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Advice on a fair buy price.
morgansforever
Posts: 8,428 ✭✭✭✭✭
My GF's friend wants to unload some U.S. coinage she received from her mother. She cleaned the coins with soap n water and put them in flips, smh. She sent some images to me via FB, I doubt there are any keys but will treat them differently if there are. Not looking to flip, I'll just keep em and add it to the stash. With silver @ $16.57 a dime has a $1.19 worth of silver + or -, halves $6 dollars worth of AG. Offer her 10X face for the whole lot, is that fair?
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ouch on the cleaning, just offer melt so go to coinflation and use their calc would be fair too
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Ouch on the cleaning is right but more than likely it's all common dates. Hopefully she didn't touch the Unc. stuff.
Soap and water shouldn't do anything bad to the surfaces unless she scrubbed them. I think melt is certainly fair if it's all common and worn material. Not so much if there are BU coins or better dates in the mix. I would separate those (depending on what coins are BU, Roosies and Washies wouldn't really be worth a premium).
She needs to smash those staples on the back of the 2x2's
HAPPY COLLECTING
The cleaning looks to have been much more than just soap and water. The coins are effectively ruined from a numismatic viewpoint. Offer 75-80% of melt and then dump them as quick as you can for a small amount more.
There are 3 values for coins
1. Face value
2. Intrinsic (melt) value
3. Collector value
First you should explain that cleaning coins lowers the collector value so she doesn't do it again.
Then assuming there are no key dates, you should evaluate on how good of a girlfriend she is and what you think your future will be.
Then add that "girlfriend" premium into the amount over the intrinsic value that she could get anywhere else.
Tell her you'll give her 50%-100% over the melt value because you love her and want her to be happy.
Or just sell them on eBay
It's the girlfriend's friend. I don't think that warrants much of a premium. If it were the actual GF you would sell them for her, not buy them for more than they're worth. Come to think of it, that may be the best way to go here as well. It certainly beats a low-ball offer so you can make a profit.
So she's telling you she cleaned the coins with soap and water and then just happened to have 2X2's and binder pages laying around for various coin denominations?
Wash her mouth out with soap and water.
She decided to buy flips and a binder from a local B&M, they were given to her in tubes, guess she felt it was better to organize them and put em in flips. We all think differently. Probably just gonna go a bit behind melt, we're talking 100 dimes or so and 50 halves, not a huge lot. Going to look at them over the weekend. What would a typical shop offer? 1/2 of their value? Thanks for all the advice.
I agree with @mkman123 's suggestion on using the Coinflation.com calculator. You could then add or subract whatever small amount you wanted to from the base (melt) value as you saw fit, (IF you saw fit).
Also agree with @COINS MAKE CENTS about crimping the staples flat. A pair of pliers will do the trick there. I use a flat-clinch stapler, but resort to pliers when other people send me coins in 2x2s with uncrimped staples. (Just have one coin damaged with a staple scratch one time, and it'll become a pet peeve for you like it has been with me for a long time.)
PS- Coinflation also has Canadian silver coin values listed, though not with a calculator as with the US coins.
Don't forget to check the 1919 Merc. if it's a Philadelphia mint struck coin for the obverse doubling. Along with all the others for any mint errors.
If it's all common, improperly cleaned stuff, just walk away.
They call me "Pack the Ripper"
For this lot, if you buy it, it would just be as a favor to the friend. If you give her melt, it will be more than a coin shop will offer.... (unless she happens to be the daughter or girlfriend of a coin shop dealer.....
) Cheers, RickO
10X face for the lot is well under melt. About 20% under. I'd offer 11X so as not to feel like a cad and then search them. The coins that is.
I would normally offer below melt depending on severity of cleaning. However if this concerns a GF I wb as generous as possible depending on how much you want to contribute. You don't want to look like robber with her friend.
put them om Ebay .. someone will pay up for a lotto find coin... otherwise B&M will pay under melt
She cleaned them and put them in flips ?
If you do acquire them I would check the dates and MM's, there is not one coin in the photos with a mint mark ?
Chances are she doesn't know what they are.
JMO
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Not to be a pain but this raises my next questions. So I am assuming they made her an offer on the coins? Did she tell you how much they offered? If she went to the coin shop to buy supplies why wouldn't she bring the coins? I am guessing she didn't like the offer from the coin shop or they didn't want them because of their cleaned condition.
You sound like a good guy, but simply because you are a good guy doesn't mean you should lose money.
Offer 10x face, that's very fair, flip and go.
Your time is worth something, friend or not.
That's pretty much what I had planned, not looking to flip, just add to the stash at a fair price for both of us.
Offering melt sounds fair for you and the friend. Likely more than a shop would offer. A square deal can lead to better buys down the road
Maybe you should just get a new girlfriend. Preferably one who is better looking and choses friends who don't wreck old coins.
I take umbrage with your assertion that a shop ( at least mine) would offer less than some joe on the street. ( although I agree there are no shortages of dealers who would screw their own mothers)