Have you ever partnered with another collector on buying a coin?

TopographicOceans

What was the arrangement and how did it work out?

lasvegasteddy

5 of us in early 80's were to toss $10k each in on a 1894-s dime at auction
week before auction...one knuckle head backed out

probably spared all 5 of us grief anyways

it hammered for like $45k though

CoinZip

On buying a single coin no.

On buying a collection of coins yes.

blu62vette

I have. I bought the coin. We split the profits. Worked great.

Kyle

<< <i>I have. I bought the coin. We split the profits. Worked great. >>


I'm curious what the partner did in this deal.

Identified a rarity, but didn't have the disposable cash?

georgiacop50

Yes. The end result was disastrous, ending with one of us in jail.

DMWJR

If I enjoyed selling coins as much as I enjoy buying them, I would certainly partner on a coin. I know of plenty big coins that get partnered on. Many times the partners have target for the coin when they buy it. They don't always hold and wait. The time value of money during the flip is crucial.

TwoSides2aCoin

I cannot recall if he was a dealer or collector. He acted like a dealer when it came to potential " profit ", after the coin was submitted. So I guess the answer is "no". He turned the table on me quicker than snot, exercised what I refer to as the "Alpha Male" ____headed authority and prowess, and put an end to any partnership right then and there. C'est la vie.

A man learns quick or a man don't learn, partner.

DRUNNER

Yeah . . .did it on a 1955 DD Lincoln in 58 or sumpin.

Dealer I know and love thought it would be fun. We ended up holding it for a year, sold it for $100 more than we paid, and wow ---- I made $50 !!!! Can't really (still) see why see did it with a fairly generic coin, but he wanted to, so I acquiesced (I teach English -- know those big words). So -- yeah. I did it. All-in-all, I guess it was fun, but I don't see the point in $50.

Sort of left me -- pffffffttttt . . . . .

Drunner

Sonorandesertrat

No. Unless the intent is to jointly buy what looks like an expensive, undervalued coin and then turn around and promptly sell it, I can't see any real upside. However, there are numerous problems that could surface, including collapsed friendships, (threats of ) a lawsuit, legal issues in the event of the death of one of the owners, etc.

291fifth

Bad idea.

I have heard of dealers doing it and know of at least one case where the poor results of the investment (this was in the 1980s) strained their business relationship for many years.

ricko

No... would never do it..... too many risks. When I buy a coin, it is mine... Cheers, RickO

Walkerguy21D

Once, on a local collection, where my out of town dealer friend made the original contact, I did the examination and fronted the money,
he took care of the disposal, and we made a small profit on it.

Now I'm waiting for Colonel Jessup's stories on this thread I'm thinking he could probably fill a book!

IrishMikey

Yes, many times. You have to be really comfortable with a partner when purchasing a big deal, which I was. That
was mostly back in my "hungry" days, though. Today I can pull in the funds for any deal that I am interested in, so
the need for a partner has gone away.

Lakesammman

Boiler78 and I did once after having a few beers awaiting the patterns section of an auction.

In the AM, partnering a coin all of a sudden didn't seem to make sense.

So, I ended up owning the coin and made something like $30K on it eventually.

roadrunner

The only coins I have partnered on were with dealers, never a collector. And most of those worked out fairly well as long as both of us viewed the coins in question before doing a deal. I can't think of a single instance where I partnered with a dealer on coins we both liked and it turned out bad. Probably done it a dozen times or so. Sometimes it's just not having the cash ready to go, or wanting a little security blanket. Haven't done this in over 20 years though. It's not quite 1987-1990 any more. And those dealers I utilized had much more market knowledge and connections than I could ever dream of. It all helps.

MGLICKER

Never, ever and never will.

Cannot see the upside. If I cannot handle a purchase alone, it is a pass.

CuKevin

I have once with another forum member to buy a coin set either of us could've afforded alone, but neither of us wanted to put the full amount of money into the set. It wasn't expensive to either of us also.

We still co own it and each of us holds half the coins. It's just a fun set for both of us and I don't foresee any problems until a death or other major catastrophe.

DennisH

Yes. A 1932-S quarter in PCGS-64 that we though had a shot at 65.
It didn't work, so we sold for what we paid and ate the submission costs.

There are a handful of close coin buddies that I would do it with again, and for five figures each.

johnny9434

no i never have and am glad of it.

Coinosaurus

I've done it with no issues & decent profits. You have to know who you can trust. Otherwise things can go south pretty easily. Reputation is everything in this business. I had guy ship me a $25K coin a few weeks ago with nothing more than the assurance of another dealer that I was a "good boy."

123cents

Nope!

coinkat

interesting idea- I suppose there could be a LLP created with shares and ultimately the individual share owners could potentially sell their share without a complete ownership sale. I suspect this concept has already been done

ChangeInHistory

About 5-6 years ago, I went in halves with a friend & forum member on 4 or 5 rolls of '53-S Franklins. There were some that we thought may FBL. Submitted them all and no FBL, but we did get high enough grades that we each walked away with roughly a $300 profit.

Cougar1978

I have gone partners with other dealers and sometimes collectors in acquiring a collection or estate. After the initial inventory listing (internal with the buyers) of the estate where retail, whlolesale, and what we want to pay is listed, individual items are allocated to each participant as agreed upon before hand sort of like a pro football draft. The offer for the entire collection is submitted to the seller to either accept or reject. Sometimes there is room for negotiation like a contingent last bid. It has a number advantages and has worked really well for me especially where there are multiple numismatic areas in the offering and I am only interested in certain ones. The professional synergy from a crew of buyers can be reassuring to the seller and aid in the negotiation process and closing the deal.

A case in point were some friends who run a coin shop including myself and an investor to jointly bid on an estate. The shop would be contributing about 60% of the offer with the balance split evenly between myself and and an investor. The collection consisted of a fairly even allocation of Graded Walkers, Commems, Dollars, US Gold Type Coins, and Graded Currency. The collector had an eye for grading and these were really nice coins for the grade. Once we agreed what we would offer for the entire portfolio, the offer was accepted and we held a meeting among ourselves on how the material would be allocated which went really well. Upon disbursing the offer to the seller, we picked up the portfolio and met at the investors condo to allocate the items which was also a sort of celebration event.

Other than that I have no interest in sharing a single coin with other individuals as whatever I spend for numismatic investment I want physical possession of the material. As far as individuals acquiring a big ticket coin to flip it I can see that but this is risky in more ways than
one. Especially critical is once the item is acquired it is capable of realizing the expected profit upon flipping.

Pick partners for the deal who are decisive, on the same page, have money, and won't flake out at the last minute. In one instant the seller wanted 10% more (she was wanting to buy a house) and we huddled up and in deciding to meet her requested amount all agreed individually taking in to considering what we could flip our particular allocation of the deal for. Luckily we were on the same page.

winky

Yes I did years ago. Coin is gone and so is my money but learned not to do it again. My money my coin.

Broadstruck

I've done it for over 25 years with the aid of a dealer or collector friend...

As sometimes great stuff comes up at the wrong time you just can't pass up on.

BillJones

Just once, and the transaction was so minor that it hardly worth mentioning. Another collector and I spotted a very porous 1793 Cap cent at a small local show back in the 1970s. The coin did not have a readable date, but it had the big die crack running down the middle of the obverse which screamed (at least to me) "Sheldon 14!!!." It was marked "dateless Liberty Cap large cent" and was priced at $10. We each paid five bucks and later sold it for $30. At the time the catalog said it was worth $300, but good luck getting that for something that looked like a little round sponge on those days.

oreville

Yes.