Sell By Date for Freshness

87redcivic

Hi, longtime lurker very infrequent poster. I keep reading about how long a coin is off the market (the freshness of a coin) impacts final hammer price, etc etc. How a coin labeled as a "retread" can be the kiss of death. How a coin roughly needs about 5 years to become "fresh" again.

So, my hypothetical question is: If you are auctioning off a coin that has been hiding in a safe 20 years, but you promote it by posting it on different coin boards for 6 months or advertising pictures on a website for a long period of time before releasing it for sale, does that mean the coin is still "fresh" anymore?

As soon as a coin is posted as "coming soon", does this mean it is "on the market"?

Does a well-known coin off the market coin that is scheduled to be coming in Part 'X' of a sale 16 months from now impact the auction demand when that day finally arrives?

Can a technically "fresh" coin be artificially stripped of its mystique?

joeykoins

Hey, aboard and to school! I say school because you'll be taught in many areas besides coins. You will learn more about manners, ethics and business. Have fun is the key here on our forum. Don't be a stranger. To reply to your statement, all I can say is supply in demand! Any coin, old or new all depends on how popular the coin is seen in the collecting world. At least that's my opinion, maybe some others can shed a better light on this? Anyway, nice to see you reply and stop lurking. I too were a lurker for a couple of years before I pulled the trigger. See ya around.-joey

LindeDad

Fresh = Dealer Hype



As a collector all I care is if it fits a spot in my collection and I have the funds to acquire it and I like it. To me the only fresh coins come out of the mints every day and you will find most around here snub them.



BTW welcome to the forum & I'll say it for Russ "Fresh Meat".

87redcivic

Here is why I was thinking about this. The first post was U.S. coin related, but my actual experience is from the darkside. I've been a collector since 2002. I collect a mix of US and darkside coins. The latest series I've been into are coins from the English Civil War as my main "stretch" focus. Otherwise, I normally work in the $20-$30 range for collecting with the occasional $50 coin.

There was (and is) a coin listed on a UK website that I ran across in November 2014. It is a good coin, and I believe a good price. It is about $180. The price hasn't changed but the exchange rate has. When it was first listed, I didn't have the "fun" money to take the plunge. I resigned myself that I wasn't going to get that coin. When the funds became available, I was sure someone else would already have scooped it up. To my surprise, it has stayed listed on the site after Christmas and into Easter 2015. I'm even more surprised that it is still listed on the site going into the Summer of 2016. It gives me a data point that the series that I'm collecting is currently very thinly traded and very sleepy. The reference books and BNJ articles were all written between 1980 and 1992. So I'm assuming that the peak level of interest for this series was between those dates. I'm enjoying the scholarship of a well researched area without the peak promotional frenzy of a "hot" series and accompanying costs.

So with that background in mind, last month I was using Google Image search for "Charles I coins". I ran across an image for a similar coin (different mint), that was listed for $280. The google image results said ("4 days ago"). With the spring PAN show coming up, I decided to use my money instead toward this coin. As with the other coin, I was afraid that it was going to be gone before I knew it. The coin was rarer - but not by that much. It is the same denomination as the other coin.

I have a feeling that the coin I originally saw in 2014 will eventually be mine. I don't have any urgency to purchase it, like I did with the other slightly rarer coin. It is still on my want list. So in this case, my personal "freshness" factor played a big role in stretching for coin 'Y' and leaving coin 'X' until later.

TopographicOceans

If a buyer hasn't seen the coin yet, then it is always fresh for them.

87redcivic

I've seen examples where a seller has taken a constantly relisted coin off of their ebay store and then it appears again a few months later. Sort of like a "newly listed" house in real-estate. In the opinion of the dealers here, does that technique usually get a fence-sitter on a "highly watched" coin to make the jump? Any guesses for a success rate?

johnny9434

Originally posted by: TopographicOceans
If a buyer hasn't seen the coin yet, then it is always fresh for them.

yeah and one has to like it as well. hope that was said right.