Bullion is a much faster sell than numis.....

[pennypicker]

So I needed some extra cash and decided a few weeks a go to toss on some NGC-63 & 64's generic Morgans at $5 under greysheet "bid" price. These Morgans were all blast white with no spotting and I'm selling them individually. After two weeks on craigslist I only get a few emails with low ball offers at $10 to 20 below "bid".

Discouraged I then decide today to throw on several average circulated Franklin halves at 23x face (11.50 ea) and within 40 minutes they are all sold and I had two more calls within the next 20 minutes and both were disappointed and asked if I had more.

I live in a metro area of 300,000 with two coin shops and yet junk 90% flies off the table at full retail while quality "numis" (Morgans none the less) go nowhere at below dealer "bid".

Bullion is where the action is my friends...at least for the immediate future!

[barrytrot]

The number of people out of 300,000 that have heard of NGC is probably dozens or fewer.

The number of people out of 300,000 that have heard of US silver coins is likely 10,000 or more.

So you aren't giving the numismatic a fair shake.

Were you to post both on eBay I would expect (provided the NGC coins are decent for the grade) for you to get the same percentage of "full retail" on both lots.


Still, naturally if you are looking to sell quickly, selling something that trades in huge quantities is going to be faster than selling a niche item.

When you sell you numismatic coins take the time to find the proper buyer. They are out there

[daviscfad]

A dealer I have started to deal with swears the margins are to thin on bullion. Swears there is so much more money to be made. The problem with everything is buyers from both directions. He does not know where to move the bullion at, and I know where to move both

[pennypicker]

The number of people out of 300,000 that have heard of NGC is probably dozens or fewer.

The number of people out of 300,000 that have heard of US silver coins is likely 10,000 or more.

So you aren't giving the numismatic a fair shake.

Were you to post both on eBay I would expect (provided the NGC coins are decent for the grade) for you to get the same percentage of "full retail" on both lots.


Still, naturally if you are looking to sell quickly, selling something that trades in huge quantities is going to be faster than selling a niche item.

When you sell you numismatic coins take the time to find the proper buyer. They are out there

barrytrot, I agree with all you had to say. I'm always looking ahead to what will occur during a SHTF scenerio should it happen in this country. I've lived in three different metro areas in the last 4 years and it was the same in each case. Throwing 90% on craigsist at melt or full retail is an immediate sell. Throwing on "numis" however is a whole different ballgame with little to no interest much of the time.

My point is that in a SHTF scenerio I will feel far more comfortable that I have 90% for quick disposal than numis should I need to quickly unload and still fare well. Just some food for thought for those preparing for a SHTF environment!

[Treetop]

Seems to me numi coins might as well not exist where I live. I am far from the city so I havent made it to ALL the coin stores just yet but I havent seen a single true numi coin in them. Just some of the modern quasi numi stuff like kooks and and brits and such. Ive also seen shops that treat ALL morgans as top dollar items with crazy prices.

I really like numi coins but its hard for me to put faith in them after I had the "value" of my baseball cards disintegrate. Granted numi coins have been valued longer and have more solid ground but its still hard for me to believe in that.

[barrytrot]

I wouldn't recommend "craigslist" as the location to sell (or buy) numismatic coins. That is also a problem with the above attempt. The fact you received any traffic is surprising

[barrytrot]

Seems to me numi coins might as well not exist where I live. I am far from the city so I havent made it to ALL the coin stores just yet but I havent seen a single true numi coin in them. Just some of the modern quasi numi stuff like kooks and and brits and such. Ive also seen shops that treat ALL morgans as top dollar items with crazy prices.

I really like numi coins but its hard for me to put faith in them after I had the "value" of my baseball cards disintegrate. Granted numi coins have been valued longer and have more solid ground but its still hard for me to believe in that.

I agree if you are looking at purely a "value storage" play then "coins" aren't the right avenue. Bullion is AWESOME for that!

Numismatic does hold its value quite well but the buy-sell spread and the volatility make it only work if you have a pretty long time frame. And, it helps if you enjoy it