Has anyone heard of New England Rare Coins? Help selling some coins...

hiijacker

My uncle just asked me to liquidate his "collection" of 6 coins that he bought from this company some time in the 1980's.

Supposedly, the dealer involved at one time was a respected dealer but then started ripping people off. My uncle received some sort of settlement at the time.

In any event, he said that he heard the market for coins was hot so he would sell the coins. They are all raw and I will getting them shortly.

What venue do you recommend seling them at?

I am told the value could be anywhere in the 25,000 to 150,000 range.

I think an auction house would be the best venue to sell them.

Which auction houses offer the best commission structures?

roadrunner

You need to get them appraised first before deciding what to do.
Stacks still has a good rep for selling raw coins and might be a good source. Most of the other auction houses seem to have a flair for slabbed coins and raw ones stick out like a sore thumb.

Jim Halperin owned NERCG up until 1983 when he sold out and moved in with Heritage. From that point until 1986, the company became a major rip off firm. I even had these guys call on me at my home in 1985. I'm not even sure why I let them set up an appointment. In any case the sales guy showed up with supposed gem type coins that were all cleaned and problematic. The prices were multiples of their true worth. I declined their offers and showed them the door. The FTC later had words with the principals of the company and essentially shut them down. In the wake of this, PCGS came about in 1986. As far as I recall Halperin and other principals of the old NERCG were sued as well in litigation. No doubt there are links to this on the internet under NERCG and FTC.

Sorry that your uncle ran into those clowns. More than likely they are worth 10-20% of what was originally paid for them.

roadrunner

291fifth

The first thing you should do is to send the coins into PCGS and have them graded. This will greatly improve their marketability. The grading standards have changed since the early 1980's so the grades on the holders (which hopefully aren't made of PVC) may or may not be correct by current standards.

TomB

You may want to share with us what the coins are and what the condition of each coin is thought to be so that we might be able to give you a bit more help upfront.

jhdfla

We would love to hear what coins you have and what the grade designation is on the flips, Gem BU, Superb Gem BU, or something like that should be on the paper insert opposite the coin in the other side of the flip. There are some knowledgeable folks here which may be able to help a little. And as was mentioned by another forum member, it would be wise to have them slabbed for a numer or reasons, a reputable firm will be able to assist you in both slabbing and auctioning your coins, if that's what you desire (I think Heritage might be best for you). NERCG certainly had a colorful history. Good luck with your venture, and should you be able to photograph the coins, post them here.

John

1794half1839

A list of dates, denominations, and grades would help alot. If you can take high-res scans or photos of the coins, that would help as well.

hiijacker

I will be getting the coins shortly.

I was faxed over the "New England Rare Coin Galleries Commitment" which contains the information for each coin.

Here is a list:

1) Two Cent Piece, 1873, Closed 3, Proof 67.
2) Twenty Cent Piece, 1877, Proof 65.
3) 1924 Saint Gaudens, MS-65
4) Three Cent Nickel , 1886, Proof-67
5) Indian Head Eagle, 1907, No Periods, MS-67
6) 1876 Transitional $20 Gold, J-1491, Copper, Proof 65.


Now I know it is highlt unlikely that the grading on these coins is even close to what these "Commitments" state, that is why there was a FTC lawsuit and settlement, but hey you never know what these coins actually will grade at.


Do you recommend I send them in for grading myself, or to have the auction company send them in?

RegistryCoin

If it makes you feel any better, my uncle sent me a small group of coins that he bought from the same company, same time period.
Same story, except he didn't hear of the suit.

mrearlygold

6) 1876 Transitional $20 Gold, J-1491, Copper, Proof 65.

I'd like to buy this one

astrorat

These sound like wonderful coins...

Please, oh please, tell me they were not left in their original PVC holders!

While at the ANA, we had a gentleman bring in his "investment" from NERC. Sadly, once nice coins were left to decay into green and pitted body bag recipients. One Liberty nickel was stuck to the flip to tightly that it impressed a very nice and detailed image into the plastic (you could almost grade the coin!). I actually wish I could have kept the holder to show during grading classes.

Whatever you do...DO NOT clean them (just in case that was not painfully obvious).

Best of luck to you!

Lane