Question

[livinglucky]

 

How do coins sell for $8.00 on e-bay and are $2,500.00 in the price guide?

I have just started to buy coins instead of comics, so price guide is what I go

to for coin cost.

Thanks

livinglucky

[TomB]

Howdy and welcome. It would be helpful if you could give real-world examples of what you are writing about.

[Brotherman]

I doubt there are any $2,500 coins selling for 8 bucks. The grade of a coin

can greatly affect the price. Since you are new to the hobby, maybe you

over-estimated the grade? If you have a link to an auction like this it would

help.

 

Hays

[livinglucky]

Here are some examples.

S.B.A. dollar ms 70 1999-p I paid $8.50

P.C.G.S. has it listed at $2,500 for ms 68.

Kennedy ½ ms 70 1988-D cost $20.00.

These were graded by S.G.S. does this make a difference?

[MunkyMan95]

Very big difference. I've never even heard of SGS. Probably worth less than what you paid.

[Jeff S]

livinglucky

Almost ALL of SGS's coins are graded MS70. Most times they are 5-6 points higher than PCGS. Seeing you are new to coins. Maybe you should invest in a book to help you grade coins.

[livinglucky]

You are right I will get a book and check things out.

That should have been my first investment.

Thanks, for not calling me a names.

I always say I'm to old a cat to be screwed by kittens, so will do

some reading.

[TomB]

As others have already told you, there are many companies whose slabbed coins are essentially worthless. A good book to buy and read is The Coin Collector's Survival Manual by Scott Travers. It's likely in its fifth or sixth edition and will help you immensely.

[WinstonWare]

Actually $8.50 is a pretty inexpensive mistake. I have made some pricier ones.

[Jeff S]

My sad story : SGS was the my first TPG's. I bought a full set (at that time) of MS70 Silver Eagles back in 2002. By the time the 2003 came Out I had figured out by comparing coins that I had bought by NGC and PCGS that SGS's grading system was way off. And after searching real time prices on EBay that SGS coins are selling for far less. I did however sell that set by means of a local TIP board and made 125$ over what I paid. But they did help me learn ( to some extent) what not to buy so i guess I do owe SGS.

[Bruceswar]

Actually $8.50 is a pretty inexpensive mistake. I have made some pricier ones.

 

Thats no joke! I have made $900.00 mistakes in my earlier days...

[physics-fan3.14]

Well, and assuming that these coins are in fact 5 points overgraded (which is probably right), you actually didn't overpay too much for the coins (although you will probably never get your money back on these). The mistake was made, the lesson learned that many collectors spend many hundreds of dollars to learn, and you will move on. All in all, a great way to gain some knowledge you will never forget.

[James_OldeTowne]

SGS is not a legitimate coin certification company. PCGS, NGC, ANACS, and ICG are THE ONLY certification companies for coins. ALL others do not certify coins, and their "grades" are worthless.

 

This not a blanket statement, but a factual statement. The coins you bought with SGS grades are simply not graded properly.

 

James

[livinglucky]

 

 

If I get these coins and they are in very good condition

couldn’t I get them graded?

I have a membership here, so could go through NGC.

[TomB]

You may not want to read this, and I don't mean it in a disparaging way, but you will be throwing good money after bad if you invest grading fees and/or shipping expenses in an attempt to have these coins graded somewhere else. Also, any MS70 or PF70 coin that you have will have to be broken out of its slab if you want NGC or PCGS to grade it because neither company will crossover those grades into their holders without the coin being raw (removed from the slab).

[livinglucky]

 

TomB

Thanks,

I will just keep this and watch and read.

I think most of you are right and the little money I lost

is not that much.

In fact I have rolled the dice for more than this cost me.

livinglucky

[macrocoin]

As others have stated, who grades the coins makes a very big difference in the market value. Advice for new collectors.....buy the coin, not the holder. Basically, what I mean is, as you get started with coins, dont make purchased based on claims of grades and online price guides...both are very misleading. If you personally cannot tell the difference between a MS64 coin and a MS66 one, dont put a lot of money into that coin until you can.

 

I would recommend picking up the ANA grading standards book.

You will learn a lot about what the requirements are for various grades of US coins.

Its a great starting point in understanding what makes a given grade.

 

As far as real world value...I have found that no price guide, not even the greysheet, is 100% accurate. Some things sell cheap, some things sell for more than the guides. For me, the best indicator is following the winning bids on auctions. That is the real deal - actual money paid for a coin. For me, its the true test to see what a coin is selling for these days...go and see what it REALLY sells for!

 

The PCGS guide tends to be very optimistic, at least with many issues.

Some coins may actually trend higher....a lot of this has to do with the population of those coins in those grades. When in doubt, hit EBay and search for the coin in question...see what people are really paying.

 

Welcome to the site - ask questions - read up on grading - and for now, buy what you like the looks of within your price range. Start slow and cheap, and as you learn, work your way into the higer value coins.