Why do sellers describe coins as "estate finds"?
planetsteve
Posts: 1,425 ✭✭✭✭
This was just an idle question for me until today. I've thought calling an item an "estate coin" is pretty much superfluous; if anything, it's a red flag that I'm about to be fed a fairly ridiculous story about 19th-century safes, sealed mason jars, and the dearly departed, afflicted with dementia, compulsively cracking rarities out of slabs. (True stories, all of them.)
Today, however, a co-worker who I've chatted with about coins brought me a sampling of the safe deposit box contents of a deceased friend. It turned out to be nearly all circulated 20th century silver, plus over a roll of 1878-S AU/BU Morgans. I thought about how I would sell the accumulation for her; and for the description I could say junk silver, $xx face value, here's images.... what else is there to tell? Well, it was part of this guy's estate. Oh wait...
Does the "estate" descriptor ever carry any info of value?
Comments
Sometimes it does, if there is a well-known name associated with the estate. I ended up purchasing everything I could find from a Civil War collector's estate. He was known for his Civil War items but I purchased a sub-collection of his, apparently found in a trunk after his passing
"Why do sellers describe coins as "estate finds"?"
In order to get buyers to think 1) the coins have been off the market for generations, 2) the coins are somehow special, or 3) the seller doesn't know anything about coins and they are significantly underpriced.
Any or all of the above.
There are some estates that seem to take the proceeds an buy more cons to sell on eBay.
Why mention anything different than you already do?
As you seem to realize, the words "Estate" and "Estate Find" are almost always a deceptive "come-on" in art, antiques and old coins.
People desperately want to believe untruths and they desperately think they are much smarter than anybody else in the room. People desperately want to get an unearned windfall. Some sellers prey on this desperation. Some sellers are very very good at deceiving these people.
I myself put my hand over my wallet when any seller uses that/those term(s). Caution is warranted.
Nevertheless, yes, sometimes you get a shot at a coin collection that was accumulated by the recently deceased. But it usually happens only after the passage of significant time since the last such real deal. Unless you, a family member, or a close friend can vouch for the reality of this collection being a true estate situation, proceed very carefully.
As somebody said "Estate" is a red flag.
Because, at the end of the day, hype actually works.
Very well said!
And while claims of “estate finds” cause informed bidders/buyers to be suspicious, the uninformed don’t necessarily exercise the same amount of caution.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
If you are referring to EBAY, I would say not for the seasoned collector and yes to the novice. This seems to be a magnet for the latter based on the feedback ratings from their buyers. Just my take on that. Steer clear of "hoard" as well. The chances of attracting higher bidders diminishes with these words. As for how to list them, perhaps along the lines of "from a lifelong collector.". Or a variation thereof.
I have been to several estate sales in this area... None had coins for sale... I usually ask, and only one indicated there were coins, but they wanted to have an 'expert' (read that family acquaintance) evaluate them first. As far as when I see the term in auctions, well... I just keep walking....Cheers, RickO
Thanks all for the comments and advice. "Estate" shouldn't be used. @Zoins Would "pedigreed" be a nicer sounding descriptor for the Civil War items from someone known in the field?
I’m not Zoins, 😉but “provenance” is a better option than “pedigree”.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
I found this in the attic of an estate that I’m liquidating. It been in the attic since about the mid 80s from what I can tell. Call it what it is. It’s fresh.
The coin is what it is. Unless you're somebody famous, nobody cares who it used to belong to. "Estate find" is (generally) nothing more than someone counting on the greed of a buyer, who thinks he's going to get a rip from a clueless seller.
Every now and then, people are honest and describe something with how they came by it.
It's a marketing hook meant to attract cherry pickers and bargain hunters.
My Sig line usually takes care of it.
"Estate find" is deceptive and nothing more than a marketing ploy for gullable buyers. It infers that the coins being sold have not gone through any of the usual channels where scarcity and valuable coins would be filtered out, identified and priced for the market. The coins presented have avoided those channels and now they are presented to you, the gullible Ebay buyer to discover the hidden treasures.
I remember in the early days of Ebay, bags of wheaties would be sold as "estate finds" and buyers would go bonkers bidding up essentially worthless copper slugs....bags and bags of them.
To me : Estate find = snake oil salesman.
I have purchased several wonderful raw coins from a ebay seller who has the word “estate” in his company name.
Very happy with my purchases .😄
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.
Me too. The purchases I made above was also from an eBay seller with estate in his company name.
That being said, many items labeled as estate finds may be done to lure the gullible into paying more. Of course, the flip side is that many collectors pass away with out any disbursement plan for their collections.
I never understood why a coin being from an estate find should even be relevant to my coin buying decision. The only thing that matters is the coin and the price. Anything else is just background noise.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
That is the coin collecting equivalent to "barn find" when describing classic cars.
The battle scars of all the good times
I just gloss over it and look at the coin, same with "harder date" and "semi-key". The ones that irk me have something in the title like "Great AU/BU Details", where they're trying to sucker a novice into thinking they mean the "strike details" and not the fact that it's damaged, cleaned, etc.
I recently viewed an estate -
Nothing but rolls of circ common WLH, Franks, Roos 10c, junk silver, common circ coins worth melt (many worn slick or corroded) in albums, and bulk material circ state quarters in plastic tub, golden dollars worth no more than face. The 2 “finds” a cleaned VF 1878Cc dollar and MS60 GSA 1882-CC dollar plus thousands of above. If it had anything nice the deceased collector sold it before his death.
I made them an offer (which wb worth my while handle it) they did not take it. Frankly relieved - I called it the Crap and Junk Coins for life deal.
this sort of thing can be hard to figure out in an online experience, much easier face-to-face. I claim no high ground in being able to "read people" but experience helps to sort out the BS when "Estate" is mentioned.
if you think it's interesting with coins, you should get a taste of doing Pawns. I will only say that I believe all the reports about theft at retail establishments and the need/cost of security. I think if I added up my short time doing it that it feels like an entire WalMart store has walked up to our counter.
Needs to be someone well connected to the community, state or company for it to add value.
bob
I think it has merit in some circumstances, if the seller is trusted.
This seems to be true of low population, thinly traded items like SCDs or mid-century darkside mint or proof sets.
If you've been looking for a low population item and you've looked at the dozen +/- pieces that have been on the market forever, and the other pieces that exist have been in the strong hands of collectors who will never sell their example, then an estate find can be exciting and important.
Same is true for the seller. If you're letting potential buyers know this piece isn't that piece offered at the same bourse for a decade where the case is cracked, the coin has been dropped, thumb printed, mustard stained...it can be a great way to get a customer.
--Severian the Lame
It just means (usually) somebody died. What sort of value does a "dead person's" collection add ?
I expect that the seller hopes that it adds legitimacy to the coin's age and/or condition and that it's not a fake.
Marketing
To stir up your lust for a hidden treasure. like gold fever
Seller already had looked thru it all-- before you
are summoned to get rid of the rest of the junk for him.
only once did I ever find a treasure cheap as I had inside information on the sale.
raw Buff nickel 1924-S $75. graded out PCGS 64
sold it for $3100. Worth more now.
all other come take a look trips were as I said.
Krueger
Because made in China or purchased at Alibaba just doesn’t get the high bids on eBay?
Marketing tool
Which is why our most important tool is knowledge and research. Peace Roy
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Value added hype IMO.
Anyone ever asked one?
Why?
Because they think the buyer is an idiot
BHNC #203
There's an old BU roll with old tape sealing it. It looks very legitimate but when I asked the seller about it, he said it was an ESTATE FIND and now I've pretty much written it off.
Check out my iPhone app SlabReader!
P. T. Barnum was right.
Dave
They recently assimilated an estate?
Exactly!!
Three words...
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