Selling a 50k +/- collection question

I have only been collecting since 1999 but have managed to put together a nice group of mostly toned and higher end coins along with a few dozen large US notes. 90% of my holdings are in top 4 tpg holders but due to the mostly really nice colors the blue sheet prices are way too low since they don't take rainbow toning into consideration. As discussed in the "toning premium thread" I stink at color coin photography so I would most likely consign the toners to Teletrade and sell the currency and untoned stuff on the bay but a possible 3rd option would be a big auction house, Heritage comes to mind, and just let them take the whole deal either for a flat price or on a commission basis. I see in their ads where they will travel to you for a large enough stash, pretty sure 50k qualifies, anyone have thoughts or advise? Balancing the "least effort/highest return" equation here I wonder if any of you have given this much thought.

 

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I would choose the auction venue that toned collectors use the most, and you feel realizes the highest prices. I say that since the toned coins, ones in which no greysheet exists, are the most subject to poor auction results versus what you feel they are worth. The coins in which there are standard pricing models I don't think will be as variable.

I am not sure if they would travel to you to discuss 50k in coins. Their fee would only be about $7500, and they have considerable costs and you may not even decide to list with them. I know to you 50k in coins is a lot, but look at prices realized in one of their auctions and you can see its not a large consignment. Maybe a decent sized one, but not large. With the price of things nowadays, it will surprise a lot of collectors. I had to put together a listing and estimate for my coin reference library last week, and it came out to about 28k, and I still buy books I am missing all of the time.

Good luck!

Chris

 

I would take the top 10 coins and sell them myself to save the auction fees. Presumably, these should be your most valuable coins and save you the most on commission. I would start out by going to a few major shows and talking direct with some of the larger dealers. The balance could go to the auction houses for liquidation.

 

I agree with everything Doug said. If time is not an issue I would keep Spink Smythe out of Dallas and N.Y. in mind. I was very impressed when dealing with them recently. At least another house to compare against.

 

I would think that Great Collections a new auction venue might be interested in working with you on your collection. The size of your collection is probably too small to interest most of the bigger auction venues.

 

Teletrade is my favorite for toners

 

Yeah, why not set up a table at a coin show? I've been to some around here that had 80 to 100 dealers and haven't seen even a few toners on any tables. You may as well set up a table and be the dealer at this point. How hard is it to drive a couple suitcases of coins to a show and lay them out? Take as few or as many as you want. Maybe somebody would split a table with you?

 

I don't agree. They may not be willing to travel out to appraise it, but I'm sure Heritage would be very interested in selling this much. How many people in the US do you think have a collection this large? Out of that group, how many are for sale?

 

You could always try eBay. You'll pay 9% seller's fee and 3% paypal fees. But I think that's probably a bargain over the fees and commissions most auction houses will charge.

You'll also be subject to the whims of the market, but with toners going for decent premiums these days, I think that might be a good thing for you.

The other thing to consider if you list your coins on eBay, is that it's a fair amount of work and will consume some of your time to individually photograph, list, sell and then ship all your coins. But on the other hand, you can do most of it from the convenience of your own home.
I've had some success selling coins on eBay. If you decide to go this route, feel free to PM me and I'll give you my experience and some advice that may be helpful.

 

Actually - probably more than we think.

As to the original poster I think it depends on several things. You might want to work with a seller who charges a flat commission. With specialty items it might even get you more. With auction places like heritage I believe you will charge 15 to 25% of the realized price. Of course selling them yourself would probably net the most - but then you have all the headaches that can go with it.

 

Heritage requires a minimum consignment value of $5000. There is both a buyer's premium and a seller's premium, which together amount to about 25% of the total price paid for the coin (at least, that was my understanding when I asked them about it at a recent show I attended).

 

Heritage will work with you with respect to their seller's commission. It can range from 15% to much less, 5% or so (not taking into account the 15% BP, of course). However, I don't know how large a collection has to be to garner a discount. But I have read of large collectors getting huge discounts; I used to have that info but no longer. You might want to call Heritage and ask.

 

Heritage will ask for some type of inventory and then decide if the trip is necessary. They are not interested in hoards or any mass collection of common coins. What helps the seller here is the bulk of slabbed coins he owns. With the identification and control numbers off the slabs, they will be able to find out all they need to know without making an on site visit. This includes giving the owner a general idea what he may realize at auction.

 

Not a fan of TT for toners. Their pics suck which limit upside on nice toners.

If I were you, I would consign the coins to a Heritage auction at one of the major shows (Baltimore, FUN, etc.). I think toners will sell better in that venue, where people can look at the coin itself. Drive for a deal in which you get in excess of 100% hammer -- remember their terms are negotiable.

Another alternative is eBay, with someone like Shane (Kryptonite Comics).

 

Find a dealer who will pay you 70-80% if you can. The trouble HA and some of the others is The realized price you see is not what you get paid. 9% buyer fee is in that realized price.
EBAY now lets you list auction for free with any min opening bid. 12% or $100 whichever is less.

 

I'd probably talk to Shane (KryptoniteComics) or HA.com.

 

I don't know about Shane's fee's but I do know he is very popular with everyone that deals with him. And he seems to get good prices for toned coins.

 

You might be surprised at how many $50K+ collections there are out there. It really doesn't take that much to reach that level.

 

This. In the grand scheme of things, a $50k collection isn't much. I've only been seriously collecting for 1 year with a low income and I already have a collection worth more than 10% of that, mostly from roll-searching.