"COINS - AS SEEN ON TV!" A Review of The Coin Vault

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by Norsk64, May 25, 2019.

  1. Norsk64

    Norsk64 The Coin TV Critic

    THE COIN VAULT

    I am pleased to feature The Coin Vault (TCV) as my next write-up and review for "COINS - AS SEEN ON TV!". Of all Coin TV, there has been the greatest interest in me writing a review of TCV. I will touch on show hosts, coin offerings, presentation, pricing, and customer service. A complete scorecard.

    The Coin Vault has been on-the-air for 31 years now and the longest running coin show on TV. TCV calls Indiana home, after stints in Tennessee and Minnesota. It is a family business that has grown from its Silvertowne roots going back to 1949. Silvertowne is a silver smelter, producer, and dealer of silver rounds & bars. They continue to have ownership in TCV and are considered a sister company with TCV. Two of the on-air hosts, Andy and Tyler Abel, are brothers and Grandson's of Silvertowne & TCV founder. Speaking of on-air hosts, there is typically two personalities giving a coin presentation. This helps keep the chatter going without dead time. There are those however in Coin TV that do a nice job of giving a solo presentation. One that comes to mind is Jimmy Gerstel of Rick Tomaska's RCTV. TCV has had a fine lineup of on-air personalities through the years and that continues today. Scott Houk is also fixture on TCV as host. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the late Robert Chambers. Robert was the anchor of TCV in the 'late 80's, 90's and till his death from cancer in 2014. He was knowledgeable, honest, and an admirable man.

    The variety and selection of coins offered by TCV is good. One minute you're seeing the latest U.S. Mint release and the next presentation may feature BU rolls of Morgan Dollars. There is also a nice mix of raw and NGC & PCGS graded coins being made available. There is a little bit of everything to make it interesting. Presentations are generally short and last 5-15 minutes, depending on the coin(s) being offered. The studio set is professional with a video back-wall that doesn't look cheesy. There is a Coin TV provider out there that has a painted window with painted tree as a backdrop. When it comes to pricing and staying competitive, TCV and other Coin TV shows/networks must know that there are more research tools for buyers now than ever before. Margins are slim. TCV will however go off the beaten path, and price some coins fairly high when compared to online sellers. However, their new graded Silver Eagles rival that of online sellers in early January. Sadly though is TCV's use of comparing Littleton coins to TCV's own coin offerings. Their businesses are completely different. When TCV sells a roll of Coin XX for example, they typically resort to a highly questionable practice that newbies and senior-aged collectors need to be aware of. TCV will state the catalog price for a given coin and multiply it by 20, which turns out to be a highly ridiculous number. Thing is, you don't go to Littleton to buy a roll. Their market is single coins. TCV will compare their Roll price but only by multiplying that single Littleton coin x 20. Of course the TCV roll price will be much cheaper vs 20 single coins at Littleton. Just one of the tricks of the trade used by those in Coin TV. The customer service is excellent. Friendly staff, and no-hassle if you want to return a coin for any reason if done so within their 30 Day return period. TCV also offers free shipping on all orders, which is a rarity for Coin TV.

    In my early days of collecting coins, TCV was my first introduction to the hobby. Years back, I had no coin shops in my geographic area and I wasn't aware of Coin Trade Shows. Even the Red Book was a mystery. But I did have satellite TV! I learned a great deal about collecting coins from TCV, and looked forward to every broadcast. As time went along and my knowledge of coin collecting grew, I became more comfortable with online sellers and dealer contacts I had met. But I still watch TCV to this day, always on the lookout for that diamond in the rough. My diamond in the rough this past year was a 2016 Silver Eagle Proof from the Annual Dollar Set in PCGS PR70 I purchased from TCV early last year. Price was $199.00. I ended up selling the very same coin to an experienced eBay dealer for $999 just a few weeks later. I know I'll likely get a lot of grief for saying this, but Coin TV does at times offer special purchase bargains and exclusives. It doesn't happen very often, but they do exist. You just have to know your coins and the market for them.

    I wish to reiterate that I have no agenda when reviewing Coin TV providers. I receive no compensation whatsoever from anyone. You may perceive a write-up as positive or negative for the Coin TV provider I am featuring. But I have no bias. I just call 'em as I see 'em as a collector, dealer, and avid years-long watcher of Coin TV. Many in the Coin TV universe are filled with lying, cheating scumbags. I try to ignore the on-air BS, and there is a lot of it. In total, I've written reviews of Rick Tomaska's RCTV, HSN's The Vault, Choppers Coin Collectible Network, AVC Collectible Coins, and now The Coin Vault.

    Hope you enjoyed this "COINS - AS SEEN ON TV!" write-up and as always, I welcome any comments or questions.


    Jeff


    THE COIN VAULT REPORT CARD

    Price/Value...................B

    Selection/Variety...........A

    Honesty.......................B

    Hosts..........................B+

    Educational Value/

    Knowledgable hosts.......C+

    Customer Service..........A

    Delivery Time...............C


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    hotwheelsearl likes this.
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  3. Autoturf

    Autoturf Well-Known Member

    They sell junk, period. ok, I should give a more honest feedback, I see them sell presentation, and act like their selling rare coins that are impossible to locate, and that you will never see these prices again, when their inflated, to sell the presentation, rather than a quality coin.
     
    Ericred likes this.
  4. mikenoodle

    mikenoodle The Village Idiot Supporter

    Nearly EVERY offering that they feature is available for approximately half of what they want.

    If you think that they offer value, then I suggest you think again.

    I enjoy your articles, but I rarely agree with your viewpoints. That said, you do what you do, we need alternative points of view.
     
    Autoturf likes this.
  5. hotwheelsearl

    hotwheelsearl Well-Known Member

    Great article!!
     
    Norsk64 likes this.
  6. Collecting Nut

    Collecting Nut Borderline Hoarder

    They have to be overpriced to pay for the tv time.

    They are overpriced. Period. Not in the least bit interested in them or any other coin tv show.
     
    SmokinJoe likes this.
  7. Hookman

    Hookman Well-Known Member

    How in the world did you manage that??? Doesn't that coin have only about $15.00 worth of silver in it?
    Why would an "experienced eBay dealer" pay 5 times the price for it?
    Did you use sales tactics that you learned on CoinTV or what?

    No offense, just extremely curious.
     
    Ericred likes this.
  8. Autoturf

    Autoturf Well-Known Member

    You can buy the 2016 w proof ase, any day for under 55$, I can point anyone to them. they have a relatively low mintage, but plenty on the market to go around, as you know. So I wounder why Norski would brag on paying way too much. wait a min he lied, because an experienced dealer would have been out of business years ago if they paid that.
     
  9. Hookman

    Hookman Well-Known Member

    Your points are what I don't grasp about his statement.
     
    Autoturf likes this.
  10. Norsk64

    Norsk64 The Coin TV Critic

    Go check out the 2016-W Silver Eagle Proof Annual Dollar Set NGC PF70 and see on eBay what that $999 coin is selling for now. Only 3 listings. One for $2999/best offer, $2,000/best offer, and one in First Releases for $4,999/best offer. That is why an experienced eBay dealer would pay $999.00.

    And no, I didn't use any "sell tactics" to move that coin I had purchased at $199.00. I and the buyer looked at what was going to be hot in the hobby. We were right on!
     
    hotwheelsearl likes this.
  11. Norsk64

    Norsk64 The Coin TV Critic

    Wrong. You left out the ANNUAL DOLLAR SET, which I did mention in write-up. They are being offered on eBay for $2000, $2999, and $4999. And you call me a liar? Get your facts straight.
     
    hotwheelsearl likes this.
  12. Autoturf

    Autoturf Well-Known Member

    post the link Norsk. I think your missing something, I see some ms 70s listed burnished, from the set, but your saying proof?
     
  13. Norsk64

    Norsk64 The Coin TV Critic

    They also do a ton of volume, which helps bring costs down. I've watched them long enough to tell an overpriced coin for a fairly valued coin. They also offer exclusives not available anywhere else. Something else I look for.
     
  14. Autoturf

    Autoturf Well-Known Member

    Proof coins did not come in the set, that may be the problem here, there was a low mintage of the uncirculated dollar set, but you keep saying proof.
     
    Norsk64 likes this.
  15. Norsk64

    Norsk64 The Coin TV Critic

    I thought it was a Proof, but it could have been the burnished MS70/SP70. My mistake. The eBay prices are for the burnished, and based on the prices being asked, it had to be the burnished strike.
     
    Autoturf likes this.
  16. Autoturf

    Autoturf Well-Known Member

    Ok, there are different sets, the coins can be purchased seperatly, with that lable, your paying for. the terms, are everything when it comes to pricing and rarity.
     
  17. Autoturf

    Autoturf Well-Known Member

    No problem mate..
     
    Last edited: May 25, 2019
  18. Santinidollar

    Santinidollar Supporter! Supporter

    A polite disagreement here. They don’t sell overpriced coins to pay for TV time. They sell overpriced coins because they can.
     
    green18, SchwaVB57, Ericred and 2 others like this.
  19. Collecting Nut

    Collecting Nut Borderline Hoarder

    Basically the same thing-overpriced. :)
     
    Santinidollar likes this.
  20. Ericred

    Ericred Active Member

    I agree,
     
  21. Ericred

    Ericred Active Member

    TV coin shows are a great place to waste money, I like when they sell US mint sets for 50$ a set stating you can’t find them any cheaper, the TV coin shows are coin collectors; they collect all coin they can from the unsuspecting viewers
     
    Santinidollar likes this.
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