Selling a valuable coin

Poseidon

Hello all, I have a coin I'm looking to sell that is fairly valuable ($5000+). I'm just curious about what the best way to sell it might be. I know a lot of online dealers (Legend, Heritage) say they regularly make offers on coins, but I question how good an offer I'd get from a dealer, relative to the price it might bring on eBay, or in an auction. Any advice would be appreciated.

Poseidon

itsnotjustme

Tell us the date, type of coin, mint mark, and condition. Also, if it has been professionally graded, what company did it. (you need all these to start before determining anything about the value.) A scan or high quality digital photo would also help. We can look it up on price sheets, auction archives, recent e-bay sales etc. then give you advice from there.

Welcome to the boards!

FC57Coins

First of all, how do you know it's value? Is the coin certified? Do you know it's grade? is it accurate? These are things you may want to clarify before you determine whether the coin you have is "the real McCoy" or just a pretender - can you give us any more info on it?

Regards,

Frank

DanC

May I suggest you'd get more useful advice by simply letting us know what coin it is?

pictures would be handy as well.

edit:
Man - you guys are fast...

goose3

get a couple nice pictures of it. List it on ebay with a reserve or even start it at your minimum. It would only cost a few bucks to list but if it does sell, the fees could be kinda hefty, so take that into consideration when coming up with your reserve or minimum.

what is the coin, if I can ask?

FC57Coins

Gee Brian - like we're thinking alike or what?

Frank

itsnotjustme

Maybe a little....

Poseidon

Sorry for the lack of description in my first post, the coin is an 1881 Trade Dollar graded NGC PF66 Cameo. I don't have any scans right now, but could get some made in the next week or so.

Poseidon

FC57Coins

AAAAAAAH - Now that's a different kettle of fish!

First of all, yes a scan would be nice for us curious types. And yes you do have a rarity there. Someone in this forum might even be interested in the piece.

Frank

itsnotjustme

I would sell that through one of the Major auction houses at a large show. I think Heritage has a couple coming up, but I'm not sure which company will give you the best deal. A coin like that should get you some preferential treatment.

EVillageProwler

Poseidon,

You may want to let interested parties of the coin know how to contact you. Perhaps you can supply an email address, or at least allow folks to PM you!

EVP

steventheyn

I agree with Brian, I would consign it to a major auction house at a big sale. Like Long Beach or the ANA

Poseidon

If anyone has any questions about the coin, I can be contacted at marketmaker65@yahoo.com.

Poseidon

roadrunner

I'd be very leery of consigning that to any coin firm auction unless it is very solid for the grade, PQ, or has great eye appeal. There are plenty of very average proof 65 and 66 Trade dollars looking for homes. Selling something very average or below average at auction might just net you 10-20% less than selling it yourself. Auctions are good places to get big premiums for coins that have something extra for the grade. The market is still not strong enough in the classic type where lower end stuff is bringing premiums. A crappy Proof 66 trade dollar is worth $7-8K. A real nice one $10-12K. A high end piece could fetch $15K or more. Trying to figure out to the nearest 2 or 3% where your trade dollar fits in, is the hard part. You need to zero in on this before thinking of consigning it to anyone.

roadrunner

Poseidon

So I guess what you're saying is that I should get the opinion of some local dealers in the area?

Poseidon

KoinKollector

Id go w/ someone who specializes in the series. Maybe get in contact w/ Legend. You could also asl the local Trade $ gurus, TradeDollarNut or Shironiichan

Poseidon

Anyone have any other thoughts?

1jester

Welcome to the Boards, Poseidon! Good luck with the sale.

MacCoin

NGC PF66 Cameo Nice coin! use ebay with a reserve or even better set the price at the lowest price you can sell the coin for. good luck

tradedollarnut

Like Roadrunner says - it depends on the coin. It also depends on your needs. Do you need quick cash? Do you need the extra 5-10% you'll get by spending extra time and effort yourself?

My experience with ebay (I check the trade dollar section multiple times per day) is that I've never seen a high grade proof coin sell. They are available at shows and from dealers and so that's where people buy them - not too many people hassle with imaged coins of that value that are not extremely scarce.

Another option no one stated is to have a major firm take the coin on consignment. They can evaluate the quality and tell you how much to expect. They then market it for you with an added amount on the coin for their commission. Often times this is the way to get the most for your coin without the risk or time delay of auction. Legend will give you a frank assessment of your coin if you call them at 1-800-743-2646. However, they won't waste a lot of time asking too much for the coin just to satisfy you - they know what they go for and they know who will be interested and at how much. Good luck!