Am I crazy to bid $100+ on this MS64 1939 5-Mark?

zeebob · July 30, 2008 6:12AM

I've been looking to upgrade my XF to a nice BU or even gem BU if I could find one. I saw this auction yesterday. Bidding is over $100 and I have had at least one collector, whom I respect, tell me that the coin is worth $40 max.

I'm interested to hear other opinions. I don't mind paying strong money, but I don't want to feel like a schmuck by paying grossly over market.

I've been told that many of these Ag coins were melted after the war. I see XF and below pretty commonly, but I don't see true BU or Gem BU (MS64 or MS65) come up for sale all that often.

Opinions?

Bob

TwoKopeiki · July 30, 2008 6:18AM

Who cares what others think - you like the coin, you are comfortable with the price, I say go for it.

SaorAlba · July 30, 2008 6:25AM

If I collected that stuff I would go 150 or so for the piece. It is nice, and in such a high grade particularly uncommon.

Cladiator · July 30, 2008 6:25AM

eBay currently has three for BIN sale.

- NGC MS62, $129
- NGC MS63, $169
- NGC AU55, $129

No record in eBay of past sales of this coin in NGC, PCGS or ANACS plastic. The raw examples seem to be selling for the sub $50 range though.

Preussen · July 30, 2008 7:24AM

A recent issue of Europe's "money trend" has it at €55 in Stempelglanz, which is normally around MS64 quality. Even with the Dollar in the toilet, that's still only $85-ish (and money trend seems to be a bit high on many of these). Someone is bidding on the plastic, not the coin IMO. -Preussen

Edited to add: As I've mentioned before, I collect 3rd Reich 2-5 Marks (all types) by date and mint. They are available in nice BU, but you must be patient, look around, and have confidence in your ability to grade 'em raw. JMO

trozau · July 30, 2008 7:33AM

At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is that you are happy with your purchase and you believe that it is a fair price.

zeebob · July 30, 2008 8:04AM

Okay guys. I'm going for it. I bid my whole Paypal account minus shipping. Maybe I'll be sniped. Maybe not. Six minutes to go... How very exciting.

TwoKopeiki · July 30, 2008 8:11AM

<< <i>Okay guys. I'm going for it. I bid my whole Paypal account minus shipping. Maybe I'll be sniped. Maybe not. Six minutes to go... How very exciting. >>

So, I take it you've won? Congratulations!

Looks like a very nice coin.

Doogy · July 30, 2008 8:11AM

Steve is right. i'd look for raw ones, they are around. In fact, I have two of these (same year) i purchased about 6-7 months ago on Germany eBay. Advertised as
fast-stempelglanz, with large clear pictures. I knew he was undergrading them, and purchased both for under $65 total with shipping.

one came back slabbed MS63, the other MS65

There are still a ton of GEM raw world coins out there waiting to be had.

zeebob · July 30, 2008 8:17AM

Lost it by a buck...

Edited to add: The auction closed at $142.50.

trozau · July 30, 2008 11:39AM

<< <i>Lost it by a buck...

Edited to add: The auction closed at $142.50. >>

I guess it was NOT meant to be. Back to the hunt.

Doogy · July 30, 2008 12:22PM

<< <i>Lost it by a buck...

Edited to add: The auction closed at $142.50. >>

don't sweat it, you can find them a heck of a lot cheaper than $142

If i can find nicer ones for $35 apiece, you can too. just do some looking and take a chance.

zeebob · July 30, 2008 1:16PM

They say the fun is in the run. Although being an over-weight sedentary middle aged male, I'm not sure I believe it... But I'll believe theres more fun in the search'n than the find'n.

I'm back a hunt'n and expect more fun to come.

This is a GREAT hobby!

Cheers all.

Bob

edited for spelling "male" not "mail"

Rickc300 · July 30, 2008 3:10PM

Nice coin... A little more than I would have liked to pay but not out of the ballpark as far as pricing. If it were a coin I needed to add to my collection I would have bid that much for this example, since it has already been graded by PCGS. If PCGS ever lists a registry set of Nazi coinage you will be money ahead...

Rick

lordmarcovan · July 30, 2008 4:07PM

Sounds like you need to use esnipe or a similar program.

Preussen · July 30, 2008 10:57PM

I watched the auction, and as an active collector of 3rd Reich coinage, I would not have gone over $75 for this date/mint in MS64. My 1939-B is MS64-5 quality and I probably don't have more than $25-$30 in it. -Preussen

Rickc300 · July 31, 2008 5:10PM

Here are my thoughts and maybe not really in line with the original posting (sorry)...

So you have 40 bucks or so invested in a raw coin, now add on the PCGS grading charge, provided you are a member, another 49.95 minimum (I think) or find a friend or dealer willing to submit it for you if not a member. Then you wait about a month and a half (or longer) to get the coin back plus the insured shipping costs and provided you didn't miss anything that gets the coin BB'd and WALA! You now have a graded coin that could have been bought outright that would have been placed in your hand in about a week or less. I don't consider adding on the cost of grading when I purchase a PCGS graded coin as paying over the coins value but rather as paying for a coins value and the insurance that the coin really is what it is claimed to be. I also consider the cost of shipping and insurance the same as I would pay to have it sent in for grading anyway. But by buying an already graded coin, I only have to pay that fee once, not to have it sent to me and then again to send it in for grading and then returned back to me again. I think that a raw 40 dollar coin, after all costs & risks involved to get placed in a PCGS slab could easily turn out to be 3 to 4 as costly as an already graded coin when one considers the time, effort, and risk. Consider the money invested in a potentially cleaned or damaged coin that could get canned with you holding nothing but the bag and an empty PayPal account because of the timeframes involved in submitting...

Even the best collectors make mistakes, read the "grades posted" threads here and take a look at all of the body bags or missed grades! I like to think I know what I am doing and still have had eight body bags in 105 submissions to TPG services. So I also try to hedge my bets whenever possible and buy slabbed coins of difficult or "rare" coins if available. Why take the added risks if not needed? While this particular German coin is not rare, I am sure many here will attest to the difficulty in finding one that is not bag marked to #&!! and back. To wind this up... If I liked it, saw it and had the funds available, I would have bid that amount and not lost any sleep on worrying about over paying for a pretty coin to add to my collection. I have lost much more sleep wondering why I didn't bid an extra 3 bucks in order to add a beauty of a coin to my collection...

But that is just my 2 cents worth...

Rick

Rick

Am I crazy to bid $100+ on this MS64 1939 5-Mark?

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