price guide for a 1882 Trade dollar PF 66+ ?? 1 1

[James F Bell]

Hello,

 

I am relatively new to buying  US coins and would appreciate knowing the approximate value of a 1882 trade dollar PF 66+ certified by NGC that I would like to buy.  Could someone pls let me the approximate sale value?  Thanks

[Sandon]

   Welcome to the NGC chat board. As the NGC Registry forum is for topics pertaining to the NGC coin registry, this question should have been posted and would receive more attention on the "Newbie Coin Collecting Questions" forum. The Administrator will most likely move it to that forum by early next week.

   I'll attempt to answer your question and then give you what I believe to be some very important advice. I assume that NGC did not give this coin a cameo ("CAM") or ultra cameo ("UCAM") designation, which would result in higher list prices.

   The only retail price guide to which I have ready access that provides prices for certified coins given "plus" grades is the PCGS Price Guide, which also tends to have the highest--in my opinion, often too high--prices.  An 1882 Trade dollar (a proof-only issue as are all after 1878) graded "66+" currently lists $16,500 on the PCGS Price Guide. (The grades for coins graded "66" and "67" on that guide are $14,250 and $25,000 respectively. Coins given "plus" grades usually price closer to the lower than to the higher grade.)

   The NGC Price Guide lists this issue at $13,500 in PF 66 and $25,000 in PF 67.

   The Summer 2023 CPG Coin & Currency Market Review, in contrast, lists this issue in "66" at $9,750 and "67" at $19,800. Although CPG purportedly lists dealer to dealer prices, I have purchased coins at major auction venues and from dealers at below CPG and other list prices.

   You must bear in mind that the value of a coin, especially a more expensive coin such as this one, is not completely determined by any price guide or the grade awarded it by a grading service. Sophisticated buyers determine the prices they are willing to pay for coins upon their personal evaluation of that particular coin, often based on many years of experience. Coins at these price levels are often sell at auctions held by major numismatic auction houses such as Heritage, Goldberg, Great Collections, and Stacks Bowers. Auction records for such sales are compiled most currently on the PCGS website at Auction Prices Realized - PCGS Auction Prices.  You may wish to review these records for 1882 Proof Trade dollars at and around this grade level. There are frequently wide variations in prices realized for coins of the same issue in the same grade awarded by the same grading service even at the same sale. Proof Trade dollars are sometimes unattractively toned or not fully struck even when awarded relatively high grades such as "66+". Coins that sophisticated collectors consider unattractive often sell for below list prices.

   I am concerned that as someone who is relatively new to buying coins and is unaware of how to access the major price guides, you are considering buying such an expensive coin even if you can easily afford it.  There have been instances of counterfeit or overgraded coins being placed in fake or tampered with grading service holders. At a minimum, you should verify that the coin matches its description (and photo if graded after approximately 2008) on NGC Certificate Verification. NGC Cert Lookup | Verify NGC Certification | NGC (ngccoin.com).  If possible, you should also have an experienced collector or dealer who is familiar with proof Trade dollars examine the coin and provide you with an opinion.  I would advise that you learn something about these coins and their appearance yourself through both reading and study of the actual coins before making a purchase at this level.

   Here is a link to a topic whose lead post provides some leads to basic resources, including print and online price and grading guides:

 

   

[Coinbuf]

Welcome to the forum, please don't take this the wrong way but for someone that is self admittedly "new to buying US coins" you are sure jumping into the deep end of the pool.   Are you an experienced buyer of coinage outside of US coins?   IF not then you might want to consider the possibility of having this purchase screened by someone who has more experience in this area.   Within every grade there is a range of quality from high to low, paying top dollar for a coin that is considered by many to be of lower quality can be quite a shock when you go to sell it someday.   Also there are many factors that go into pricing besides just the quality as perceived by the seller, some of those are; the presence of or lack of a CAC bean, special provenance or history of who might have owned the coin previously, and more.

But as to your question if you are not familiar with the NGC site the coin explorer section is where you can find lots of information about almost every coin you might wish to inquire about, link provided.  Coin Explorer    Below I have posted the section for a 1882 PF trade (non cameo as you did not state CAM), as you can see the recent auction prices have a varied range all of which can be due to the factors I listed above.   Also remember that this data is auction history, if you are considering a purchase from a dealer you should expect to pay his markup which will end up higher than most of the auction numbers that the explorer shows.

[Henri Charriere]

Welcome!

Speaking strictly as an impartial observer with no axe to grind and no agenda to pursue, I feel that something here is missing.

You were indeed quite fortunate, by fortuitous timing, to elicit two excellent responses from two knowledgeable members, but I cannot help but feel there is more to your unusual query that merits engaging one's hazard lights and proceeding with extreme caution.

Look at this from our perspective... I would have a few rhetorical questions of my own that come to mind, three, in fact: Why this particular coin?  Why this specific date? And why this precise high grade? The specificity of your request likely rules out the lion's share of all possible sources.

By all means, consult the resources referred to above, but this is a matter that may very well require the services of experienced expeditors affiliated with well-known, reputable companies who would know who to consult in their vast network of vetted contacts with proven track records.  While it is ordinarily possible to acquire coins for sale directly, my feeling is there is a threshold beyond which auction houses cannot be ruled out. I wish you the best of luck!

 

[James F Bell]

Hello Friends,

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond yesterday to my inquiry concerning the 1882 Trade Dollar PF 66 value.

I described myself as a relatively new coin collector which is true as I only started about 10 months ago. Some or your comments questioned why I was buying such a valuable coin as a relatively new collector.  That is a great question and I would like to qualify why I consider myself a new coin collector and how I am taking precautions to avoid over paying or getting coins that are.fakes. As a precaution against being a self described newbie, generally, I only buy certified (PCGS or NGC) coins that are on sale.  I also buy in sufficient quantities to avoid paying shipping, taxes, and processing fees.  Before buying, I also check the "red book", grey sheet, PCGS or NGC ,price guides, the L & C price guides, the Ebay coin price history of sold coins, relative to a coin's advertised sale price.  Of course this gives me a wide range of information to use in deciding whether to buy or not.

I have also described myself as a newbie as I am collecting a wide variety of coins and not trying to fill out sets, etc.  I also focus on "rare coins" as my major criteria for researching what to buy and I buy into a range of rare coins.  Recently, I have been concentrating on Trade Dollars and in particular those with chop marks.

Once again, I think you for taking the time to respond and offer me both your thoughts and advice.  I am not responding to you as an apologist, but I do believe a response was necessary since you took the time to provide me with some very good advice and thoughts.  You are always welcome to do so.  Thank you, James Bell