*CLOSED* Bargain finds (with pictures) **Please see the new 2014 thread** [resuelto]

Cita: nalaberongI just won this on eBay! First eBay auction I've ever bidded on, and Numista's automatic "find this coin for sale" helped me find it, so thanks Numista.
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/PANAMA-1-BALBOA-1947-MS-65-/291056210348
That was far below Krause Catalog value of $75... and the plastic coffin it comes in certifies that this coin is actually in better condition than "BU" (the top American geniuses have decided that BU is MS-63, and this is the far superior MS-65, which means you should send all your coins into their companies to attain this wonderful grade). Hooray!

Congrats on winning it. Even with shipping you will still have more bang for you buck.

Nalaberong, nice to hear that someone has used it and got lucky.

Found this on ebay. Silver coin-perfect condition $14.95 and free shipping.

Went to the local gold buying store. They have started to trade Bitcoin (uh-oh) and they are still somewhat lacking in world coin knowledge

First I asked (not wanting to look through the invariably overpriced 2x2s) - "Do you have any other foreign silver"?

I got a little pile of coins, which were "5 to 10 dollars". OK, there was a worn-out Swiss Franc and a blotchy Dutch Gulden and...


My first reaction was a little "ding ding ding" noise and I was worried my eyes would light up. These coins' current silver value is $10.73 each... catalog value is at least $20 each. The only sad part is imagining what price they must have bought these at, when they said most of their world coins are "brought in by little old ladies"

That's 3 marks from Prussia and Saxony (Battle of Leipzig commemorative), $10 each:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces3643.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces13478.html

They also have a Hindenburg swastika-type 5-mark coin for $15, which sounds pretty good.

saved from the melting pot!! brilliant

Awesome find nalaberong. I hope you keep hoarding... collecting more finds so that our next trade gets epic  

Actually, now I have two coins commemorating the Battle of Leipzig, Napoleon's first outright defeat:
100 years, 1813 - 1913 (Saxony)
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces13478.html
200 years, 1813 - 2013 (Russia)
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces38115.html

I think they both got the Völkerschlachtdenkmal down pretty well... in 1913, the monument had just been built for the occasion (hence the commemorative coin), and in 2013 it had become one of the nicest classic monuments of its era.

I guess mine is more quantity over quality, but I was rather pleased regardless.  I purchased a large lot of coins that someone had obviously picked over for silver, but they let these gems through. . .if anyone is interested in colonial Mozambique.



119 @ 20 Centavos




29 @ 50 Centavos




7 @ 1 Escudo




44 @ 2.50 Escudos




12 @ 5 Escudos

I picked up another bulk bag from my guy, it was only 800g so he gave it to me for $20, good finds were 1939 sixpence and 1928 half crown from Great Britain and a beautiful looking Swiss 1963 2 franc coin.  Also an uncirculated 1949 5 peseta from Spain and a pile of around 8 or nine cu-ni half crowns from Britain.

I went back to the gold-buyin' shop. All my suspicions were confirmed... "ha ha, we don't really know anything about world coins!". Before pricing anything, one of the employees discreetly scurried off to Catawiki to see what it said about silver weight and value. It's now in my interest to vandalize all of Catawiki and add low prices for everything I'd point them to Numista, which helpfully offers no valuation beyond silver price (exactly what they want!), but seeing this post would be pretty embarrassing to everyone

Two days ago this was offered at $15, so I hoped they'd forget that by today, and they did... another $10 purchase for me. Silver value is only about $9! What a rip-off  But in XF/AU it's at least $20 and these are very popular on eBay (although the later swastika type is much more popular because any idiot can tell it's as National Socialist as can be, unlike this coin's fairly generic eagle).

Canadian and American coins are priced by coinsandcanada.com or Numismedia plus a random premium tacked on... except they don't just overgrade, they undergrade with astonishing irregularity (especially when the coin hasn't been looked at closely), so... looks like I'll have to visit a lot more often now

I could have bought a Newfoundland 20-cent coin (1912) for $6 but I wasn't sure of grade... I probably should have gone for it. Oh well, next time!

  A bargain find to me is getting a rarity in pocket change; the other day I got this UK 20 pence 2002 (on the left of this mirror picture, alongside a normal 2003 for comparison). At the Royal Mint they are supposed to check for errors like this ...



 A while ago I bought a 20 pence 2005 with the same error, and assumed it was just that year it occurred; so now will look out for other years.  

good eye !!! thank you  zac  

Cita: ZacUKA bargain find to me is getting a rarity in pocket change; the other day I got this UK 20 pence 2002 (on the left of this mirror picture, alongside a normal 2003 for comparison). At the Royal Mint they are supposed to check for errors like this ...



 A while ago I bought a 20 pence 2005 with the same error, and assumed it was just that year it occurred; so now will look out for other years.  

Someone at Royal Mint had too much booze previous night  

There had been few minor error at Mexico's mint for the past 20 years, but before that there is a whole bunch of crazy errors, maybe they didn't double checked the dies before placing them on the striking press  

Cita: james wolfegood eye !!! thank you  zac  

BTW, I've been in Numista almost for 4 months now, and still, your profile picture still gives me the creeps  

Cita: erdvilla

Cita: james wolfegood eye !!! thank you  zac  

BTW, I've been in Numista almost for 4 months now, and still, your profile picture still gives me the creeps  

 Yes, I like James and miss him on the forums since he has not been as active, but it still creeps me out.

 Perhaps we could convince him to change it to the photo of him in the army. I saw that post a couple years back.

I bought a bulk lot and this was in it,


  I am very happy to have this coin, it is very interesting!

  It also had this page in it that should just about pay for the whole lot,
https://en.numista.com/forum/topic26785.html

Cost me eight euro's

Wow, what an awesome find! Where did you buy it? Ebay, Marktplaats, a coinfair, etc?

Coinfair, bought a quite good Ruitersschelling from 1691 Nijmegen for 9 € too.

Cita: HippaforalkusCoinfair, bought a quite good Ruitersschelling from 1691 Nijmegen for 9 € too.

Wow, I believe I should go to coinfairs a little more often!

Dutch wartime coins, 50 cents at fair, same grade and year, on internet 2€. There's always a bargain.

I bought some bulk lot (10 kg) last year and recently sorted - found some silver more as 70 coins from 0.100 to sterling, nothing rare, most of them scrap quality, but I am happy for any silver.

Usually in bulk lots I can get only around 5 - 10 silver coins, this time I got many of them.

Some great finds. Well done.

got couple coins for 20p each, I love gold/ silver scrap dealers who are selling mixed coins in boxes for 10- 20 p per coin, you can always find some good things.

You are jammy.

Cita: muralisgot couple coins for 20p each, I love gold/ silver scrap dealers who are selling mixed coins in boxes for 10- 20 p per coin, you can always find some good things.

Those are beautiful...  

Just closed a really good deal. Now, if everything goes right, I should have the coins here next friday. Will take pictures and post them here. This will in turn make some of my bigger coins duplicated, so there will be a bit more up for exchange, as I an getting a complete BU collection in sealed official blisters, and since I already have some of those but in lower grades so those will go up for swap soon.