Yea or Nay?

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by lordmarcovan, Feb 13, 2018.

?

Yea or nay?

  1. Yea!

    12.5%
  2. Nay!

    62.5%
  3. Mmm...mmaybe?

    12.5%
  4. I have no idea about this kinda stuff

    6.3%
  5. (Insert nonsensical poll response here- bacon? Ravioli? Baloney sammich? Whatever you want.)

    6.3%
  1. Ken Dorney

    Ken Dorney Yea, I'm Cool That Way...

    Well, I wont put any words into Bobs mouth or anything, but you do a lot of horse trading, right? So, it is entirely possible all of the trading he has done may result in a close comparison between the coin he wants to trade and the coin in question. Its hard for us to know. Its a fine coin, worthy of any collection. But as a cash transaction sure, one can find other comparable examples for lesser prices (possibly, who knows, auctions are fickle).

    Also, remember photography often lends or takes away from value. Its just so hard to determine exact value (retail or otherwise) from a photo.

    I'm one of those guys who often lives in the past. I remember when these would sell for $60 on a good day. Of course I never bought one for myself at that price as like others I just could not see the end game. So....I do have my eye on one example in a current auction. I hope to get it under $300, but who knows? So many coins, so little money....there will always be something else to 'trip my trigger'.
     
    Alegandron and lordmarcovan like this.
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  3. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    We each differ in terms of what we can and will pay but for $490 you should get something at least a little special. What makes a coin special also varies so only you can say whether that is a $490 thrill by your standards.

    Mine was a great thrill to me when I got it almost 30 years ago for $45. Time has increased prices but by how much???
    pb0110b00252lg.jpg
     
  4. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    All right. So here's the coin I'd potentially offer in trade.

    Belgium (Brabant): gold Carolus d’or (florin) of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, ca. 1521-1545

    [​IMG]

    It's an extremely cool piece of Renaissance-era gold, and I really like it, but it's unslabbable with a straight grade. NGC just returned it for "ineligible type" (as they did my other two hammered pieces in the same submission). It was formerly in a PCGS Genuine; VF details, "mount removed" holder from one of my prior submissions.

    Now, a few things. First of all, my Eclectic Box collection is a set of TPG-certified coins. It's a "freestyle" accumulation collection, and as its name indicates, I don't have many self-imposed rules or restrictions for it, but the "PCGS or NGC certified, or about to be" rule is one of the few that still stands. And an unwritten subclause to that is that I don't want any "details" graded "problem" coins.

    This Brabant piece is a wonderful coin, but I've gone as far as I can with it down the plastic-slab-chasing path, so it's time to cut my losses and move on. This happens. Some great coins just aren't ideal candidates for slabbing.

    I realize I am posting this on the Ancient Coins forum and I am fully cognizant of how utterly absurd some of the slab talk must sound to most of you. But like it or not, I signed aboard with that when I began this project in 2013 and I "live by the slab and die by the slab", so lets not rehash that debate. (Believe me, I understand the counterarguments- really I do.) But these are the rules of the game I'm playing. Sixteen and a half years on the PCGS/Collectors Universe forums ingrained much of that culture in me. We're all products of our environment.

    The slabby game has its upside. Moments like this, however, when it creates absurd dilemmas, are aggravating. Believe me, if I collected ONLY Ancient or Medieval coins, I'd bust 'em all out of the plastic and go about things in the more traditional manner. In fact, I came within a gnat's whisker of doing just that this month, but when a slab-hating ancient collector (who you'd think would be the first with a hammer in his hand) urged me to reconsider and think hard before I did that, I stayed my hand and put down the slab-cracking tools.

    So, did I lose any of you in all that ramble?

    Summary:
    • The Brabant gold piece will not slab with a straight grade at PCGS, and not at all at NGC.
    • Though it's a great coin, I'm ready to amicably divorce myself from it, sell it or trade it back to where it came from, and use the equity to pursue something new.
    • I saw and liked the Nero tetradrachm.
    • Then I noticed it was for sale (for €50 less) by the very same folks I'd bought the Brabant coin from.
    • I figure this might give me a bit more leverage than an outright sale or swap to another party (though if I found a different buyer for the Brabant around my cost, that might be ideal, as I'd then be free to spend the equity anywhere).
    • The seller I'll be dealing with is a satellite of an enormous French company I'm sure most of you can name. So if a store credit of €400-450 is offered by them for the buyback on the Brabant coin (and as of this message I have no idea how that will go), then the Nero tetradrachm is not my only option. It just happens to be one that caught my eye. This seller has thousands of other coins.
    Thank you all for the advice.
     
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2018
    Theodosius, Johndakerftw and Bing like this.
  5. Ken Dorney

    Ken Dorney Yea, I'm Cool That Way...

    Hmmm. Well, I would say the gold trade coin is worth around $400 (roughly). The Nero tetradrachm is worth $250-300 (again, roughly). I would hold out for something else, or a better trade value.
     
    ominus1 and Jay GT4 like this.
  6. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    Thanks very much.
     
  7. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    I suppose I could always let the Brabant coin go on eBay via true auction, cross my fingers, and hope it does well.

    It might. Then again, there is plenty of inherent risk in a low-start true auction.
     
  8. Svarog

    Svarog Well-Known Member

     
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2018
  9. Svarog

    Svarog Well-Known Member

    Here is mine for $500 graded XF 8DCF5ADA-2A6C-4AEB-B1F7-3F554718E3F5.jpeg
     
    ominus1, Johndakerftw, Bing and 2 others like this.
  10. Cucumbor

    Cucumbor Well-Known Member

    My opinion too, and keep in mind the dealer you bought the Brabant coin from are usually very expensive : you might be ending up overpaying two coins instead of one

    Q
     
    lordmarcovan likes this.
  11. Ken Dorney

    Ken Dorney Yea, I'm Cool That Way...

    And that of course is one defining part of being a 'dealer' (for some at least). Assume 100% of the risk. Maybe you buy for $100 and sell for $1,000, but maybe then again you sell for $5. Who knows? All part of 'the game'.
     
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  12. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    Indeed.

    I have some dealer experience, but only a very small scale.

    I've since abandoned any pretensions of that, and have resumed being just a collector (albeit one who finances 90% of his hobby by buying, selling, and swapping).
     
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2018
  13. Nathan401

    Nathan401 Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

    I love the OP coin, I think you can get a better trade though. Maybe market your Renaissance gold peice real good and auction it for cash. You'd have more bargaining power to get an even better Tet.
     
  14. Ken Dorney

    Ken Dorney Yea, I'm Cool That Way...

    Oh. BTW. No such thing as a 'true auction'. That's just an Ebay thing.
     
  15. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    All of my auction experience (at least as a seller/consignor) is through eBay, so there ya go.
     
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