When the time comes to move on from the coin hobby....

Hallco

I'm wondering if there is an ettiquite to reach out to dealers to give first right of refusal with coins one has acquired from them when a collector chooses to sell. Or in this day and age with so many options, does it even matter? The question is asked from a standpoint of "nice quality" pieces, but not ultra rare or excessively expensive. Let's say none exceed $2000. Thank you for your input.

jmlanzaf

First right of refusal would be obtained at purchase, not sale. There is no need to offer it later.

MFeld

Unless you said you'd do so, at the time you bought the coins, there's certainly no obligation on your part. However, it would be an extremely nice gesture that many dealers would probably appreciate.

No Headlights

Why not contact a dealer about a coin you want to sell that they obviously thought enough of to purchase before?
Good luck.

2ndCharter

I wouldn't know - I won't be exiting until I'm dead.

winesteven

I plan to sell my entire collection in about five years, when I turn 80 (if I “make it” to that age, G-d willing). One portion of my collection, my high grade Indian Head Cents and Flying Eagle Cents, all double stickered by CAC and @EagleEye ‘s Photo Seals, will be consigned to Rick Snow. He helped me tremendously in putting these sets together, along with giving me a tremendous education with these two series. This decision is despite the fact that the majority of the coins in these sets I did not buy from him! The majority were bought by me via auction, and several from other dealers, yet he gave me his unbiased opinion on virtually every coin I purchased!

By the way, one may ask, “Isn’t it redundant having both a CAC sticker and an Eagle Eye Photo Seal on a coin?” Not really. I learned that John Albanese and Rick Snow each weigh various factors differently from each other, so there are some CAC’d coins that Rick will not sticker, and some Photo Sealed coins that JA will not sticker! As such, I believe having both stickers on each of those coins is having the best of both worlds!

JA and Rick have tremendous respect for each other. My understanding is that CAC in NJ will remove virtually all other stickers on a coin that they sticker, except for Rick’s Photo Seal if it’s there first!

Separately, if I pass before I reach 80, I left detailed written instructions for my wife and adult children to follow to dispose of my collection, and that includes what I said above.

Steve

bronco2078

when they make buy back offers you may find they are no longer your favorite dealer

Cougar1978

1. Depending on the size of your investment you might consider taking a table at a local show or open up an eBay store. This opens up the retail arena.

2. If you have some auction sale experience then you probably know how much vs bid you can get via that route. The above (1) you have control.

Have you tried shop anything around a show? What pct vs bid were you able to get?

As far as offering material to somebody you bought from / your the owner - there is no rule it’s your play call. A friend offered a coin to a dealer he got it from couple years back. Dealer declined offer “we are phasing those out.”

bronco2078

@Cougar1978 said:
Depending on the size of your investment you might consider taking a table at a local show or open up an eBay store.

This is good advice . Open an ebay store now and dip your toe in the water . Start unwinding the collection a bit to get a feel for the process

291fifth

Make whatever moves will maximize YOUR return.

skier07

I would try selling a few coins now and see how it goes. I would try contacting a dealer who you bought some coins from and consign a few with one of the big auction houses. The problem with selling a coin to a dealer is unless they remember the coin you probably won’t get an offer on the telephone and you lose control of the coin once it’s out of your hand. Listing a few coins on the BST with realistic prices is easy and free.

coinbuf

Unless you and that dealer have a prearranged "deal" for a buyback you owe no dealer anything. Coin dealers sell coins, that doesn't give them automatic first "dibs" when you sell. If you want to offer some coins back to the dealer that you bought them from that is fine and I also think they may appreciate that, but you are getting out of the hobby so any appreciation from that dealer will provide no benefit to you.

I may offer a few items to one or two specific dealers (assuming they are still alive and in the biz) but I don't owe them anything and would not sell back at under market price. Afterall, they didn't sell to me at under market price in the first place, it's not personal it's just business. I can guarantee you they would do the same 99% of the time.

DisneyFan

@winesteven said:
I plan to sell my entire collection in about five years, when I turn 80 (if I “make it” to that age, G-d willing).

"A day without fine wine and working on your coin collection is like a day without sunshine!!!"

Most likely when you turn 80, you will postpone selling your collection until you are 85. You are having too much fun.

winesteven

@DisneyFan said:

@winesteven said:
I plan to sell my entire collection in about five years, when I turn 80 (if I “make it” to that age, G-d willing).

"A day without fine wine and working on your coin collection is like a day without sunshine!!!"

Most likely when you turn 80, you will postpone selling your collection until you are 85. You are having too much fun.

That’s always possible, but I’d be surprised if I change my mind. Thanks though for your comment. Yes, I’m having a LOT of fun, and deriving a ton of pleasure from our wonderful hobby!

Steve

Project Numismatics

You’ll find out real fast which dealers stand behind their inventory.

I had one fairly prominent dealer last year refuse to make an offer on a coin he sold me a few prior. Have never bought anything from him again.

There are other dealers who really stand behind their inventory with unofficial buy back policies (adjusted for current market value of course). Reward them by doing more business with them!

UncleJoe

You can certainly offer your coins to dealers you purchased from but you are not obligated to do that unless you previously agreed to do that.

I think I look at things a little different than some of the other posts. I have no need to maximize the amount I receive nor am I interested in doing the work involved in setting up a table at a show or dealing with eBay. If that sort of thing interests you, then by all means do it. However, I just send my coins to the auction house that would be best for the particular coins. Even though I don’t worry about maximum return, I am always pleasantly surprised by the overall net results.

Joe.

Twobitcollector

I'm in the same boat.
I'll be 81 next month.
So far I've given my children the best ones to them.
I just placed a lot of mine in 2 different auction houses.
My favorites I'll keep.
Then some I'll post on the BST.
PS I did offer some back to one the "big time dealers" that I had purchased from him, and was turned down.
He does display in the ad that he does buy back coins that he sells.

2ndCharter

I wouldn't know - I won't be exiting until I'm dead.

To elaborate a bit more on my initial post - I'm just about the same age as Steve and have been collecting New York State National Bank Notes for 45 years. Now, this is a collection that can never be completed - there were 900 banks in New York that issued notes, about 50 of which are still unreported and another 50 that have just one or two notes known. However, I am still as excited as ever over the hunt and I wake up every day wondering if I will hear about something new and interesting. Because of the rarity of many banks, collecting Nationals has been referred to as the most morbid of hobbies because, many times, you have to wait until a collector dies to get a shot at a note. I related an example of this in that thread about taking out a loan for hobby purchases - in September of 2022, one of the higher-ups at Heritage called me and said just three words - "He has died." Well, I knew exactly who he was talking about and I spent the next four months scraping together every cent I could for their upcoming FUN auction because I was looking at spending a low six-figure amount. It still wasn't enough but we are talking about numerous notes that hadn't been on the market since the 1970s so it was definitely time to go into debt and it worked out fine. Now, I'm saving up for the next time because two of my major competitors are 85 and 92 so, sooner rather than later. It definitely keeps me going.

Coin Finder

Good question, sell to whomever you want. I'm getting out slowly becasue I don't like what the hobby is becoming... It not fun anymore. The proliferation of mis information and fake slabs and coins is part of it.

Offer your coins here! Lots of good, honest and knowledgeable buyers on these boards.

Russell12

I've been collecting since I was a kid (1970's), all in Whitman albums, mostly full. I have transitions to collecting PCGS slabbed coins and wonder about selling my album collection. Do people even collect that way anymore?

NorthStar

It's always an interesting discussion when we come face to face with our own mortality (collection). I like the approach @winesteven has embraced. I've just modified the age (younger)! Nothing I own would be considered a great numismatic treasure, but they are personal mementos to dealers and friends no longer with us. I have started to unwind my raw world coin collection and have seriously considered departing with a bunch of modern bullion products.

Elcontador

@winesteven said:
I plan to sell my entire collection in about five years, when I turn 80 (if I “make it” to that age, G-d willing). One portion of my collection, my high grade Indian Head Cents and Flying Eagle Cents, all double stickered by CAC and @EagleEye ‘s Photo Seals, will be consigned to Rick Snow. He helped me tremendously in putting these sets together, along with giving me a tremendous education with these two series. This decision is despite the fact that the majority of the coins in these sets I did not buy from him! The majority were bought by me via auction, and several from other dealers, yet he gave me his unbiased opinion on virtually every coin I purchased!

By the way, one may ask, “Isn’t it redundant having both a CAC sticker and an Eagle Eye Photo Seal on a coin?” Not really. I learned that John Albanese and Rick Snow each weigh various factors differently from each other, so there are some CAC’d coins that Rick will not sticker, and some Photo Sealed coins that JA will not sticker! As such, I believe having both stickers on each of those coins is having the best of both worlds!

JA and Rick have tremendous respect for each other. My understanding is that CAC in NJ will remove virtually all other stickers on a coin that they sticker, except for Rick’s Photo Seal if it’s there first!

Separately, if I pass before I reach 80, I left detailed written instructions for my wife and adult children to follow to dispose of my collection, and that includes what I said above.

Steve

Steve, there's a fine point here. You're right re different standards re Rick Snow and JA. You can say the same thing re PCGS and NGC. I think it depends. Personally, with a Flyer or IHC, I prefer the Eagle Eye sticker over the CAC sticker. This is what Rick Snow has done for over a generation. It's a bit more intangible, but when it comes to old copper, I'd value Tom Reynolds' opinion on a coin over anyone else's. Just my two cents.