Poll - You find multiple extreme rarities, what do you do?

LanLord

I was wondering what people would do in this situation (regardless of how unlikely it is).

You find a large quantity of extreme rarities (say for instance, a bag of 700 - 1873-s Seated dollars).

What would you do?

kranky

Why do all the poll choices revolve around making money?

nwcs

I'd certify them all and sell all but 1. The closest option was #1.

LanLord

Just greedy I guess....

got any cash?

LucyBop

another unfair poll, not one Frankie was even mentioned.

LanLord

<< <i>another unfair poll, not one Frankie was even mentioned. >>

Corrected

FC57Coins

I asked the same basic question about finding a bag of 1895P dollars. I'd be one heck of an interesting dilema - you'd have a limited number of very rare coins at your disposal and control the market. Would kinda make you feel like DeBeers something huh?

LucyBop

LanLord

In a brief brush with psychic powers, I think I know where the one vote for the MS69 FBL Frankie came from.

FoundingFather

"Why do all the poll choices revolve around making money?"

Because coins ARE money, cost money, are worth money, have an industry revolving around money, only have a market with the help of money, are full of liars and hypsters over money, and can make you money? I think the answer to your question has to do with money.

LucyBop

"They say the best things in life ain't free, But you can tell that to the Birds and Bees....."
"I need money.... thats what I want...... I want Money... Yeah thats what I want"

drainbamage

well I would get them all certified.... then keep them all.... then I would find other means to tempt Lucy just for the sheer joy of it..... but I should not say such things, she may be a married lady.... <chuckle>

Conder101

For maximum return.

Announce the discovery of a SMALL group. This peaks interest.

Have 10 pieces of varying quality slabbed so there is as wide a range of grades as possible.

Over a years time auction the coins. The hype will be high and returns should be good, plus since there are a few pieces available it will convince dollar collectors that they just might be able to acquire one some day and they will add it to their want list. This increases demand.

Now every few months you can submit another one anonymously for slabbing to each of the major services. (randomly space the sumissions and don't submit to all the services at the same time. I wouldn't do more than 3 to 6 per year. With the staggering you won't have sudden jumps in all of the pops of all of the services. Your goal being to make it appear that some of the previously graded coins are are being cracked out and sent to the other services hoping for upgrades. (This is why you submitted a wide range of qualities in the initial slabbing. If they were all top grade pieces, when a lower grade piece came through it would be noted and they would realize that new pieces are comming through. Since the initial group varied in the grade differing grade specimens coming through now would arrouse as much suspicion.) With care you should be able to keep this up for several years before people really know what is going on and by that time your should have 40 to 50 pieces slabbed and sold without disrupting the market. (Make sure you make your sales through dummies so that they can't be traced back to you.)

By the time you have 40 or 50 pieces slabbed you won't be able to maintain the "10 piece" fiction anymore but as the market realizes that there are a few more available even more collectors will become interested because it increases their chance of acquiring one so demand will still increase even as prices soften a little. By keeping the submission rate to a trickle you can keep the pops validity questionable while maintaining the price since there are never more than a few available each year. (If too many show up on the market stop submitting for awhile. This will get people thinking that the new supply has finally been depleted. This will cause prices to stablize and possible start rising again. Once this happens start SLOWLY submitting again.)

You can probably keep this up through at least 200 coins or more. After that with slow submissions the price will probably hold steady until you dispose of the rest of the coins although you could stop submissions from time to time for a couple years or more or until the prices start rising again.

kranky

Just tweaking you a little about the money thing.

Since it's all fantasy, here's what I'd do. First, I'd have each coin laser-etched on the angled side of one of the reeds with a serial number. They can do this so minutely you can't see it without magnification. Then I'd submit them all on a walkthrough, making arrangements beforehand so I can pick up the coins, record the grades of each one, then immediately crack out all but the lowest-graded one and give back the inserts so only one appears on the pop report. The ones that got cracked out get more laser etching to add the original slabbed grade.

I'd keep the best one that got cracked out, and auction the one that's still in a slab. Seems reasonable that such a coin would do very well, to say the least - only one known! Then about every three years, I'd get another one slabbed (one that grades a point higher than the last one) and then auction it off. Every time one becomes available, it would be the finest known (except for mine, which isn't public knowledge)! After three or four of those, I'd give some away to board members and friends, and sell the rest off all at once.

Eventually I'd reveal that each one has a serial number and its original slab grade micro-etched on to it, just to see what kind of hilarity would ensue.

beartracks42

Condor, you have the true heart and soul of a first rate conman! If I ever run onto anything like this, I am going to cut you in and you can manage it for the two of us.

lclugza

I'd have 10 certified, hide the rest, and trade 8 of the 10 for a 1964 Peace, a 1933 Saint, a UHR 1907 Saint, an 1804 Dollar, a 1913 V nickel, an 1873S No Arrows half dollar, and complete sets of 1858-1915 gold $10 and $20.

Russ

I would simultaneously contact a number of dealers equal to the number of coins and offer to sell one coin to each without revealing the existence of the rest, but swear each to secrecy.

Russ, NCNE

MrEureka

I'd quietly sell one piece to each of a few carefully selected and highly deserving victims. I'd sell the rest at public auction.

Nic

I agree with Conder....except the first then second coin . It's a jungle out there! K


Edited for spelling

Conder101

Kranky,

There's a problem with your plan. Yes, only one piece would show up in the pop report, but do you think the story that someone submitted 700 1873-S seated dollars at one time wouldn't get out? After all, everyone at the service is going to know that 700 coins of a previously unknown issue were submitted. That would be big news and someone is going to talk. The service itself would probaby announce it as a PR coupe unless it was arranged beforehand to keep it quiet.



<< <i>Condor, you have the true heart and soul of a first rate conman! >>


Thanks Beartracks, I'll take that as a compliment

kranky

You're right, of course. In reality, it could never be kept quiet once they got to the service - even if you had people sign in blood that they wouldn't talk.

Askari

My thoughts were pretty well laid out by Conder ... although Andy's sounds tempting!!