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Morgans selling far below PCGS Price Guide

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  • Cougar1978Cougar1978 Posts: 8,766 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited July 26, 2025 7:00PM

    How are they doing vs CDN Bid? How much does auc cost juice and other selling expense hits stack up vs CDN bid? Have u tried selling off bourse - vest pocket trading? Auction: Take sales - inventory cost - opex (shipping, fees, etc.). Compare to bid see how u did.

    Investor
  • MFeldMFeld Posts: 14,856 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Cougar1978 said:
    How are they doing vs CDN Bid? How much does auc cost juice and other selling expense hits stack up vs CDN bid? Have u tried selling off bourse - vest pocket trading?

    If you’d read the thread you would (or should) have seen the posted prices realized compared with CDN prices.

    Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.

  • jmlanzafjmlanzaf Posts: 36,493 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @MFeld said:

    @Cougar1978 said:
    How are they doing vs CDN Bid? How much does auc cost juice and other selling expense hits stack up vs CDN bid? Have u tried selling off bourse - vest pocket trading?

    If you’d read the thread you would (or should) have seen the posted prices realized compared with CDN prices.

    You're asking a lot

  • Desert MoonDesert Moon Posts: 5,989 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @blitzdude said:
    PSGS guide is notoriously overpriced and as far as I can remember has never been an accurate indication of the true market. Realizing 10-20% under their number, I'd say you did very good. RGDS!

    LOL, I recently had 75 coins auctioned, the Morgans of that group were all CACed and in old holders. They all went for WAY WAY over PCGS retail guide for Hammer. So it really depends on what you have doesn’t it. Price guides are based on averages and median auction results, especially for coins like Morgans that trade frequently. Obviously, some will be higher, some lower, based on quality and intangibles of each example. As Mr Feld noted, the coins in the OP went for about retail guide prices when the juice is added in. So is ‘PCGS guide’ ‘notoriously overpriced’? Probably not at least for coins like Morgans with frequent trading.

    My online coin store - https://desertmoonnm.com/
  • MFeldMFeld Posts: 14,856 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @jmlanzaf said:

    @MFeld said:

    @Cougar1978 said:
    How are they doing vs CDN Bid? How much does auc cost juice and other selling expense hits stack up vs CDN bid? Have u tried selling off bourse - vest pocket trading?

    If you’d read the thread you would (or should) have seen the posted prices realized compared with CDN prices.

    You're asking a lot

    I wasn’t asking - I know better than that.😉

    Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.

  • Cougar1978Cougar1978 Posts: 8,766 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited July 26, 2025 7:28PM

    What about selling costs? Fees, shpx, insurance, other opex costs. Calc Gross Margin (sales - inventory cost) one thing but opex has to be included for a full anylitical bottom line picture.

    Investor
  • MFeldMFeld Posts: 14,856 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Desert Moon said:

    @blitzdude said:
    PSGS guide is notoriously overpriced and as far as I can remember has never been an accurate indication of the true market. Realizing 10-20% under their number, I'd say you did very good. RGDS!

    LOL, I recently had 75 coins auctioned, the Morgans of that group were all CACed and in old holders. They all went for WAY WAY over PCGS retail guide for Hammer. So it really depends on what you have doesn’t it. Price guides are based on averages and median auction results, especially for coins like Morgans that trade frequently. Obviously, some will be higher, some lower, based on quality and intangibles of each example. As Mr Feld noted, the coins in the OP went for about retail guide prices when the juice is added in. So is ‘PCGS guide’ ‘notoriously overpriced’? Probably not at least for coins like Morgans with frequent trading.

    As a group (even though two pieces were details-graded) the coins still brought a total that was within 1% of CDN prices, but not the much higher PCGS guide prices.

    Sorry, but the fact that your CAC coins in old holders brought “WAY WAY over PCGS retail guide for Hammer” doesn’t change the reality that the large majority of coins I research (to the tune of hundreds of coins each week) typically sell for less, if not appreciably less than PCGS and NGC price guide values.

    Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.

  • Cougar1978Cougar1978 Posts: 8,766 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited July 28, 2025 9:06PM

    Thanks - I am thinking of making a ss of all that - pct realized vs cdn bid just to see (my own research, real world audit number) how that calcs out.

    Update - analyzed results - the items appear to have realized 82 pct bid (as a whole). If the juice is 20 pct. this makes sense.

    For me if I’m bidding it comes down to how badly I want the item, is it PQ? will enter bids above CDN bid if really want the item / feel it’s PQ. Mkt conditions also drive my offers (above or below bid).

    Investor
  • @MFeld said:

    @Olympus620 said:

    @FolsomMike62 said:
    Hello all,

    For the past 18 months I have been liquidating a coin collection my in-laws inherited. I sent over 200 Morgans to Heritage auctions. There were 14 key date Morgans auctioned last night. All of them sold for 10% to 20% below the PCGS Price Guide values. I also have the Handbook of US Coins for 2024 and most of the coins sold for less than the value in this book as well with a few exceptions.

    Have the values of Morgans been declining recently? Or is it unreasonable to expect to get prices closer to the PCGS price guide. Or perhaps the PCGS price guide includes the 20% buyer premium charged by Heritage? Below are the Morgan Dollars we auctioned last night:

    1879-O MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $320
    1886-O MS62 HAMMER PRICE: $1,350
    1888-S MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $625
    1889-O MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $420
    1892-P MS62 HAMMER PRICE: $340 - Far below market
    1892-O MS64 HAMMER PRICE: $750
    1893-P XF45 HAMMER PRICE: $480
    1894-S MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $1,550
    1895-O XF45 HAMMER PRICE: $725
    1899-S MS60 HAMMER PRICE: $550 (Genuine)
    1901-S MS60 HAMMER PRICE: $460 (Genuine)
    1903-O MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $577
    1903-O MS65 HAMMER PRICE: $700
    1935-S MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $460 (Peace Dollar)

    Thank you for any input you may have. I'm just trying to increase my understanding of how this all works.

    Have you tried selling a few on ebay just to get a feel for pricing? I looked up the sold prices for the same years and grades and the prices above are significantly lower than coins purchased recently on EBay.

    Did you add the 20% buyer’s premium to the above listed winning hammer prices?

    I didn't add the 20% the first time but now I've added a couple columns to your original catalog. First column is the price +20% and the 2nd column is an average of 2 or 3 coins which sold recently on ebay. The averaged coin price is for exact year and grade as your own. I hope this helps.

    • EBAY coin prices are an average of 2 or 3 recent sales matching exact year and grade.
    • Shipping was added into EBAY prices when buyer paid cost
  • MFeldMFeld Posts: 14,856 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Olympus620 said:

    @MFeld said:

    @Olympus620 said:

    @FolsomMike62 said:
    Hello all,

    For the past 18 months I have been liquidating a coin collection my in-laws inherited. I sent over 200 Morgans to Heritage auctions. There were 14 key date Morgans auctioned last night. All of them sold for 10% to 20% below the PCGS Price Guide values. I also have the Handbook of US Coins for 2024 and most of the coins sold for less than the value in this book as well with a few exceptions.

    Have the values of Morgans been declining recently? Or is it unreasonable to expect to get prices closer to the PCGS price guide. Or perhaps the PCGS price guide includes the 20% buyer premium charged by Heritage? Below are the Morgan Dollars we auctioned last night:

    1879-O MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $320
    1886-O MS62 HAMMER PRICE: $1,350
    1888-S MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $625
    1889-O MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $420
    1892-P MS62 HAMMER PRICE: $340 - Far below market
    1892-O MS64 HAMMER PRICE: $750
    1893-P XF45 HAMMER PRICE: $480
    1894-S MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $1,550
    1895-O XF45 HAMMER PRICE: $725
    1899-S MS60 HAMMER PRICE: $550 (Genuine)
    1901-S MS60 HAMMER PRICE: $460 (Genuine)
    1903-O MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $577
    1903-O MS65 HAMMER PRICE: $700
    1935-S MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $460 (Peace Dollar)

    Thank you for any input you may have. I'm just trying to increase my understanding of how this all works.

    Have you tried selling a few on ebay just to get a feel for pricing? I looked up the sold prices for the same years and grades and the prices above are significantly lower than coins purchased recently on EBay.

    Did you add the 20% buyer’s premium to the above listed winning hammer prices?

    I didn't add the 20% the first time but now I've added a couple columns to your original catalog. First column is the price +20% and the 2nd column is an average of 2 or 3 coins which sold recently on ebay. The averaged coin price is for exact year and grade as your own. I hope this helps.

    • EBAY coin prices are an average of 2 or 3 recent sales matching exact year and grade.
    • Shipping was added into EBAY prices when buyer paid cost

    Thank you. As a whole, the eBay prices are surprisingly high.

    Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.

  • ProofCollectionProofCollection Posts: 6,946 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @MFeld said:

    @Olympus620 said:

    @MFeld said:

    @Olympus620 said:

    @FolsomMike62 said:
    Hello all,

    For the past 18 months I have been liquidating a coin collection my in-laws inherited. I sent over 200 Morgans to Heritage auctions. There were 14 key date Morgans auctioned last night. All of them sold for 10% to 20% below the PCGS Price Guide values. I also have the Handbook of US Coins for 2024 and most of the coins sold for less than the value in this book as well with a few exceptions.

    Have the values of Morgans been declining recently? Or is it unreasonable to expect to get prices closer to the PCGS price guide. Or perhaps the PCGS price guide includes the 20% buyer premium charged by Heritage? Below are the Morgan Dollars we auctioned last night:

    1879-O MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $320
    1886-O MS62 HAMMER PRICE: $1,350
    1888-S MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $625
    1889-O MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $420
    1892-P MS62 HAMMER PRICE: $340 - Far below market
    1892-O MS64 HAMMER PRICE: $750
    1893-P XF45 HAMMER PRICE: $480
    1894-S MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $1,550
    1895-O XF45 HAMMER PRICE: $725
    1899-S MS60 HAMMER PRICE: $550 (Genuine)
    1901-S MS60 HAMMER PRICE: $460 (Genuine)
    1903-O MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $577
    1903-O MS65 HAMMER PRICE: $700
    1935-S MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $460 (Peace Dollar)

    Thank you for any input you may have. I'm just trying to increase my understanding of how this all works.

    Have you tried selling a few on ebay just to get a feel for pricing? I looked up the sold prices for the same years and grades and the prices above are significantly lower than coins purchased recently on EBay.

    Did you add the 20% buyer’s premium to the above listed winning hammer prices?

    I didn't add the 20% the first time but now I've added a couple columns to your original catalog. First column is the price +20% and the 2nd column is an average of 2 or 3 coins which sold recently on ebay. The averaged coin price is for exact year and grade as your own. I hope this helps.

    • EBAY coin prices are an average of 2 or 3 recent sales matching exact year and grade.
    • Shipping was added into EBAY prices when buyer paid cost

    Thank you. As a whole, the eBay prices are surprisingly high.

    Yep, ebay non-auction (BIN) are closer to retail pricing. Auctions are liquidation pricing.

    @Desert Moon said:

    @blitzdude said:
    PSGS guide is notoriously overpriced and as far as I can remember has never been an accurate indication of the true market. Realizing 10-20% under their number, I'd say you did very good. RGDS!

    LOL, I recently had 75 coins auctioned, the Morgans of that group were all CACed and in old holders. They all went for WAY WAY over PCGS retail guide for Hammer. So it really depends on what you have doesn’t it. Price guides are based on averages and median auction results, especially for coins like Morgans that trade frequently. Obviously, some will be higher, some lower, based on quality and intangibles of each example. As Mr Feld noted, the coins in the OP went for about retail guide prices when the juice is added in. So is ‘PCGS guide’ ‘notoriously overpriced’? Probably not at least for coins like Morgans with frequent trading.

    Thank you Captain Obvious. Greysheet prices CAC coins separately and higher than non-CAC. CAC coins do bring premiums. No one is surprised by your results. Kind of irrelevant to the OP which was all non-CAC material. PCGS price guide does not really account for CAC status.

  • PeakRaritiesPeakRarities Posts: 4,545 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @MFeld said:

    @Olympus620 said:

    @MFeld said:

    @Olympus620 said:

    @FolsomMike62 said:
    Hello all,

    For the past 18 months I have been liquidating a coin collection my in-laws inherited. I sent over 200 Morgans to Heritage auctions. There were 14 key date Morgans auctioned last night. All of them sold for 10% to 20% below the PCGS Price Guide values. I also have the Handbook of US Coins for 2024 and most of the coins sold for less than the value in this book as well with a few exceptions.

    Have the values of Morgans been declining recently? Or is it unreasonable to expect to get prices closer to the PCGS price guide. Or perhaps the PCGS price guide includes the 20% buyer premium charged by Heritage? Below are the Morgan Dollars we auctioned last night:

    1879-O MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $320
    1886-O MS62 HAMMER PRICE: $1,350
    1888-S MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $625
    1889-O MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $420
    1892-P MS62 HAMMER PRICE: $340 - Far below market
    1892-O MS64 HAMMER PRICE: $750
    1893-P XF45 HAMMER PRICE: $480
    1894-S MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $1,550
    1895-O XF45 HAMMER PRICE: $725
    1899-S MS60 HAMMER PRICE: $550 (Genuine)
    1901-S MS60 HAMMER PRICE: $460 (Genuine)
    1903-O MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $577
    1903-O MS65 HAMMER PRICE: $700
    1935-S MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $460 (Peace Dollar)

    Thank you for any input you may have. I'm just trying to increase my understanding of how this all works.

    Have you tried selling a few on ebay just to get a feel for pricing? I looked up the sold prices for the same years and grades and the prices above are significantly lower than coins purchased recently on EBay.

    Did you add the 20% buyer’s premium to the above listed winning hammer prices?

    I didn't add the 20% the first time but now I've added a couple columns to your original catalog. First column is the price +20% and the 2nd column is an average of 2 or 3 coins which sold recently on ebay. The averaged coin price is for exact year and grade as your own. I hope this helps.

    • EBAY coin prices are an average of 2 or 3 recent sales matching exact year and grade.
    • Shipping was added into EBAY prices when buyer paid cost

    Thank you. As a whole, the eBay prices are surprisingly high.

    Seemingly they are, but I had just a slight urge to check the highest value sale, which also would be the highest disparity by percentage, and sure enough it looks erroneous. The same coin sold twice on May 4, for two different prices, and then sold again later that same month.

    Regardless, I was going to comment that EBay “sold” prices can easily be manipulated and shouldn’t be relied upon with 100% certainty, and this just goes to show exactly why.

    Founder- Peak Rarities
    Website
    Instagram
    Facebook

  • MFeldMFeld Posts: 14,856 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @PeakRarities said:

    @MFeld said:

    @Olympus620 said:

    @MFeld said:

    @Olympus620 said:

    @FolsomMike62 said:
    Hello all,

    For the past 18 months I have been liquidating a coin collection my in-laws inherited. I sent over 200 Morgans to Heritage auctions. There were 14 key date Morgans auctioned last night. All of them sold for 10% to 20% below the PCGS Price Guide values. I also have the Handbook of US Coins for 2024 and most of the coins sold for less than the value in this book as well with a few exceptions.

    Have the values of Morgans been declining recently? Or is it unreasonable to expect to get prices closer to the PCGS price guide. Or perhaps the PCGS price guide includes the 20% buyer premium charged by Heritage? Below are the Morgan Dollars we auctioned last night:

    1879-O MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $320
    1886-O MS62 HAMMER PRICE: $1,350
    1888-S MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $625
    1889-O MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $420
    1892-P MS62 HAMMER PRICE: $340 - Far below market
    1892-O MS64 HAMMER PRICE: $750
    1893-P XF45 HAMMER PRICE: $480
    1894-S MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $1,550
    1895-O XF45 HAMMER PRICE: $725
    1899-S MS60 HAMMER PRICE: $550 (Genuine)
    1901-S MS60 HAMMER PRICE: $460 (Genuine)
    1903-O MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $577
    1903-O MS65 HAMMER PRICE: $700
    1935-S MS63 HAMMER PRICE: $460 (Peace Dollar)

    Thank you for any input you may have. I'm just trying to increase my understanding of how this all works.

    Have you tried selling a few on ebay just to get a feel for pricing? I looked up the sold prices for the same years and grades and the prices above are significantly lower than coins purchased recently on EBay.

    Did you add the 20% buyer’s premium to the above listed winning hammer prices?

    I didn't add the 20% the first time but now I've added a couple columns to your original catalog. First column is the price +20% and the 2nd column is an average of 2 or 3 coins which sold recently on ebay. The averaged coin price is for exact year and grade as your own. I hope this helps.

    • EBAY coin prices are an average of 2 or 3 recent sales matching exact year and grade.
    • Shipping was added into EBAY prices when buyer paid cost

    Thank you. As a whole, the eBay prices are surprisingly high.

    Seemingly they are, but I had just a slight urge to check the highest value sale, which also would be the highest disparity by percentage, and sure enough it looks erroneous. The same coin sold twice on May 4, for two different prices, and then sold again later that same month.

    Regardless, I was going to comment that EBay “sold” prices can easily be manipulated and shouldn’t be relied upon with 100% certainty, and this just goes to show exactly why.

    I had seen that before I commented on the eBay results but that coin aside, I still felt that the prices there were surprisingly high. And I do agree that (at least some of) the “sold” prices shouldn’t be relied upon too heavily.

    Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.

  • lkeneficlkenefic Posts: 8,562 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I've always treated PCGS Price Guide as the cost I'd pay if I walked into a B&M shop and paid full retail for PCGS graded coin. Paying for overhead, or now 10- 20% buyer's premium is part of that price. If it's a raw coin, calculate in grading fees and shipping... and no guarantee you'll get the outcome you're looking for.

    Markets are also fickle... what might be hot one moment, languishes in the next. A few years ago, Coronet Head copper... at least what I was collecting... brought out strong bidders for top material. PCGS guides were of little value...

    Collecting: Dansco 7070; Middle Date Large Cents (VF-AU); Box of 20;

    Successful BST transactions with: SilverEagles92; Ahrensdad; Smitty; GregHansen; Lablade; Mercury10c; copperflopper; whatsup; KISHU1; scrapman1077, crispy, canadanz, smallchange, robkool, Mission16, ranshdow, ibzman350, Fallguy, Collectorcoins, SurfinxHI, jwitten, Walkerguy21D, dsessom.
  • coastaljerseyguycoastaljerseyguy Posts: 1,572 ✭✭✭✭✭

    When I started collecting Morgans I didn't know CU existed or their price guide. Based my buying decisions on what the EBAY marketplace offered. A few years later I discovered CU and NGC forums and their price guides. I started a spreadsheet with my cost vs price guide. Thought I was way in the money and ahead :) . Then started to sell some items when I upgraded and realized those guides are full retail prices :( . Reading the forums heard of the greysheet and have been using for the last 10 years to value collection.

  • Cougar1978Cougar1978 Posts: 8,766 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited July 28, 2025 9:32PM

    I refer to CDN CPG (retail market value) / CDN Bid (wholesale piece). CPG is based on CDN bid. If my purchase CACG use those (CAC) prices.

    Investor
  • lkeneficlkenefic Posts: 8,562 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Certified Morgan Dollars are but one aspect of Coin Collecting. I was recently outbid on most of the auctions I was following for raw Late Date Large Cents that went for significantly more than Price Guide values... and again, this is but one segment of the Hobby.

    Collecting: Dansco 7070; Middle Date Large Cents (VF-AU); Box of 20;

    Successful BST transactions with: SilverEagles92; Ahrensdad; Smitty; GregHansen; Lablade; Mercury10c; copperflopper; whatsup; KISHU1; scrapman1077, crispy, canadanz, smallchange, robkool, Mission16, ranshdow, ibzman350, Fallguy, Collectorcoins, SurfinxHI, jwitten, Walkerguy21D, dsessom.
  • MFeldMFeld Posts: 14,856 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @lkenefic said:
    Certified Morgan Dollars are but one aspect of Coin Collecting. I was recently outbid on most of the auctions I was following for raw Late Date Large Cents that went for significantly more than Price Guide values... and again, this is but one segment of the Hobby.

    If the coins were “raw” there weren’t Price Guide values by which to compare the prices realized.

    Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.

  • lkeneficlkenefic Posts: 8,562 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @MFeld said:

    @lkenefic said:
    Certified Morgan Dollars are but one aspect of Coin Collecting. I was recently outbid on most of the auctions I was following for raw Late Date Large Cents that went for significantly more than Price Guide values... and again, this is but one segment of the Hobby.

    If the coins were “raw” there weren’t Price Guide values by which to compare the prices realized.

    True... and I realize that Bob Grellman isn't on the staff at PCGS grading coins either, but I value his opinion on his signature card probably more than PCGS plastic. My experience in "crossing" Bob's 'graded' material is quite favorable... PCGS usually lags by about 5 points on straight-graded material.

    Collecting: Dansco 7070; Middle Date Large Cents (VF-AU); Box of 20;

    Successful BST transactions with: SilverEagles92; Ahrensdad; Smitty; GregHansen; Lablade; Mercury10c; copperflopper; whatsup; KISHU1; scrapman1077, crispy, canadanz, smallchange, robkool, Mission16, ranshdow, ibzman350, Fallguy, Collectorcoins, SurfinxHI, jwitten, Walkerguy21D, dsessom.

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