Had a couple of questions. 1: How can I do a more effective search? I put in gold in the search engine and it came back with many coins not gold... 2: Can I see auction history of coins? I'd like to get an idea of what coins are selling for on the site. 3: Any other tidbits would be welcome. Regards, Mike
If you sign up you can go into the auction and there is a link that says something "see prices at other grades". I use that and look at the coins in each of the auctions. On some coins you can see hundreds of dollars in difference at the same grade. I look at each coin to see what they look like versus the price. This helps me determine if the coin in the current auction is one I will bid on and how much I will bid. Not sure about others, but if I find a coin I like and decide I will bid what previous auctions brought - I like to be first at that price. I do not even pretend to snipe on heritage. Just my opinion. As far as locating the coins I am interested in - I use the front page and just go straight into the types I am looking for. I don't really try to find all nickels - I drill down to what I am interested in.
Please provide an example of a specific type (and, if applicable, grade) you want to search and I will try to give you step by step help. Are you already signed up for the auction archives?
Yes, you need to be signed up - it is free and a great resource. Once you are signed up, click on "Permanent Auction Archives" on the right side of the page. Under "search" scroll down to your category of interest. Under "for (optional keywords)" you can type in something like "MS63" or "NGC MS63" etc.
Even if you do not buy you really should sign up. The info there is great and extensive. It is free to sign up and you get a LOT.
Using Heritage to its full extent seems a little complicated but it really isn't. I guess one of the first things you have to realize is that there are 2 main things the site does for you - 1 - it allows you to search for coins to buy 2 - it allows you to search for coins already sold so you can estimate value of the coins you want to buy Now with #2 there are several different ways to go about it as well. And not everybody uses the same methods and not all of the methods return the same results. Myself, I prefer just 1 method and it is the old way, the way that was there since the beginning, before all the other, newer methods, were added to the site. If I want to check realized prices, here is what I do. Sign in obviously, then click on Switch To Old Search Feature. When that window opens, click on the Auction Results link over on the left. This will open a new window with dialogue drop down boxes on the top left saying - Coins - Search - in - for - Leave the first box (Coins) alone. In the 2nd box it will say All Coins, click on the drop down arrow and select the coin type you want. If you want gold for example, scroll down until you see the gold, then click on the particular denomination you want. If you want Liberty Eagles ($10), then click on Liberty Eagles. Leave the 3rd box (in) alone. In the 4th box type in the particular date you want. If you want 1897, the type in 1897. Then hit the enter key - and page/pages listing all previously sold, in all grades, slabbed by all TPG's, 1897 $10 Liberty Eagles will open. You can refine that search further if you wish. Say you want only MS examples. Then in the 4th box type in - 1897 MS, and hit the enter key. Pages will list only MS examples. Or, if you want only MS64 examples, then type in 1897 MS64. And only MS64 examples will appear. You can do the same thing with any grade and it will bring up the results for just that grade. If you wish to narrow your search even further and have only 1897 MS64 LIberty Eagles slabbed by NGC - then type in 1897 MS64 NGC - and only those will show on the page. Same thing for any TPG. You can do the same things of course for any coin. Just select the right coin type from the list and go from there.
GDJMSP -- The older search feature will be going away fairly soon. Most of the tricks you use will still work in the new version of the search, but the open-ended search (MS for all mint state coins) will not. Panamagold -- The best thing to do is to simply work with the search a little bit and get familiar with how it works. You need to be signed up to see prices realized, and as Mark F. says, there's really a wealth of information to be had, but the search will work (without prices realized) even if you're not signed up. Give me a call at 1-800-872-6467 x1355 if I can be of further assistance.
To shop for coins currently available : Sign up. Sign in. Near the top center, click Coins | US Coins. On the right side, about half way down, click Eagles. On the left side, about 1/3rd way down, click Indian Eagles. Above the first coin, on the right side, you will find Sort Results By. Play around. On the left of all the coins, one finds all sorts of cool criteria to narrow down your search - by grade, TPG, proof / business strike, which auction, mint mark, etc. Play around. As you do that, notice that above the coins is your selected set of criteria. You can remove or add as you like. To get an estimate of fair market value : If you have already selected a particular coin you like, scroll down until you find "Previous Prices from Heritage Auctions" For instance, here's a 1910 Indian $10 PCGS MS63. http://coins.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=1132&Lot_No=1821 If you have not yet selected a particular coin : Click Home On the left border near the top, click Auction Results Archives Down the left border are the various categories by denomination (more or less) At this point, it's much like the example above.
Panama - be sure to play around with features like "track this item" and "add a note about this item". Then, look just below the top banner. You'll find a button My Heritage. Try My Tracked Lots.
Now that you've learned how to do that, take a look at several coins. Check the price history; you'll notice there can be a fairly wide range of prices for the "same" coin ! I'm not talkin' 10%... I'm talkin 300%, sometimes more. Why is that ? Poke around. Explore a little bit, then let's chat.
If you're really wondering, there's a couple reasons. First, look at the dates some of the auctions ended. Some of them go back to 2001 or further. All gold will have multiplied several times since then. Always be sure to look at the auction end dates. The other reason is what we talk about here all the time. Quality for the grade. Sometimes there is an ugly stain. Or heavy bag marks. It's still the same grade on the slab. Or there's a cleaned one that falls into that AU category. Obviously they sell for much less. So in essence the highest sell prices are for the premium coins for the grade and the most important. From there, be suspicious of why others went so much cheaper. Also keep in mind that there is a 15% "buyer's premium" (for the auction house), factored in to that final price. Whether it matters to what someone paid or not, there's no way to know.
No, I wasn't wondering and Yes the reasons you mentioned are very good. There are a few more. I was just throwing the question out as "food for thought". Thanks !
If you're already shopping for coins currently available and want to know what they've brought in the past, you can switch directly from the search of available coins to the archives in one click. Go to the top of the search listings, and you will see a couple of tabs that say something like "Bid/Buy: 36 results" and "Auction Archives: 3,303 results". If you're looking through items in inventory and current auctions, the "Bid/Buy" tab will be in a light shade. Click on the "Auction Archives" tab (dark), and you will be taken directly to the archives, with your search criteria preserved! Click again on the "Bid/Buy" tab (now dark), and you're again looking at the items that are currently available. (If you were looking through a specific auction only, you'll probably need to select that again from the selections at left.)
