I think maybe I just made a nice find? (Guadeloupe Pointe-à-Pitre, Cercle du Commerce token)

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by lordmarcovan, Nov 14, 2018.

  1. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    A few years ago I acquired a really neat exonumia bulk lot from a dealer friend.

    It's sort of been "the gift that keeps on giving", because even years later, I'm still finding interesting things in the small portion of it I set aside.

    This mysterious old token had me stumped until I recently stumbled across a listing for another one, purely by chance.

    It turns out it's apparently a white metal (bell metal) token (jeton) from the Cercle du Commerce in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, circa 1825. (I knew it was a 19th century piece but had no other idea of its identity.)

    It is 26-27 mm approx. and weighs 8.07 grams.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]


    So here's where things got interesting...

    This is the one that is currently listed on eBay... for $1,500.00!

    Of course that's just the seller's ask price. And his piece is higher grade than mine. And we all know there are crazy listings all over eBay, right?

    But still, I did find this one, which does appear to have actually sold for €340.00 in 2010. And mine looks a little better than it does.

    And here is one that went up for auction in 2009 with an estimate of €1,000.00 (I can't see the auction results without a premium account login).

    So it's evidently quite a rare token.

    On a whim last week, I figured I'd throw it on eBay with a 99-cent start and see where it ended up. After all, I didn't have much to lose, since this thing cost me mere pennies- I have next to nothing in it. But after almost three days on eBay with nobody even bidding the initial 99 cents, I decided to take the auction down and perhaps try it on another venue. Maybe it's too esoteric for eBay, unless I tried eBay France or something?

    Anybody have any suggestions on what venue I should sell it through?

    @Cucumbor? Any other French or European friends know anything about these?

    There is yet another one (of a slightly different type) listed on eBay, and I asked that seller ("escoumins") if he thought mine might be genuine. This was his reply:

    Hmmm...
     
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  3. wcoins

    wcoins GEM-ber

    Fixed price is the answer. Might take months or years but I see no problem if you're not in a hurry. Welcome back, by the way.
     
    ddddd, jafo50 and lordmarcovan like this.
  4. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    Thanks.

    Maybe up on eBay again, but at fixed price with a Best Offer option?

    But will anybody see it, is the question. World Exonumia is a pretty vast and esoteric category, and I don't know how much traffic it gets. In the three days I did have this listed, it did pick up 30-some page views and 5 watchers.

    I wouldn't know what to ask for it at fixed price.
     
    dwhiz likes this.
  5. wcoins

    wcoins GEM-ber

    Fixed with best offer. Start high and lower price by 5-10% every couple of months if it doesn’t sell. Price should be comparable to others you posted. 30 views and 5 watchers is a lot for something like this.
     
  6. TIF

    TIF Always learning.

    I don't know about the "for something like this" caveat, but here's an Athens tetradrachm with 52 watchers. I don't know how to check the number of views but it is still getting 1 per hour and the listing has been up for a long time.

    I'm watching it for comedic value and that's probably the case with the other 51 watchers.

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Most-C...Athens-449-413-BC-Tetradrachm-XF/183169839891

    Here's a thread from April discussing the listing. It's pretty sad, actually.

    Nonetheless, if the other sales for this token are real then yippee, list that puppy and hope for the best! That would be quite a coup :).
     
  7. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    If it's a chuckle ye want, then look no further than here! :hilarious:

    (This, the best of the bunch, is "favorited" by 50 people.)
     
    Last edited: Nov 14, 2018
  8. TIF

    TIF Always learning.

    :wideyed:
     
  9. jafo50

    jafo50 Active Member

    Definitely do not start the listing price at .99 for something that's this rare but little understood. Even though you didn't pay much for the token it doesn't mean you should give it away to someone who happens to throw down a .99 bid. I agree with others here that BIN with accepting offers is the best way to go. You've been storing this item for years so waiting a few months for it to sell is reasonable. The real problem is establishing a realistic BIN price. If TPG companies actually grade this type of token then it might be worth getting it graded to establish a baseline value which might attract additional bidders. (I've seen them grade bottle caps).

    Either way it's a nice token so good luck finding it a new home.

    Joe
     
    wcoins likes this.
  10. wcoins

    wcoins GEM-ber

    Look at this one with 3k+ watchers...
    Untitled.jpg
     
  11. ddddd

    ddddd Member

    I agree with wcoins method of buy-it-now plus best offer. Let it sit for a month (30 day listing) and reassess afterwards if no sale. The majority of items I’ve listed have not reached 5 watchers and they were more well known pieces (toned Morgans, modern World coins, etc). And some of those have sold, so it really just takes the right kind of watcher.

    I would try starting at $500 and see what type of offers come in. I figure $500 based on the 340 Euro sale and the other listings that are higher (so you’ll be a bit above the last sale but below current ask prices).
     
    jafo50 and wcoins like this.
  12. IBetASilverDollar

    IBetASilverDollar Well-Known Member

    5 watchers is a pretty good sign. I'd definitely toss it back up on ebay and mimic the titles of ones that sold for good prices and wait it out. Cool find!
     
    ddddd likes this.
  13. Nyatii

    Nyatii I like running w/scissors. Makes me feel dangerous

    I have a friend that said he priced his items for one person that wants it, not for groups of people that might be interested. He was a worth about 62 million when he died. I don't do it his way.....and of course I'm not a millionaire, for what ever that's worth.
     
  14. harley bissell

    harley bissell Well-Known Member

    My advice is find a dealer of exonumia who sells items that you like. Offer him
    a two part deal. He can buy it from you for STORE CREDIT or sell it for you on consignment. His network and knowledge will fetch top dollar. win-win
     
  15. wcoins

    wcoins GEM-ber

    That dealer would probably serve a small part of US. This piece will most likely sell internationally. Make sure to offer free international shipping.
     
  16. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    So y'all are suggesting I need to have a little bit of patience? Yeesh. :yack: ;)

    Seriously, though, thanks.

    Yknow, that's not a bad idea at all. Maybe I'll run it past John Kraljevich to see if he has any interest.
     
  17. Cucumbor

    Cucumbor Well-Known Member

  18. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    Cucumbor likes this.
  19. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    I relisted it on eBay with a $665 Buy-It-Now and a Best Offer option. Sold it via offer in less than 48 hours.

    I took too little for it - should have waited a bit - and I definitely "left money on the table" by accepting the first offer that came along. (I'm a nice guy but a somewhat lousy businessman.)

    But I got a very quick sale, and since it cost me nearly nothing (and I almost gave it away in one of my giveaways without knowing what it was!) that's like a windfall.

    I won't disclose the sum for fear of being called a fool, but it was low three figures. Considering I had barely a quarter invested in the thing, that's a big win.
     
  20. jafo50

    jafo50 Active Member

    As the old saying goes .... "never be afraid to take a profit". I think you did great considering your initial investment is practically zero dollars.
     
    PlanoSteve and lordmarcovan like this.
  21. Nyatii

    Nyatii I like running w/scissors. Makes me feel dangerous

    Great job. Like jafo50 said, never be afraid to take a profit. This is where I parted with my friend that priced everything so high only one or two would or could buy. I always thought better to take a reasonable profit and keep the money moving. Then again, he was the multi-millionaire and I'm not.
     
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