Well, I recently had a family member give me a bag of world coins they had from 30 years ago to sift through. It was a lot of fun. So my question to you guys are, what are some of the better places to buy bulk lots. Now I dont expect you guys to give me your ultra secret places, but just a start in the right direction. I had a lot of fun going through those coins and would love to do it again. Thanks.
Trade secrets my friend, that is like asking a gold miner with nuggets in his hand the general vicinity in which he found them! " Aww come on sir, I'm not asking for the exact spot, just point me towards your mountain? "
eBay.com is where you can find lots... I'll even kick you some fun tips for your hunt... look for a mom and pop seller, selling antiques and very few coins.. with an auction for world coins, than check their feedback to make sure they didn't already sell world coins of silver or high value individually before selling the bulk lot... vuela! hope these ideas help and happy hunting!
Completely understandable, but I wasn't looking for the best lots. Just something to kill time. I just liked researching them. I could care less if there was silver or ancient coins. Thats why I collect US coins Thanks for your input. I figured ebay was probably the best spot. How much should I be paying for a run of the mill 5 pound lot. Im talking probably already searched coins.
Without knowing if you live in a dense population area or not, you might also try checking garage sales in your vicinity. You can sometimes find small hoards of both US and foreign coins that you can buy relatively cheap. If a garage sale is advertised in your local paper and there is a phone # given, call them and ask if they have any. This may or may not be accurate, but the last time I sold a bulk lot of non-silver foreign coins, it was for $7 a pound to a friend. Chris
Well, a couple of pointers from someone who has made some money on bulk lots. NEVER buy from someone who is just offering some of his "hoard" but tempts you by photos of great coins. Its almost always a come on. Always buy groups that they post a photo of the actual coins. Do not discount blurry photos unless you think the person is doing it on purpose. I have others, but if I told you them I would have to shoot you.
Five pounds of picked over coins should run about $30 give or take, $20 on a better day. If I were you, I would try to buy either fewer coins for the same price, or the same amount for more for better coins. I know you are just having fun, but for a little more you can get much better coins.
I bought a 15 pound bag of foreign coins off of craigslist for 5 bucks when I first started collecting. I had fun searching through them and researching them online. I frequently found myself side tracked by the history and the politics of their country of origin. I am bored with that now but I learned a lot of things I never got from history books in school. I tried selling them in small lots of 20 for 1/2 their Krause value and not a single lot sold
