Personal auction results to provide some food for thought

[BillJones]

The market for all coins goes through up and down cycles. The trouble with most modern coins is that they are even more prone these fluctuations. Modern coins are more prone to dealer promotions because the supply of them is large, and it’s easy for dealers to acquire the inventory to market the product. Older coins, with smaller supplies are less prone to market manipulations, but they have their ups and downs too.

 

All of the sets of coins that you listed are available in large quantities. The only place where it gets tough is if you are looking for high quality ultra cameo Proof coins that have great cameo contrast on BOTH sides from the 1950s and ‘60s. Otherwise the Proof coins you listed are fairly common, even in grades like PR-65 and 66. The fact that you got poor auction results on those pieces does not surprise me.

 

Sadly, I think that you could have gotten better prices for the 1941 Proof dime and half dollar. The Gray Sheet bid on the dime in PR-65 $150.00 and the PR-65 bid on the half dollar is $520.00. The $140 price you got for dime was not horrible, but I think you got hosed on the half dollar at $375 unless it had some really ugly spot or was dull and dipped out. You may have pushed too hard to get your money quickly and not gotten as much you should have.

 

I collect coins from all eras, first for fun and second as a store of value. I’ve been collecting coins for over 50 years, and if I sold my collection today I’d make money, but might no be ahead of inflation. I’ve bought some expensive coins in recent years, and I’m under no illusions about what they would bring if I tried to sell them now. I’d do well to break even. Still I enjoy them, and I’ve not bet my financial future on coins. Coins are a store of value, which is more than you can say for most hobbies.

 

[Conder101]

Something a lot of people don't seem to realize is that even in those cases where collectors DO make a "profit" on their coins when they sell, often they are still lucky if they manage to break even after figuring in the loss of value of the money due to inflation. And that is with the "Official" inflation rate and not the "real" one.

[michael]

usually but not always but usually the only people who make money in the coin game

 

are coin brokers/dealers/flippers in the coin game and submitting to grading services as one service in particular has made more millionaries in the coin game then anything else

[TomB]

I generally read all the comments in a thread before posting, but in this case I am posting without having read any of them so I may be echoing the thoughts of others.

 

Unless the material you sold was incredibly toned, was graded at the very top of the grading scale and/or had incredibly deep cameo contrast on the proofs (pre-1971) then the material would be viewed, rightly or wrongly, as generic and easily replaced to a great pool of bidders. It has been my experience that coins that can be replaced the easiest do not receive the highest bids and, in fact, often do much better for their owners if they are simply sold outright instead of at auction.

[BillJones]

I generally read all the comments in a thread before posting, but in this case I am posting without having read any of them so I may be echoing the thoughts of others.

 

Unless the material you sold was incredibly toned, was graded at the very top of the grading scale and/or had incredibly deep cameo contrast on the proofs (pre-1971) then the material would be viewed, rightly or wrongly, as generic and easily replaced to a great pool of bidders. It has been my experience that coins that can be replaced the easiest do not receive the highest bids and, in fact, often do much better for their owners if they are simply sold outright instead of at auction.

 

TomB's last paragraph sums up the problem with most modern coins. They are widgets unless they something truly special about then. If they are not widgets the prices are sometimes driven to numbers that make them unattractive.

 

I enjoy Proof sets and the modern commemoratives. As for the rest, it does nothing for me. The only way I'll make money or even get my money out of my modern collection is if the price of gold and silver bullion goes up. Otherwise they are losers. The problem is the supply of these things is too big and the truly rare pieces with unusual die characteristics are too esoteric for most of us.

 

[Kamillion]

Thanks very much for sharing your experience!

 

I read recently that 10 years ago 90% of silver and gold coins were purchased by coin collectors. Currently the market is about 50% collectors and 50% bullion investors/flippers.

 

I hate to try and compare it to sports cards, but to me it seems very reminiscent of the 80's when sportscards went through the same type of cycle. It went from 3 major brands producing one brand each to over 100 different types of cards.

 

The cards that are worth money are the ones that when they were purchased weren't considered collectible. That in fact is what makes them "collectible". Today you can't give away those cards, if you try to donate them to a card shop they will tell you they don't have room for them nor do they want them (real story).

 

Fast forward 20-30 years and look at coins, the mint is now making every imaginable denomination into "collectible" coins and it has brought a lot of collectors to the hobby.

 

That being said, I don't think there will be a shortage of mint state modern coinage during any of our lifetimes so they will likely never be a good investment. The exception would be the top pop coins for registry, but then it's the slab and label that garner the premium, not the coin itself.

 

(slabbed ASE's, state quarters, westward journey, lincoln cents, presidential dollars)

 

i get what ur saying with the sports cards, but i think its apple and oranges.

 

cards, beanie babies, etc , can't be compared to coins. i'd say especially those than have base metal content to lean back on even before the numismatic grade

[physics-fan3.14]

cards, beanie babies, etc , can't be compared to coins. i'd say especially those than have base metal content to lean back on even before the numismatic grade

I would actually argue that the collector dynamics, supply and demand, and many other aspects of nearly all of these collectibles are very similar. They are all produced largely for collectors, in increasing variety, and in large quantity. The only real difference is coins are supposedly money. The base metal coins are worth a few cents intrinsic value, certainly comparable (or in many cases, much less) than many other collectibles. Even silver coins only have a few dollars intrinsic value. Coins are very cheaply made by the millions - they are a mass produced product, just like many other "collectibles".

[SPHansen]

When dealing in coins (or any other collectible), you have to act and not react...

 

I collected coins, comics and baseball cards in my early youth. I kept them protected and stored because I had been taught a very important lesson very young... it had to do with Discotheques. The people who made money from that era were the ones who created the clubs and then sold them at the height of the craze. They had foresight and acted quickly. They then sold the clubs to those who reacted to the craze... the clubs were making money when they sold them, but the craze faded, and so did the profits.

 

I watched as comics started to explode, saw prices rise and sold my comic collection for a great profit.

 

Several years later, as the sports card craze took off, I sold my baseball card collection at a huge profit... who bought them? Speculators who reacted to the craze and saw dollar signs...

 

Coins are the same way. I saw the price of precious metals was fairly low 10 years ago. I concentrated on getting the most bullion I could for the cheapest prices I could find... and waited. Last year, when the prices soared, here came the speculators, and I sold my silver and gold to them at whopping prices.

 

Today I buy coins, and have yet to lose money on it... I wait patiently for deals, research the market for that coin, and have been educating myself on grading, etc. (bought the book before the coin!)

 

Not to be disrespectful.. but you seem to have reacted to the SHQ craze, and you paid the price.The same with the 5oz ATBs... I saw those, and how they were being pushed and saw the actors selling to the reactors... and I didn't bite.

 

All the advice above is valid... just got to push on... no use crying over spilt milk.