What do you consider the threshold for a coin to be expensive?

ChrisH821

Anonymous Poll
Strictly monetarily, at what price point do you consider a coin to be expensive?
If your choice falls between two options, choose the nearest.

Treashunt

Any amount more than I have in my pocket when I am looking.

silverpop

anything beyond my budget for coins

daltex

Can't answer it that way, but more than 6-12 months of one's coin budget is an expensive coin.

lermish

My answer is that if a coin is roughly 5x my average coin purchase price I would consider that "expensive".

FlyingAl

I think I speak for a lot of YNs when I say that anything over $100 is expensive...

Batman23

I was thinking more like 10% above retail price guide... Is that what you were asking?

silverbul

when the wife starts Bi@#*ing, that is my limit. be honest. i'm not the only one. lol

privatecoin

@silverbul said:
when the wife starts Bi@#*ing, that is my limit. be honest. i'm not the only one. lol

In my case it's 1c then.

Dave99B

It’s not really a dollar amount for me. I’ve paid triple Greysheet several times on amazing coins. Didn’t even blink an eye.

Dave

SanctionII

My wife does not understand why I buy and collect little round pieces of metal. She has asked me why I buy coins, why I have so many of them (when they just sit there and take up space) and what I am going to do with them.

Last year and this year I started submitting coins for grading. I have had some good results and have told my wife about same.

I recently mentioned to her that I submitted a 1957 Proof cent that I cut out of an OGP set (that cost me about $25.00 - $30.00, thus my cost basis, excluding the grading fee, in the cent was about $2.50 - $3.00 [60% attributable to the half and 10% each attributable to the four minors]).

I told her the coin graded PF68CAM and is valued by PCGS at $650.00.

The look on her face when I told her was equal to or better than seeing the grade on the 1957 cent post. She seemed to be impressed.

SanctionII

BTW.

The threshold for me has gone up over the years (especially since our kids are adults and mostly off the parental dime).

ricko

It really depends on the particular coin and why I want it. Some coins I like, I will pay a premium for, some I would not. Cheers, RickO

lkenefic

Outside of getting some sort of unexpected windfall, I budget around $75/month on coins. That translates to about $1000/ year... my Seated Dollar for the 7070 was around a year's coin budget, so i would consider that to be a fairly pricey coin...

pcgscacgold

Over $10,000 it better be an exceptional coin. Between $5,000 and $10,000 it better be amazing. Of course, CAC would be required at that level of money.

Kliao

@FlyingAl said:
I think I speak for a lot of YNs when I say that anything over $100 is expensive...

Absolutely. Especially when you're a YN just starting in the hobby then $10 sounds expensive.

lermish

@pcgscacgold said:
Over $10,000 it better be an exceptional coin. Between $5,000 and $10,000 it better be amazing. Of course, CAC would be required at that level of money.

I have a question for you. I like CAC and don't mean to turn this into a pro/con CAC diversion, just a simple question to satisfy my curiosity, really no ulterior motives.

Let's say you were in the market for a Capped Bust Half Eagle. Same price, both eye appealing coins with no obvious issues.
You have an option of buying an AU55 w/ CAC or an AU58 no CAC. Which do you choose?

pcgscacgold

@lermish said:

@pcgscacgold said:
Over $10,000 it better be an exceptional coin. Between $5,000 and $10,000 it better be amazing. Of course, CAC would be required at that level of money.

I have a question for you. I like CAC and don't mean to turn this into a pro/con CAC diversion, just a simple question to satisfy my curiosity, really no ulterior motives.

Let's say you were in the market for a Capped Bust Half Eagle. Same price, both eye appealing coins with no obvious issues.
You have an option of buying an AU55 w/ CAC or an AU58 no CAC. Which do you choose?

I only buy gold so I can relate it to that. Yes, I have bought a lower grade CAC gold coin over a non-CAC higher grade coin. I use JA's eyes as a second opinion to the dealer that I work with. If I were buying $100 coins, probably not.

lermish

@pcgscacgold said:

@lermish said:

@pcgscacgold said:
Over $10,000 it better be an exceptional coin. Between $5,000 and $10,000 it better be amazing. Of course, CAC would be required at that level of money.

I have a question for you. I like CAC and don't mean to turn this into a pro/con CAC diversion, just a simple question to satisfy my curiosity, really no ulterior motives.

Let's say you were in the market for a Capped Bust Half Eagle. Same price, both eye appealing coins with no obvious issues.
You have an option of buying an AU55 w/ CAC or an AU58 no CAC. Which do you choose?

I only buy gold so I can relate it to that. Yes, I have bought a lower grade CAC gold coin over a non-CAC higher grade coin. I use JA's eyes as a second opinion to the dealer that I work with. If I were buying $100 coins, probably not.

The half eagle isn't gold enough for you!?!?

Thank you very much, my curiosity is sated.

Walkerguy21D

Very situational for me.
If I come across a $1000 coin that’s highly liquid and an easy profitable flip, I don’t even bat an eye, it’s mine.

If it’s a large cent that’s going into my collection at a comparable price point, I him and haw and chisel and walk around and think about how bad do I really want it ….

WilliamF

@FlyingAl said:
I think I speak for a lot of YNs when I say that anything over $100 is expensive...

You nailed it @FlyingAl, I still wince when paying more than $75 for one coin...
unless it is an investment that I think I can make a profit on, and then I have been known to spend $4,500

dunkleosteus430

As a YN I don't have a "real" job, but I can make over $500 if I have a good week just by aerating lawns. I don't really have any expenses that cut down my profit, besides gas for the machine, so the rest of my money I can save up for coins. I've never actually bought a coin for over $200, but anything up to $1,000 wouldn't be out of budget, and $1,000 to $2,500 would require a bit of saving, but I don't think I'll buy anything over that, and if I do it would take a while to save up for. As for coins from $2,500 to $8,500, I would really have to like a coin to save that much money, though I don't think that will ever happen, besides maybe some certain MPLs. I'm thinking of making a Lincoln Cent set, so most of the coins won't cost more than $300. As for college, I think I'll sell some of my collection, hopefully for a profit, to pay for some of that when it comes around.

coinkat

The threshold amount should rarely... if ever... be measured in dollars as it should always be about what you are getting for those dollars. This is a distinction worth making for obvious reasons

justmenutty72

$2-3K for key and semi-key dates

SkyMan

One thing that I've found interesting is that I can get just as much of a rush out of buying a raw coin for under $200, if it's really good for what it is, as I can for buying a slabbed coin in the $1,000 - $2,000 range. Obviously I'm looking for different things in this case, but the endorphin high can be almost the same. Generally speaking of course these less valuable coins will only be appreciated by someone in the know in this series, while the more expensive coin will be more appealing to a broader group of coin collectors.

BryceM

As a ratio of net worth and available cash, my answer probably hasn’t changed much over time. The actual dollar amounts have changed tremendously and will probably continue to do so.

coinandcurrency242

My job allows me work alot of overtime. Any coin under $500 is pretty easy. Anything above that, I have to start doing a little math with how much extra I will have for coins. My parents think I am a little crazy spending 2k on a St Guardians.

Onastone

I'm sorry but I can't vote. The answer is ever changing. I used to pay face value for coins and that changed when my income changed, and the prices are now all changing all the time changing values changing costs...."Turn to face the strange, ch ch changes" And as some have mentioned above, depends on the coin.

Joe_360

@SanctionII said:
My wife does not understand why I buy and collect little round pieces of metal. She has asked me why I buy coins, why I have so many of them (when they just sit there and take up space) and what I am going to do with them.

Last year and this year I started submitting coins for grading. I have had some good results and have told my wife about same.

I recently mentioned to her that I submitted a 1957 Proof cent that I cut out of an OGP set (that cost me about $25.00 - $30.00, thus my cost basis, excluding the grading fee, in the cent was about $2.50 - $3.00 [60% attributable to the half and 10% each attributable to the four minors]).

I told her the coin graded PF68CAM and is valued by PCGS at $650.00.

The look on her face when I told her was equal to or better than seeing the grade on the 1957 cent post. She seemed to be impressed.

When my wife bring up the amount of coins I have, I reminder her of how many shoes she has in her closest...

ChrisH821

@coinkat said:
The threshold amount should rarely... if ever... be measured in dollars as it should always be about what you are getting for those dollars. This is a distinction worth making for obvious reasons

That's why I said strictly monetarily. At a certain point, no matter how good a deal, a coin is expensive. A $100k coin for $70k is still expensive even if it's a smoking deal. Not everyone can snatch up a good deal when it comes around due to it still being too expensive for their means.

Sapyx

A coin over AU$100 (about US$70 at current rates) is "expensive" for me", which is what I voted for. I'll still buy 'em at $100, but I'll be thinking "oooh, that's expensive".

For a coin to be "too expensive for me to consider purchasing it", then the answer is AU$1000 (US$700). That's a hard limit that I don't seem psychologically capable of crossing.

Which is weird. I'll happily buy three $900 coins from a dealer at the same time, but not one $1000 coin.

Weiss

Anything below $1K I can rationalize as an impulse purchase--something I'll let myself do periodically. Over $1k it's something I feel I need to have planned for.

jesbroken

Any coin I can't afford is expensive.
Jim

jedm

I answered $200 and really didn't have to think too hard about it, because that's where they feel expensive to me.

Cougar1978

Mainly When it exceeds my budget or level of risk.

coinkat

There is a time value, opportunity costs and lost opportunity costs associated with money. I see that as part of the analysis to define what is expensive. I understand your question limits this to a strictly monetary proposition...as in dollars and I see it well beyond that. With limited resources, one has to be prepared how to best utilize those resources. I don't see the question as having a one dimensional answer.

I did not vote and do not plan to based on how I view the threshold as to what is expensive.

P0CKETCHANGE

My total coin “allowance” is based on a small percentage of my net worth. Within that, I set budgets for each individual coin in my sets using weighted averages based on the PCGS registry sets. For ex., for an illustrative 2-coin set that I have a $1000 total budget for, one of the coins is weighted as 25% of the set and the other 75%, my target budget for those coins would be $250 and $750, respectively. Anything higher than those amounts would be considered “expensive”. So, although I voted for $1k, that’s not really how I look at things—but I do consider four figure coins “big boy” coins.

Zoins

Depends on its worth. Spending $10,000 on a 1913 Liberty nickel would be cheap!

streeter

In 1962 a 50¢ Walker was out of my price range.

Things have changed since then. Nowadays I can buy a Morgan.

justmenutty72

I mainly collect doubled dies and rare die varieties, so most of the time I’m looking to cherrypick. But if I see a really rare variety being offered as such, I will take a stab at it by making a best offer. That’s usually in the $2K-3K range. I did just cherrypick a very nice(AU55) and very rare variety for $400, and it is at least a $3500 coin😳. Unattributed in an NGC AU55 holder. It was a Cherrypicker’s dream and definitely one of the best picks I’ve ever made.👌👍👍

gumby1234

@Joe_360 said:

@SanctionII said:
My wife does not understand why I buy and collect little round pieces of metal. She has asked me why I buy coins, why I have so many of them (when they just sit there and take up space) and what I am going to do with them.

Last year and this year I started submitting coins for grading. I have had some good results and have told my wife about same.

I recently mentioned to her that I submitted a 1957 Proof cent that I cut out of an OGP set (that cost me about $25.00 - $30.00, thus my cost basis, excluding the grading fee, in the cent was about $2.50 - $3.00 [60% attributable to the half and 10% each attributable to the four minors]).

I told her the coin graded PF68CAM and is valued by PCGS at $650.00.

The look on her face when I told her was equal to or better than seeing the grade on the 1957 cent post. She seemed to be impressed.

When my wife bring up the amount of coins I have, I reminder her of how many shoes she has in her closest...

Shoes in the closet, the hall, the kitchen, the front room, all 4 bedrooms and the bathroom, but she doesn't complain about my coins or even ask what I spent on them. I got a good one. 17 years married so far.

Elcontador

Depends on the particular coin. For me the threshold is when there is a huge hike between one grade and the next. Ie., an MS 66 and MS 67 Liberty Nickel, or an MS 64 and MS 65 Seated Dollar. I don't exceed the threshold.

AstroJoe

Even though what I consider expensive, I often have gone over that to get the coin I want.

Aspie_Rocco

@coinkat said:
The threshold amount should rarely... if ever... be measured in dollars as it should always be about what you are getting for those dollars. This is a distinction worth making for obvious reasons

I like this comment a lot. It has the feel of Zen wisdom or something similar.

BillJones

I answered $1,000, but the real answer is, it depends upon the coin.

Yesterday I was offered a 1940 Washington Quarter in NGC PR-67, CAC at $450. It was the usual cloudy Proof surfaces, especially so on the reverse. That was expensive. There was a 1940 PR-64, CAC graded cent with a very noticeable black spot on the obverse. I didn’t bother to ask for a price because I wouldn’t have paid half of Grey Sheet bid for it.
,

davewesen

50% more than it is worth, unless I really want it

JWP

Expensive is when you spend more money on coins than you actually have, and then the wife finds out.

mavs2583

I voted $1k. Something about that fourth digit coming out of the checking account makes me groan....

jt88

If I have to spend 100 for a modern coin I would consider expensive but if I spend 10K for a rare coin I would consider cheap.

blitzdude

$2K and it better be gold. RGDS!

pursuitofliberty

FWIW, I voted $5,000.

I remember back in the late 80's and early 90's I had a psychological "limit" of $300. I exceeded it a few times, but it was an internal struggle. I remember buying a 94-O dime, raw, for $490. in 1990, which I then made a P58 out of, but I was a little sick for a week before I showed it to my mentor at the time.

The last couple years that level is right at about $3,000. I haven't breached that value on a single coin (yet) since returning to the hobby in 2000, but I have come awfully close a few times. I don't think it will be as much of an internal struggle today, but it'll still be a gut check, I'm sure.