I collect Chinese and Canadian coins but decided to give it a shot at some US coins tonight. I just got 14 Silver Walker Half Dollars in AU for $300 including buyer premium. The lot is from the 1940's and does include 1942, 43 and 44 Denver Mint issues.
I don't mean to sound harsh but you overpaid. If you sold them on eBay, you would get maybe $20 a pop for them. Then after fees your down to about $17.50 each. So if you sold the whole lot your lucky to get $245 out of them. $300 was too much, and there is nothing to be made on them. However, they are yours now. So either keep them or wait until the price of silver hits $100 an ounce. Too be honest all I would have paid for them is melt.
Better stick to what I know then.......I thought the Denver Mint marks were more tough and I thought the grades were pretty good....but heck, not my area.
I don't think the coins are worth $20 each. They melt at less than $13 each and shouldn't be worth much more than that.
You know, the price wasn't good, but it wasn't awful. Yes, they're later-date Walkers...but they still have a lot of detail in them. If I were you, I'd check the new edition of the Cherrypicker's Guide to see if there are any varieties in there that might make the lot profitable. If not...hang on to them if you can. Plus, we don't know all the date/mint mark combinations. It MAY be worth how much you paid - but the chances of you making a quick buck on them is slim. I personally hold on to as many better-grade Walkers as I can get my hands on...although I do try to get them at melt or slightly above.
And I'm just saying...having helped out an auctioneer friend of mine, you NEVER know what people will pay for something. He could sell these for $25/30 each at a good auction. I've seen it.
You didn't do to bad paid alittle over retail. Though 2 questions though 1. Are you using American grading standards or GB standard 2. did you pay $300 us or Pounds
All I'm thinking is that at least they weren't JUNK coins for that price. At least he's buying better condition Walkers...not graded state quarters or those memorabilia sets that have super worn type coins in them. That shows a better than average eye...just has to get used to the US coin market.
Mint mark or not, nothing from the forties is rare in just about any series. But, on a positive note, you picked a beautiful and fun to collect series. I started a few years back, and still need to buy a few of the better dates.
I paid 300 US Dollars, not pounds and the grading was US, described as solid AU. I bought two lots of Canadian and NFLD lower grade coins, some key dates, and was offered about $1,000 by dealers....got them graded by ICCS and sold privately for $2300 for all 21 coins.......so not first time I've had initial bad news. Will probably hand onto them if the mint marks and grades don't add much value. 4 1940'S 4 1941 and 1942 3 1942D's Rest were 1943 and 44D's. So 6 out of 14 had D mint marks.
Where do you shop for coins of this quality at melt prices? My LCS mixes it in with the rest of the JUNK silver and won't let you sort without charging extra. I am looking for coins to stack so no slabbed or numi valued coins, but I don't want dirty damaged junk coins either. i am actually looking for a way to sell my 40% junk kennedys I find roll searching and replace them with decent 90% coins from time to time. Thank you for any suggestions. Hope I'm not Hijacking, I'm sure the OP would like to know where to get a better deal as well!!
They're worth only melt, which is not $20 a pop, but $11.60 at current spot price, and about $3-$5 under spot from a B&M.
I'd check the web, but you're almost always going to pay somewhat of a premium, even on Franklin halves. You can still find "64 Kennedy halves in uncirculated rolls for as close to melt as I've seen in any series, so that might be your best bet. After doing a quick price check, I found them for $263.66 per roll on Golden Eagle Coin's website. The good news is that some of the better dates have dropped in price, so investing in silver numismatically is an option if you choose to go that route.
He said he collects coins, not that he's a coin dealer. I don't know about anyone else here, but I don't collect thinking I'm going to make or lose anything on them...I do it because I like to collect. Anybody who has collected for a decent number of years has paid far more for coins than they'll ever get back out of them monetarily. Thats just a fact of collecting. Basically, if the OP likes them then he paid what he wanted to get them making it a good deal for him. If we spent every waking moment worrying about making a profit on our coins, the hobby would have been abandoned a thousand years ago. Guy
I wouldn't be too concerned about the price unless you're buying them purely for the value of silver. If you like it then enjoy them.