How much premium are you willing to pay for "cherrypicking"?
kbbpll
Posts: 542 ✭✭✭✭
I just bought an AU53 1905-S Barber dime for $114 (all in) for which PCGS guide says $95, and Numismedia FMV says $94. It's the last of the S-mint "old" reverse "thin ribbon" anomalies that went on in SF from 1901-1905. My research points to around 3%, or one die's worth, of the mintage was this variety.
I've been watching for about 6 months and have not seen a better one come along. So I finally decided to give myself something for Father's Day. The seller gave no indication of knowing what it was.
So the topic question. How much "premium" are people willing to pay when cherrypicking? Was 20% too much?
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To me, you pay a discount when you cherrypick. It means you bought a coin for substantially less than it's really worth because someone missed something.
I agree, every cherry picked coin is worth the same or more, but never less. Whether you can sell it for a premium varies drastically.
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It depends on the specific Cherry-Pick 🍒...
Stuart
Collect 18th & 19th Century US Type Coins, Silver Dollars, $20 Gold Double Eagles and World Crowns & Talers with High Eye Appeal
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I guess in this case it gets complicated to the point where everyone has their own standard. I feel that I paid 20% more for a variety that is not in any price guide, and has little chance of getting a flurry of interest any time in the future, so it becomes a matter of "how much do I want it" relative to FMV.
Other cherrypicking examples have a more known track record on price, so the answer is easier.
The question is a contradiction. "How much more are you willing to pay for a coin you really want?" is what's asked, I think.
When you cherrypick you buy something for substantially less than it is worth because the seller didn't know what he had.
Lance.
In this case I think it's more like "how much are you willing to gamble on a variety that might get more recognition in the future". Let's say somebody on here posts a new RPM or RPD. You are a collector of xyz varieties and here's a new one. You then find one on ebay. How much over FMV are you going to pay?
I get it that typical cherrypicking involves a known premium.
There is no firm premium. The premium comes into existence only when the seller researches the variety and the market for it and expends the effort needed to get a premium from that market.
"Rare" does not necessarily mean "valuable" so I would pay zero premium unless it was a well recognized, easy to sell variety.
[All opinions expressed here are my own and are not meant to contradict or supersede those of others.]
I'm a firm believer in "whatever it is worth to you".
Others raise the interesting question of what "cherrypick" is supposed to mean. But that seems to be nitpicking. If you rephrased the question as "how much of a premium would you pay for a minor variety?" maybe they would just answer the question.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
To me a cherrypick is snagging a coin around PCGS price that is very obviously undergraded.
A "rip" is a coin you get when somebody makes a big pricing mistake.
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Humbly: that is one type of "cherrypick". As the Cherrypicker's Guide would attest, the term is also used for varieties rather than grades.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
You are filling a long-looked for item that had not developed into success previously until now - therefore your pick-up has value to you. Do you care about premium here because you are thinking you might want to sell the item some day to get out what you put into it? or perhaps you want others to join your passion for "thin ribbon" varieties so they would want to value to the same level you value the variety? at the end of the day it comes down to the supply / demand equation.
A Barber Quartet is made up of Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, and Halves.
Wow... two 'cherry pick' threads today..... Strange term - at least for anyone who has really picked cherries... in volume. I have. We had a cherry tree in our back yard when I was young... and my Mom liked to can them for use in pies and tarts.... My brother and I spent hours in that tree (it was a large tree) picking the fruit....It was rewarding only in the pleasure of a really great pie as dessert.... Otherwise, it was a tedious, grueling task. But then good work (in the case of the coin issue - research and knowledge) is often rewarding.
Cheers, RickO
We had a cherry tree for years but didn't know it when we bought the house.it all changed later when our neighbors planted there's.
A Barber Quartet is made up of Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, and Halves.
My interpretation of the question as well. I don't think the OP overpaid. This premium is equivalent to buying lunch at a budget or midpriced restaurant. It's a hobby consumption expense, not an "investment".
As to whether the OP should expect to recover the premium, I wouldn't count on it. I don't expect die variety collecting in any Barber series to increase noticeably, if at all.
I consider every coin I buy now to be a cherry.
I don't consider the OP's situation "cherrypicking" - he was hunting for something specific and, after not finding it, selected a viable option.
As for regular "cherrypicking" - nothing extra. The dealer you're picking from should not know what you're doing - just stay out of his nose -- and his hot dog.
From what you posted, it sounds like you paid a premium for a coin you wanted, but more information would help, namely what is the price guide for the thin ribbon?
A cherrypick which is when you pay less than a coin’s worth because it was unattributed. So if the unmarked variety is worth more than you paid, you have a cherrypick.
@Zoins - to my knowledge there is no "price guide" anywhere that splits out the reverse design varieties for 1905-S, nor any of the other 1901-1905 years/mints where this occurred. As such, I guess this whole topic is more like speculating in a market that doesn't exist, than true "cherrypicking" as most collectors view that term (i.e. grabbing something with a known premium because the seller doesn't recognize what they have, whether a variety or an undergraded coin).
@WCC is probably correct on all counts, particularly "I don't expect die variety collecting in any Barber series to increase noticeably, if at all". As such, ultimately it's just me determining how badly I want something.
Just to close this out, the coin arrived. A bit, shall we say, "less attractive" than I thought, but not disappointing. I have already gotten the premium's worth of enjoyment.
First, it's the last of an intriguing series of little-known "thin ribbon" transition varieties spanning 5 years in SF.
From seller's pics and then in hand, I thought there was a chance of an RPM. Under the scope, it's a clean punch.
But... there's always a little bonus somewhere under the microscope, and here it's the repunched 5.
and the ribbon is clearly thin (some of these are hard to tell).
You paid $19 over the PCGS PG - less than the cost of a gourmet burger and beer for that much rarer die die variety. You have nothing to be concerned about I would have done it too. When I pay a premium for a PQ piece I may simply price cost plus. Don’t get too stuck in some price guide. From the looks of it u really chalked up a good acquisition.
I win slabbed low pop world coins for absurdly low prices yet pay above CV.
For your coin CPG is $112 (I round up to $115) but considering it’s a much rarer die variety I would price $150. So you did not overpay at all. I go with CPG on this one as it is based on CDN bid. The other price guides I throw out those numbers. Even with the add on that’s chump change especially some price certain issues 50-70 pct premium bc have sticker. I have a 1910-s dime PCGS AU53 CAC, super toner priced at $250 Bin / Mo. An MS63 is $650 (CPG). Many times a nice AU will fill the slot.
I remember bidding on and winning a really nice AU Large Size $10 Dallas,Texas NBN for $300 (estimate $150). I had it for many shows before I finally I got what I wanted for it and haven’t seen one since.