So...I saw this coin for sale. I checked the price guide I found online and it seemed like a good deal. Then I checked some other coins online against the online guide and they ALL seemed like a good deal. I bought this one anyway and now I'm concerned that maybe it wasn't such a good deal after all. Anyway, the coin in question is a 1945 D Mercury Dime MS67 FB certified by NGC. Any ideas as to what it's worth?
well, from the perspective of the guy who sold it to you, it was worth exactly what you paid him for it!
Gee, Thanks. I guess we don't need this particular forum anymore since you have so succinctly answered the question "What's it Worth?"
It depends on the coin to be quite honest. They can sell anywhere from $50 to $150 if they are exceptional. But somebody would have to really want it to pay that much.
I personally will pay the price stated by GDJMSP for Mercs with full split bands, but, that is just me, some people wont pay that much....I bought my 1943 ms-66 FSB for about $65.00 from a local dealer, and I have no regrets, beutiful coin it is....
So...if what you are saying is that a coin is worth what someone is willing to pay for it, my shiny new dime is worth a fortune!!! Because that's what I paid for it.
Actually what I am saying is there is a very wide range of prices for a couple of different reasons. With Mercury dimes it makes a great deal of difference to some buyers if the coin in question has the FB designation or not. One without the FB may sell for $50 - one with the FB may sell for the same amount or up to $150 - depending on the buyer. For if the buyer is involved in the Registry Sets he may be willing to pay a substantial premium for the coin just so he can increase his Registry Set score. It has nothing to do with the coin really - he just wants to increase his score and he is willing to pay to do so. Another factor that can have a substantial impact when talking about the range of prices for a given coin is toning. Many collectors of toned coins will pay several times the book value of the coin if the coin has, in their opinion, pleasing toning. Another collector, looking at the very same coin, may not find it so beautiful and only be willing to pay flat book value for the coin. This is what so many collectors, new to the hobby, fail to understand. It is not the coin itself that determines value - it is the buyer of the coin. As a result a new collector may see that a few coins, graded MS67 or whatever, sell for high prices and think that all such coins graded MS67 are worth just as much. And because of that they pay a similar amount for another MS67. But then, for whatever reason, they decide to sell this coin thinking they will receive what they paid for it. But they are sadly disappointed when they only receive a fraction of what they paid. This is when they begin to understand that while there may be one or two or a half dozen collectors who will pay multiples of book value for a given coin - there are only that many who will do so. To the rest of the collecting world the very same coin is worth but a fraction of that value.
GDJMSP has made a fantastic point. (per usual) There are really many factors that determine value. On top of what has been said, there is also quality of strike. Not all coins in a given grade are the same. Over the past 18 years since third party grading companies have come into their own, the standards have changed back and forth a few times. Many early holders have coins that are incredibly strong for the grade, or even slightly high for the grade. Many coins graded in the early 90's are borderline for the grade. Now days it is more hit than miss. This is why very few coins are truly bought and sold sight-unseen. Too often new collectors flock to the graded coins as a form of protection in value. While that is somewhat true, the problem comes in the available price guides. While many exist, none are really accurate. They often run far behind the market, and try to compensate by inflating the numbers. Price guides that are written by the grading services are usually the worst of all. You have to consider why a grading service publishes a price guide. The best two sources for prices are The Coin Dealers Newsletter, commonly referred to as the greysheet, and auction prices realized. These two areas are near accurate for what the market is doing. Prices change often, along with collector trends.
GDJMSP, Again, you are right on the money. I would only hope that our younger collectors will carefully read your post, and try to see what it is that you are saying. No truer words were ever written.
