Buying World Coins in bulk

Hello- i am not a coin collector. I recently bought some world coins in bulk for a school project on geocaching. This is my second time buying world coins in bulk like this.

I went back to the coin shop near me that seems to be pretty reputable. I asked for 2 pounds in world coins which were $8/pound.

Some of the coins given were in paper holders which kind of irritated me because i thought that i was paying for coins by the pound. Not coins and holders by the pound.

Then i got home after not taking them out of the ziploc bag they were in. I used a shipping scale to weigh them. (The same shipping scale that i used when i was a powerseller on eBay that had never failed me before.) With everything it read 1 pound 11.3 ounces which is 1.71 pounds.

I just assumed they would give me 2 pounds when i asked for two pounds. They charged me for two pounds.

Am i wrong fro being annoyed? Is there a secret method when buying coins like that? I am not interested in the value of the coins in particular, just the most coins per $ as they are gifts for children.

The first time i went i got one pound and none were in paper holders. I did not weigh them when i got home. But we counted and their were 89. (Well 88 if you include the nickel that was in there.)

Any thoughts?

 

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I would go back there and ask for the rest

 

Well i pulled them out and counted because i was curious.

154 coins. 5 of them Canadian. 4 pennies and a dime. I dont think kids will be too interested in Canadian coins. I was told it would not contain Canadian.

3 of them were in paper holders. Is this normal selling practices to sell bulk coins by weight in paper holders?

 

You asked for two pounds, if they are going to charge you for the weight of flips they ought to lower the price, or tell you upfront.

 

What is a flip?

 

It's that soft plactic thing that folds open with 2 pockets.

 

Hmmm, $8lbs is a pretty good price for a coin shop.

Call them up and see what they say. It could be an honest mistake. Most dealers don’t put much effect in selling bulk coins.

 

Yep I would say you still got a good deal, but I understand your frustration, you should be able to expect to get what you paid for. I would suggest givng them a call or stop by and talk with them, Chance are, if he is a reputable seller he will make it right on the spot... If not you are overcharged $3.00 or so and suck it up as a loss and go elsewhere in the future... Good luck - DAK

 

What is an average price for this?

I drove there to see what we could work out after picking the wife up from work. They were closed. Uggh. So two extra trips there for nothing. I will see what we can figure out tomorrow.

Thanks!

 

Not sure what you ended up with but usually people only put coins in some type of protective holder when they suspect they are worth something. Before you go yelling at that dealer you may want to find out what you have. If for instance you ended up with a few coins worth a hundred dollars I don't think you would return them saying you got taken.

 

I guess i understand what you are saying. The problem is i am not a collector and am not interested in having coins of high value. Besides, a coin shop like this isnt going to accidentally slip me some valuable coins. It just doenst seem reasonable to me.

Anyways they are:
Denmark 10 ore 1954
Denmark 2 ore 1960
1949 5 francs

 

It happens pretty often---alot of times maybe a dealer only studies US coins but has alot of World coins and doesn't have time to really sit down and learn about them and sells them by the lot and misses a great one!
Same with any type of coin---if you know what you are looking for then you can cherrypick almost any dealer.

Speedy

 

Go back, and complain.
They promised you something and did not deliver.

 

What speedy said and then some. You may not be a coin collector but it sure wouldn't hurt to check out what you have. It's amazing what some dealers miss out on. Example is I bought an 09S Lincoln in MS62 for practically nothing because the Mint mark was messed up looking. It was an S over hor S. One dealer sold me 238 Buffalo Nickels in at least F12 or better in a 3 ringed binder for $80. I never could figure that one out.

 

That reminds me, I went into this coin dealer, went through the bargin trays and found a 1900 pfennig (german empire) in the $1. It has 50% original lustre.....

 

Well i went back to the coin shop today.

The difference was according to them that i wasn't weighing potatoes. They weighed in troy ounces and said that 2 pound would be 24 oz. They kept mentioning that its not like weighing potatoes. They did offer me my money back. (But what does this have to do with potatoes?)

I kind of understand what they said, but I am in the U.S. and as far as i know when someone says a pound, its 16oz. I should have said that they should really specify that when someone says they would like to buy something by the pound. But i didn't.

I guess that is what i get for being uneducated about buying coins.

 

True, coins are weighed in troy ounces. But I would almost think a bulk deal wouldn't be.

 

Please post the name and city of that dealer. His attitude and his lack of ethics make him one dealer whose shop (or show table) I will never knowingly patronize.

It's true that gold and silver are generally measured in troy ounces (not pounds); but the customary measurement for coins in general is grams, or occasionally avoirdupois ounces/pounds. I have seen bulk lots described as "1 kilo/2.2 pounds", but never "1 kilo/32.2 ounces" or "1 kilo/2 pounds, 8.2 ounces".

 

I ended up not getting the refund because i ultimately needed the coins for a school project. (And i wasn't sure who was being unreasonable/ unknowledgeable them or I.)

I will try to find another local shop to supply us our coins. If he would have said "since you expected 2 potato pounds then here is two potato pounds, next time I will be more clear", then i would have been fine with that. The place was:

Akron Coin & Jewelry Incorporated

(330) 644-2646

3235 Manchester Rd
Akron, OH 44319

I just looked up the nearest coin shop in Yahoo Local and this one was close.

 

You still got a good deal.