Why are the prices for the PCGS buffalo nickels so high

Nickelchaser

I've looked at many PCGS graded buffalo nickels over the past 5 years and I'm not
impressed with the coins and the price gouging just because they are in a slab.
I mean the price shouldn't go up a $100 just because someone spent 15-30 bucks
to get it slabbed. The best buffalo nickels I have bought raw from respected dealers
are all nice strikes and the prices were reasonable. The slabs have had mostly soft
strikes and the prices were exhorbitant. I have sent back every slabbed buffalo nickel
that I have looked at. I don't get it, am I missing something here?

michael

well you have learned something really interesting in the coin game buy the coin not the holder

if you find a really nice buff in the holder that meets your qualifications and it is priced to your liking then it is a bonus in the holder buy it!!!!!!
and if for some reaSON it is actually undergraded in the holder and/or with excpetional eye appeal then a bonus plus plus for you buy it!!!!

again do what you are doing buy the coin not the holder raw or otherwise!!

but in answer specifically to your first question right now the market rewards certian coins in certian holders with certiaN GRADES/whatever on them and that is okie!!
as perception is everything and right now there is a certioan companies holders that maximises a coins value sometimes more than it would sell for raw sometimes hugely monster lots more than if the coin was raw

just make sure if you buy a coin that is in a holder ask yourself what is this coin worth out of the holder?

if the answer is substancially less lots less then this tells you something and gives you more information to base your decsison on and that is okie you buy it or not as with coins value is in the eye of the beholder IT IS YOUR DECISION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

it is your money so ultimately you have to make the decsison and you should make it yourself if you cant place a value on a coin thst you are looking at irregardless of the holder this tells me you are treading on thin ice but again your pays your monry and you takes your chances!!!

sincerely michael

coinguy1

Nickelchaser,

If you're spending approximately a hundred dollars or more per coin on uncertified Buffalo nickels and passing on all of the certified ones you've been offered, odds/chances are, that you are indeed, missing something.

The sellers of the uncertified pieces could likely maximize the prices they'd get for their items if they got them certified at the same grades they were selling them to you at. The fact that the coins are being sold in uncertified state, means the odds are, that the coins aren't as nice, quality-wise, as claimed. This is not always the case, but it is in a very high percentage of them.

Nickelchaser

Thanks for the responses

michael, your right on the money as to how I proceed with buying coins

coinguy1, the only reason I am passing on the slabs is that most of them looked like crap
especially the key dates. The raw coins I buy are problem free and purchased
from reputable dealers who have been grading buffalo nickels for 20-30 years,
the likes of Norm Talbert and Steve Estes. When I look at a slabbed coin I have no
idea who graded it and what their experience is, could be a rookie for all I know
with 1-2 years of grading buffalo nickels. just my opinion. These dealers know what
I am looking for in a coin and provide me with it. They wouldn't send me any less than
I expect.

michael

also add marks comments too!! yes yes

and i am assuming
and i think rightly so nickelchaser that you are astute in buffs and know exactely waht you are looking at and buying from reputable dealers and are buying fine to nice xf coins

alsao remember that on circ buffs for me if it doesnot have a full horn it is NOT VF now there are some exceptions with a few dates but i have noticed a great inconsistancy witrh ceretian largeer more respected gradingh services that are lax about this waht i call full horn rule for a vf and this is in general most of the time but not all of the time


if you deal wirth steve estes he can tell you much more so then me


for me that many many buffs overall in many respected slabbing services holders are overgraded sometimes way overgraded and the last 15 or so years wilds swings in inconsistancy especially so for the semi key and sort of semi key and key dates in vf to xf holders!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


sincerely michael

Nickelchaser

and i am assuming
and i think rightly so nickelchaser that you are astute in buffs and know exactely what you are looking at and buying from reputable dealers and are buying fine to nice xf coins


Michael,
I have been collecting buffalos for about 10 years and have learned a lot from this board, looking at lots of buffalos raw and slabbed and buying from knowledgeable dealers. I have a complete XF problem free set, all the keys and semi-keys are XF-45. I'm currently working on an AU set which will take a while to
comlete.


also remember that on circ buffs for me if it doesnot have a full horn it is NOT VF now there are some exceptions with a few dates but i have noticed a great inconsistancy witrh ceretian largeer more respected gradingh services that are lax about this waht i call full horn rule for a vf and this is in general most of the time but not all of the time


I opened a thread on this topic a while back


if you deal with steve estes he can tell you much more so then me

Both Steve Estes and Norm Talbert are very knowlegeable in this series and have helped me a
great deal over the years.

























































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BigD5

The prices for ngc, pcgs and most anacs slabbed buffalo nickels have been going up for quite some time. If you want the coins, you have to fork up the cash. Dealers know someone else will, in most cases, so the negotiating doesn't go very far.
Sure, you can pick up 38-d's and some of the other later date common coins for generic prices, but forget about anything early on, or that is nice.
The series is popular, now seemingly more than ever, and demand is high for good coins with eye appeal.
I guess that "demand is high for good coins with eye appeal" could be said for every series though.

jdimmick

I have pursued some key-date buffalo's in the Xf-AU range over the past several years, and what I have found is that yes there are some medicore un-appealing coins in PCGS holders as well as the other services holders. This is where the old saying "buy the coin not the holder " is important.

However, when you find a nice eye-appealing coin especailly the better key date buffs, these coin will always bring stronger premiums in pcgs holders vs the competition. There is a stronger market, with many more buyers that feel secure with the consistency of PCGS graded coins that would probably pass on another service, and even more especially on a raw piece. Too many risks?

I only purchase PCGS coins with nice eye-appeal and usually have to pay a premium to get them. But when time comes to upgrade or sell, I am always able to sell at a profit, sometimes monster profit, even only after a small increase in price guide. (Not that I collect coins for profit,because I dont, but it is nice because it allows me a little more leverage toward the next purchase or upgrade).

I currently have two fantastic PCGS AU buffalo's in my key-date collection that I had to pay a premium to get, however, If I wanted to sell them, I could list them right now on any on-line auction and have a strong buyer intrest and make a substantial profit.( However, If these same two coins were raw or in another service, even though nice and exceptional, they would only bring a fraction of the what they would bring as a pcgs coin).

As far as the Vf grade range, I dont agree with a lot of the grading services grading of these coins including PCGS, The grading services are grading these weak struck coins, or coins with missing complete horns by grading the overall wear of the coin. I personnaly dont like it, because there is a flood of these so-called VF and even several XF's that fall in this category.

IMO,The main reason for the drastic price jump from F to VF in those key's like 21-s, 24-s, 26-s was originally established because of the horn completeness from a fine with some horn to a vf with full horn. But all these coins being graded with sub-par strike's and incomplete horns takes away from the rarer true complete horn VF or XF coin. Only these true vf/xf buffalo's should command the premium price associated with the vf/xf values shown in the price guides. And what makes this even worse is the people(dealers ) who are pushing these sub-par striked coins for full vf xf money????