Values

[Roy W]

Does it bother anyone else that Roman coins don’t really have a particular value range other than past sales or auctions? I understand a lot of different collectibles are driven entirely by what someone is willing to pay, but it makes it difficult to know if you “got a good deal” or what your collection may actually be worth. For example, if I buy a decent denarius for 25 bucks in an auction, on one hand I’m thinking I got a steal…but then on the other it hits me that with 100s of people viewing it, I was the only one willing to pay more than 24 bucks for it. I never know where I’m at on a coin other than “well it was worth that much to me personally”.

Same thing if I’m doing uncleaned lots. If I have $30 in 10 uncleaned coins, and 2 are keepers, the best a person can do is search sites to see if anyone else on the planet, at some point in time, was willing to pay $15 each for those. And that’s just to determine if I broke even or just wasted money.

Anyway, I’m not whining about it, I’m just seeing if I’m looking at it all the wrong way. Thanks!

[PMah]

"Values" in modern coins are highly, highly, highly manipulated.  I am perfectly happy that no one seriously tries (anymore) to publish price guides for ancient coins.  The pernicious invasion of slabbed coins is merely a method to move ancients towards similar market manipulation. 
 
That being said, lower priced items (whether you consider that "25" or "50" or "500" or whatever) reflect the seller's cost to handle much more heavily than does "value".   What is it "worth" for the seller to get out of bed in the morning and create a listing or drive to a show???  Would the seller do that differently for $5/50/500 more or less?  That's certainly not a universal concept.

[Joe Sermarini]

One challenge for ancient coins is that a very attractive coin can be 10X the price of a less attractive coin of the same type. Even two coins of the same type and grade can have prices differ by more than 100%. New collectors sometimes think a particular coin is a bargain, when in fact it is just not the nicest specimen.

[Roy W]

Yes I agree. I’m new to collecting (well I cleaned a lot of them 25 years ago but gave them to family,etc). I’m really just seeking the answer to “should I buy this denarius for $50, or is it likely to be found for $35 elsewhere next week?”. Either way I want the coin, regardless of whether I’d make a profit should I decide to trade it later…but like everyone else I hate to be left wondering if I bought it at the “right price”.

[Rupert]

One important question is whether you are a collector or an investor.
The question "What is this coin worth?" makes sense mainly for an investor / dealer. A collector should ask himself "What is this coin worth TO ME?".

Rupert

[Callimachus]

. . . “should I buy this denarius for $50, or is it likely to be found for $35 elsewhere next week?”. Either way I want the coin, regardless of whether I’d make a profit . . .

If you want the coin, buy it at $50. In the grand scheme of things, the $15 difference is not worth worrying about.

[Joe Sermarini]

You are not likely to find a denarius on FORVM for $50 and you definitely won't find one for $35. We did have them in 1997. My family needs to eat, so I try to actually make money.

Prices are not really an appropriate topic here. This discussion is focused primarily on numismatics, history, mythology, geography, etc. Not shopping, unless it is shopping at FORVM.

[Roy W]

My apologies, I meant those numbers only as comparisons, not actual examples of values.

I understand, I’ll keep any value questions to site products. I meant only to further my own knowledge, nothing more. Asking questions at the wrong place and time has always been a personal failing of mine. Again, my apologies to the forum.

[Joe Sermarini]

No need to apologize. No worries.