Has anybody else noticed how after the 2009 craze over Lincoln's Birth that V.D.B.cents are not worth the Bid prices as seen in the CDN Greysheet? They start at $10 in Good but translated more like $6-7 on a dealer-to dealer level or less; I had one dealer say he had "rolls" of them. Please comment.
A quick (but incomplete) check of the price trends on NGC show that the only changes in the last year have been up.
I haven't observed this. I will say that raw coins often trade at a steep wholesale discount. A collector that buys a typical $20 retail value numismatic coin, might get a $10 cash offer when selling back to a dealer, and that would be a fair dealer. A low baller might offer $5 or $2 or whatever he/she thinks will be accepted. Dealers with a lot of examples of the coin being offered are going to offer lower, that's common sense.
You mean like this $2 coin is not worth $30? http://cgi.ebay.com/1935-S-Lincoln-...59?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item33697f051f
Not exactly, I mean that Bid prices aren't currently reflecting the market and what IS realistic on the low-graders.
This surprises you? It should be expected. The hype is over and they ARE very common coins in almost all grades. As the dealer said he has ROLLS of them. If he has rolls of them what do you think he is going to offer to get another one? It's going to be a small fraction of bid because HE DOESN'T WANT THEM. Used to have that same problem in the shop back in the late 80's when we were selling baseball cards. Someone comes in with a recent ball card that the Beckett's says is a $20 card and they want to sell it. We have a stack of forty of them. We don't need forty one, so we offer $2.
Personally, to the extent I am seeing US pricing, I am seeing a lot of softness of traditional collector coins. Just my impression, but unless its a coin that can be slabbed high grade, (for the issue), or a "key" they seem weak. It just feels like a lot of interest in bullion, and high grade coins for NGC or PCGS bragging rights, but the run of the mill collector isn't buying like they used to. When I bum around local shows looking to buy something, I get offered a lot of great coins at discounts to CDN. Like the economy, it just feels the "middle class" coins are getting squeezed, but the upper end of the market seems to be doing fine. My question is that if up and coming collectors aren't there, who will be the buyers of these "investment" coins in the future? In the end, any coin is only ever worth over melt or face value from a collector. All the "investors" are doing is assuming a collector will be willing to pay more than they paid at some point in the future. If the collectors never demand these coins, what will that do to the "investors"?
The investors will be screwed out their money for these "wonder coins" but the fact is most coins are always worth something to somebody.
