Plan for Jefferson's Liberty Coins - Stupid?

[astrostu]

First, two things: (1) I realize that most people here are not financial advisors and so I should take everything at face value that is said and make my own decisions; and (2) I've never actually bought coins (expensive ones, at that) with the explicit idea of selling them at a mark-up at a soon, but later date.

 

That being said, I'm curious as to what you folks think of my speculative plan, which is to buy 3 proofs of the Jefferson's Liberty coin when it comes on sale next week at 10:00 AM MDT on August 16 (I'm in Colorado). Once I get them, I plan to look at them very closely with a decent magnification and send the two best - assuming that the third doesn't have obvious scratches - to either PCGS or NGC through a dealer (since I don't have membership with them, and though ICG is in my backyard, I don't think they hold as good resale value). I plan on saying to not grade them if below PF-69.

 

Then, I plan on selling one of them on eBay (the lower graded if it's a PF-69 and PF-70) by the end of the year. And I plan on holding onto the other for several months longer, watching the prices, and selling when I think it's near a high (such as by tracking the PCGS prices for trends, assuming they end up posting them). The same will go even if they aren't graded at 69 or 70, I'll just sell them in the original packaging, which I'll still sell with the slab in case the person wants to crack it out.

 

Based upon the current prices for the PF coins (Martha, Abigale) going on eBay, where the 70s are going for $600-800 or so and the raws are going for $400-700 (not really sure why such a spread there), I don't think I could LOSE money on this, especially if the spot price of gold goes up (I don't see how it could possibly go down much). And I think this will be one of the most desireable in the series.

 

So I'm curious if people think this is a relatively safe venture, or if I'm fooling myself in some way. Comments are appreciated as long as they have substance.

[MunkyMan95]

I'd skip sending them in, and sell them as quickly as possible. These don't seem to hold their value for long. There's the craze at the beginning, and then it dies down. My Dad sold his for $800, was sad because they went to $900 the day after he sold his, and then was surprised to see them decline a week later. Even graded 69's are going for less than the $800 he sold his raw one for. You won't loose money. That's almost guaranteed. But you could make less of a profit margin than you had hoped.

[astrostu]

I'd skip sending them in, and sell them as quickly as possible.

 

That'd be great for me and save on grading fees and a dealer charge.

 

And all because I've replied to Chad's post doesn't mean I'm not interested in other folks' opinions! (I've noticed that as soon as the original poster replies on threads, they often die out.)

[MorganMan]

Where did you see that they were going to be available August 16th?

 

That is the day the dollar is being released, but I still see no release date for the First spouse coins.....

 

 

MM

[just carl]

I suggest you sell them all as fast as you can if there is a substancial profit to be made. Why sit on something that may take a dramatic downward turn? Ever hear about Beanie Babies? Once in the hundreds and now people are selling for a few dollars.

[djdilliodon]

They have supposed to have moved the release date to aug 30th.

[physics-fan3.14]

Originally release was aug. 16, and then they moved it to aug. 30th, i think.

[astrostu]

Okay, I guess I'm behind on my gossip for when they'll be released. As of a few weeks ago (like 2, when I last read an article on it), it was August 16. The Mint's product schedule doesn't list it at all. Is there a source you guys are referring to for the August 30 move?

 

Carl -- I think I'm leaning more towards that after sleeping on it some more. I think if I could make current proof first spouse selling prices (~$600), then selling two is like getting the third one free. If I could make more, I'll be quite happy. Of course, there's always that seller's remorse and the quesiton, "Could I have sold it for more if I'd just held out?" But then again, one should be happy with the money one did make. Blech. Decisions!

[mightytoast-migration]

This is what I did for the 5 Martha proofs and 5 Abigail proofs I purchased a month and a half ago, and which I (hopefully) will repeat with the Jeffersons. I dropped nearly $4300.00 on the coins, received them a couple weeks later, picked out my favorite Martha and Abigail, and immediately posted the remaining 8 coins on ebay. After all fees and shipping I made almost $2200.00. These monies covered the cost of the 2 coins I kept, and the remainder went into my family's "Disney World Fund"!

 

I now have two more wonderful coins for my collection that I will enjoy while I'm alive (and will potentially go to my kids if they become interested in collecting coins when they get older). And, we get to go to Disney World! It's a win-win scenario - I get both "legacy" and immediate gratification.

 

And for the record, I WILL be claiming all profits on my taxes this year. Better safe than sorry...

 

 

[bsshog40]

I agree with Chad here. Also, I think I would sit on one for quite a while like you mentioned. Who knows what will happen in the next ten years!

[astrostu]

Alright, so it sounds like everyone says to just sell 'em quickly before the market crashes.

 

Except for Bobby, who says to save one for selling later. So, that would bring me back to the original plan where I was going to sell one quickly, and save the other one for later (if I didn't make it clear, one of the three I wanted to keep for my own collection). The only change is to not send them in to be slabbed.

 

I'm back to being conflicted, but I think what I'll do is to sell one within a month and see how it does. If I make 50%+ profit on it (so after fees, etc., the selling price would need to be $650+), I'll go ahead and sell the other one as soon as that sale is done and that way at least get the third one "free."

 

And if I do better than break even (so, selling two for $1.3k+ so the third is "free"), I'll consider doing what mightytoast said and do it for the rest.

[pendragon1998]

My guess is there will be a lot of speculators like you who want to flip the coins fast. I bet the coins sell out within an hour, then the market shoots up for a couple of weeks, then it'll drop down again as more coins are shipped and the market's saturated.