Liquidity of foreign NCLT silver

terribleredmonster

I am a collector (primarily) of 1979 dated world silver coins and a minor hoarder of silver. A few months ago I began pursuing an acceptable example of a 1979 Costa Rica 100 Colones International Year of the Child commem for my collection. There are tons of these out there to be had, but nearly every one I encounter has been stored or handled poorly and as a result doesn't meet my standards. They're cheap enough that I buy them off of ebay auctions with crappy pics and through a few collectors I know sight unseen and then sort through them for potential candidates. The ones that don't pass muster wind up in my pile of junk silver.

The coin is KM#206. It's .925 silver and is very large, containing 1.0408 ozt au. Despite condition issues that bar them from my collection, I've never seen one that is actually circulated - they are all technically UNC.

Recently I've had tremendous luck with these buying them slightly below spot, shipped. We're talking a margin of 2 - 5%. Being as I like holding silver and I've rarely had success buying it below spot I snatched up a couple of dozen of these in the past month or so. Now I'm looking at a pile of these big thumper silver coins and wondering when the time comes for me to dump my meager silver holdings will these be an asset or a liability. I've sold off plenty of ASEs and US 90% in the past, but never foreign silver. Will a foreign coin with no markings regarding its metal content enjoy liquidity comparable to common US bullion and junk coins, or will it trade at a discount?

I ask this because while I was so easily able to buy these below spot I feel I may have accidentally stumbled upon a small hiccup in pricing due to the recent brief malaise in silver prices. It seems possible to me that when the spot price started do draw back a bit demand for this particular coin slacked and as a result my discounted offers were accepted. Is it possible I stumbled upon a modest score, or do you think I can expect these coins to always trade at a discount?

Weiss

I love big silver coins. But I see several things going against you--which I'm sure you've already considered:

1. Costa Rica. Never heard of it. I think you made it up. If it's not US, Canada, Australia...you get the idea.

2. Sterling. It *should* be easier to trade and valued higher than 90%. But it just never seems to be.

3. Retired series. Far fewer collectors if they aren't an annual series like the panda, the maple leaf, the kook.

4. Unusual weight. Even though it's technically more than an ounce, it's less likely to be bought in bulk and traded in bulk.

If silver really spikes, you won't have trouble selling them to smelters. But we're talking $30 or $40 an ounce in my opinion. Without that kind of pressure, I think you'll be lucky to sell them without discounting them pretty steep.

OPA

<< <i>I love big silver coins. But I see several things going against you--which I'm sure you've already considered:

1. Costa Rica. Never heard of it. I think you made it up. If it's not US, Canada, Australia...you get the idea.

2. Sterling. It *should* be easier to trade and valued higher than 90%. But it just never seems to be.

3. Retired series. Far fewer collectors if they aren't an annual series like the panda, the maple leaf, the kook.

4. Unusual weight. Even though it's technically more than an ounce, it's less likely to be bought in bulk and traded in bulk.

If silver really spikes, you won't have trouble selling them to smelters. But we're talking $30 or $40 an ounce in my opinion. Without that kind of pressure, I think you'll be lucky to sell them without discounting them pretty steep. >>



You may have purchased them at a discount to spot ... that should have been a warning signal ... no market for your rounds. When it's time to sell, they will also most likely sell at a discounted price.

terribleredmonster

Valid points, folks. I should point out that when I began pursuing this issue some few months back (I'd have to check my book to find out and I'm feeling a little lazy) they were selling slightly ahead of spot, plus shipping. I didn't think anything of the fact that I got them in total under spot until after I had already acquired three of them at those prices. I started paying attention then and it started to look like a pattern.

I still need a superlative example for my set, so I'll be buying more of these in the coming months. I'm interested to see if the prices even back out. I'm not really concerned about it as I'm sure I can get the majority of my purchase price back out of any of these I decide to dump and I consider the remaining loss an expense of building my collection.

This little question has made me wonder about my pile of junk silver. Almost nothing in it is standard bullion. There are of course the requisite handful of beat up ASEs and a double fistful of US90%, but much of it is Mexican bullion and commercial coins, odd ball rounds, foreign NCLT in lackluster condition and random tokens including reproductions and knockoffs. It's an accumulation which is a byproduct of my collecting habits (mostly), so I don't make excuses for it. However, I'm starting to think I might be well served to bite the bullet by selling it off now and putting the proceeds into actual recognized bullion.

mkman123

foreign silver is a tough sell here, if you were in Costa Rica, I bet you could get rid of them like hot cakes AND they might be extremely desirable in the home country, but here in the US, 90% and bullion are the easy sell. Sterling is also a hard sell.

If you were getting rid of them, sell them to someone who is into darkside so you can get your full money.

jmski52

When you go to sell them, simply educate your potential buyers in your listing. List the weight, the net silver content, the history of the series, what the years of issue were. Make a point of the current silver value contained in the coins. Then, the chips will fall where they will fall. If you're apprehensive about an auction listing, put a floor on the acceptable price. I don't think you'll get hurt.

DoubleEagle59

I don't think you'll have a problem selling them.

At least here in Canada at the coin shows, almost all dealers give the exact same percentage for silver, regardless of the Country of origin.

Also, all Canadian dealers are very well educated with foreign gold/silver coins and do not discount because of this.