local southern California coin dealers that are honorable and full of integrity

DeutscherGeist

I live in the Los Angeles area.

I want to buy a lot of gold and silver coins. Sure I can order some off of apmex and CNI and end up with good results, but I want my money to go to a nice guy that has a coin shop or deals through ebay. I just want to support the little guy and avoid corporations as much as possible.

I heard that the guy Manny in Huntington Beach is a good and honest man. He and his wife had their coin shop for decades. Anyone else can vouch for him? Does he really sell high quality stuff? Should I avoid the old non-graded stuff and just go for what is graded?


I want to buy MINT Maple Leafs, Kruggerands, Eagles, Britannias, Philharmonics. I think 2006 would be the cheapest year to purchase right now. They would also be the ones less handled, so I can get them fresh.

I would be interested in an unopened roll of 20 silver Eagles too. Sheets of silver Maple Leafs would also interest me.

I would also eventually want BU German gold

northcoin

Sorry, but most of the coins you describe fit under the category of "bullion" rather than collectors coins. You know more about collecting baseball cards than most of us here, but I sense that a low mintage or survival rate for a baseball card in the thousands makes it very collectable while such a supply for a coin would keep it from being sought after as rare. Such coins are fun to collect for the sake of collecting, but would be poor investments unless of course you are just betting on the price of gold based on its bullion value.

DeutscherGeist

Northcoin,

I know what you mean. I like bullion coins for the sake of diversifying my investments--I am after gold content that is in a form easily recognized and easy to liquidate if needed.

I guess the Prussian gold is the only collector coin I listed, but I know what I am after. I just want to avoid paying too much for inferior grades.

secondrepublic

You could always call Karl Stephens.

I don't have any idea if he carries bullion type coins, but he certainly has a lot of integrity. He also carries a lot of German stuff. If he doesn't sell the other stuff he might be able to recommend someone.

IlikeZARcoins

Or try Andy Lustig I've bought a few of his Eliasberg gold coins. Trustworthy seller imo and gives a good deal. He's known as Mr. Eureka on the threads.

Edit: Sorry - Andy is in NY but is still a hell of a dealer.

FilamCoins

You may have missed the boat on precious metals. Careful not to buy high (and sell low). I see the bull market in stocks continuing for another 3-4 years. If that happens, gold/silver prices may cool off. If you spend some time becoming familiar with the world coin market, I believe there's significant potential upside for rare, high-grade coins, particularly from those countries where the economies are humming along and collecting has not caught on yet. Of course, you need to have a long-term window (i.e. 10+ years probably). Welcome to the darkside!

shirohniichan

Don Hauser at the Coin Depot in La Verne is a great guy. I don't know how much bullion he carries, though.

Bob Patchin's Rare Coin Gallery in Orange is a good place, too.

Steve27

For bullion try Tulving

northcoin

I guess my thought is, if you are buying gold for its bullion value, why pay a premium for a higher collector grade which usually includes the cost of having the coins slabbed.

DeutscherGeist

Northcoin,

you bring up an excellent point. I only desire a few collector coins because I am interested in the German Empire. I just bought one off of ebay a few hours ago. Its a MS66 10 Mark Prussian from the 1870's.

I will pay $157 with shipping when all is said and done. Since it has approximately 1/10 gold content, that is about double spot price. I understand that. I collect mostly bullion, but I have that occasional weakness for high grade German gold.

northcoin

If you like German coins you might want to check out Northeast coins located in New England. I believe one of their employees posts here as NENCOIN so you could do a search to get a link from him for their website. I obtained a nice proof German coin some years ago that I like from them. I think it was minted in the early 1900's. For new purchasers they have been known to send along a complimentary Redbook as well.

DeutscherGeist

Thanks Northcoin. I will look into it.


I was looking at this Tulving dealer based in California. This piqued my interest. He seems to have good deals on gold coins and bullion if a large quantity is ordered. I guess my friend and I can split the purchase among ourselves if it is too much for one of us. Here is an excerpt from their website linked above:


"2) PRE 1933 FOREIGN GOLD FOR LESS THAN 2% OVER MELT!!

YOU CAN CHOOSE FROM THE FOLLOWING GOLD COINS:

BU Pre Swiss Helvetias ( .1867 ozs of Gold, Minted From 1897-1930) For $113.99 each!!
AU King Sovereigns( .2354 ozs of Gold, Minted From 1902-1930) for $143.75 each!!

40 Coin Minimum. MIX AND MATCH OK!!
Free Overnight Shipping And Insurance."


What can be the down side of ordering 2O of each above named coins. Does the BU really mean BU from the perspective of the collector? Are the prices good even if the coins have been dipped and cleaned improperly. My theory is a gold coin that has been improperly cleaned is no longer a collector grade coin, but it is a little better than scrap gold and if ones pays accordingly, it is not a rip off, right? Correct me on this.

theboz11

At those prices , you are buying scrap, so what"s the worry about grade..

SYRACUSIAN

Well, indeed what's the worry of buying a good run of Vrenellis in BU? (the Swiss 20s) As long as you don't expect to see them in MS65/66 holders, it's a nice buy, some dates are more common than others,especially 1935LB and 1947. These sell very different if slabbed, but Swiss coin collectors are high grade snobs, you don't wanna mix with them.

DeutscherGeist

Theboz and Dimitri,

Thanks for the insight. I guess buying raw gold coins for 2% over melt is excellent if the purpose is to own gold content. Mint coins will have a place in my collection too, but I want gold content for its sake as well.

So, if I see the Prussian gold coins being sold on ebay raw, I should just assume its scrap and bid accordingly. Or, are there other risks involved like fake coins? Fake coins are not that hard to detect are they? Having the coins weighed carefully out to sort out the fakes right? Of course it is best to deal with a reputable dealer, but what other worries can they be in buying raw gold coins close to the melt price. I know it would be silly to pay 20% over melt on an off grade coin. So, besides overpaying, what other pitfalls are there.

satootoko

Correct color and weight is no guarantee.

Skilful counterfeiters have been known to mix lead and other metals to get a pretty accurate weight, and then gold plate their product.

DeutscherGeist

So if I order 40 coins from Tulving and find out one of them is counterfeit, they probably wont believe me and not give me a refund. I would be stuck because there is not recourse then.

Is there a way to test the coin without damaging it?

Well, I guess for off grade stuff, even an invasive test would not be detrimental.