Have any of you dealers been stuck with a coin for over a year?

Sierra

I have seen a particular 1924 MS66 Saint in one dealers inventory for seemingly ever. I have seen this coin and it is fairly graded unlike most 66 Saints. In fact he claims that it makes most 66 Saints look like 64's. Why wouldn't a nice coin sell in a reasonable amount of time?

Numis

Most brick and mortar dealers I know are becoming simply bullion dealers due to the fact they price their coins much higher than can be bought online or at auctions. The stores I attend in the Phoenix area have had most of the higher grade coins in the series I collect for well over a year. I visited three stores yesterday and they all said they can't move their coins but are buying and selling a lot of bullion especially gold.

MrEureka

Unless a dealer deals almost exclusively in widgets, having a coin in stock for more than a year is not that unusual.

commoncents123

<< <i>Most brick and mortar dealers I know are becoming simply bullion dealers due to the fact they price their coins much higher than can be bought online or at auctions. The stores I attend in the Phoenix area have had most of the higher grade coins in the series I collect for well over a year. I visited three stores yesterday and they all said they can't move their coins but are buying and selling a lot of bullion especially gold. >>



You're right about that...the coin shops in my city are all way overpriced, and they'll hardly budge. I can offer coins at a lower price than they do.

sumnom

I have seen some coins in my local store for years. There is one that I have been thinking of buying since 2003 and it's still there.

Julian

The better question might be "Have......................... for over a decade? My answer is YES.

Numismatic material does not become worth less or get stale. It normally increases in value.

I do not consider that I am stuck with a collectible numismatic item. I feel that I have just not found an appreciative collector for it.

PerryHall

<< <i>Why wouldn't a nice coin sell in a reasonable amount of time? >>



Maybe he wants too much for it.

WTCG

I have seen some coins stuck at some dealers' inventories since I started buying coins (over 8 years ago) so a one year turnaround isn't long at all.

itsnotjustme

I had seen a coin at the 2006 ANA in Atlanta. I liked it, but thought it was priced too high. At the time they offered no flex in their price. I saw it on their web over a year later, and made an offer I thought was fair.... about 25% below their asking price. They accepted the offer.

Greeniejr

Often time the key to getting the best price for an item is patience. Given, it is necessary to wholesale widgets but certain coins are worth the wait. A couple years ago we had a 1895 dollar in PCGS PR63 that we were asking strong money for. We had it for well over a year before we finally sold it. The thing is, as Julian said, coins don't go bad as time goes along (with the exception of milk spotted Silver Eagles). A good coin will always be a good coin. In terms of that Saint, its a few thousand dollar widget that just doesn't matter.

RYK

Different dealers have different business models. Some rely on quick turnover, and some rely on getting their price, no matter how long it takes and how many upward adjustments it takes. When I see a coin held for a very long time by a dealer who usually does turn over his/her inventory quickly, it certainly gives me pause.

roadrunner

You'd be surprised. This is from one of the top retailers.

One major dealer offered me a coin for $33,000 a few years back.
I was willing to counter around $25K but the dealer was not budging one bit. The coin was not lock solid for grade and average to slightly below average on eye appeal, but it was probably in the top 4 known for date. Had it been lock solid for grade $30K might have been the true value.

After sitting in inventory for 6 months the coin went to auction. It was bought back. Repeat this scenario 5X over the next 2-1/2 years. After 3 years the coin finally sold for something around $15-17K...The coin was grossly overexposed.

I could have bought it for under $20K along the way but was not going to help out the selling dealer after the first shot taken. And besides, after being exposed so many times and not selling, the market learns to dislike such a coin. It gets a bad rep. This one ended up selling for 50% of the orig ask price. Once it reaches this stage you have to bury it for several years to refresh it.

roadrunner

Barberman55

Attend the monthly Parsippany, NJ coin show and you'll see the same old inventories, month after month, year after year.

Longacre

I suspect only the well capitalized dealers can hold on to coins for over a year. How else can you make a profit if you don't churn coins?

SeaEagleCoins

<< <i>Attend the monthly Parsippany, NJ coin show and you'll see the same old inventories, month after month, year after year. >>



Personally, I really get a chuckle out of this constant comment from folks at that show. I do not recall meeting you at the show, Dan... perhaps some day you will stop by and introduce yourself...

I have posted regarding this on other threads...but here goes again...

Last year I made an extreme effort to stock my table with fresh material on a regular basis... Barber, Seated, Bust...both raw and slabbed... along with many other types of classic coinage...

Show after show... I watched folks 'trolling' the aisles at Parsippany... rarely slowing down long enough to actually see what was in any one case...

...yet, when they did, more often than not... they would find a coin of interest and immediately pull out the grey sheet and want said coin at or below sheet...

Now...I do have a steady group of collectors who regularly stop by to see what's new and I do manage to do enough business to merit continuing to set up there...

Then...when I went to the Coinfest... I sold out almost all of this new merchandise...


Now...there are quite a few of the type of dealers you refer to...and many who are there primarily for wholesale business only...

Another sad observation regarding that particular show...alot of sheisters and folks looking for a rip... I have had many coins "sit" at that show and then seemingly jump out of the case as soon as I set up at a show out of that area...

One example...had a nice 1888-O Hot Lips in NGC50... best offer I got was $825 and the guy tried to make as if he was doing me a favor...

...ended up sending the coin to the Baltimore show with a friend... before he was even done setting up his booth, another dealer came by and quickly offered $1500 for the coin!!!


Sooooo...anyway... Dan... come on by and say hi sometime... I do keep trying to stock fresh material...


of course...I can't stock every coin in every date and every grade...toned and untoned in every type of holder... but I do try to mix it up some...

MrEureka

I suspect only the well capitalized dealers can hold on to coins for over a year. How else can you make a profit if you don't churn coins?

Dealers don't hold everything that long. Most inventory turns pretty quickly.

MrEureka

One major dealer offered me a coin for $33,000 a few years back.
I was willing to counter around $25K but the dealer was not budging one bit. The coin was not lock solid for grade and average to slightly below average on eye appeal, but it was probably in the top 4 known for date. Had it been lock solid for grade $30K might have been the true value.

After sitting in inventory for 6 months the coin went to auction. It was bought back. Repeat this scenario 5X over the next 2-1/2 years. After 3 years the coin finally sold for something around $15-17K...The coin was grossly overexposed.

I could have bought it for under $20K along the way but was not going to help out the selling dealer after the first shot taken. And besides, after being exposed so many times and not selling, the market learns to dislike such a coin. It gets a bad rep. This one ended up selling for 50% of the orig ask price.

That's not an unusual story. I've been on both sides of similar stories. On the selling side, I had half interest in a 49-O quarter in NGC 64 that my partner and I succeeded in killing about ten years ago, at similar numbers to the coin Brian mentions. (Maybe the same coin?) Today, the coin would be considered "fresh" and bring six figures at auction.

Frankcoins

<< <i>I suspect only the well capitalized dealers can hold on to coins for over a year. How else can you make a profit if you don't churn coins? >>



The poorly capitalized dealers are the ones who hold on to coins forever.

BAJJERFAN

<< <i>Attend the monthly Parsippany, NJ coin show and you'll see the same old inventories, month after month, year after year. >>



Yeah, I expect that some of those coins have been to more shows than most members here have.

ricko

In the B&M shops I frequent, many coins have been on display for well over a year... some for more than three years. Cheers, RickO

clouisejewelers

<< <i>I suspect only the well capitalized dealers can hold on to coins for over a year. How else can you make a profit if you don't churn coins? >>



Sometimes not selling coins(or jewelry in my case) can be the best thing that happens to a dealer. I have seen most of my inventory rise in value year after year. Here are a few examples:

1) silver and gold eagles. I stock all dates of silver eagles, unc and proof. I buy multiple green monster boxes each year(since 1986) and sell the coins individually or by the roll. In 2005 and before, common eagles were priced at retail about $8 each. Now I could wholesale them all for $14 each or better. I'm glad for each and every one I didn't sell.

2) ANY of my gold coins. They have all skyrocketed in value.

3) Any of my key/semi key coins. I am a conservative grader and price my key coins fairly, but I stay firm on those prices. Delaers and certain customers always want to buy my keys at 10% back of bid. I never sell keys for that, so I politely decline. They do sell eventually, and the ones that do not just keep getting more expensive.

4) Most of my jewelry inventory. I have been continually repricing my earrings, bracelets, and necklaces every few months. Like the coins, I work on small margins and steady price movements in the gold market can mean selling at less than my replacement cost. I look at some of the heavy gold chains that have been earning 25%/year in value and am really glad they didn't sell a year or two ago. The same is true of large, high quality diamonds. They just keep going up.

coinpictures

<< <i>

<< <i>I suspect only the well capitalized dealers can hold on to coins for over a year. How else can you make a profit if you don't churn coins? >>



Sometimes not selling coins(or jewelry in my case) can be the best thing that happens to a dealer. I have seen most of my inventory rise in value year after year. Here are a few examples:

1) silver and gold eagles. I stock all dates of silver eagles, unc and proof. I buy multiple green monster boxes each year(since 1986) and sell the coins individually or by the roll. In 2005 and before, common eagles were priced at retail about $8 each. Now I could wholesale them all for $14 each or better. I'm glad for each and every one I didn't sell.

2) ANY of my gold coins. They have all skyrocketed in value.

3) Any of my key/semi key coins. I am a conservative grader and price my key coins fairly, but I stay firm on those prices. Delaers and certain customers always want to buy my keys at 10% back of bid. I never sell keys for that, so I politely decline. They do sell eventually, and the ones that do not just keep getting more expensive.

4) Most of my jewelry inventory. I have been continually repricing my earrings, bracelets, and necklaces every few months. Like the coins, I work on small margins and steady price movements in the gold market can mean selling at less than my replacement cost. I look at some of the heavy gold chains that have been earning 25%/year in value and am really glad they didn't sell a year or two ago. The same is true of large, high quality diamonds. They just keep going up. >>



No offense intended, but you've just happened to luck out because of the recent bump. The trend's been in your favor. What if we were talking an extended downward trend, like starting in 1979 down to 1993 or so? Would you still be happy if you had bought the same amounts each year and held inventory? I think not.