Okay So i know this is a touchy subject, picking up coins and turning them for a profit, but the only reason I would want to do it is so I can buy more coins. Any tips?
I'm not quite sure why it's a touchy subject. Perhaps it's the dividing line between the pure "collector" and the "dealer." In any case, it's a matter of knowledge. Know your series, know your grades, know your varieties. Basically, unless you're looking for long-term growth, profit lies in knowing something the other guy doesn't know. Whether he doesn't care to know, because he's making a profit anyway (which is usually the case) or just missed something, that's your opportunity to make some cheddar.
Hm...very true, I kind of never thought of that where do they get these coins so cheap that they can sell them just under book/current value and still make a profit, the only potential way I see any of my coins paying of is 20 to 30 years from now
If you can grade you can make money with overgraded AND undergraded coins as well as pick up some primo coins from others who aren't as good at grading. Unfortunately, I am not a good grader and need more practice.
I am probably the worst grader ever, I either overgrade or undergrade...so when buying whatever I think the grade is, if the price doesn't match two grades down I don't buy it lol. Like if i think something is AU50, and the asking price is equivalent to VF-20 I would consider buying it lol
THat sounds like a good way to get problem coins. Real AU coins usually get around AU money, not VF money. Sorry to sound so short. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. With the over and undergraded coins comment, that was based on slabbed coins. It does also apply to raw however.
Well, turning profits on coins is hard It can be done, quite well, when buying stuff, at retail, and normally the higher price range the lower it'll fall Things at Heritage sell for fractions of what retail is, and under wholesale too But most of those coins are in the hundreds to thousand dollar range...So if you want a big profit on a coin, that is the way to go Always be careful, like thenoost said, if it is too good to be true, it usually is Don't get down that you are not good at grading, it is something that can never be mastered, and our best shot, is coming close to mastering one series! Grading takes time and patience I don't know if it is wise, to be trying to flip profits on coins, when you can not grade that accurately, and need assistance on purchases (not trying to offend, just giving my personal opinion, if I were you, I'd stick to just saving up money, until you can afford the coins you want, and maybe selling some coins, that you don't want for the extra cash)
Then you aren't ready to do this - also you need to learn as much as you can about problem and fake coins. Learn how to spot cleaned coins, and then learn more. Once you have a basic understanding of those, you will be closer to being ready. Now I've been collecting for a few years....I think 8+, and in those 8 years I've really only done what you are talking about twice, and I haven't sold the 2nd one yet First was a 1926-S Nickel in a PCI Slab graded F-15. I looked at it and noticed that it was a weakly struck coin and should have graded VF. This was back when a F was going for $100 and VF for around $400. I bought it at $120 and sent it to NGC where it came back as VF20. I later sold it to DLRC for around $320 (IIRC). The next coin is a 1962-D Half Dollar - I bought it as part of a roll for spot (so back then...about $5/coin) and thought it looked REALLY nice and sent it to NGC. It came back as an MS65FBL. Last time I checked those were selling for around $400 as well, but since I collect these things, I'm not selling. The key to this type of thing is knowlege - On the last one I just got "lucky", but on the 1926-S it was a knowledge of the date, mintmark, and the normal strike for that date/mint that helped me make about $200. Speedy
I will echo the comment that it is very hard to buy coins from dealers and make any money. The people who do this most often are the ones who usually cherry pick varieties that dealers either don't know, or don't care about. Catching someone on a grade is usually real hard to do. Usually raw coins are over graded, and under graded certified coins usually don't last long under graded. My best advice is to specialize. Become proficient in just a series or 2. Spend time handling and grading them till your blue in the face. Then you might be able to buy a few and make money. This isn't going to be a month or 2 month thing. I have been collecting coins for over 20 years and dealing for more then 10 and I still don't have it all mastered... I'm not sure if anyone truly does.
Thanks I am not at all offended that you guys are kind of discouraging me from buying for a profit, I agree a cannot grade, and the thing about the Au for XF was just an exaggerated example, not like the whole too good to be true THANKS
If it was easy, everybody here would be doing it to buy more coins for their collections. Including people that are excellent at grading. Everybody wants something for nothing and there's a lot of cheap people looking for 'the deal'. It's not easy selling anything when the economic times are great. Let alone now. Dealers can buy coins at wholesale from other dealers because they are in the business and gain people's respect. You can't just walk in off the street and get in that ring. It's enough of a challenge for the average person to buy a coin that they could get their money back out of. Let alone make a quick profit on it. The time investment it would take wouldn't be worth it to me. There are little known varieties and doubled die coins around that many people don't pay attention to but there is a small group willing to pay big money for them. Good luck finding one though. At this stage, you would probably look right over one and never know it was a DD. Some are VERY hard to notice.
I'd imagine you'd want to focus on volume and low margins. This way you buy for better prices, sell for better prices, and pickup the occassional beauty along the way (more margin). This way you aren't neccessarily waiting like a vulcher ready to grab some poor guy's coin lol and people will continue to come back. Lots of vulchers out there today IMO. Seems like this wasn't always the case, or at least if it was, it was to a lesser degree? I've had opportunities to buy coins from clueless friends and strangers for fractions of their worth but didn't because of my own standards.
