Hey all, I'm new to the forum and new to coin collecting again (like many, I was a collector as a kid and now I'm back since I graduated college). Since I now have some money to play with coins, I would like to realize a dream that I had when I was a kid and buy some sort of type gold coin. I would prefer one of the last designs of any of the denmoinations. Where should I look to buy? Is there any denom/dates that offer some sort of bargain (long shot I know due to commodities market)? Once I obtain the coin where should I keep it?
Howdy Tom - Welcome to the Forum !! You say you'd prefer one of the last designs for the gold coin you are looking for. I'm going to assume that means an Inidan or a St. Gaudens. But many of these can be rather expensive in better grades, even the smaller denominations. But if you can me some idea of how much money you'd like to spend, I might be able to make some helpful suggestions
Those are the designs that I have been interested in. I was thinking that I should start with perhapsa quarter eagle (indian) and I was looking to spend less than $300. Thanks for the help!
Tom - Welcome to the Forum! US gold coins are great items to collect. I would suggest looking at some of the auction sites. I prefer Teletrade.com. There's also Heritage and several others. Teletrade holds auctions three times per week or so. You can go there and look at the $2.5 or $5 Indian gold pieces and watch their prices for a bit. Also, get yourself a copy of the Redbook and check it out. It's got tons of good information in it. Once you feel comfortable enough to think you know about what to pay for a certain coin, bid on it and have fun! Oh, and you won't get the St. Gaudens $20 for $300. You can probably get an AU graded example of a $2.5 or $5 Indian for around $300, give or take a bit, or maybe a low MS example (60, 61). A common date $2.5 Indian in AU58 or so should definitely be less than $300 (low to mid $200's I would think). I would suggest buying a graded and slabbed coin (by NGC, PCGS, ANACS, or ICG) for your first purchases as well.
I agree with tcore, a 1/4 or 1/2 eagle is your best bet for that money. You should be able to get a common date one in fairly nice condition. And definitely buy a slabbed example - NGC, PCGS, ANACS or ICG.
Ok, I checked Teletrade tonight and I bit. I didn't think I was going to win my first auction, but I did! I am somewhat worried that I overpaid a little bit, but since this is something that I have wanted since I was a kid, I think I'll get over it. Is $345 with buyers premium and shipping maybe a little too much for a 1909D $5 AU55 PCGS? I know the mintage is ridiculously high, but the coin is in nice shape. Thanks for any opinions.
Not sure of where you live but you should have first checked out if there are any coin shows in your area. You could have done that by using the web or a local newspaper. Coin web sites like this one or others such as PCGS or NGC could give you some coin show listings. Also, on sites like PCGS there is a coin list of prices, however, it's a little high. Going to a decent coin show would be a little like going to a car show where there are numerous items to compare in prices and conditions and denominations. Here in Illinois I just typed in Illinois coin shows and found at least 2 coin shows a month. Buying over the net, auctions such as ebay, etc are really ricky. Some come out good and some don't. Wecome aboard
If you like the coin don't worry about it....I'm not a collector of gold so I can't say for sure if you overpaid or not. But the way most collectors look at a buy is if they like the coin and have the money they will pay OVER list price to get it. The thing to watch when bidding on this online auctions is the Buyers Premium. If the coin is worth $100 and buyers prenium is 10% then you only bid $90....and so on....just take this into account when bidding and you will do fine. Speedy
Tom, I got on Teletrade and checked out the coin you bought. Congratulations! It's a great looking coin! I think ya done alright for your first time out.
