Does anyone else wonder if Byzantine copper coins really sell at prices asked on vcoins and US eBay? Yesterday I used this search engine http://www.holdinghistorycoins.com/coinwall/ to find Byzantine coins on eBay. It yielded about 5000 current photos, not all of which were actually Byzantine coins, but most were. Few were unusual in any way, either condition or scarcity. Nevertheless, most prices began at $29 or $49 and many were far higher. I infer that we should not regard US eBay as primarily an auction site, rather a place to list coins at high--effectively fixed--prices. Then, if a potential buyer, or another seller, looks around to see what coins are "worth", the typical high list prices may make everyone feel "That is what they cost." It may be what they cost, but does anyone buy them? There is a vcoins seller with many nice Byzantine coppers who seems to think any reasonable Byzantine copper is worth 59 euros or more. I don't agree. I wonder if they just sit there waiting for non-existent customers. I have a page of Byzantine coins: http://augustusmath.hypermart.net/Byzantine.html The rate at which they sell indicates to me that eBay Byzantine coppers are almost all significantly overpriced compared to a level at which they have a good chance of actually selling. If you collect Byzantine coins, you must have an opinion about coin prices. I ask those of you with an interest in Byzantine coins, do you think current asking prices reflect an active market? -- Warren
I have bought only 1 byzantine coin on ebay and it was a coin I felt the price was OK when I compared other examples. I dont focus much on byzantine copper but would love too. I do get alot of my coins on ebay and I do find the byzantine coppers to be overpriced, even some of the ones that are bid auctions I get floored. Other I have, have been bought on vcoins and some other dealers.
Byzantines are harder to price because most of the real rarities in the series are pug-ugly. Beginners may see a rare ruler or variety and be easy to convince that a much better looking common coin is a bargain at the same price. I am not interested in the rarities (really - you can't collect everything) so I only buy Byzantines that look half decent and are cheaper than most we see. Since I neither understand nor appreciate the special values assigned to some items, I don't pay for them. It is not just a matter of Byzantine. I can not help thinking that half of the dealers we see offering coins were set up to make it look like someone else's coins were worth more. If we are looking for a specific coin that has sold in the past for $50 but now see a bunch offered for $100, many might be convinced that $75 is a bargain. There has always been the theory that it is better to sell fewer coins for really high prices because it saves having to replenish stock. If you have a big show coming up and expect to see collectors waiving cash, there is nothing worse than having nothing to sell. I would like to see more statistics published after auctions on how many lots failed to sell because of their high reserves. I bought three coins in the recent Pecunem sale but would have bought three 'unsold' others except their reserves plus fees and postage scared me off. (the ones I skipped came before the ones I bought so I was fearing having to pay as much postage as I was for the coin if it turned out to be the only win.) I wonder if others were interested in the coins but not at that price, if no one else cared or if they might even have sold for more but no one wanted to be the first to bid.
Funny ... ummm, while we're speakin' of Byzantines ... => I bought this coin a couple of years ago and I think that it rocks ... but I have yet to find very many other coins like it ... Curious, was it actually one of my better purchases, or am I merely missing all of the other similar coin postings? (thanks Valentinian)
http://augustusmath.hypermart.net/Byzantine.html hey, i bought a couple of coins of there. i haven't been actively byzantine shopping, but haven't noticed prices on ebay being any more or less wacky than usual. but i usually just stick to the auctions.
