum too. Everything in life is about establishing relationships.

 

ALSO: Look at EVERYTHING. The number of coins available on the market today is absolutely staggering. Tens of thousands are listed every week. And if you're collecting anything as rare and obscure as I am, you don't have the luxury of choosing which dealers you buy from. Go where the material is.

 

This is a very important point. It's worth also mentioning that getting the "best price" on a single coin isn't necessarily the right strategy in the long term. Relationships are worth far more than a bit of savings on a single coin: there are far fewer dealers than there are coins, so logically, it's very likely that you'd end up buying from the same dealer again.

Avoid overpaying but recognize that dealers need to eat too. This approach has served me well as I often get "first shot" at many coins at fair prices rather than only buying a single coin at a very low price.

 

This is something that certainly shouldn't be understated. Don't be afraid to pay full market value from time to time. Chances are, that dealer will remember and give you a deal next time. Or at very least give you first shot at the coin.

 

HEAVY

 

I have wondered about this ever since I saw you put some of your babies out for adoption.

 

We all change from time to time. Once I had trouble leaving what I considered a nice coin I did not have for what I considered a good price. Now I am less inclined to feel the need for coins that differ only by workshop. My 'babies' are not going anywhere but some of their friends that have been hanging around might. There is also the question of upgrade. If I have a decent coin and run across a better one, what used to seem like a nice coin can become expendable. Finally there is the matter of just how many coins you bought in 1990 that you wonder why you wanted them in the first place. We change. Sometimes, as with the hut coins, I decide to try to fill out my set by mint (13 Constans and 7 Constantius II) so the ones missing (2 and 1) become more of interest. Unfortunately, looking at huts will probably cause an upgrade or two before the missing ones are found. The great thing about an estate sale is that I won't be around to see how many of my favorite coins are considered worthless. My favorite coin won't be yours.

Over time and on average, I'd say many of my favorite coins have been cheaper than many coins I value much less. Very few dealers have any clue what I'm looking for. I'm not always clear on the subject since things like 'coins for my technical collection' are harder to explain that 'a worn Caligula sestertius'. I have a show tomorrow in Richmond VA. There will be four dealers there of whom two might show me something that they think is on my list. The other two may have something but they would never understand why anyone would buy that instead of that EF Tribute Penny they have. That is the hobby as I know it.

Example:
I bought this from an overpriced dealer who did not understand why I wanted this one and not the other similar Gordian III/Tranquillina coins he had. I would have paid more for it but would not have paid half most of his prices. That is because I saw interest in the lump of metal in the reverse field under the patina. My Technical collection is full of things that have taught me about mint practices but few people would want this coin more than another Tomis bronze. Explanation of why I wanted it is on my site and has been posted here several times but the coin remains the only one I have seen. If I saw another, I would buy it if it were cheap but I really don't need another. Demand = 1; Supply = 1. That works. When I tell dealers what I am seeking I would never think to say something like this.

Coins of Tomis had a value mark in the field for a while but the city also struck coins with no value marked. This reverse die was revalued (up or down?) by removing the value mark leaving a recess that struck coins with a raised lump. Sure I would love to have this die with the mark intact but do you really think I can tell a dealer who does not know anything about Tomis that I'm looking for an early state of one specific die? Enough of you think I'm crazy anyway when I saw 'Technical coins'. Below is a different Tomis coin with intact 4 and a half value mark. It may or may not be what was removed here.

 

Wow

 

Zumbly and TIF - you have created a monster.
Ever since i discovered these auctions, Late Night Greg has been like a kid in a candy store!

 

I can be overwhelming! At the peak of "Fall auction season" earlier this month there were probably ~10-20K coins (not counting large group lots). Just trying to review all of them is a huge time sink. I (try to) start when each auction is posted, making a first-pass watch list which gets refined as the auction draws near. It took a great many hours to come up with a final bidding plan for the early October auctions. I even took a day off work so I could bid live in CNG 100 and NAC. That was a quite a long day of auctions and I only won one coin, bidding on or targeting many more than that. Many exceeded my planned maximum bid by the time the coin hit the auction block.

Your time zone probably makes live bidding somewhat painful, especially for the US auctions!