First off, please let me reintroduce myself. I've been interested in the hobby for as long as I can remember and have participated in varying degrees since childhood. Everyone talking about metals prices has reminded me how much fun I used to have with them and I've started reading up on coins again. I registered for this forum like 3 years ago and I recalled how welcoming and knowledgeable it was. I apologize for my absence, but hope to make a positive contribution down the road. Now, on to my question. What resources do you use to determine a price for a coin? When you walk into a shop and see a nice coin, it's incredibly difficult to assess whether or not a price you're quoted is fair. Resources online don't seem to be reflective of what anyone pays for coins on ebay or these mail-order sheet things in magazines. The case in point is this... I have found a lovely 1878 CC Morgan dollar with really beautiful edge toning in a PCGS MS63 holder. Various online guides say I should be prepared to pay 370-390 or some such. Ebay, teletrade, and some forum posts show prices somewhere around 260-300. So, what's closer to the real "market" price. Is there such a thing? I really like this coin, but I'm wary of overpaying. After tax, the price is somewhere around $340. Is this fair and does the extra premium over the auctions justify the ability to examine the coin in hand, etc (is that the reasoning behind the discount?). Thanks for any and all help, folks.
For your purposes, reality trumps the guides. The eBay and Teletrade selling prices reflect reality. As you thoughtfully pointed out, though, those are sometimes sight-unseen (or might as well be) coins, and they are thus treated as commodities, and therefore they often get no premium. The coin you mentioned has what you described as attractive toning. Depending on the degree of toning, this can drastically affect the price, and price guides may no longer apply. Toning can bring anywhere from no premium to many, many multiples of price guide pricing. I often pay $20-$30 for a toned coin that would be maybe a dollar or two untoned. How much do you like the toning? While resale value should be considered, the real question is, what is the coin worth to you?
+1 to this comment "While resale value should be considered, the real question is, what is the coin worth to you" If you are worried about losing money then check the prices of what this coin is SELLING for. Ebay, see what dealers are paying for that coin etc. Again though, buy what you think is worth buying, not what the price guide says its worth.
Like others have said, completed auctions are usually the best for determining the market value. I use Heritage completed listings most often.
Right-o. +1... notice you found a trading range, not a single price. That's typical. So $260-$300 is $280 +/- $20, or about 7% - which is fairly tight, but not uncommon for coins in this price range. So now, ponder why some coins sell for $20 more and others for $20 less. There are many reasons. In some cases, the range will be 30% or more.
Here's the completed listings from Heritage Search results for: 1878-CC $276 seems to be the average in the past month.
Thank you all for the constructive comments. It's definitely helping me. I'm not terribly concerned with losing money as I have no intention of trying to flip this coin. I think that the toning is very attractive, though I'd be hesitant to assign a premium beyond your stated $20-30. So, I guess it's a little bit overpriced, but in thinking about it, the "coin-in-hand' factor might be pushing it over the top. I'm glad I didn't impulse buy it, but a photo could certainly show up here some time doon
I too agree with the use of on line auctions for reality in prices. There are so many price guides out there and none really are worth anything except a guide to an approximate, possible, maybe, price on a coin. There is the Red Book being made a year ahead making it redicuous in prices. There is the PCGS web site bloated up to make people send in more coins. There are many, many other sites with coin prices such as the numersous on line dealers. Again, none really make a realistic price on coins since that could change almost daily pending the likes and dislikes of people for a certain coin or type. When I go to coin shows I carry with a list of coins I need, want, like, etc. I place a maximum price I'm willing to pay based on what I've seen on ebay, Heritage and several other web sites. I then attempt to haggle down those prices and if not, I just pass on that coin. You mentioned taxes on the coins. Not sure where your at but in Illinois there is no taxes on coins that I know of.
Good old NYC My office is a couple blocks from Stacks... that's where I'm looking at this coin. Anyways, I think that NYC imposes sales tax on coins. The $315 price ex-tax isn't too bad, but that extra $25 makes me pause.
