A "Modern" Nightmare!
tradedollarnut
Posts: 20,162 ✭✭✭✭✭
Stopped by my local coin shop today and was swapping stories with the proprietor. He told me a story about how the bids had been manipulated to run the prices up on recent proof and mint state sets before he purchased a large lot of material. Needless to say, he lost money.
He proceded to tell me that the same dealer then offered him large quantities of supposedly scarce modern material (he showed me the greysheet bid - it was really high!). He declined. Later that week he noticed the bids were raised again on the material. Why would bids go up if someone was looking to dump quantities????
He proceded to tell me that the same dealer then offered him large quantities of supposedly scarce modern material (he showed me the greysheet bid - it was really high!). He declined. Later that week he noticed the bids were raised again on the material. Why would bids go up if someone was looking to dump quantities????
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TRUTH
peacockcoins
Obscurum per obscurius
Interesting story, but really not germane for the majority modern registry collectors on this Board. Most who collect moderns at the registry level are buying high grade certified material. I don't know any who would buy hundreds of proof sets at wholesale for the purpose of trying to make high grades (at least not more than once
Yes, I know there are some modern collectors who are putting together runs of proof or mint sets. My Dad is one. But, they are buying one per year, and are looking to cherry pick high quality sets. They really don't care if a $10 set gets "manipulated" up to $15 or down to $6.
Greg S.
There may or may not be truth to this dealers particular story but there has always been a tremendous amount of manipulation in the coin market. If you control a market, and sometimes that means only 10-20% of supply at the moment, then you can control the BID by controlling the ASK. Placing multiple adds and calls to dealers and buying small amounts at inflated prices also play in the game. If other owners see the ask rise 100% they will suddenly raise prices to match and neither one will sell. The BID will then rise to secure the item because "it's going up." The herd effect takes hold and buyers buy into a rising, hyped market. In time the supply comes out and the prices rudely correct but in the mean the manipulators have dumped large quantities, the profits are skimmed and some get left holding.
It takes a supply and a demand to manipulate a market so this is usually done best on "hot" items which is why they are more likely to "crash" than more obscure items. It is totally legal and it's part of the game. Having been around a while and avoiding hyped markets helps to keep from getting ripped.
Obscurum per obscurius
peacockcoins
I can't believe you'd waste you're money on those. Heck, for those prices you could get a real coin , like a FS Jefferson, maybe even one from the 1990's!!!
peacockcoins