Buying expensive coins

I believe the majority, including myself are apprehensive about paying the offered prices for other than the highest mintage coins of a type.

I'll send a strong 4 figure sum today to a dealer who has a system that promptly delivers from his stock.

His coins are normally received within a week from my sending a certified payment.

His negotiated certified top tier TPG prices are ~twice my sale price for an identical raw BU Gold coin, but raw anything, including cash, is believed becoming a devalued holding.

I bring equipment for raw product authenticity evaluation, but most bring their own.

I still trust authenticity of the purchased top tier TPG theoretically encapsulated product.

My current eBay episode is questioning my decisions, where I believe the externally applied CAC bean isn't authentic.

The seller sent a tracking number and didn't deliver to a USPS facility.

I readily have buyers for anything raw, proven authentic Gold pre-1933 product that I want to sell.

I limit the individuals' purchase quantity.

Every individual should evaluate their purchases/trades in the current seemingly rapidly changing environment.

My Grandson was killed last week by gun-shot, just being in a wrong place unprepared.

Be prepared!

JMHO

 

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Thanks, but I thought you were selling LARGE CENTS. That's my OPINION/UNDERSTANDING!

 

Oh, Rich, I'm so sorry.

 

Very sorry to hear this. My condolences go with you and all the family.

 

The sad Irony is that my Grandsons' older sister was killed on the night she graduated from college.

My daughter bought 2 contiguous grave sites for her daughter and herself to eventually be side by side for eternity.

Investigators informed my daughter that her son can't be cremated because they may need his corpse for prosecution evidence.

My daughter will need to bury her 21 year old son in her intended grave next to her daughter.

The Ultimate Irony is they couldn't bury my Grandson because of the reincarnation festivities of Jesus.

She and her mother are now "Border-Line"

SAD!!!

JMHO

 

So sorry, my condolences!

 

I had the struggle, but when I was young, I put aside some much money a month and waited for the right items to come along. At that time, I was concentrating on the type coins from 1793 to 1807. I would buy only a couple major a coins a year. After a few years, I had really nice group of early coins, but I was young and had a lot of patience.

The trouble with buying really expensive coins is that mistakes can cost you a lot of money. That's why you should start slowly, learn how to grade and then learn how certain issues of coins look. That takes a lot of study. You can learn a lot from your experience with the more common dates.

Some collectors say, "Buy the key dates first because they are most likely to go up in value." That's great if (1) you know how to grade and spot problems and (2) you run into the right pieces right away. The rarer a coin is, the harder it is to do that.

I wish that third party grading holders could solve that problem, but they don't always do it. CAC is a further refinement, but I can tell you that it's not perfect either.

It really comes down to priorities. If you concentrate on one series, chances are you will know more than most dealers. If you have the talent and the passion, you might know a lot more.

Having not seen the 1921 half dollar that attracts you, I can't say anything about how good it might be. White surfaces on a circulated coin are not always good. They are sometimes not that good on a Mint State coin. Finding a good mentor is great. I had a few dealers and older collectors who helped me along the way. If you find one them, take advantage of it.

 

not sure what you meant by your message. Just tried to make a point about the difference between selling an expensive coin vs selling not so expensive stuff. Sorry about your grandson.

 

A friend kind of brought it home to me when he said, "So, it takes money to buy money?" Yep, and it can get expensive. If some told met in my youth that I would be paying hundreds for a nickel or dime, I would have told them they were crazy, but here I am, being crazy.

 

A few years back I was traveling in the mountains with my boy and we stopped at a roadside joint for refreshments.... I spotted a gumball machine that dispensed coins for fifty cents. I was excited and went to the cashier to change a few dollars into quarters. He was a young fellow and started shaking his head and saying, I'll never understand why people will spend fifty cents to get a nickel.... That's OK, I gleefully dropped several bucks into that gumball machine that day.

 

I can't be the only one here that is old enough to remember the "good $100. car".

 

"My Grandson was killed last week by gun-shot, just being in a wrong place unprepared." I am very sorry to hear that.

 

I was just being facetious, taking my mind away from reality. You said: Just my "two cents." instead of my "opinion", thus the "Large Cents" joking statement.

Hopefully, I trust you'll pardon a demented Old Man!

 

Hello Mr. Mac,
I think you can still purchase reliable transport for $4K as the 1997 Ford Explorer I continue driving was bought for only $4K over 20 years ago...Just gotta be careful....AND Lucky!
J.T.

 

gotcha! no pardon necessary

 

I'm of a similar mindset, but my struggle comes from the potential opportunity cost of using the saved money. If I buy something I like now, there's always the risk of running into something I want even more after the money is spent. I just spent a fair amount on a bunch of Japanese Pre-Meiji coins and used up most of my designated "coin money", despite there being a lot of auctions coming up with ancients I am interested in. So now I run the risk of missing an ancient I wanted even more (if the price doesn't go into the stratosphere). This is always my biggest struggle, opportunity cost.

 

Just give yourself a personal Stimulus Check that does not have to be paid back. Everybody is doing it. You have a God-given Right to be stimulated.

Modern problems, modern solutions.
YW

 

Heck no. In high school I had a friend who would change his opinion on what to offer on a car depending on what the gas gauge said. For a few years I don't think he paid over $100 for a car, but he was getting Vegas, pintos, AMC gremlins, etc.

 

From the 25 years or so I have followed ancient auctions, I would say buy what you can when you can. Getting paralyze with what you might be able to buy in a coming up auction is a very good way to not buy coins. There are always auctions coming up you dream of them going cheaply, etc, then they go higher and you see another auction coming up. I regret not buying what I could at the time more so than having spent too much at an auction. I still have nightmares about lots I let slip away because I was distracted by upcoming lots/auctions.

 

That's not a struggle I've ever had and honestly no one really should. Everyone should collect within their means with disposable income only. Its one thing to stretch and bit and be like okay I cant go to the bar or out to eat for a while but no one should be stretching to the point that its an uncomfortable level and your stuck on ramen. You can always just save up longer if something like that is a dream coin so that when you do make the purchase everything else is in order still

I would add though that stretching to that extent, most people will end up getting buyers remorse wondering what they just did and very likely would lose money if they tried to sell it any time soon