Do they submit their coins to TPGs themselves or are they buying and selling off the open market? I'm specifially talking about the Israel 2 NIS silver commems, which would seem to be a very limited market so I'm guessing they slab them themselves... Anyone? Thanks!
My guess is they get coins partly by chance and partly by orders in the case of type gold. I don't know who their suppliers are. One thing I've noticed when I call about a set of proof gold coins that are selling on ebay for $4000 they will offer melt plus a small premium. They really don't pay strong for certified or collector coins in my experience probably because they don't want to get stuck with coins, when they have ready markets for bullion coins all day long. I'm sure they submit coins for grading when this is advantageous.
I live in Oklahoma which is where they are located. They attend local coin shows and I believe my coin dealer has sold them stuff before. I know that doesn't specifically answer your question but thought it might help.
They submit to TPG, so they are looking for the best coins before you get them. If you want to know how they made lots of customers mad, search for threads about the time the first 5oz ATB buillon came out in sets. Many swore they would never order from them again.
FWIW: I'm glad I ordered ungraded for roughly half price - then again, the coins have not yet arrived... OneCoinPony: Maybe that's why they said "currently" ? I have not dealt with them before so I cannot judge, but my order will be here soon.
They set up a table at all the larger shows and actively buy coins that are raw and that are already slabbed. I have sold numerous slabbed coins to them in the past.
Gee, I wonder how they ended up with over 3000 PCGS MS70 2012 lunar dragon 1oz coins. I guess when they say currently, they meant this week...
That is kind of intersting. Maybe a 2012 Lunar collector bought 3000 of them, and then decided he didn't like the design after all... :rollling: And if there's that may MS70s, how many came back at MS69!
I wonder if they are referring to customers having APMEX submit their coins for grading since many dealers do offer this service to their customers.
Who knows, because as of now they don't have any MS69 bullion dragons for sale. How strange, or maybe not... http://www.apmex.com/Category/1288/Year_of_the_Dragon_Silver_Coins.aspx
Well I got the two coins I ordered, a 2012 2 NIS Sea of Galilee Proof and a 2011 2 NIS Dead Sea Proof, both in the OGP. They look beautiful. They're now off to PCGS to be slabbed (or entombed, your choice) so I can enjoy them. I give Ampex two thumbs up. Nice product, fast shipping, and much cheaper than the mint on both of them.