A dealer offered me $35 for a PCGS MS64red indian!

darktone

I went to the small coin show in Madison Wisconsin today and I brought along a couple cheap coins to see if I could sell them and avoid putting them on ebay. I know this coin is a common date 1905 but I think $35 is a little ridiculous. First he looked through a coins prices magazine for a price then a gray sheet before he came up with $35. Other dealers offers were a low of $90 and a high of $100 which I though were reasonable. He had two tables and about half were slabs and he had some PCGS MS indian cents so he does deal in slabs and obviously knew the coins real worth. I told him he must have been mistaken and looked up the wrong grade or color designation but he said he did not. I was about to get mad but my Dad told me to walk away. I think he was kind of worried I was going to get up-set and the scared look on his face kind of made me feel like I should drop it(people say I look intimidating). Oh well I did get a cheap $2 1/2 indian from another dealer. mike

mdwoods

Oh well I did get a cheap $2 1/2 indian from another dealer

You got a picture Mike?

darktone

I am working on that as we speak. mike

dbldie55

The Grey Sheet lists Red-Brown prices for Indians (which is $55 for a 1905 in 64). Now it also lists prices for type coins (which the 1905 would fall under as a common date). The Grey Sheet lists a MS64 Red indian at $150 and the Blue Sheet lists it at $124.

Sounds like he was paying red-brown prices for a red coin.

darktone

dbldie55, exactly my thoughts and that's the first thing I called him on asking if he looked up red/brown instead of RED. I know most dealers won't pay gray sheet but his offer was an insult to me. mike

Lakesammman

If I offer a nice IHC and see them reach for the grey sheet, I know it's time to move on and look for a knowledgable dealer.

mnmcoin

<< <i>If I offer a nice IHC and see them reach for the grey sheet, I know it's time to move on and look for a knowledgable dealer. >>



Where are you supposed to look them up?

morris <><

wingedliberty

Very low offer, I would get his business card, to make sure you can avoid him in the future and I would
also spread the word.


Brian.

airplanenut

I'll gladly pay $40

Russ

<< <i><< If I offer a nice IHC and see them reach for the grey sheet, I know it's time to move on and look for a knowledgable dealer. >>

Where are you supposed to look them up? >>



Morris,

I think the keyword in Tim's post was "knowledgable". If somebody specializes in a series, they should rarely need to reference a price sheet when doing a deal. They should have a good idea of real market values, then evaluate the coin on it's merits and make an offer based on the current market and the quality of the piece.

In my own tiny little world, I don't need to look up prices for any of the years or grades in Kennedy halves to have a pretty good idea of value.

Russ, NCNE

Pushkin

Morris,

Good places to get a rough idea of Indian Head cent retail values are Rick Snow's Pink Sheet and the Coin World Trends. These will give you ballpark numbers for "average" coins. Unfortumately, unlike Kennedy Half dollars, which have significantly fewer years than Indians, and for which the values of the Mint State coins don't vary much (there are a few exceptions), the Indian Head values have a tremendous range. As Lakesammman was pointing out, the Greysheet is not a very good indicator for better coins in the series. Also there are a huge number of IHC varieties and their values are all over the place. Additionally, the Proofs make it more difficult with Indians for example, proof values for many of the 1870s are considerable less than their corresponding commercial strikes.

Also, check the Cherrypickers Guide and The F.IND.ERS Report for some (old) information on variety identificaiton and variety value.

If you are selling "good" coins to a dealer, I think you should be very careful before accepting less than 80% of Pink Sheet or similar published prices. To conclude, it is a tough series to get a handle on priceswise, and it takes years to get a feel for individual coin value for all the coins in the series. However, with a little research, you can put yourself in a position where you can make a knowledgeable decision on value.

I've been collecting IHCs for years, but I still keep several price guidelines in my pocket before going to any show. I often check the prices on David Lawrence Rare Coins, Eagle Eye Rare Coins, AAA Coins and JJTeaparty to get a current indication of retail values.

Also, post a coin on this forum - some pretty knowledgeable folks will gladly give you some advice on price I'm willing to bet.

Good luck - enjoy your Indians!

Pushkin

sinin1

I like that Russ - is your little world mainly silver Kennedy's?

Just kidding, I've notice you are branching into Franklins and Jefferson's


I asked a dealer for a price at a show, he looked at it and said he liked it and returned the question to me - how much do you want, I said $100 - he looked at it again and said no - then told me about an AT silver dollar he bought a couple days before for $25 and sold the next day for $175

So maybe you should have offered him your PCGS MS64 RD to him for only $125 - at least when he said no you wouldn't have felt so bad - and maybe one of the other dealers would have took you up on that.

Russ

<< <i>I've notice you are branching into Franklins and Jefferson's. >>



HMM...that's news to me.

Russ, NCNE