Hi all, I am new to coin collecting, I have a few questions if someone can help me with.. 1- I recently saw a gold coin certified by NGC as PF 68 for sale. I looked up my Krause Coin Catelog and the price is $2000 for the Proof condition. But the dealer was selling it for $600, is there something wrong with this picture? Or the catelog is just off on the price trend of this coin today. 2 - Second question, the same dealer has the another coin (same coin as the above quetion) but this one is certified by ANACS with PF 64, and the dealer is selling it for about $400, as a collector or an investor, which coin I should go for? Also, I would imagine lots of people will jump on this coin when they see the dealer's price compare to the Krause's Catelog price, but strangely nobody buy it and it is still available...how can it be?
Hi Sarawakian, and welcome to the forum. Before trying to answer your questions, it is important to know exactly what you have seen. Are the coins on eBay or some other auction site with the opening bids youl mentioned? Are they on a dealer's website for sale at those exact prices? Are they in a dealer's store for sale at those exact prices? Are they being offered in media advertising? Or Each of those scenarios would mean something different. In general Krause values range from very low, through accurate, to very excessive. Frequently it depends on the country or the category. Considering the rapid pace of price changes in U.S. coins (and all high end material for that matter), Krause is the last place I would look for the current value of such coins.
As satootoko has said - the values listed in Krause can be all over the board. Krause is no different than any other price guide - it is only a guide. It would never be wise to buy any coin based on the value listed in a price guide. But to offer a little insight - the price any given coin sells for depends entirely on who is buying it - nothing else. Many, many times I have seen two coins, identical in every way, sell for vastly different prices within a week or so. Sometimes these prices can vary by 100% or more. And yet the two coins were identical. You see - for some coins the market is very thin. That means there simply are not that many people who want it. There may be one or two or there may be a 100,000. But when only a few want a particular coin - they might pay outrageous prices to obtain it. But after they have it - nobody else wants one. So any additional coins sell much for much lower prices. And the buyer is normally someone who bought it to possibly sell later. So bottom line - if you like the coin, you can afford it and you think it is worth the price asked - buy it. Otherwise walk away.
Hi satootoko and GDJMSP , Thank you, The coin is a Bulgaria 1912 20 Leva. The coin was offered in EBay about few weeks ago and the starting price was $600, which ended without a bid. The dealer also has that same coin listed in his own website and the price is $900. (this price is for the PF68 coin). The dealer/ebay seller is a very respectable dealer from his thousands of feedback, and I am confident that he is a good dealer. I am just wondering if that is good deal to buy base on that price or is it because that coin is not a collector's favorite, therefore no one bid on it. I am a newbie to coin collecting, but I am hooked on it right now..any suggestion or help for my questions will be greatly appreciated.
Unfortunately I clicked on Add reply before I was finished saying what I wanted - hate it when that happens But hopefully my now edited post will explain
GDJMSP, Thanks , Now I kinda understand ...supply and demands..that cleared up my questions on the price issue.. One thing..about what you said on the Krause catelog, I use that book like a bible on pricing for coins...now after what you just said, hmmm. I guess I have to look at the market and see what other people are paying for a particular coin to visualize the market price. Thank you all.
Sarawakian - I decided to do a little checking now that I know what the coin in question is - may have an answer for you. When a person wishes to collect world coinage - in particular gold world coinage - it is wise to have as many books as possible. For not all books list complete information - or accurate information. As you said - Krause list this coin with a value of $2000. But care to guess what Freidberg list it at ? Try $500 Now why is that do ya suppose ? What is it that Freidberg knows that Krause does not ? Or is it just the difference between two catalogs ? Well in this case - it's the former. In 1967 & 1968 the Bulgarian Mint produced Proofs of this coin from original dies. In otherwords - restrikes. And in the vast majority of cases restrikes are typically worth just over melt value. But they are never - or almost never - worth anywhere near the original. So there you have it. The information I just provided is what a knowledgeable collector of these coins would know. That's why there were no bids - the coin is a restrike of minimal value.
Right you are I sometimes buy coins that you may only see sold once a year - sometimes once every 10 years. You should try figuring out the market value for those But the lesson to be learned here is to know what you are buying - know everything about it. That's not always easy to do with world coinage - but books help tremendously. I would encourage you to spend just half of what that coin would have cost you on books. Then study them - intensely. After that - you'll walk away smiling every time you buy a coin
wow, you are really knowledgeable. Luckily I held myself from hitting that bid now or buy it now button a few weeks ago. Something wasn't right was my first instinct. NOW, everything is clear!!! This web forum is great!!!
The three rules of collecting: 1) Buy the book. 2) Buy the book. 3) Buy the book. The Krause volumes are essential, but usually insufficient, for serious collecting of world coins. Always remember that they are generalized, and if there is a specialized book covering what you are interested in, you need it too.
One of my collecting interests include Merchant tokens from my local area. The last reference on this material was published in 1980, so the price guide is pretty much useless. Sinse then, several previously unknown issues have surfaced. So how do you put a price on something like that? Well, as for myself, I decide how badly I want them for my collection, how much I can afford to pay, and how much I'm willing to pay. For example, I recently became aware of a set of unlisted Merchant tokens from the county I live in. This county has never had a listing for any Merchant tokens, so naturally I was somewhat excited to hear about them. I contacted the gentleman who had taken them on consignment to discuss them. We were able to come to an agreement on the price, and I expect them to be here any day now. As you can imagine, I wanted these pretty badly, and was willing to pay a strong price, but I also kept in mind how much I could afford to pay. My wife, my bills, and my responsibilities always come before my hobby. Well, maybe I put my hobby before mowing the grass, sometimes, but that's it. Well, except maybe for emptying the cat's litter box, but that's it. Well...
