Buy loose coins online question

Hello there, this is my first post here and I'm glad I found this forum. I posted this same question on the Open Forum and then figured out that there weren't many visitors there, so I'll try it here too.

My very modest collection goes back to when I was a kid. I bought my first proof set from the US Mint in 1959 when I was 13 years old and have at least one set from each year since. I also have uncirculated sets, Standing Liberty Dollar proofs, and some other odds and ends. I also started a few albums way back when but have many empty holes to fill in; Lincoln pennies, Jefferson nickels, Roosevelt dimes and Washington quarters.

What is the best (cheapest) online dealer to buy loose coins? I have visited a few of them but when they ask $1.95 for a 15¢ coin I know I need to look elsewhere. TIA

 

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There are quite a few good online dealers. Of course the problem with purchasing inexpensive coins online is the postage. It really eats up the money.

Let me make a few recommendations. First -- a local coin club may be a far better place to purchase circulated coins that are lower priced. You save postage costs and get to know a lot of really nice people. If you don't belong to a local club -- please give one a try.

Sites like this and another www.coinpeople.com , are great places to make online friends and to trade. I'd post a want list by coin type on each of these sites. Ask people to PM you with a trade or sale offer. Usually you want to put WTB:WTT as the first part of the heading.

Online dealers: One of my favorites is Cybercoins. They have a wide range of coins from very inexpensive to rather costly. I've always been treated well by them. Their website is
www.cybercoins.com.

The other site that I'd try is George Olmstead's site. www.go-coins.com. George is a great guy. He belongs to our local club and always seems to have great prices. Tell him that Art from Ocala Coin Club sent you. His online inventory isn't the most extensive so you may want to send a want list.

And my last recommendation is to try some smaller local coin shows. They're great places to dig through bargain boxes and find lots of neat coins.

Good luck. Please let me know if I can help you in any way.

 

When looking for a dealer, cheapest should not always be your first search. There are many dealers (not all) that will sell you coins cheaply that have been harshly cleaned or have other problems. When looking for a dealer, look at all aspects of their site. Shipping and handling, returns, and most importantly, guarantees. Also, ask about lower priced coins or group lots in an email to them. As a web dealer, I can tell you first hand it is not always cost effective to list lower priced items. It is not that the dealers do not have them, or sell them. Develope a relationship with your dealer. This will ensure you access to coins that one time customers will never know about. Fill out wantlist forms for the coins that you are looking for in the price range that fits your budget. Local shops and shows are a great place to start searching. Coin clubs are always a wise choice. Asking friends and other collectors is also wise. The ANA ([http://anamarket.money.org/linklist.html) has a dealer website page. Lastly, be patient in your search. Just as with coins, knowledge about your dealer will go a long ways to benefitting you in this hobby.

 

Thanks for your help, I found two clubs near me and I just ordered new albums and a Red Book. i have another question, where do dealers get new issue coins? One dealer near me gets new coins and sells by the each, for instance, he sells state quarters for $1 each. I see at the US Mint site they have MI rolls for two for $32, is that how he comes by them? But I don't see other coins for sale at US Mint. Please explain how it works, say I'd like to buy one roll of dimes P & D, one roll of nickels, etc.?

 

The two rolls of MI that the Mint is offering is one roll of P - Philadelphia and one roll of D - Denver. The dealer may have purchased his from the mint. More than likely the dealer has a relationship with a bank that gets the new quarters. You can probably establish a similar relationship. The banks in my town that do this only require that you be an account holder with them.

As for rolls of other coins like 1, 5, 10 cents-- I'd be surprised if he had a big supply yet. They're just starting to make the rounds. Again, a good local bank can be a great source.

Half dollars and dollar coins will probably only be available through the mint again this year. Two rolls, one P & one D for xx.xx dollars.

Your bank will probably only get the mint that is predominent for your part of the country. For example on the east coast P coins are far more common. You may have to find a trading partner on the opposite coast. Try forums such as this or www.coinpeople.com to find traders.

Have fun and good luck.

 

Also, many dealers have good working relationships with each other. In other words they will sell wholesale to each other.

 

Judging by your posts here at COINTALK I would say a good place to start might be http://www.midatlanticcoins.com/ I would certainly trust you as a coin dealer,as you show the best quality that any person can have, you care. That's the best anyone can hope for in my opinion. You've shown it here,by the long informative answers,not once were the member's mislead in any way. Now I don't know you personally and I have never purchased anything from your company. Still,your taking the time to help others deserves a big thumbs up! I'm glad to have you with us here at COINTALK keep up the good work! ~ Jim

 

Jim,
I must agree with you. National dealer speaks more like a passionate collector, than a coin dealer.
I don't know the gentleman either, but he has certainly given excellent advice since I have been reading his posts.

 

Thank you gentlemen. I must admit that I will always be a collector at heart. My collection is only what we have in stock at any given time. This is because I feel that rare coins should be shared with all. Now into the deep dark secrets of how we (dealers) obtain most of our modern stock. The mint is one source, but often over priced. Yes it is true that we have several dealer only networks that dealers can actively trade among ourselves. Personally here at our company, our largest source of Statehood quarters come directly from the armored car companies. We can purchase large quantities at face value. This also includes the other minor coinage as well. Banks are a limited source as they usually do not receive more than a standard brick of quarters. ($500) There are several internet sources that we have seen that allow collectors to swap quarters with each other. This allows those on each side of the country to obtain the other mints. We also obtain very large quantities of mint and proof sets. 95% of these are broke up into individual coins. They are sold at an additional premium. Further, a lot of these coins will be sent to a grading service for certification. This allows us to serve collectors on both end of the spectrum. The best source that we have is the general public. Every collector should make a friend at their local bank, grocery store, gas station, and favorite resturant. All of these places receive large amounts of change and most do not have anyone on their staff that is familiar with numismatics. It will allow you to obtain numerous star notes, occasional silver coins, and sometimes even an error coin or note. Share your hobby with as many people as you can. It is often that coin collectors keep their hobby a secret. Don't. This is such a wonderful hobby with many great people involved. I keep low end coins in my pocket to give as tips to the staff at these above mentioned businesses. A Indian Head Cent, or Mercury Dime will go a long ways to help them remember you.

 

This is all good information. I just ordred a Greysheet, what's a rule of thumb on dealer mark-up?

I pretty much struck out at my bank, one branch said they don't order coin and another branch wasn't very cooperative, if they aren't getting a fee for it they can't be bothered. Too bad the head teller isn't a coin collector.

I tried looking for armored car service but I think they are purposely not in the phone book or list an address online. It would be nice to walk into their office and ask for a few rolls.

Unless you know somebody that works for a place that gets new rolled coins all the time any other suggestions? I'd like to get them at face value, after all, we're really only borrowing them from uncle sam.

 

There are no hard and fast rules for dealer mark up. A lot of factors go into it. After all the expenses, (There are a lot of them) 20% is an average. Try your local super market or 7-11 for rolls of the state quarters. Armored car companies sell to dealers in an average amount of 3 to 4 thousand dollars in quarters. So that may not be an option for you.

 

One more note:

The most common reason that most dealers charge $1 or more for 15 cent coins go into the process of the getting the coin ready for sale. Once a dealer receives an inventory, all coins are sorted and placed in flips. On average it will cost a dealer about 50 cents to place a coin in a flip. So when you see coins selling for less than that, it should be considered a bargain. Now as I mentioned earlier, if you have been dealing with a dealer, call or email them about the lower priced coins. We (dealers) all have them. A regular customer will always be rewarded with such service if they ask for it. Not to mention that it is good for the dealer to make room for other coins. I hope that you are successful in your quest for your quarters.

 

I guess somehow I gave the impression that I was looking for state quarters in particular. I'm sorry for the confusion, as a matter of fact, my rentry into collecting is not solely for the new state quarters. But their introduction did prompt to to get back in after about thirty years absence. My wife started collecting them and the she started two albums and then I retired an coins always interested me when I was a kid, so here I am. I actually started out as a Boy Scout to earn a merit badge. But I always got the proof sets, glad I did. What i want to do now is complete the collections I started as a kid. Lincoln cents, Jefferson nickels, Roosevelt dimes, Washington quarters. BTW, what I have is found in my change, I never actually bought a coin to put in my albums. Unfortunately, I have thirty years of catching up to do not to mention the blanks already existing.

 

Many dates and mintmarks aren't to be found in circulation anymore.
However, that doesn't mean you can't buy them at a reasonable price.
One good way to purchase circulated common date coins, is to buy them in lots. You often get better pricing, and you don't wind up spending as much on S&H.

 

You did not mention if the coins you are seeking should be Unc's or circulated. If circulated is fine, try purchasing a bag at your bank. Spend the weekend searching for the coins needed, and then on Monday return the not needed coins to another branch. This can be as fun as searching through wheats and only cost you what you keep. If I know that I will be spending my weekend at home snowed in, I will purchase a block of quarters to go through. I may only keep $1 worth. Now I got to look through 2000 coins for the price of a soda. This works fantasticly with Jeffersons. The design has not changed since 38 and with the exception of the war years neither has the composition. Many early dates can be found searching through bank rolls. Give it a try, and maybe you will get lucky.

 

I would recommend finding a local coin shop,or try a large flea market nearby,where coin dealer's might be found.After you've read up a little and grown comfortable with the hobby,places like Ebay and Yahoo auctions offer readily available material. Other main stream auctions like Heritage and Bowers & Merina offer more expensive material for the advanced collector.Coins are readily available over the internet today,good luck in your search! We're always ready to help if you have any more questions. ~ Jim

 

Hi there, I'm getting more and more into it. I just got my new albums and a 2004 Red Book and a Greysheet 2/13/04 issue. Can you tell me how to use the references? For instance, I need proof sets from 1936-1958. In the Greysheet 1958 bid/ask is 62.00-68.00, Red Book current value is 40.00. Most of the other years are pretty close in value between the two. I'm using proof sets as an example because most of the subjectiveness is taken out of the equation. So how does the Greysheet work in regards to bid/ask? And I need about thirty years of 1¢ 5¢ 10¢ 25¢ because I stopped my albums in early '70,s.

 

The Red Book is published once a year with retail values that were compiled throughout that previous year. It is used more as a reference guide than an actual price guide. The information contained is a fabulous source for mintages and designers and that sort of thing. The Greysheet on the other hand is a wholesale price guide designed specifically for dealers. It gives us a base line to offer on coins and sets. (buying and selling) Being published once a week, with additional monthly supplements, it is the most up to date guide. Using the 1958 proof set per your example, current trends put the retail value at $60 to $85. The current greysheet bid is still $62 and $68. This tells me as a dealer that if offered this particular set, I should offer $62 to buy the set. (Taking into consideration my inventory). I would then offer the set for sale at $75. This is a standard of about 20%. A break down of the greysheet is listed at the bottom of front page, and above each following column in the newsletter. You should expect to pay 10 to 15 percent above any ask price listed in the greysheet.

 

Thanks for the tip I will get that book, buy the book first, then buy the coin. I have seen the sets you mention in the plastic holders and I took a pass on them. I would only buy sets in the original envelope, original celophane, with the cardboards and the piece of paper; preferably unopened. The unopened will be very hard to come by from what I've seen at dealer's inventory. And I also look for envelopes that someone hasn't written on. Looking over what I need, they do get pricy. From '58-'52 are not too bad, but then the price climbs on a straight line up. I'm also need a '61, somehow I missed getting that one, probably didn't have the money at the time. My entire proof collection was purchased one at a time, one per year, by me from the mint starting in 1959, so I have a pretty good head start. I definately need to get educated on how to spot a fake.