My friend's mom wants gold pieces for her daughter's (my friend's sister) wedding. She wants the smallest possible, so I told her 1/4 would be best, but I can get $2.50, if she really cares only about price instead of premium. Now, my cousin has coins from his mom, but in bracelets. My question is what is a fair price? These are ex-jewelry, XF-AU condition, but I really think the numismatic value might be minimal being ex-jewelry. That all said, is "ex-jewelry" so bad as to drive the price down to bullion price, AG grade or 80% of detailed grade? What would be a fair price for both sides? (Basically, what would you pay and what would you sell at?)
Is it safe to assume we're talking common dates? If so, and with relatively few exceptions (IMO), as a general rule you're looking at or near scrap. Very, very few times did I ever pay above this, and even then there had to be a good reason to do so (southern branch mint, scarce/rare/high premium dates as obvious examples), but without seeing the coins and being able to determine the level of damage to each, it's a very reasonable approach.
This is for 1/10 oz ($2.5) coins? Okay. So, $110 or so per? That seems really low. They seem to sell for $190-$250 on eBay, so even after the 10% haircut, that's the $170-$225 range. Thank you for your input, though.
No... common quarters, and if memory serves me correctly should be closer to $150 at present prices. My apologies for being unclear. eBay and the real world do not always walk hand-in-hand, and let's face it; people using eBay, for a variety of reasons, often pay more than they otherwise could or arguably should. I was also speaking only from a purchasing standpoint and not high retail, assuming that you're simply playing the middleman and would take whatever cut, if any, you felt reasonable for your services. That said, with eBay one also has the opportunity to at least have a look at the coin/coins in question whereas I can only assume the worst (painfully common and heavily damaged). One also must remember that many to most of the coins found on eBay came from somewhere else, often in person transactions, at times with profiting middlemen, so there are or can be many factors to consider. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint, not everything is always as cut and dry as eBay retail minus fees.
For starters, US quarter eagles ($2.50 gold pieces) are much closer to 1/8 ounce of gold than 1/10 ounce, although the hole obviously detracts some from that amount. If the coins are holed, yes, the value does drop substantially. Still, I think $110 is too low . . . I think $140 is more like it. Remember, unless the owner can find another buyer who wants the coin for exactly the same purpose . . . to wear it on a chain, the only other buyer is someone who cares not that it was a collectible piece of history, because it has been damaged, and is unlikely to attract a fastidious collector.
Hey, check out gold spanish 2 peso, or 2.5 pesos!! Below is a link to getting 2.5 pesos, which are about the size of a dime, maybe a tiny, tiny bit larger. http://www.apmex.com/product/1047/mexico-gold-2-1-2-pesos-agw-0603-random-year
If the coins were just in bezels, with no obvious damage, I would expect closer to $190-$210. If there is rim damage, a little less. I hardly ever see these for in the $150 range, but I buy most of mine on ebay.
I've noticed Apmex has the highest prices compared to the other "big retailers" on the small denomination Mexican gold. Provident Metal's 2 aND 2.5 peso prices are usually lowest. That being said, they are often sold out of these. Especially when spot prices are in a downward trend.
The coins aren't holed... they are in a bracelet, so I'm positive there will be rim damage. That said, neither party cares about numismatics. On one side, my friend's mom wants small gold for minimal premiums. On the other, my cousin just had a bracelet with no use for it. I wanted a deal that was fair to both parties, and I wasn't sure if a midpoint would be "fair" or not. My thinking was matching the lowest sale of a record was fair.
Thanks Nathan. I always wonder how Provident is able to offer so much on buying AND still able to sell so cheaply. I've dealt with them before, so I'll recommend my friend's mom take that route and avoid the bracelet issue altogether.
