There's no crying in ancient-coin-selling-on-eBay!!! ;-)

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by philologus_1, Oct 5, 2020.

  1. tenbobbit

    tenbobbit Well-Known Member

    I will take a stab at $200, roughly $3 each.

    If i was the seller, i would have been happy at $1.50 per coin & anything over would have been a bonus.
     
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  3. seth77

    seth77 Well-Known Member

    This is one lot that I would have bought or at least tried at. Unfortunately I did not see it.
     
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  4. philologus_1

    philologus_1 Supporter! Supporter

    Thanks for the guesses and responses! The lot hammered for $141.50 which is about $2.14 each.

    In case anyone is interested, below are some facts relevant to this experience:

    I was not surprised or disappointed at the hammer price.

    I am actually happy when someone gets a good deal through my selling of coins. This is true whether it is a collector, or, someone who buys with the sole intent to re-sell. The latter allows me to play a tiny part in helping such people to stay in the coin selling business -- which benefits us all! It has been a joy to see coins I have sold "reappear" on eBay, VCoins, and in known auctions as well.

    The average I paid for the 66 was $11.62 each, so the financial bottom-line for me was a loss of $9.48 per coin less Paypal fees, eBay fees, padded envelope cost, and postage cost since I offered free shipping (which from my many experiences of selling on eBay really does increase the number of bids received on listings posted by people like myself who sell infrequently.)

    The collector who purchased the 66 expressed a desire to continue expanding the collection.

    Selling the coins in smaller groups would have possibly grossed more money for me, but... it would have taken WAY too much time. It is amazing how much time it takes to get nice pics taken/cropped/sewn of the coins, to go through the tedious list process on eBay, to handle communication, and then to mail the coins. (In fact it is for this very reason that dealers can't allow themselves to get greatly excited about low value coins.)

    My collection of this type of coins (Val. II, AE4, SALVS REIPVBLICAE, with Christian symbols) exceeded 66. It was actually 82 examples! I cherry-picked the best 16 and am keeping those. :)

    At the same time I sold this lot of 66 I also sold about a half-dozen single coins. Their hammer prices were also well below what I paid. AND YET... :) ...the net gain for me was enough money for me to buy a nice example of the Herod I, 4-prutot, bronze type that I have wanted for a long time. So in essence, by letting go of these coins, I was able to trade 'extras' for a rare coin I badly wanted! That's a big WIN in my book!!! (All the coins I sold in this last go around were coins that were either extras or that no longer fit tightly enough into my overarching collection theme.)
     
    Last edited: Oct 6, 2020
    Johndakerftw, seth77 and Carl Wilmont like this.
  5. philologus_1

    philologus_1 Supporter! Supporter

    100% agreement! No doubt about the veracity of this.

    I agree about those 2 groups, and in fact I was hoping to get some bids from one such group. I must however add a 3rd group: Those who have the exact same interest as did I in what various forms/shapes/types of Christian symbols were used in the late 4th century within the Roman Empire. And in fact, the bidder who wagered the highest bid was indeed from this 3rd group.

    I wish someone had an answer to your question about whether anyone had a specialization in Valentinian II coinage. :-/
    re: mint variety... Below is my best summary of mints within the lot of 66...
    Antioch - 21
    Cyzicus - 3
    Constantinople - 12
    Thessalonica - 2
    Nicodemia - 3
    Alexandria - 4
    Heraclea - 1
    Undetermined or Barbarous - 20
    For about a decade I bought almost every example of this type that became available provided that (a) it looked decent, AND (b) included a Christian emblem on the reverse, AND (c) the price was sane.
    The point being is that the mint spread in this lot has much to do with the availability over the span of time in which I was in the buying mode. My primary concern was the great variety of reverse symbols.

    I kept looking for a "LOVE" reply to click for your comment. But finally settled for a "LIKE". But all joking aside, the retail value for nice examples of this general type of AE4 SALVS REIP. with clear Christian emblems is in excess even of $10. Few may accept it as truth, but my average payout for the 66 of just under $12 each is lower than could now be assembled for so many like quality examples.
     
  6. hotwheelsearl

    hotwheelsearl Well-Known Member

    I once sold a small AE4 Theodosius I (in great condition) for $20! There’s a market, but a relatively niche and small one.
     
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