found an envelope full of nice surprises

This is such a tough question to answer due to the fact we've seen two of these coins. If I were a dealer, I'd be very happy to get $100 out of some stock I paid $50-$60 for and would settle for $85.

 

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You are overgeneralizing, at least in regards to Lib gold. This cannot be said about every coin in the series.

 

I know this may sound harsh but nothing in that list is considered "key" or sem-key date. Also, VF to XF is not really that high of a grade, truth be told. There's also barely any silver content to this batch you've listed to give it a boost in that way. I am not surprised by the dealer's offer. What were you hoping to get?

I think Merc is probably in the ball park with the 50 to $60 estimate. I think you'd be hard pressed to get much more. Just to be honest. Ebay/paypal will take a 12% cut on top of it if you go that route.

 

One of the hazzards of being a novice is not understanding the difference between what they think of as little wear and what a dealer thinks of as little wear. Novices have seen very few coins of that age and the ones he has seen are usually AG-G AND/OR damaged. So to them a VF coin looks almost new. A dealer has seen hundreds or thousands and only the nicest ones stand out in his memory.

Now if the 3 cent piece really looks that much better in person than the photo, then you now know why many will not even try to estimate the grade from photos. But if the dealer let you walk out without upping the offer, then I suspect the grade will be toward the lower end of the range suggested. A truly devious dealer wouldn't let the cash slip away without upping the price.

 

Yes I was over generalizing. I'm sure not every Liberty head gold coins price is off in PCGS guide. I have just yet to find one that was accurate is all. Same with roosies, Kennedys, Washingtons and Morgans.