Franklin set....What's it worth?

Firstly, this set is not for sale on this forum. It's a full set of the series in a Whitman album, 35 coins. A friend of mine owns it and is looking to sell it to me. I hope this doesn't break any rules.

He claims it is a BU set, but to my eye only about half the coins have any luster. Three or four coins look like they may have been pulled from circulation at an early stage. About six coins have some spotting....errr...toning. Only one coin comes close to FBL, nahhh, not really.

He claims to have bought it from Stack's... (see the catalogue tag photo). So, the set has some pedigree....maybe.

I know my photos aren't the best, but I did not want to dismantle the book. The one page I show is representative of the collection. T

What would you pay for it? Ballpark.

 

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From what I can see in your images, I'd be cautious about relaying your posted thoughts to your "friend". A cursory view indicates that he may have truly purchased what might be graded by modern TPG standards as "BU". However it appears that the set may not meet your approaching "GEM" standards.

I would recommend for the relationship sake that you just decline a purchase, rather than insult your "friend"/associate.

The set is worth what 2 parties are willing to agree, which may not be possible in this event. A possible "comp" is as shown in this current link:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Complete-Se...627191?hash=item3d347d3a37:g:2bEAAOSw3v5YtPLu

JMHO

 

Based upon the photo, the 1954 and 1958 halves are not "brilliant", but they may be uncirculated. It is not possible to give you a ballpark price without more detailed photos of all the coins, both obverse and reverse, but the range might be $350.00 to $650.00.

 

Greysheet says 700 BU; 235 circulated. I bought an estate that had a set from, I think, Littleton's. It was listed as BU but the more expensive BU dates were not unc., more like xf-au. It can be difficult buying from friends. Experience over the past 50 years has taught me that many times people don't have what they think they have because they did not get what they thought they were buying. I agree that it might be better to pass than to lose a friend.

 

Thanks for the input so far. I appreciate the warnings.

 

I never buy coins from friends (unless I really, really need or like them) that are not coin collectors. They ALWAYS think that the coins they have are worth more than they are. My daughter asked me to dispose of what charitably might be called a coin collection for a friend of hers whose husband had passed on. I brought it to a coin club meeting and the members helped by buying approximately 90% of the "collection" at above Red Book valuation to help her out.

I bought the remainder, and gave them to my grandson who is a budding coin collector. My daughter later told me her friend was greatly disappointed at the money she got, her husband had bragged numerous times concerning the value of his "coin collection". Lesson learned, no good deed goes unpunished..

 

I've got all my coins listed on spreadsheets with their approximate "retail" value. My heirs know that when the time comes to sell them they will be lucky to get 60% of the retail value if sold as a lot. If they take the time to piece them out they could do much better, but I don't see that happening.

 

I agree with what others have said about buying coins from friends. It might be best if you just refer your friend to a dealer that will give them a fair appraisal & fair money.

Sorry, I don't have my gray sheet with me to look up prices. As I recall, there is a gray sheet price listed for the entire Franklin set in MS60-63. In 2011 I paid that bid price for a set in a Capital holder. Someone had spent time selecting nice examples when assembling the set. As I recall, a BU 1949-D or 51-D with full bell lines can easily double the value of the whole set. Therefore, I can't really estimate what your set is worth without seeing the details more clearly.

Here are photos depicting the set I purchased for MS60-63 bid:

 

Is it me, or does every coin in collect89s set look to have been (over)dipped?

 

I don't get that sense at all.

 

Maybe. Perhaps I was over-dipped when I took the photos.

The set resides on the wall behind the bar in my rec room. I see it often (not that I drink a lot or anything). The set never struck me as over dipped. It's just a nice UNC set with a few really nice coins in it. Here is the original thread at CT:
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/co...ht-his-franklin-half-set.164007/#post-1134251

 

The reason I said that is because if you look at the surfaces of all of the coins, (not just some) they are all blast white and have a somewhat bumpy (grainy) appearance to the fields as well as the devices.

I see this feature on many coins that have been improperly or over-dipped.

I am not saying that they absolutely have, but it seems that they may have been.

 

I'll look at them closely tonight. I might even pour myself a drink.

 

pour me one too!

 

Franklin Sets in uncirculated condition, are going for approximately $650. I have a set in a Dansco Album and I was offered that amount from two different Dealers at my club's last Coin Show. I was selling off the collection of a friend who had passed away, for his wife. If the Franklin set is Gem uncirculated, the price can go up to $800 to $900. The key coin in the set is the 1955, that's what the dealers gave the most attention to, then they looked for full bell lines on the reverse. All the coins were BU so toning had no effect on the price none of the coins had any.

Hope this helps. Also keep in mind that a set is worth what a Buyer is willing to pay for it. Just look at the sale prices for a particular coin on eBay and you'll see that the prices are all over the place. Right Buyer at right time means a good price.

 

Thanks again everyone.

 

Just an aside, and no intention of hijacking OP's thread, but what would a circulated set go for? Lets say, between XF and AU?

 

I can tell you that if I brought a set like that into my lcs he would treat it as junk silver. I often buy franklin halves from him, most are XF, many are AU, most recently paid $13.75 times face. I bet he wouldn't pay more than $12.25 times. In fact, I have bought sets from him in Whitman folders where we just rip the coins out of the folder to make the sale more compact.

 

Check for the 1955 "Bugs Bunny" variety.The Red Book doesn't list it and it's not a super rare variety, but it's pretty funny to see, at least.

 

I'll purchase all of the XF-AU sets you can deliver for 13.75 times face. In my opinion that is a ludicrous pronouncement. Please don't offend your friend with that offer/statement.

JMHO