Bad US coin buys

True, that is a nice one. I guess I had in mind the subpar ones being sold, maybe the ones that don't stand out and dealers are just trying to unload at high mark ups. I feel like that sometimes too, not being able to afford better dates nor wanting their low graded examples.

 

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That's true what you say, I forgot about what the market takes into account, like rarity etc. When I was looking at all the mercs in the 40s tonight, I thought: 1) either there are too many of these out there and graded, 2) too many people are selling them off or are trying to, 3) or both. It didn't seem like a good buy to me. However, the fact that there were so many could be because there is a demand for them, which isn't a bad thing. It really is a toss up. If I'd could choose a earlier, better date in low unc or even a pleasant AU condition, I would go with that. The problem was I couldnt find any so I was bummed out. The price guide showed these to be affordable but perhaps only people are grading their higher grade examples

 

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If you do not thats ok, but I just wanted to throw it out there.

 

I appreciate that. I'll have to do a little research and see if it's a good fit for me. Thanks!

 

<ade me laugh! Heh heh heh!

Collecting Coins is ALL about throwing money away because unless you can out and out rip someone off, everything is simply money tossed out to satisfy some need for thinking you're getting a great deal.

Rarely do I ever make money on coins and I have made some sizeable sales.

BUT, that is the exception as the general rule is that whatever I bought it for, I'll not be able to sell it for that for a couple of reasons.

The 1st reason is that, I;m a nothing, A nobody in the numismatic arena. As such, what I say about a coin simply falls on dead ears with the net result being an overall loss.

Secondly, I don;t have a good venue for selling. No store front, no magazine ads, no newspaper ads. Nothing except that famous flippers paradise called eBay. Even then, the competition is fairly stiff.

So, I no longer entertain the thoughts of actually turning a profit. Instead, I face the reality that my coin purchases fall somewhere between the RC Planes and the Model Trains of which, both were very expensive past times.

 

I would have actually called this one of the 'bad coin buys', using your definition. Huge survival rate.

 

My first thought is to never buy an ugly coin. It will always be ugly and probably tough to sell.

 

So each of us have an opinion of "a bad buy", on any coin. It's what you want, it's what you are willing to spend, it's what you need. Again it's opinion... I traded for this, along with a 1961 PR67 Franklin, for one dollar silver certificates, 'bad buy'?

 

I don't think that they're offended by your opinion, it's possibly more the way you went about presenting it as if it were a well known fact. I would recommend in the future that you avoid words like "lousy" when referring to coins most people in this forum likely collect. Just about everything I've seen you post about coins deals with their monetary value versus their intrinsic value. So I hope you can understand how people would view you as an investor vs collector. If you're buying for resale value, you're investing. If you're buying because it's a beautiful coin, like the one @Paul M. showed, then you're a collector. There is a distinction and you can be both, but what you are talking about sounds more like investing. As for me, I don't see coin prices dropping any time soon, but I hope they do since I also have a low discretionary budget.

 

You ask what people think are bad US coin buys. Correct? Probably large cents would be at the top of my list. Don't get me wrong, I have bought many over the years and really like the designs, I just don't think they have the potential for high return on investment. I can't think of one coin I have purchased with ROI as the motivation. Like many people here, I buy and collect what appeals to me.

 

^Bingo

 

Agreed. That would seem to have all the same characteristics about why he was saying the others were a bad buy.

 

I prefer 1942/1 FSB MS65 at the high end, 1942/41D FSB MS65 in the middle, 1945S micro FSB MS65 at the low end, 1916D G4 Full Obverse rim/date as an economy "Mercury" dime choice, preferably to yours.

JMHO

 

Maybe just my opinion, but I really do enjoy a box full of loose AU/UNC 1960-1964 Roosevelt Dimes and Washington Quarters rather than buying slabbed.

Believe me, sometimes my coin shop has very NICE ones!

 

I do not see prices falling. Stick with what you can afford, it all adds up. I recently shipped a coin I retailed on ebay for 75% over cost I had only a month. Not a bad flip for a $125 coin.

I simply buy right what I believe I can retail for a decent profit.

 

I don't think calling such buys lousy is a fact or outside of a simple opinion. As far as investing and collecting, it's not black and white with most collectors. Even if you're heavily into reaping profits on coins, you're still collecting them and likely would find specific coins appealing or at least understand why others do. I love coins, selling them, studying, buying, hunting etc. i consider myself a collector and all the many things it entails. I just happen to have an opinion about the coins I mentioned. As for the 1883 liberty head nickel, it's still an old coin, the only affordable unc one of the series, and has historical and collector interest, which is why an unc 63 and above is more valuable that a common merc in 63 and above.

 

Ya, nothing wrong with those buys, as long as your not paying too much over melt or buying them slabbed at 40 dollars

 

No, very nice catch, and I like the older holder. Now if you paid 45 for it and there were countless others of that date on ebay, I'd have a different opinion

 

There can be a big difference in scarcity between pre and post 1933 dates in US coinage because 1933 is (apparently) when album collecting became prevalent. You can read an article in the Coin Week archives written by Greg Reynolds who discusses the subject.

For 20th century US coins, mintages are usually a poor indication of scarcity. "Low" mintage dates like 55(D) quarters and halves were hoarded as were many others. So though the mintage is "low", the coins are practically as common as dirt, except in the highest grades.

I don't think much of many survival estimates published by Coin Facts, but I suspect they are at least directionally accurate for most 20th century US coins. In case you haven't noticed, their estimates exceed the combined NGC and PGCS population counts by a lopsided proportion.

For most of these coins, I believe the actual supply dwarfs the number of collectors who do and will ever want it at the current price. The primary reason this isn't apparent in the price is because the supply available for sale at any point in time is a (miniscule) fraction of the total, many are hoarded and many more are owned by non-collectors.

 

Clearly you missed the part where I said you can be both an investor and a collector. For the record, someone who collects silver rounds purely for their silver value is not a coin collector. I guess I should've given you an example to solidify my statement... And you also missed the part where calling something lousy that other people like is a bad way to get people to want to have a conversation with you. Might as well have said "anyone who buys that coin is an idiot!" All you managed to do was insult an unknown number of people in this forum who have or would have bought such a coin. A little tact goes a long way.