Just starting with coins! What are my new eBay purchases worth?

Paid 22.00


Paid 5.95

Did I get a decent deal? Should I get them graded? Any tips on this new hobby?

Thanks for looking!


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Got any clue what these would grade?


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Beware the basement slabbers on ebay. That dime is in the less than a dollar range.

Also, welcome to CT!

 

I think you may be putting the cart before the horse here.... As a general rule, people look into the business or commodity they are thinking about investing in. For instance, now is not the time to invest in Hostess... but ya may want to sell some of the Twinkies you've been hording for the coming apocalypse.

The 1858 large letter variety flying eagle cent in g-4 condition lists at $28.00 in the 2013 Red Book

The 1983 Rosevelt proof dime lists at $2.00~ and yours appears to be, a proof coin that has been handled, so it has lost value.

 

Thanks you guys. I need do more research and control my impulse bidding.


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Welcome to the neighborhood!

The first tip I should give you is don't buy raw coins on SleazeBay until you learn more about the hobby.

The next tip would be don't buy coins certified by any service other than NGC or PCGS. (Maybe ANACS)

Too often, newcomers to the hobby are so anxious to start buying coins that they usually make mistakes that cost them money.

Before you buy any more coins, I'd suggest that you get a copy of the Red Book of United States Coins and a coin-grading guide like the ANA Grading Standards for United States Coins. Both of these are published by Whitman Books and are available on their website.

The important thing to remember is that this is a hobby and you are supposed to have fun.

Chris

 

Where would you recommend buying from, other than local dealers?


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I don't recommend buying until you learn a little more about what your buying. There is no rush. There will always be coins available.

Chris

 

Welcome, brandont!

Yeah you overpaid but the good news it you didn't spend a ton of money, and sometimes you have to learn from your mistakes. The flying eagle would probably grade G4 or G6. I do not know much about the series, and I don't own any. But I can come up with a reasonable grade even for unfamiliar coins using PCGS photograde in a few seconds. PCGS photograde is a great tool to visually come up with a fairly accurate grade for a coin and you can find it here http://www.pcgs.com/photograde/ . Definately spend some time with that site and do some research on the particular series you might be collecting. You want to know the specific nuances about the series - what the key dates are, what areas of the coin wear down first, what varieties are out there, how to detect a counterfeit, etc. $22 isn't a terribly bad deal for that coin if you like it, but you shouldn't spend much more than that on coins early on until you learn about them.


As far as the proof dime, it is worth 1-2 bucks. There are many many grading companies out there, and the one that graded your dime is not one you should be looking at buying. The 2 most well-respected are PCGS and NGC. You will get differing opinions as far as companies after those, but personally I also consider ANACS and ICG as reputable companies (but I typically don't pay much more if anything than I would for a raw coin when I buy these coins - but at least the authenticity of the coin is not a real concern). Of course, you always want to "buy the coin" and not "the holder" (use your judgement and buy what you think you should buy rather than what the plastic holder says), but generally, any other grading companies aside from those four are either grossly overgraded, problem coins, or maybe even counterfeit. For example, your dime (even though it seems to be problem-free from what I can tell from those pictures) is probably a PF65 or 66 at the most...not a 70.

All in all, if you are happy with your purchases, that is what counts. But a little time and research early on will prevent you from making a large mistake later.

Good luck and make sure to frequent these forums. You will learn something every time!

 

Thanks guys for the help and inspiration.


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I might add this: Pretty much every coin collector has purchases that they may have overpaid on early on in the hobby. Or certain coins that they saved from circulation early on that they've decided aren't worth saving.
I had two rolls of bicentennials quarters that I pulled from circulation maybe 10 years ago, and I dumped them at the bank a year or two ago when tidying up my collection.

 

Don't get intimidated by the bad stuff that is present in this hobby though. I have been collecting coins since I was 9 which makes it 25 years now. This has been a rewarding hobby in so many ways. You do have to put some time into it though just to protect yourself from the negativity out there. There will be times you make terrific buys or maybe sell a coin for a lot more than you got it for...but monetary gain isn't the reason you should collect coins as most of the time you pay more to get a coin than you get if you were to sell it. You should do it because you like particular coins and appreciate the beauty or history behind them. You just want to learn so you don't get ripped off, because there are people out there that like the hobby for the wrong reasons and try to take advantage of people out there that don't know better.

 

Also, you asked if you should get them graded. The answer is definately no. You do not want to get a coin graded unless it is rare in quantity, rare in grade, a valuable coin that has a lot of counterfeits so you can prove authenticity, or maybe a coin that has some sentimental value or is special to you. The flying eagle is a nice old coin, but the cost of getting it graded is higher than the value of that particular coin in and of itself. As far as the dme, there are millions of those out there sitting in proof sets that are the same grade as yours or better that sell for a few bucks for the whole proof set including the other coins.

 

hello and welcome. As the guys have already said you did ok on the Flying Eagle (one of my favorite coins) and overspent on the dime but a little time and learning and you will do ok You safest bet is as the guys also said stick to certified coins from pcgs ngc and anacs. That way you will at least know you are getting what your paying for.

 

Another tip is to look at the completed ebay listings. That way you can get an idea of what similar coins have sold for recently...or in the case of your flying eagle, you can see that about 2-3 weeks ago there was a graded PCGS G4 that sold for $18. So you could have had the same coin already graded by one of the two premier grading companies for a few bucks less than you paid. Keep an eye out and be patient. It is hard to be patient but there are several times that it paid off for me...I got a better coin for a significantly lower price then the first one I considered buying.

 

Thanks I really appreciate the help guys, you guys are so friendly.

 

You have received absolutely wonderful advice thus far and the posts by cpm9ball have been particularly valuable. I agree that the dime is worth about a dollar and looks undamaged to me while the FE cent might have cost a little more than it should have, but that is okay. The main thing to realize is that the coins will still be there for buying after you have learned a little more.

 

Something else too...sorta general auction advice but I tell myself there's a limit to how high I'll bid on an item and sometimes I just have to close the laptop and walk away. Auctions do weird things to me and make decide to spend more than I should so I don't let someone else buy "my" item.

 

Provided.............it even grades. The OP's coin looks to have environmental damage IMO.

 

Welcome to the forum. Listen to Chris(cpm9ball). Good advice to learn some first. We can recommend some of our favorite dealers, which might vary if you decide on something you want to collect. Personally I like the older series, but not everyone would agree. Take your time. I personally think you did okay on the FE.