Looking for ideas for the best auction house for world coins. eBay isn't an option. I know all about Great Collections and David Lawrence but I am not sure they are the right venue for these to coins. They're 1970s coins that are now top pops where both series had lower graded examples sell on Heritage for about $400 each two years ago. The problem with Heritage would be that I simply don't have enough to have any leverage with them and I don't believe they would be interested in such a small consignment so I am looking for other ideas.
Not really, as that would cross the line regarding the forum rules. We allow posts like the OP's in order to help people. But when specifics about the coins are posted, or pics of the coins are posted, it then becomes an ad and that is not allowed. And offers to buy the coins are not allowed either. The OP asked his question correctly, and no specifics about the coins are required for others to help answer the man's question. If you think you know of an auction venue that you think would be helpful to him - fine, tell him what it is.
Is it illegal to sell Cuban coins in the U.S.? I wonder because I never see them up for auction on U.S. sites, only European ones.
To import them it is. If they're already here it isn't. It is against eBay rules though because they don't want to deal with figuring out what is and isn't illegal so they just ban everything from certain countries As far as auction sites you can see past sales of them on Heritage, Great Collections, David Lawrence, many dealer websites etc but eBay and PayPal have them banned
I didn't know that he was offering to sell us his coins. It seems he was only asking us for advice as to where to sell his coins. As for Cuba coins, I buy them all the time on eBay, and search for them, and kinda like them. The US more or less normalized relations with Cuba some years ago. I'm no Cuban coin expert, but I'm also unaware of any Cuban coins worth $400 each, unless there must be something special about them. (MS, Gold, etc.) That's why I wanted to see pics, so as to see such coins. BTW, here's a thread from our own site just last year. did-they-relax-the-law-on-post-revolution-cuban-coins.321462 Thanks.
The embargo is still in full effect. They're banned on eBay and more importantly PayPal really comes down on you if they figure out what it was. It's not worth the risk trying to break their policies
No offense, but I don't know how hard it would be for eBay to figure out that a coin described as Cuban would be from Cuba. Do you personally know anyone that PayPal really came down on?? I don't. Personally, I think both PayPal and eBay are more interested in making money than they are in enforcing any governmental regulation that the government itself doesn't seem to care about. Many times a stated policy is simply that : a stated policy, for the record. Laxly enforced, if at all. Either way, I bid on them and buy them when I see them.
There's countless stories of them suspending/nuking accounts and freezing the money and reporting you to the government even-though you did nothing wrong. Just google it, it's happened to a ton of people even ones that didn't sell through eBay
To answer the OP's question I would recommend Great Collections, Heritage or CNG. GC is known for the quickest results (money from the sale of said items). Just make sure you set a minimum bid!!
Just a question. If it is legal for US citizens to holiday in Cuba, would it then not be possible, and legal, to purchase Cuban Coins, ancient or modern, in Cuba ?
I never said he was. As I said - All I was doing was trying to explain what members could not do, and why. And why no pictures needed to be posted.
Great Collections very likely isn't the right venue for these. Heritage the consignment is way to small to be an option and CNG as far as I know is mostly for ancients. You can purchase Cuban coins while in Cuba, but you have to convert them back before you come back. Bringing any back is illegal in any amount and will be confiscated upon return to the US, depending on the amount you may also be charged with a crime.
Charged with a crime for bringing back Cuban coins ? I thought that, in the post-Castro era, relations between the two countries had improved somewhat. Anyway, without bringing too much politics into Coin Talk, Batista wasn't, exactly, a very nice guy.
