Define "Fresh Material"

Curley

Dealers,

We always hear in your market updates about the wealth or dearth of "fresh material" at auctions or shows. This is, of course, a subjective term and I always wonder what makes a coin "fresh" in your judgement. Has it been off the market 1 year; 10 years; 100 years?

Just curious. I recently purchased a coin from a collection from the 1930's...would that make it "fresh".

Thanks.

michael

some coin that you put away that you do not talk about that no one has seen in a year

michael

for some dealers in the coin game make that a few weeks

TommyType

A very humorous post recently noted a scenario where two dealers exchange a couple dozen coins. Now they both have "fresh material".

lordmarcovan

<< <i> very humorous post recently noted a scenario where two dealers exchange a couple dozen coins. Now they both have "fresh material". >>



Hey! It works for me!

Longacre

This is an interesting question. Do any other dealers have any comments?

TheRaven

I see this referenced constantly, and I don't understand the concept really.....

MrEureka

I don't have a definition, only a story.

A while back, a local dealer bought a six-figure estate containing many great coins that had not seen the light of day in many years. Clearly, it was a fresh deal.

He shopped the deal to a few other dealers, including me, and I ended up buying it.

I then sold it to another dealer, and described it as "a fresh deal".

When he found out that other dealers had seen the deal, he was angry that I misrepresented the coins as "fresh". In his mind, the deal became unfresh after being shopped.

Clearly, we simply disagreed on the meaning of "fresh". The lesson? In the future, just price the deal and otherwise keep your mouth shut.

PerryHall

The concept of "fresh material" never made sense to me. I think dealers use the term "fresh" to hype a coin to get the most they can for it. A coin is what it is and its either nice, average, or crap. If I see a coin that's nice and priced fairly and its something that I can use, I'll buy it without worrying if its "fresh" or not.

solid

"Fresh surfaces" mean they are not messed with.

I would think a coin that has not been messed with would have "Original surfaces".

"Fresh surfaces" sounds like it could have had the "Original" stripped away!

I do see how "Fresh" could be used to describe a coin that is both original and untoned.

Ken

PerryHall

<< <i>The concept of "fresh material" never made sense to me. I think dealers use the term "fresh" to hype a coin to get the most they can for it. A coin is what it is and its either nice, average, or crap. If I see a coin that's nice and priced fairly and its something that I can use, I'll buy it without worrying if its "fresh" or not.
Say what you want, but when I hear about a coin that has not seen the light of day for 20 years, I am much more interested when compared to a coin that has been sitting in inventory and making the show rounds for six months. >>




Just because a coin hasn't seen the light of day for 20 years doesn't mean its automatically a desirable coin. Also, if its been in a dealers case for six months, its probably a crappy coin or its over priced. I still say: buy the coin and not the hype. If its a nice coin and its priced fairly, buy it and don't worry about how long the dealer has had it in stock.

mnmcoin

I think of fresh material in two ways. One, where a particular coin or collection has not been on the market for some time, maybe 10, 15 or 20 years plus. Thus it has not been passed around from dealer to dealer or sitting in a showcase at 35 shows per year. Two, I think of a fresh coin as original...not just complete brilliant uncirculated with frosty original surfaces but a coin that has not been messed with or tinkered with...dipping et. al.

Not really a definition but an idea really.

morris <><

messydesk

Fresh Material: Material that has not been scrutinized (i.e., "whored around") by the marketplace for at least one paradigm shift in collecting, both with respect to the material being offered and the potential buyer thereof.

Example: Collection of raw uncirculated Morgan dollars assembled in 1970 offered in 1985 is not fresh, since how they were collected changed little. Collection sells in 1983 to someone who puts it on the market in 1997, and it is now "fresh," since TPGs changed the way coins are bought, sold, and collected. Collection brought to the market again in 2006. For VAM collectors, this collection would be considered fresh, since it is unlikely that is was put together with the consideration for die varieties that exists today. For non-VAM collectors, the collection is just one that hasn't been on the market for 9 years and wouldn't be considered terribly fresh. For the crack-out artist, it respresents a fresh opportunity to play the crack-out game, therefore making it a somewhat fresh collection, although not as fresh as if it were being offered for the first time since 1988.

TwoSides2aCoin

to me:
Fresh is like coffee or chocolate chip cookies.
a hoard is hardly fresh material.

Platinum Proofs dated 2004 on the other hand.... now that is some FRESH stuff !

RedTiger

<< <i>I see this referenced constantly, and I don't understand the concept really..... >>



It is easy enough for someone who does the circuit regularly. Whether it be the online auction circuit or the major shows. Fresh material is something that stands out. There is a big difference between a life long collector dispersing his/her collection, vs. a dealer with the typical coins to sell. If the collector has an eye, those coins might be outstanding. Outstanding dealer coins are going to be priced that way. When a collector sells at auction the prices realized often indicate the same, but sometimes a shopper can ferret out a true bargain.

The good stuff moves fast, if it is competitively priced. What is left after the first pass is okay, after the second pass is marginal, after the third is often dregs. Beware of the dregs, they often end up dumped to unsuspecting, unknowledgeable buyers. The odds of dregs on truly fresh coins held off the market for ten years from a true collector are slim. The odds of dregs from picked over dealer inventory can be high. Now anyone can give the song and dance that their coins are fresh, so the only way to know really, is to keep your ear to the ground and do the circuit.

Shamika

<< <i>TextI recently purchased a coin from a collection from the 1930's...would that make it "fresh" >>


Absolutely!!!

291fifth

"Fresh" means that the dealers/collectors haven't seen it for at least several years. Material becomes stale very quickly if it is featured in a major auction or at a major show because all of the serious players get to see it.

Something that is stale in one part of the country can be fresh in another at regional auctions or shows.

ER

What michael said.

ccr

<< <i>A while back, a local dealer bought a six-figure estate containing many great coins that had not seen the light of day in many years. Clearly, it was a fresh deal. >>



Not that I know anything about this story but, basically along the lines of what I was thinking. A coin or group of coins that someone has had for an extended period of time, like 5+ years or even 20 or 30 years, then decided to sell for whatever reason. Maybe to liquidate for a project, or to settle an estate, etc...... To me, that`s what I thought "Fresh Material" basically meant.

BillJones

"Fresh Material" = Coins that have not been passed over by a significate number of dealers who know what they are doing when it comes to grading and value.

Coinosaurus

"Fresh" doesn't necessarily mean good.

Who's the firm that has a reputation for getting lots of old-time deals and none of the coins can slab?

Oh yeah, that one

DrPete

I like it.

There are hoards of coins (hoarded) and whoreded coins. Nothing like a fresh whored.