I'd like to buy one closest to gold spot price that way if I ever need to sell it, I won't get less than gold. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...5686&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT#ht_2456wt_1165 That's one I'm looking at. If I can get for under $1,200 I'd be happy. I don't really care if it's cleaned, I am just looking to get one because of the no motto and I've always really wanted one. What do some of you think of this idea?
Auction ends soon, I think I'm going to do it. Why not,within the next year or two gold will surpass $1200+ in my opinion. Eh nevermind, someone set the autobid past $1250 and I'm not spending more than that for this.
You specifically want a 1908 Saint-Gaudens, No Motto. The greysheet lists them as: - XF = $1210 - MS-60 = $1350 - MS-63 = $1685 These are prices for original coins; cleaned coins would be less. Hence think slabbed. BUT don't mix these prices up with bullion value. Bullion value of gold is just over $1000 per oz. BIG difference. Remember a St-G doesn't even have a full oz of gold in it.
Personally, I think it's a bad idea. You can get a good price on a quality, problem-free coin. The e-bay one you mentioned is 25% over spot already, and it appears to be cleaned or brushed. Hard to say with washed-out scanned images. If you're paying 25% "numismatic premium" for a clunker, why not pay a little more and get a problem-free coin ? Eye appeal will always make a difference when selling, since you will be well over spot.
http://cgi.ebay.com/1908-D-20-Dolla...a52f5dd3f&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14#ht_4344wt_1165 Just shopping around.. Thoughts on that one?? It's so hard to tell if these things are cleaned or not.
Please take this as positive criticism because that's all it's meant to be. Your not going to learn if a coin has been cleaned or not by looking at pictures. You can take 5 pictures of the same coin and they all can look different. You can hide things with a camera by adjusting lighting, angle, and camera settings. The wrong people can really make a ratty coin look good. You seem very ambitious. It can be a curse. If you dont really look before you leap you'll end up worse then you are with the money in your pocket. Sometimes in this buisness cash is king. Having the money in your pocket to buy the right piece at the right price is most of the time more important then having a impulse buy. Your best bet is to ALWAYS buy your coins in person. Get to the coin shows handle a bunch of these before you buy one. Learn what to look for...and what to watch out for.
A better looking coin in the image. BUT Why try and guess if it's been cleaned? On eBay go for only the slabbed ones. If you want to buy a raw coin, wait until a show comes to your area, then go to it.
I got a good deal on ebay last year, 1908 No Motto MS62 NGC for $865 However it was from a seller overseas and I was very skeptical. Checked the #'s with NGC and they verified it. Purchased and took it to coin shop afterwards and all is well. She sits right in the middle of the safe now!
Buying a problem coin is fine if that's what you want to own. Just keep in mind that no matter how long you own it, it will still be a problem coin.
I got my 1908 No Motto MS64 NGC for $800, but that was back about 3-4 years ago when gold was about $700. In fact I got most (if not all) my gold coins before gold jumped. Nothing I knew; it just happened that way.
Hehe, me too. I bought a PCGS MS63 No motto 1908 saint for around 700 bucks. I took it to a coin show and the guy there was going to give me a great deal on it if I sold it...so I cracked it out and sent it to NGC. It graded MS64! I also showed it to an NGC grader as well as the shop I bought it from (What irony is that..) and they both thought it looked '64, the shop even would give me '64' money for it. Heh. But I'm not selling it... BNB, do not buy these coins raw, ever, especially on ebay. Although they are larger coins and therefore not counterfeited quite as much as the smaller pieces, they are still heavily counterfeited. As LostDutchman said, you can't really tell if a coin has been cleaned from photo's. I actually hadn't thought that they could manipulate the photo's like that, that's a good point. But you need to get a coin in hand and tilt it under the light for hairlines to see if it's been cleaned. Whizzed coins also have a paticular 'look' to them, but deceptive ones can be hard to spot. Always buy these slabbed, and I agree that you should go to a coin shop and buy one. That way you can cherrypick the best one, you can spot problem coins, but if you buy in a slab from PCGS or NGC you aren't getting a problem coin anyway...remember these coins always have a premium above spot. They are numismatic coins, if you want to get a coin close to spot get an XF one, but remember when you go to sell it you will not get much over spot. I think you're better off saving up your money, and buying a semi key or key date, these are always in more demand than a generic one. Same coin :
