Let's Say An Old Whitman Folder Full of Lincolns Shows Up for You to Buy...

Comments

• options26 Posts: 1,431

  September 26, 2007 12:50PM

  Do what the dealer down the street says to everyone.....
  
  "These are common and we only pay $.02 a piece for them, take it or leave it"
  
  In reality, take your time and look at each of the high grade coins and offer what you think is fair.

  Life member of the SSDC

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• OneCent Posts: 3,561 ✭

  September 26, 2007 12:55PM

  
  
  << <i>Do what the dealer down the street says to everyone.....
  
  "These are common and we only pay $.02 a piece for them, take it or leave it"
  
  In reality, take your time and look at each of the high grade coins and offer what you think is fair. >>
  
  
  
  
  Unfortunately, I think that the first part of your reply is a very common response to the scenario that I just described.

  
  Collector of Early 20th Century U.S. Coinage.
  ANA Member R-3147111

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• BlindedByEgo Posts: 10,754 ✭✭✭✭✭

  September 26, 2007 1:59PM

  Raw coins? I thought everyone needed plastic guidance to price coins
  
  Seriously - is the seller knowledgeable and do they have an asking price? In that case, you grade conservatively and either agree to the price, or counter. It really depends on how much you want the set...
  
  For unsophisticated sellers, you need to let your conscience be your guide. Keep in mind that, if you are buying to resell, you won't stay doing so very long with zero margin. Chances are good, too, that you will sell the coins raw, as there is little incentive to plasticize more than a few of the coins (possibly the MS S mint teens, 31-S).
  
  Hope that helps.

  Check out my current listings: https://ebay.com/sch/khunt/m.html?_ipg=200&_sop=12&_rdc=1

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• droopyd Posts: 5,381 ✭✭✭

  September 26, 2007 4:19PM

  
  
  << <i>In reality, take your time and look at each of the high grade coins and offer what you think is fair. >>
  
  
  
  

  Me at the Springfield coin show:
  
  60 years into this hobby and I'm still working on my Lincoln set!

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• 291fifth Posts: 24,687 ✭✭✭✭✭

  September 26, 2007 7:33PM

  Make an offer based on the semi-keys as AU's. It is going to be too much of an expense (and risk) to assume anything will actually slab as MS.

  All glory is fleeting.

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• morganbarber Posts: 1,821 ✭✭✭

  September 26, 2007 10:34PM

  There's a story, I believe, from one of the Travers books. A guy goes to a dealer to sell the Lincoln set that he has spent years on and is very proud of. They haggle for an hour and eventually agree on a price. The dealer then pops out a few keys and puts the folder on a stack. The collector asks what is happening and the dealer says "I paid you for just these few coins. My assistant will roll the rest and take them to the bank."

  I collect circulated U.S. silver

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• kevinstang Posts: 1,521 ✭✭✭

  September 27, 2007 12:11AM

  I've seen some older lincoln sets stored in whitman's for a long time- unfortunately it doesn't do them much good.

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• 53BKid Posts: 2,175 ✭✭✭

  September 27, 2007 12:26AM

  
  
  << <i>There's a story, I believe, from one of the Travers books. A guy goes to a dealer to sell the Lincoln set that he has spent years on and is very proud of. They haggle for an hour and eventually agree on a price. The dealer then pops out a few keys and puts the folder on a stack. The collector asks what is happening and the dealer says "I paid you for just these few coins. My assistant will roll the rest and take them to the bank." >>
  
  
  
  
  Now, that's a heartbreaker!

  HAPPY COLLECTING!!!

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• PerryHall Posts: 46,834 ✭✭✭✭✭

  September 27, 2007 1:09AM

  
  
  << <i>There's a story, I believe, from one of the Travers books. A guy goes to a dealer to sell the Lincoln set that he has spent years on and is very proud of. They haggle for an hour and eventually agree on a price. The dealer then pops out a few keys and puts the folder on a stack. The collector asks what is happening and the dealer says "I paid you for just these few coins. My assistant will roll the rest and take them to the bank." >>
  
  
  
  The seller should have bought them back at face value and save the dealer the trouble of removing them and taking a trip to the bank.
  
  
  
  
  

  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

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• keets Posts: 25,351 ✭✭✭✭✭

  September 27, 2007 1:17AM

  that Travers story may be a heartbreaker but it's closer to reality than most realize. typically a dealer would look at the coins to see if the key dates(read: expensive) are there and if any of the coins are in better/worse grades than the overall average set grade to get a price for the set as a whole by grade. expexting a dealer to grade something like this individually and price each coin is silly, but some collectors expect that to be done. i'd think a dealer would then either make an offer or pass. since the set mentioned by the OP is missing most of it's "value" and is VF/XF with a couple coins grading MS, there isn't much upside for the seller or the dealer.

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