Pawn Shop Coin Shopping

[jhollan2]

Acting on a tip I went to a few local pawn shops today to look at their coins. This 1890 CC is a particularly interesting find...for $10... but thats assuming that its real! I went to all the ones in the "safe" areas, cant decide if its worth more trips! Sorry about the blurry pictures, I'm not so good with the cam. Thoughts?

 

-Jill

 

 

[Leothelion]

Pawn shops have rarely shown me any coins. When they do get them, I assume they get fetched up by the local dealers. The same goes for diamonds and gold and anything else of value, they get that stuff sold as soon as possible to turn a profit to pay the bills.

 

Leo

[DonHeath]

Jill,

 

It's always fun, and it'll sharpen your skills. Lots of the stuff requires a good eye, and it's like walking into the jungle unprotected. There are no holders, no expert opinions, no reference material, no returns, and no good pricing references. Just you, and the coins. Looks like you did OK. A friend of mine recently purchased 8 Morgans for melt + $8, and when he got home found a 93-S that just holdered VF-35 at PCGS. Happy hunting.

[Leothelion]

Jill,

 

It's always fun, and it'll sharpen your skills. Lots of the stuff requires a good eye, and it's like walking into the jungle unprotected. There are no holders, no expert opinions, no reference material, no returns, and no good pricing references. Just you, and the coins. Looks like you did OK. A friend of mine recently purchased 8 Morgans for melt + $8, and when he got home found a 93-S that just holdered VF-35 at PCGS. Happy hunting.

 

Yeah, well.. how often does that happen? If and when one of the locals have something, for example, a proof set, it's usually overpriced! Once, I tried taking

some sense into one of those pawn owners and all they knew was that I wanted the damn thing and that they weren't about to let me have it for less. At that time I knew I wasn't about to pay double for some dingy proof set. But what do I know with having all these blessed extra nickels sitting around here!

 

Whoa! What a nice nickel I just found! I must of left it out some time ago.......I better get it tucked away soon.

 

Leo

[DonHeath]

Leo, the odds are about as long as my chance at the lottery, but it makes a fun Sunday afternoon.

 

BTW - I agreed with your grading. I just finished.

[Leothelion]

Leo, the odds are about as long as my chance at the lottery, but it makes a fun Sunday afternoon.

 

BTW - I agreed with your grading. I just finished.

 

Hi Don

(not to hyjack this thread) Will any be headed out to a TGC?

 

Leo

[DonHeath]

Nah, they've already found a home.

 

Sorry Jill. Back to the topic.

[Leothelion]

Nah, they've already found a home.

 

Sorry Jill. Back to the topic.

 

Sounds great Don!

 

Ok Jill, what were you saying?

 

Leo

[jhollan2]

Just wondering it you thought a pawn shop was a good place to find some neat coins at a reasonable price...or any other places I should look!?

[BillJones]

My experiences with pawn shops and coins is that the owers are about as friendly has a junk yard dog. I asked a pawn shop guy if he had gotten in any coins and he almost bit my head off. He didn't know that I was dealer or anything like that. I was just a Joe Smow asking him a question.

 

I guess these guys must make money on loans. They sure don't known much about marketing.

[jhollan2]

They really are a cranky bunch. I had never been in a pawn shop before and really had the impression that it would be really scuzzy with lots of stuff that looked hot off the back of a truck. I was surprised, though, that the stuff seemed to be legit. The guy I spoke with really didnt seem to know (or was pretending) much about coins and didnt know what I was talking about when I asked if he had any "morgans." We figured it out when I asked for "old coins." He said a lot of the stuff came in when someone died and the family dumped the estate- a lot of family members are from "up north" and cant be bothered with dealing with stuff. I'm not sure, though. I dont trust myself enough at this point to go an buy something worth more than $100 without some form of knowledge of its history or authenticity.

 

-Jill

[MrDan-migration]

Heh- I was looking around in one of those indoor flea markets the other day, I found a really nice Ike (I think it was a '72) for about 4 bucks it was in a frame with a merc and a buff. I drove off and thought about it for a while and decided to go back and get it. Wouldn't you know that set was allready gone!! It only took about 5 to 10 minutes in the middle of a random day! Aaarrrrgggh!

 

That'll learn me!!

[jhollan2]

Just tell yourself it was glued in... it will make you feel better!

 

 

Went back to my local guy today. He actually called me AT THE DAs OFFICE to tell me he had some nice coins in. They were trade dollars that he said were real ones and they werent even close. You could tell the weight diff. just be holding it and the metal was all wrong. I'm pretty clueless and even I knew they were fake - I cant believe that he thought they were real! Cant trust anyone anymore! He better pull them or I'll call the authorities!!! Oh wait, thats me...

 

-Jill

[Elcontador]

Jill,

 

If you want a Trade $, avoid them raw. When I was in Vietnam, I bought a fake 1875 CC that was so good that it fooled half of the dealers to whom I showed it at a major show. Most fakes I've seen are 1875 S and are very easy to spot.

[jhollan2]

I saw the article about a month ago about the hobby act. Who makes these things? I know there are a few "mints" out there that mint coins, but are the frauds minted domestically or are they imports?

 

-Jill

[jhar]

One of the local Pawn shops here where I live is also a coin shop. Has books, supplies and everything. Not just some random coins in a case. I've been itching to vist the local flea market to see what's being offered around here. May not be much but it's better than working!!

[Elcontador]

Jill,

 

As you know, many of them went to the Orient. I think most of them are badly made cast copies of an original. I saw poorly made fakes literally from the South of China through Indonesia.

 

A guy who is knowledgeable about fake Trade $s explained that while the poorly made fakes are easy to spot, the more sophisticated counterfeits have the right dimensions and weight (like mine did). Where an expert can tell is the difference is that it's hard to get metallic content just right. If you drop the coin on a hard surface, it has a certain 'ping' to it. A metallurgist can explain it better than I can.

[jhollan2]

Besides the "ping" is there another way to tell a good copy? I doubt any dealer is going to let me drop his coins on the ground! I've been guessing mostly at price... I havent seen a fake one anywhere near what a real one should sell for.

 

I brought a real trade dollar in a PCGS case with me to look at some of them and the guy told me that coins in holders destroy the value of the coins. He said he can sell graded coins for less than raw coins... that if I ever wanted to sell it I should take it out of the holder... I wasnt selling but, huh?

 

-Jill

[Bruceswar]

If he only knew....

[TomB]

Jill, the response you received from the shop owner can only mean one of two things-

 

1-He vastly overgrades raw coins and then sells them at a discount to the overgrade, hence, those that do not know they are overgraded believe they received a bargain when in fact they overpaid.

 

2-Any coin you bring to him for sale will instantly develop "problems" that will reduce the value, to him, by an extraordinary amount. Therefore, he will offer you cents on the dollar for your "value-enhanced" raw coins.

 

In the end, someone who makes that statement is either ignorant (unlikely) or a liar.

[DonHeath]

Jill,

 

Here's a coinworld article you might find useful.

[Count_Erfit]

I did pawn AND coins. MOST pawnbrokers do not sell most of the coins they get. They just rat-hole them. I know one family owned pawn shop that has not sold ONE coin that came into the shop since ...... 1913 !!!!

 

Can you IMAGINE what is in there? Of course this is the exception as few pawnshops have been open that long. They have FIVE ROOMS of unworked-up jewelry and it is stacked floor to ceiling on all 4 walls on shelves in 8X8 boxes. Every once in a while the owner starts a box and puts it out. It is to drool over just seeing the amassed stuff.

 

I must admit that after getting our pawn license, coins (other than bullion) lost a lot of interest for me other than if something REALLY NICE came in. I was courteous to all but wholesaled just about everything as it was faster.

 

The money coming in from loans is unimaginable until you have done it. AND you get little kisses all the time like guys pawning rolls of maple leafs for 200 per coin and then ignoring the late notice and letting the pawnbroker KEEP those coins.

 

So, to answer your question, pawn shops are USUALLY not the place to seek coins UNLESS they, like we, advertise in the COIN heading and have cases of coins out.

 

As an example, our pawn assn. had the ANA grading seminar one time and out of 150-200 attending pawnbrokers, ......three....... signed up. MOST don't care.

 

Which was GREAT news for those of us who DID coins. Most pawnshops don't even GET coins anymore in contrast to the 60's and 70's when they got LOADED with em. Coins are far too competitive for lowball offers from ignorant buyers.

 

Then there's the local one who had a 1901s Barber 25c in his junk box a few years ago. But that's the ONE screaming steal I have heard of for years.