I Hit The Jackpot On a $58 dollar purchase,. But couldn’t pull the trigger on these 2 golden oldies

Stevie

I listed these 2 gold sticker coins I have owned for several years on EBay to test the market and to possibly sell. My Lincoln cent I purchased in 2019 for $28 from DLRC and my Mercury dime I 
bought in 2020 from a dealer at the Westchester coin show for $30. After 2 days on EBay I received an offer of $250 for the dime and $600 for the penny from the same collector as well as $325 for the Lincoln earlier from a coin company. Both seem to have 100% ratings and been long time members of EBay. Currently I have received an offer of $1200 for both.
 

Am I a crazy sentimental fool for turning down these generous offers? I just couldn’t seem to part with them due to the sentimental attachment as my first 2 and only gold stickers, as well as them being gorgeous coins. 

Have any of you turned down great offers because you couldn’t part with a coin? Your thoughts please.

Russy

I know nothing about dimes but as for the Lincoln, I think you should grab the offer with 2 hands. You are being offered 67+ money for a common coin in a 65 holder. Based upon your pictures, it is very nice and I probably would have guessed 66+/67 without seeing the grade, so my advice is to take the money unless you're putting together a gold sticker Lincoln collection.

Stevie

Russy said:

I know nothing about dimes but as for the Lincoln, I think you should grab the offer with 2 hands. You are being offered 67+ money for a common coin in a 65 holder. Based upon your pictures, it is very nice and I probably would have guessed 66+/67 without seeing the grade, so my advice is to take the money unless you're putting together a gold sticker Lincoln collection.

Your point is well made. The only thing I would add is there are only 13 MS  red Lincoln gold stickers,  8 of which are MS 65, 4 lower and 1 higher. Out of 11365 MS red graded green or gold by CAC. Only 47 gold stickers in all colors for the series. Compared to 500 or so Buffalos, 375 Walkers, 250 Washington quarters. So anyone looking for a gold Lincoln will find it very difficult or near impossible if they want red.

FloridaFacelifter

I really don’t like to sell my coins as I love each and every one of them. But….everything is for sale at the right price. What’s your “no regrets” sale price for the pair- $850? $900? $1000? Whatever it is, offer the pair to the collector at that price and if they buy them great, and if they don’t great. 

Catbert

Would you feel the same if the coin was graded higher without the sticker? I'm guessing, no. I get the mystique factor of the gold sticker, and if that is important to you, it's not about the potential sales price. It's a collectible that turns you on.

I think the market right now is great to unload one's common coins in one's collection and take the proceeds and apply them toward coins that have something in addition to a particular certification status. That could be rarity, color, strike, etc or combination of.

For example, I had a really nice golden Columbian half gold stickered at MS63 in an old holer. The only one at 63. But in the end, all it represented was a shot at 65 if regraded and toned Columbians are not rare. So I sold it and used the money on another coin. YMMV.

Winesteven

Having low pop stickers (Gold or Green) is nice, but I agree fully with @Russy - unless you’re going to make a Gold Stickered set, there’s no need to fall in love and pass on accepting 67+ money for a 65 grade with Gold sticker for a coin you’re thinking of selling!

I recently upgraded my 1876 20 cent piece in my four coin business strike set from MS61 to MS64. There were 63 coins graded MS61 (28 by PCGS and 35 by NGC). My MS61 coin was the ONLY one of the 63 with a sticker of ANY color. Yes it was green, not gold, but it was still the only one. My coin was not the typical beat up 61, but was undergraded. Once I got the upgrade, I had no problem selling it and accepting very strong money for it.

Steve

WilliamJ

I have several coins from a local doctor's collection from my town that have great sentimental value to me, thus I wouldn't ever sell them until I had to.
    Sometimes I need to just wait and think about what I want to sell or keep.
  

Stevie

Winesteven said:

Having low pop stickers (Gold or Green) is nice, but I agree fully with @Russy - unless you’re going to make a Gold Stickered set, there’s no need to fall in love and pass on accepting 67+ money for a 65 grade with Gold sticker for a coin you’re thinking of selling! I recently upgraded my 1876 20 cent piece in my four coin business strike set from MS61 to MS64. There were 63 coins graded MS61 (28 by PCGS and 35 by NGC). My MS61 coin was the ONLY one of the 63 with a sticker of ANY color. Yes it was green, not gold, but it was still the only one. My coin was not the typical beat up 61, but was undergraded. Once I got the upgrade, I had no problem selling it and accepting very strong money for it. Steve

Steve I see some of your points. But comparing 20 cent collector  coins to the huge following of Lincoln Cent collectors isn’t remotely the same. With 1938 D MS 65 Buffalos selling with gold stickers at $250-500 with a gold population of 500, A gold sticker Lincoln is 10 times as rare and 40 times as rare in full red which is probably a fairer comparison as collectors value Red highly. This may make $600 for a Lincoln seem actually fairly cheap. I am reevaluating my thinking and plan to ask much higher for this gorgeous coin, only drawback is it’s not in an OGH just an older holder. But still so rare.

Winesteven

@Stevie , I also see your point, but your COIN is not rare at all, only the sticker is rare. As such, I fully agree that absolutely adds value for two separate reasons: first, it means your coin is actually a higher grade than shown on the label, and second, the uniqueness of the Gold sticker on the coin also adds value.

With the above in mind, it then boils down to value, and it’s the old adage that something is worth only what a willing buyer is willing to pay for it in an arms length transaction. You have the ability to not accept that value, and that’s ok.

If by chance someone offers you the higher value that you have in mind, would you actually accept that, or would you then still hold back, telling yourself you now want even more money?

Good luck!

Steve

BillJones

If you have lost interest in them as a collector, I would let them go. I am not a fan of red copper. One spot, or an indicator that it is starting to turn will ruin your day, even with the gold sticker.

Winesteven

BillJones said:

If you have lost interest in them as a collector, I would let them go. I am not a fan of red copper. One spot, or an indicator that it is starting to turn will ruin your day, even with the gold sticker.

+1

Steve

Bushmaster

I think you should sell the cent and keep the other.

FlyingAl

Personally, I'd take the offers and run.

The question really becomes would you be happier with the coins now or the coins you could buy with the proceeds? I don't know what your main set is, but I sure know that I'd gladly take the profits and buy a PR65CAM 1940 nickel with them. I also know that I'd be much happier with the rarity of the coin rather than the sticker, but that's preference.

Stevie

Winesteven said:

@Stevie , I also see your point, but your COIN is not rare at all, only the sticker is rare. As such, I fully agree that absolutely adds value for two separate reasons: first, it means your coin is actually a higher grade than shown on the label, and second, the uniqueness of the Gold sticker on the coin also adds value. With the above in mind, it then boils down to value, and it’s the old adage that something is worth only what a willing buyer is willing to pay for it in an arms length transaction. You have the ability to not accept that value, and that’s ok. If by chance someone offers you the higher value that you have in mind, would you actually accept that, or would you then still hold back, telling yourself you now want even more money? Good luck! Steve

Steve I appreciate all your thoughtful comments as usual. My  thinking now after evaluating all the responses on this forum is to keep the coins as they are nice prestigious pieces for my 20th century type collection and I am finding it difficult for me to part with them. I will currently value the Lincoln at $500 as I only have the 2 offers of $325 from a coin company and $600 apparently from a collector to go by. There is no way of getting a more reliable valuation unless I put it in a GC auction, which would probably be a more accurate estimate of the true value. There is no statistical published data to refer to of gold Lincoln sales prices to refer to that I know of either.

To answer your question my “No Regrets “ price for the Lincoln would probably be closer to $1000, and I would probably sell if I ever received such an offer. For the dime around $400. Thanks for your insightful reply.

Winesteven

@Stevie - I'm confident that you recognize my opinions as well as those of all others in this thread are unbiased.

These are subjective decisions, and there is no right or wrong!

Steve

Seth_WitterCoin

Nah. You are selling them for too little. In the last several months, base price for Gold CAC stickers have doubled, at least.

The most common and low end of the gold CAC world is a MS64 Mercury Dime with a Gold sticker. Thats at least $350 now. A year ago, it was worth less than half that. Even with a low value coin on paper, throw in a rattler, OGH, a higher grade, ANYTHING to make it more interesting than a 64 Merc and the price only increases. People just want them.

Id pay $1200 for your two coins, FWIW. I'm not actively soliciting you to sell them, but merely letting you know what they are worth and putting my money behind my commentary.

Stevie

Seth_WitterCoin said:

Nah. You are selling them for too little. In the last several months, base price for Gold CAC stickers have doubled, at least. The most common and low end of the gold CAC world is a MS64 Mercury Dime with a Gold sticker. Thats at least $350 now. A year ago, it was worth less than half that. Even with a low value coin on paper, throw in a rattler, OGH, a higher grade, ANYTHING to make it more interesting than a 64 Merc and the price only increases. People just want them. Id pay $1200 for your two coins, FWIW. I'm not actively soliciting you to sell them, but merely letting you know what they are worth and putting my money behind my commentary.

Seth_WitterCoin said:

Nah. You are selling them for too little. In the last several months, base price for Gold CAC stickers have doubled, at least. The most common and low end of the gold CAC world is a MS64 Mercury Dime with a Gold sticker. Thats at least $350 now. A year ago, it was worth less than half that. Even with a low value coin on paper, throw in a rattler, OGH, a higher grade, ANYTHING to make it more interesting than a 64 Merc and the price only increases. People just want them. Id pay $1200 for your two coins, FWIW. I'm not actively soliciting you to sell them, but merely letting you know what they are worth and putting my money behind my commentary.

Thanks Seth for your generous offer. I will definitely give it some thought. 

Stevie

BillJones said:

If you have lost interest in them as a collector, I would let them go. I am not a fan of red copper. One spot, or an indicator that it is starting to turn will ruin your day, even with the gold sticker.

Bill I respect your opinion, but I think it’s unlikely for my coin to turn as it was encapsulated in the 2010 PCGS holder not a modern one. It has 1 very extremely minute spot on the rim at 8 o’clock. Looking back it was purchased in 2020 and I compared the old photo and there is no change.

Wouldn’t it be extremely rare for copper to turn in an old holder as it would have done so by my time of purchase. And the newer better holders are fairly airtight, so where is the outside air to continue the oxidation process?

Wouldn’t there be virtually no red copper available as there were no air tight holders before PCGS? How did a fair amount of red copper exist after 50-150 years of imperfect holders and storage methods? Would like to know your thoughts.

Coinbuf

Stevie said:
BillJones said:
If you have lost interest in them as a collector, I would let them go. I am not a fan of red copper. One spot, or an indicator that it is starting to turn will ruin your day, even with the gold sticker.

Bill I respect your opinion, but I think it’s unlikely for my coin to turn as it was encapsulated in the 2010 PCGS holder not a modern one. It has 1 very extremely minute spot on the rim at 8 o’clock. Looking back it was purchased in 2020 and I compared the old photo and there is no change.

Wouldn’t it be extremely rare for copper to turn in an old holder as it would have done so by my time of purchase. And the newer better holders are fairly airtight, so where is the outside air to continue the oxidation process?

Wouldn’t there be virtually no red copper available as there were no air tight holders before PCGS? How did a fair amount of red copper exist after 50-150 years of imperfect holders and storage methods? Would like to know your thoughts.

Well first let's get rid of this misconception that slabs (especially the early ones) are airtight, they are not and never have been. Second yes it is entirely possible for a coin to turn in an older slab. Many collectors (like myself) prefer the older slabs as, in most cases, the length of time that has elapsed indicates that the coin surfaces have not been messed with or doctored. And that is true, most of the time if the coin had been doctored those efforts would most likely shown up.

However coins can be altered while in a slab both by doctoring and by environmental factors. A number of years back a (at that time) respected member of the PCGS forum offered up some toned Morgans in rattler holders. Turned out that he had bought up several white coins and then gassed the coins while in the holders to produce the toning. Coins in holders (old and new) can also be affected by the way those coins are stored. Say collector A stores his coins properly in a temperature controlled low humidity environment. Collector B buys those coins at auction and does not store them properly and the coins develop spots or issues from storage in improper containers, high humidity, or heat.

Slabs are great at helping to protect coins from mishandling, but they are not airtight or impervious to improper storage.

Circling back to your original question, the reason why you seldom see gold stickers on Lincolns is because few people have ever submitted many middle Ish or lower MS graded coins to CAC as it would be cost adverse to only receive a green bean on those coins that grade MS65 or lower. And as the Lincoln series is heavily collected most of the undegraded coins were long ago cracked and upgraded for resale reasons. There are just fewer under graded "mistakes" to submit to CAC.

Personally, I would have taken Seth's offer, in fact I could not have gotten them to the mailbox fast enough. But that is just me and I understand the desire to hold onto coins that you like even when offered a large sum for them, I have done the same myself.

Coinbuf

Bty gold bean Mercs are not that uncommon, here is mine.

Insider3

Hopefully, this has already been said. Nothing about those two coins is special - except how you feel about them. Either can be purchased somewhere in a matter of minutes for a very low price.

Obviously, the high offers are from slab/sticker collectors. If you are not a slab/sticker collector SELL AS FAST AS YOU CAN! Oh, tell the guy it's a fair offer but you need $25 more. He'll pay it.