100+ year old gold coins unable to sell for melt?!

Has anyone seen the YouTube video by coin dealer CoinHelpU?

He was at a coin show and one guy had a stack of $5, $10 and $20 gold coins from pre-1900.

He was selling them at melt and only 1 of them was purchased.

What gives??

 

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I don't know. What was wrong with them , do you know. I know the Guy your talking about . I'll have to watch the video .

 

Here is the link if you want to check it out:

 

To me he answered your question in his video

 

No he didn’t. He mentioned that sales taxes will take place in October but at the time they had not taken place yet so it doesn’t explain why people didn’t buy them.

It only explained why after October people might not want to buy them.

 

Maybe the people at the coinshow were interested in buying other items besides gold..

Do you have a YouTube account? You can send him a comment asking him your questions. That's what I do.

 

That's what I'm thinking. Not many looking to invest in gold at the show? Maybe collectors were looking for slabbed coins.

 

Maybe people prefer slabbed gold coins, as a way to insure authenticity when they buy, and down the road when they sell.
If (Ohio) people buy PMs online, they will be hit with the tax, too.

edit: bah, I was composing my response and looking up Ohio law as ldhair posted his response about slabs.

 

Im just saying I think it’s sad they’re being melted down because no one wants them. Treated like bullion.

 

Without melting, there (almost) wouldn’t be rarities.

 

I suppose there are an awful lot of the common dates out there. Serious melting would make those that are in good, original condition rare - more so than they are now, anyway. Could one reason people didn't want them at melt be because melt was so high at the time? If they are only worth melt and melt is high they may not be seen as a good investment compared to collector grade pieces? If they were essentially old junk gold and melt was high I wouldn't have bought any. On the other hand if melt was under $1200 I might be interested in a few.

 

The law went into effect in October 2019, so the YouTube video is over a year old. Gold at that time was around $1300 - $1350, if I remember correctly.

 

That would have actually been a really good investment with how gold went up in the last year make $500 an ounce on your investment in a year

 

Gold is usually an impulse purchase. Rather like a red sports car. It's something you don't much think about unless something really catches your eye..... But also remember this... In October 2019 gold had been on a 6-7 year grind in the $1200.00-$1400.00 range. As a result a lot of folks weren't too awfully excited about gold. I know my dealer buddy rolled his eyes when somebody tried to sell him gold coins. They just weren't moving at the time..... Myself, I am rather like you and am saddened at the prospect of a cool historical coin being melted. But the gold world was a very different world a year ago and you have to take that into account.

 

Another reason could be that the vast majority of people going to a coin show probably aren't looking to spend $3K.

 

If I were a novice collector, I would be very concerned about counterfeit gold coins. That’s why I bought gold coins only from certain, often higher priced dealers, in the 1960s. Novices trust certified coins and pristine American Gold Eagles. They don’t trust raw old gold coins.

I have seen worn, old U.S. gold coins sell for less than melt several times before. I have not seen it last for as long as it has currently.

 

Just so you know, I have bought many pre-33 gold coins the last few years from a local dealer. For the ones I consider bullion, I paid melt. Of course I had to pay extra for 2.5s, nicer pieces, 1 1834 $5 I bought, but everything else I paid melt. Do you really think my dealer just broke even? Most dealers do not pay melt for common date/condition gold in normal markets. Its part of the inefficiencies that makes it hard to profit short term investing in physical bullion, the buy/sell spread.

I am not surprised at all.

 

Remember it came down sharply from near $2000. I talked to many dealers and they were worried a few years ago it could go back down to the $800 levels. That is why for quite a while dealers were not wishing to pay melt or more for common gold.

Its a weird thing. Get gold cheap enough, and all old gold will carry premiums. Its just at what price level this happens. Its the opposite of the fact that most gold LOSES its premium if the gold market skyrockets. Its like common barber silver coins. In cheap silver markets, they carry premiums, but at $40 silver they are melt.

 

Just as in the past, the coin collectors are saying that gold price will come down, and buying old, worn coins with little or no numismatic value is not a good deal.