Selling rare coins direct vs. auction
allnewsanchor
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Still rolling over in my addled brain how I want to put my handful of higher grade (64 and up) rare coins up for sale. I've done some pretty deep dives into Great Collections, DLRC and other respected dealer/auctioneers. What I'd like to ask y'all about is direct selling to dealers. Full-page ads in numismatics publications say "Sell to us!" "Avoid the middleman" "Best prices for your coins" "Companies buy from you, then sell to us to make a profit" etc.
For those of you who have sold directly to a reputable dealer (not your LCS), either via mail or at a show, with whom have you had a good experience which resulted in scrupulously fair prices for your coins? As always, TIA and thanks for the education and the kindnesses you've shown to this board rookie.
"Brother, can you spare a dime?" (Especially a 1975 no S proof?)
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"Brother, can you spare a dime?" (Especially a 1975 no S proof?)
Sorry... don't know why it posted twice. Admins and mods, feel free to delete the second one.
"Brother, can you spare a dime?" (Especially a 1975 no S proof?)
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Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
It was long ago but I once sold coins direct to David Lawrence. They are a competent, honest company and treated me with respect. I doubt any of that has changed. good luck no matter how you proceed. James
You probably have a good idea what they're worth; cac stickers would likely help. The "highest prices paid" buyers don't offer the strongest offers usually.
It really depends on what it is. The dealer that is the higher buyer on gold is likely not the higher buyer on dollars.
If it were me, I'd go with Great Collections without hesitation. They can determine which, if any, coins they should submit for CAC stickering as part of their process.
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Heritage receives numerous inquiries from potential consignors, some of whose whose coins are better suited for direct sale, which will net them more money than auction would. Certain coins, such as generic gold pieces, tend to trade at tight spreads, to the extent that Heritage and other large, active large traders will usually pay the owners more than they'd net at auction. So it comes down to what the coins are and who the dealer is.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
64 and up....okay, but what kind of coins? That is directly relevant to the correct answer here.
You have access to dealers/collectors through the Buy-Sell-Trade thread here as well.
I would always hesitate because it does matter what they are.
I'm with @Torey here - for a relatively small lot of nice coins, I think the BST (buy/sell/trade) forum right here is a nice way to go. You have direct access to some highly engaged customers (some wholesale, but a lot of retail-level collectors like myself).
Poke around, check out the pinned rules, and consider it! https://forums.collectors.com/categories/buy-sell-trade-u-s-coins
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Agree. For example, if they are common date Saints in PCGS MS63 or less, you may get less than melt value after the auction fees are subtracted from the hammer price and you might have been better off just sending them to the refinery.
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This ^^^. Depending on what you have, how many, and the total value involved, you might be stressing about little or nothing.
Unless you can find another collector to sell to, where you can meet somewhere in the middle, you are going to be getting something approximating a wholesale price whichever route you take.
Direct to a dealer, you have the wildcard of whether or not they are screwing you. At auction, you know right up front what the house is taking off the top, and that, other than that, you are receiving exactly 100% of market value at that precise point in time, as determined in an open auction at that precise point in time.
If you have a lot of high value items to sell at once, an auction house might be willing to negotiate your seller fee, or even be willing to kick back to you some of the buyer fee. EBay will be more of a retail environment, with somewhat lower fees, but then you have to deal with all the BS involved in selling on eBay, including potential buyer fraud. Good luck!!!
It depends what you’re selling. If your coins are numismatically interesting (not generic Saints or Morgans for example) you may hit a home run at an auction house compared with hitting a single with a dealer. How risk averse are you? If you sell to a dealer you know exactly how much you will get. At an auction there’s a lot of uncertainty. Some coins do very well and some not as well as expected. I’m in a large metropolitan area so I have the luxury of shopping coins at a show but I would be uncomfortable sending coins to a dealer halfway across the country and losing control of my coins and being in a weaker negotiating position.
Thanks, everyone. The coins are an 1828 dime (small) in 64, 1854 1/2 dime (arrows) in 65, a proof 1868 1/2 dime in 65, a proof 1873 (final year) 3 cent silver in 65 (which I fully believe should grade higher; 66 or at least a plus)... all of which are NGC graded in older slabs, with the first two earning a green bean. Plus my 1895-S Morgan graded XF45 by PCGS. My friends who reserved comment because I hadn't specified are more than welcome to reply once more, now that you know.
"Brother, can you spare a dime?" (Especially a 1975 no S proof?)
I've taken a beating every time I either sold to a dealer (online and LCS) or traded coins in on other coins. I'll be selling a $3K coin (PCGS Price Guide) in the near future, and I've learned my lesson and will be sending it to either Heritage or Great Collections.
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Auction probably your best bet.
In the case of selling direct you likely would do best by working with multiple dealers. Someone like Gerry Fortin for the dime and 1/2 dimes, not sure who would be best on the other two. I would use the BST first as it is free and you have the most control, and then GC if you have no luck finding buyers here. I have been told that Heritage or another large auction firm might not be willing to work with you much on pricing for such a small lot.
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@coinbuf made a good suggestion of Gerry Fortin as he specializes in your coins and will work with you on setting reserves for his auctions
Took a nice $2,000 Greysheet Bid coin to 2024 FUN hoping someone would really appreciate the coin and received a range of offers from several top dealers. A low ball $1400 offer from a dealer on this board who will remain nameless (you know who you are, shame on you). Otherwise, $1,850, $1950 (twice), $2000 (three times), $2,100, and the highest offer was $2,200. The staff at three auction houses (David Lawrence, Heritage, and Stacks) were all very helpful and encouraged me to put it in one of their auctions; but, Great Collections got the coin with their 0% seller's and 10% buyer's commission for coins netting over $1,000.
At auction It ended up with a high bid of $2,125 and the buyer flipped it into a recent GC auction with the final bid being $50 higher than what I got. The coin did not have a CAC. The PCGS value was $3500 at the time and it is now $3,250.
Seeing a coin in hand seems to be helpful and coins with CACs seem to get stronger prices,
Good call by @coinbuf & @DisneyFan: Gerry Fortin is an excellent choice, not only in his areas of specialty, but other types as well!
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Except for his subpar pictures.
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@Catbert: you nailed it!
“The thrill of the hunt never gets old”
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Ever consider selling online site / store? I would want control plus sch c deduction.
I've recently had a great experience with Dan @PeakRarities
Nice coins bring nice prices. He recently purchased a CACG 55 at PCGS 58 prices from me.
Dan is a great suggestion, I totally trust him.
I like to keep things simple as a rule. 95% of the coins I sell go to GC. I sold a rattler 66 38d buff with a GREEN sticker on GC for $800. I had it down for something like $65, didn’t even watch it. No idea why it did do well, but I have no doubt that another route would not have produced that result.
Thanks gentlemen, I try to pay up for nice coins. In the case of @oldabeintx’s 38-d rattler nickel, I would never be able to pay anything close to $800. Novelties like that, and crazy toning are always best left to auctions and hopefully two collectors have to duke it out, for moon money.
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I cannot recommend Fortin. He is very elitist and he even publicly blasted me back in March on his blog because I simply negotiated a lower price on a coin. I haven’t done business with him since.
I’m sorry to hear about your experience of publicly being criticized over negotiating a lower price— sounds like a typical/normal interaction between collectors and dealers. I also had a sour experience though mine was handled over e-mail
Fortin strikes me as the kind of old-timer who’s completely over dealing with people. He’s got that “my way or get lost” attitude perfected, and his super condescending demeanor only adds to the experience. Honestly, I’m glad I didn’t do any business with him; I’d rather keep my money than fund his grumpiness!
You couldn’t have said this any better! You’re reputation is EVERYTHING in this hobby.
I think you are being a little hard on Gerry Fortin. He has put a lot of effort into studying Seated coins. He writes a daily blog which is worthwhile reading. His inventory is basically on consignment and he works with a small margin. While I don't always agree with his pricing, he is a sellers' dealer, meaning he tries hard to get what he considers fair prices for his sellers. Anybody who follows his blog realizes that he doesn't have a lot of room to negotiate on his prices.
I don't agree with Gerry about many things but he is a pretty reasonable guy. I do think he is honest and fair. I've done a few deals with him and been pleased with the coins and process.
The one major thing I have against him ( @Catbert shhh!) is this:
That is laughable. There are a couple of dealers with worse pictures but not many.
Chopmarked Trade Dollar Registry Set --- US & World Gold Showcase --- World Chopmark Showcase
I like Gerry and I think he’s honest, but I have to agree there. As a consignor, I would never want my coins to be offered with sunlight photography. I’d want them to look like this…. 😉
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Other than the planchet flaw, I really like this coin and bought it at a fair price. No complaints.
Unless I was the consignor....
Chopmarked Trade Dollar Registry Set --- US & World Gold Showcase --- World Chopmark Showcase
I’m not saying that he isn’t honest and I know he has contributed to the hobby significantly in the seated dime arena. Most all of us have very limited margin as well who are dealing coins. We shouldn’t have to feel for Gerry because he has such limited margin…
The issue I had was not only poor customer service (and this goes doubly against him because he arrogantly states he has the BEST customer service in the industry,) but also the fact that he chose to publicly criticize me in his blog and I did nothing to warrant any of it. Apparently I’m also not the only one who has a negative perception of him either as stated previously on this thread. I also have had conversations with another dealer on here who feels the same way and will not do any business with him either.
I didn’t even mention his photography either which i wholeheartedly agree with everyone on here. The fact that Gerry himself has stated that he has the some of the best photography and I proud of it, adds to my conclusions of his elitist attitude.
Gerry Fortin said:
Photography: In contrast to nearly all other dealers, GFRC utilizes natural sunlight for all photographs resulting in a more accurate representation for color and grade verification. Excellent photographs are critical to selling coins online.
I like GF's site, I never had any strange interactions, he stocks cool coins
I have private retail clients too in addition to shows, which are a very lucrative part of the business (no table fees).
speaking of being in control, if you do try selling on the BST, do business with established members wit references... and where does the control come in?
since you are new, expect the established players to want to receive the coin then pay for it