selling your collection

[leeg]

I found out the hard way to never pay up for toning.

[ldhair]

I never figured I would make money at this hobby. It's just a fun place to park extra funds. I'm just happy that I can sell my collection and get part of my money back. You can't do that with every hobby.

[Hard Times]

I have lost 5% over what I paid the last decade when selling. I consider that well worth it for being able to enjoy so much.

 

Best, HT

[coinman_23885]

I found out the hard way to never pay up for toning.

 

It truly depends on the coin and the vibrancy/quality of toning. Some of the coins that have had the greatest financial return for me were "monster" quality toned coins where I paid several multiples of guide for.

[MarkFeld]

I found out the hard way to never pay up for toning.

 

It truly depends on the coin and the vibrancy/quality of toning. Some of the coins that have had the greatest financial return for me were "monster" quality toned coins where I paid several multiples of guide for.

 

In addition to that, many buyers have found out the hard way to never pay up too much and/or for the wrong non-toned coin.

[BillJones]

I have lost 5% over what I paid the last decade when selling. I consider that well worth it for being able to enjoy so much.

 

Best, HT

 

Amen to that. At this point I could probably make money on my coin collection if I were to sell it. If I sold my political collection, it looks like I would make a large percentage on my 19th century poltical tokens because I was collecting them well before very many collectors got interested in them.

 

For other hobbies, it's money down the drain. For model trains you get pennies on the dollar, and the situation is getting worse. When an "uncle in law" died a coupld of years ago, he had a wonderful collection of O gage trains that he thought would be worth $40,000. My brother in law had work to get $15,000 for them, and the firm that bought them said that the market was going down fast. I have an HO lay out that has very little market value to speak of, but I fun with them just the same.

 

My political buttons are similar. I've got some good ones, but given cost of selling them via auction I won't break even. I'll have to sell them myself at some shows.

 

Still it's all fun.

[Nutmeg Coin]

I was at a coffee shop in Vermont the other day where the owner is one of the main members of the local historical society, he was hoping I could give some type of numismatic presentation. At any rate, I had a large size $10 gold note to show him and a fellow with a southern accent who has a summer place there told me he had a bank deposit box of old notes so I mentioned how I would go about getting top dollar for numismatic currency. It is surprising how many people who have significant collections gathering dust which they may not know the value of and would never get reasonable offers from smaller dealers.

[USAuPzlBxBob]

I have lost 5% over what I paid the last decade when selling. I consider that well worth it for being able to enjoy so much.

 

Best, HT

If a decade has gone by, and you're getting 95%, considering inflation, aren't you really getting around 50%? (Who really cares, though, if you enjoy it.)

[Hard Times]

I have lost 5% over what I paid the last decade when selling. I consider that well worth it for being able to enjoy so much.

 

Best, HT

If a decade has gone by, and you're getting 95%, considering inflation, aren't you really getting around 50%? (Who really cares, though, if you enjoy it.)

 

I would not put it at that much because I don't hold for 10 years, usually 2-3 for coins I want to sell and not keep long term. Sometimes I have flipped pdq and made profit, etc. So on average with a say 3 year hold period you could make the case for a 15%-ish loss if you count inflation.

 

Best, HT

[Hard Times]

I found out the hard way to never pay up for toning.

 

 

I think it depends on the series one collects and how one sells or auctions the coin. I pay up for toning all the time in pre-civil war silver and gold, and when selling I have not had any major losses for those.....

 

Best, HT

[physics-fan3.14]

In cases where your prices realized were a lot less than the amounts you paid, it could be because you paid too much when you acquired them, because the market dropped after you bought them or a combination of the two. Either way, I'm sorry that your results weren't better.

 

The third scenario, and the one that sorta stacks the deck against collectors: Often, we buy coins from dealers at retail prices. When selling, we have to sell at wholesale prices. A dealer may sometimes pay more for a special coin - but he is going to buy for less than he's going to sell. That's just economics.

 

Selling at auction can sometimes alleviate this, but GC largely seems to sell at wholesale prices. The difference between retail and wholesale alone is enough to reduce any potential profit we might make.