So I was wondering why very similar coins, specifically toned Morgan dollars, tend to sell more on Heritage Auctions or Great Collections. Also how can I kind of estimate what a toned piece will sell for on HA or GC? For example, how much would these ones go for if they were on HA or GC... Help is greatly appreciated!!! (P.S. Please don't start telling me how those coins are common dates... )
GC has horrendous images, so if you are looking for a toning premium, either image the properly to show their color and sell them yourself, or go to HA. You have to consider the cost of selling on HA though.
The thing with HA or GC is that they run auction style, which can create a bidding war if two or more bidders have to have it. That's what drives up the price. eBay auctions are for the most part ruled by snipers on most auctions and the BIN's are typically way overpriced. It's really all a crap shoot as to what you can get. It honestly comes down to what someone is willing to pay for it and what you are willing to part with it for.
I've seen stronger prices over the past few years on GreatCollections. Their buyer base appears to be growing. And I'm guessing people who are hesitant to bid on ebay (fear of being scammed) are more comfortable with a company like GC or Heritage. Still, one can't say that GC or Heritage or ebay has stronger prices than the other in a general sense. Some coins do very well, but others sell on GC/HA and then are resold on ebay for more.
Are you thinking of the same GC? As in GreatCollections (or Great Southern or someone else)? In my experiences, GreatCollections has good consistent photos. Heritage is more inconsistent (even expensive coins can have mediocre photos). Here are a few photos from GC that show the coins quite well in my opinion: Yeah I threw in that last one just for a bit of fun.
As for the 3 Morgans in the original post, the toning isn't considered the kind that brings a huge premium. I have seen some of those bid up lately to higher levels than usual (in the $80-$100 range). Without toning, those Morgans tend to range between $45-$65, and most people would not be willing to pay much above that (since the colors aren't too vivid, there aren't any money colors [i.e. green], and there isn't an interesting pattern).
I was talking about Great Collections, though I’d be happy to learn that they finally improved their images. They were just doing poor quality scans with a complete disregard to color and luster fir the longest.
That must have been before 2014/2015 (when I started looking there). Some coins still don't have perfect images (might be dark), but in general they are consistent (and don't really juice images/over exaggerate the color).
