I have a small bucket list this year I am going to try to fill, but need some help with Pre-1933 gold coins. I only will buy from a reputable dealer for any of these coins on my list. This Pre-1933 gold coins are a category I will be researching and any online references will be greatly appreciated. This is a Raw one from Provident. Please let me know if the price on this is good? https://www.providentmetals.com/5-liberty-us-mint-gold-half-eagle-extra-fine-xf-or-better.html ST
Provident is a "reputable dealer" in the sense that you will receive a genuine gold half-eagle. But there's no guarantee on eye appeal, and I have to assume that many coins people sell to Provident are the ones unlikely to get any premium elsewhere. In other words, you may be likely to get an uglier XF there than you would elsewhere. If you just want to tick off "bought a circulated half eagle" from the list, yeah, this will fit the bill. If I were doing the shopping, though, I'd more likely snipe something on eBay -- individual sellers aren't necessarily "reputable dealers", but Buyer Protection is serious business. On the other hand, if time is a factor -- if having the coin is the point, and the process of shopping isn't rewarding for you -- there's no point in spending hours on eBay. (Except that some large "reputable dealers" actually sell common gold for less on eBay than on their websites, especially during promotions.)
Imo you'd be much better of spending an additional $50 over the cash price listed on provident and buying a slabbed coin in AU. These can be found on Ebay if you don't care about the date and use the best offer feature you might even be able to snag one for less. Also agree with above in that provident is likely to send you a dog of a coin.
If you can expand your parameters by $100 over Provident, there are slabbed AU50 and 53s available on eBay. Just had a quick look: I don't think you'd hesitate wanting to show them to others. All depends upon your budget and what other gold coins you need for your set.
Thanks for all the input guys. Its greatly appreciated. I will check out e-bay and see what I can find. I think the certified coins are probably the way to go. I don't want any raw "dog" coins that's for sure. One question though let's say I see a certified coin on e-bay I like, is there a public registry to check the number off the slab?
