Old Coin Prices: How Much Should You Pay?

It’s not hard to know how much an old coin is worth you just have to look in the reference books. The question is, how much should you pay? How do you decide on old coin prices?

Collect or Invest

You’ll be willing to pay a different price for an old coin if it’s going to be part of your collection than if it’s an investment. If there’s an old coin you want to add to your collection, you will try to find the best price possible. You’ll take time to check out sources, talk to people, visit coin shows, and try to get that price down.

If, however, you are adding collectible coins to your investment portfolio, you may be less patient. If you know that a coin is evaluating quickly, you want to get it now, not wait to find a good deal. That coin’s price may be a little higher, but it’s worth it for the investment. You could lose more than you gain by waiting to get a better price on the old coin.

Haggling About Old Coin Prices

Most coins have about 100% mark-up, so the dealer will charge you about twice the price for an old coin that he would give you for it. You can get a pretty good idea of what the dealer’s mark-up is by comparing the wholesale price in the Blue Book (what he paid for it) and the retail price in the Red Book (what he wants you to pay for it).

That gives you some haggle room. You can make an offer on the old coin, a price that is below the Red Book value, but still gives the dealer a fair profit.

Knowing the difference between the old coin’s wholesale price and it’s retail price gives you some haggle room when trading with friends or at a coin show, too. You can make trades that are shrewd, but where everybody benefits.

Selling Your Coin

Of course, the shoe is on the other foot when you want to decide on your old coin’s sell price. That’s when you want to get the best possible price for your old coin. Once again, though, knowing the standard wholesale and retail values works to your advantage. You can set an old coin price that’s fair, even one that undercuts your competition, and still make a profit.