Ok, I've reviewed a number of threads on "advice to newbies", obtained & read the Redbook (once so far), and checked out discussions on various topics such as eBay selling and digital photos vs scans. I may be (hope I am) ready to ask some intelligent questions. First on gold coins (1920s). Should they be "slabbed" if for nothing else to substantiate that they are real? Only have a few, but they were gifts to my father soon after his birth in August 1922 and they reasonable candidates for "almost uncirculated". Thanks, Charley
Getting them slabbed by one of the top three or four grading companies would not be a bad Idea. The other option would be to find a reputable dealer or two to look at them. If you could post some large clear pics, there are a number of people on this forum that are really good at detecting fakes. (plus we would like to see them to admire them)
Thanks. These are still tucked away in Mom's safe deposit box. Will retrieve next month. Meanwhile I'm practicing scanning on some silver dollars. Started with a 1/2 penny on low dpi - bad failure. I'll do another thread to ask for suggestions on my scanning techniques and should have them honed by the time I get those coins.
bb: I would slab them for two reasons: 1) there are many fakes; 2) you will know what you have; and 3) (Okay, so I cheated) your heirs will know what you have and will be less likely to be cheated.
I buy gold every once in a while, but only from one place, which is a coin dealer I've been doing business with for years. They are mostly unslabbed because I trust them there. But, if I were to buy online, or even at shows from dealers I'm not familiar with, I'd take the above advice and buy slabbed gold only. Guy~
You might want to get one from there slabbed, just to confirm what you already think. After all, it's better to spend $20 - $40 and have peace of mind than it is to spend years buying coins from a place only to find years later that those coins were not exactly what you thought they were. Trust me, it's happened many times
What is the value of the coin? A great many gold coins are not worth much over their bullion value. Chances are good that once you have sunk the money into having it slabbed it is still worth just a little over bullion value So if after slabbing it would sell for more than bullion + slabbin fee + shipping and insurance there and back, then it might be worth having it slabbed IF you plan on selling it. If you are just planning on keeping it in the family I see no reason to have itslabbed other than for the coins own protection, and that can be accomplished with a one dollar generic slab shell.
Is it a 1907 with a little Omega symbol on it? I know you said 1920's but i could'nt resist asking!:smile
Will retrieve sometime this month. Can I assume the referenced 1907 and 1933 coins are some rare ones?
bbfan: The 1933 is rare, esp the double eagle ($20) with only one legal to own, last & only sale was $7.5 million+. [wikipedia: In the summer of 2002, a 1933 Double Eagle was auctioned off for $7,590,020 US, which shattered the old record of $4,140,000 paid at a public auction for an 1804 silver dollar. This piece is unique as the only 1933 double eagle the U.S. government has deemed legal for its citizens to own. ] the 1907 that he referred to (omega) is a counterfeit that is so good that the faker signed them with a tiny mark, and omega, and are amazing fakes. [http://rg.ancients.info/bogos/] Don't take it personally, coin collectors are kinda strange (myself included) and we do make some strange jokes, in fact so strange that we often have to ask each other what the heck we are talking about. Good luck, and I hope that you find a 1933 $10 (eagoe) in there. [of course you'll owe me a commission then.]
Certainly as a perverted old baseball card collector, I would never find a coin collector "strange". Referenced coins are then in the same category as an authentic Babe Ruth card signed with a modern "sharpie". At least coins have some intrinisic value. Cards are nothing more than graven images on cardboard (and I love 'em).
It depends. A good way to get a start is to crack open that Redbook and look up your coins. Those prices aren't totally reliable - i.e. I wouldn't walk into a coin show and try to wheel and deal using those numbers. But the Redbook is plenty good enough to find out if a given piece is common or a rarity. Condor makes an important point; many gold coins are only worth bullion value + 5% b/c there are so many. So slabbing those is a waste of time and money, unless they are high grade or an uncommon date. Those are valuable.
Here is one coin for example. My original question was if I needed to have it professionaly graded to add some credibility that it is authentic prior to offering it for sale. This this a proper case for this coin? I didn't want to remove it until I knew better. Thanks, Charley
Charley, I'm glad to see that you have been reading and are asking questions. That's a good way to start. If the coins are not uncirculated (and thus their specific grades probably don't matter that much for purposes of value), as long as you can get an informed opinion regarding authenticity from a dealer or collector, there might not be any need to spend the fees on having them slabbed.
The holder looks fine. Considering that you know a lot about the original source of the coin, it's most likely authentic and you probably can just enjoy owning the coin. You can ask a dealer or another collector to take a look at it regarding authenticity, but if they offer the opinion that it isn't authentic, you probably should be suspicious of their motives and/or ability and send it to a TPG. At least that's what I would do because I think the grading fee is cheap insurance in that case.
I'm wondering what would be the best way to sell gold coins such as these. Would you just go to a couple of local dealers? Or Ebay? I can see where a slab might bring a little better price at auction but I'm thinking the grading fees would eat that up. After Ebay fees I would guess you would have less than melt value. Please show us some images when you can Charley
First of all the case is just fine. Secondly, if you plan to sell, how do you plan to sell ? If the coins are common dates and not uncirculated they will bring little if any more than slightly below melt value, unless you sell them to a private individual. Given that, it would be much easier to just take the coins to a reputable dealer and sell them - the money you get will be about the same.
