What Numista valuation from your country surprises you?

With people entering in their purchase prices, it's quite interesting to see what people overseas are paying for coins from your country.  This one struck me the other day.  I went on to enter some NZ half crowns that I picked up for under melt, and was astounded to see that people were paying NZ$55 for the 1933 coins in F grade.  

Over here you struggle to sell them for the melt value of NZ$25 now that the silver is so high  Here's a lot of 5 half crowns selling for NZ$76, according to Numista that lot would have a value of NZ$266

Half crowns | New Zealand (Pre-decimal) | Trade Me Marketplace

It seems to me that this a normal market disruption, for the collectors market is temporarily getting overwhelmed with supply, due to the general public selling off silver stocks for taking profit. For coins, those stocks mostly contain local ones, including some rare years as well.

The solar panel industry needs a lot of silver as silver is the best conducting metal, removing all that silver from the market for a long time. Once these panels retire, it may not be profitable in many places to retreive that silver back by recycling, leaving it as waste.

 Don’t forget that any local coin, locally is cheaper than that rarer coin globally. New Zealand coins are quite rare in Europe and America, so that price doesn’t surprise me. In New Zealand they are plentiful I guess considering that is where they circulated and everyone has them in their collection, I would pop over and buy some cheaper than the price here in Germany (if only I had a few extra thousand €uros) or order them if I wanted to pay the extra expensive shipping. Then the price is equivalent or more I guess. 
 

A question for you Neilithicman, how easy is it in New Zealand to get coins from Europe and Canada and the like? Are they more expensive to buy, etc? I ask because I think New Zealand is the only country that will survive the coming apocalypse and was thinking of emigrating there, but if I can only find cheap New Zealand coins I would get a little bit bored. 

King

 Don’t forget that any local coin, locally is cheaper than that rarer coin globally. New Zealand coins are quite rare in Europe and America, so that price doesn’t surprise me. In New Zealand they are plentiful I guess considering that is where they circulated and everyone has them in their collection, I would pop over and buy some cheaper than the price here in Germany (if only I had a few extra thousand €uros) or order them if I wanted to pay the extra expensive shipping. Then the price is equivalent or more I guess. 
 

A question for you Neilithicman, how easy is it in New Zealand to get coins from Europe and Canada and the like? Are they more expensive to buy, etc? I ask because I think New Zealand is the only country that will survive the coming apocalypse and was thinking of emigrating there, but if I can only find cheap New Zealand coins I would get a little bit bored. 

 

I've never had any issues sending or receiving coins from overseas.  Postage tends to be ridiculously high though

neilithicman

King

 Don’t forget that any local coin, locally is cheaper than that rarer coin globally. New Zealand coins are quite rare in Europe and America, so that price doesn’t surprise me. In New Zealand they are plentiful I guess considering that is where they circulated and everyone has them in their collection, I would pop over and buy some cheaper than the price here in Germany (if only I had a few extra thousand €uros) or order them if I wanted to pay the extra expensive shipping. Then the price is equivalent or more I guess. 
 

A question for you Neilithicman, how easy is it in New Zealand to get coins from Europe and Canada and the like? Are they more expensive to buy, etc? I ask because I think New Zealand is the only country that will survive the coming apocalypse and was thinking of emigrating there, but if I can only find cheap New Zealand coins I would get a little bit bored. 

 

I've never had any issues sending or receiving coins from overseas.  Postage tends to be ridiculously high though

Yep thats my point, when you buy coins for 25€ and have to pay 25€ postage, did the coins cost 25€ or 50€. Same with auction sales, coins going for 10€ when the catalogue is 20€ (okay I know catalogle bla bla), but buyer must pay buyers premium, 10-20% or minimum amount, plus postage - the coin could have actually cost 25€ with all that added on, but only the 10€ is recorded.

I think those valuations are based on people over valuing their stuff, same with the rarity numbers, when coins listed as unique proofs or worth 6 figures, seem to be owned by 0.9% of Numista members.

No veracity checks are made when people add their coins and some of it may be simple mistakes, entering your coins in the wrong column. I have been caught out a couple of times (Everytime I made an accident, as I am always honest or are trying to be, as according to my ability, but I have bad eyesight and keyboard skills and make mistakes), I will always correct my mistakes.

I use Numista to reference coins, but NEVER go on their prices beyond bullion or face value of a piece.

Bertrand list an Average/Fine 1933 NZ Halfcrown at $18, but that was before the massive silver price rise this year.

Most NZ pre 1947 silver coins are graded as Ave/Fine for all coins between Good (The worst possible usually) to Fine (Decent) and then VF is twice as much and the coins get rare in EF and higher. Same for early (1947 - 1955) Cupronickel, but most 1956 and later coins except errors and varieties are quite cheap in all grades but UNC.

NZ Bronze coins, Average condition is VF as few wore beyond VF (The worst I have seen are 1940/42 pennies in Fine or good Fine condition). A VF bronze coin is usually brown and no lustre, but the hair is sharp on the King and there is clear wear on his cheeks and the breast of the Tui.

Many 1951 and later bronze is easily found with some lustre (Except the rarer dates of 1954 and 1955, and 1956 Strapless penny).

Basically pay those prices no mind.

Here is my price estimate for 1933 and 1934 Halfcrowns

Good/VG/Fine - Melt value only (About $24 per coin), VF around $40, EF  $100 (Many high VF coins are around $60), AU $250, UNC $400.

These are very old and likely need refining

It cost me $110 in 2023 and its EF, no way would I pay this for a VG coin.

It was cheaper due to staining, but this coin was hard to get as NZ earlies above high VF are rare (Except 1940 centennial and 1949 Crown).

Before it I had this VF 1933 halfcrown, which cost $32 in 2019.

I use Numista to reference coins, but NEVER go on their prices beyond bullion or face value of a piece.

Although I am generally green (& unaware) of the values of coins, I am sure that @Moneytane is spot on.  I mean, the table values for banknotes is completely disconnected from market reality.  I could site a dozen examples (of prices way too low) but I won't b/c if you take a quick glance at most of the tables you'll also see huge gaps/ a general lack of figures/estimates (missing data). All pricing tables are just estimates anyway so I always look to resources like Numista for reference mostly.  

Our Canadian Charlton Guide is quite dated & the pricing tables are out of touch with reality, particularly when you get back to the 1935 & 1937 series. (For the more recent series, they're not so bad).  I picked up a new edition a year ago (2024) & most of my toughest notes dropped in value. The pricing panel decided to completely ignore the buying frenzy & increase in values (right across the board for all series & all condition of banknotes) during the pandemic. That's okay, it was “a bump” & things have simmered down since then but what you now see is not very good stuff being offered b/c there's a perception (likely correct) that collectors are no lunger bullish.  

I won an English 1935 $10 in original VF for about $700 & my Charlton has it at $600.  I have been searching for this note (original- not washed/nor pressed) since 2013 & I have never seen a problem-free VF offered for $600 (& they have had 12 years to correct it). I bought one about 15 years ago for $500.00 (but it was likely pressed).  I know members on the pricing panel and they're always telling me that they prefer to remain conservative on their estimates. That's okay (I respect that) but it also alienates those who are in the know. You might be able to pick up a processed note for $600 but the TENS are surprisingly tough (even the English versions).  Problem-free 1937 & 1954 Devil Face series table estimates are also quite low (or dated). Remember that the tables are supposed to be for problem-free examples graded according to certain standards.

So, if I were to answer the OP question, I'd say all the prices on all tables would surprise me. I rarely see the price on the table to be higher than the price online (or in shops).  It wasn't always this way either.  When I started collecting World notes in 2015, the SCWPM had wildly inflated values. The 1984 Bahamas $3.00 was valued at $30 in UNC & I bought mine for about $10.00 (10 years ago- it has not changed much in value).  This was their 2nd last edition & I imagine it was neglected before they finally shut operations down. I think it is important (as collectors) for us to be aware that many catalogues can be out of touch with true market conditions (sometimes wildly generous but often super conservative) especially for UNC grades. 

Good answer and may I add, your country which I collect coins of and now have some notes (Coming soon including a 1937 $5 in AU/UNC) is the HARDEST to get an affordable catalogue from. I have managed to get up to date catalogues for NZ (Bertrand and several books), Australia (Renniks), UK (Coin Publications and Spink along with several books) and USA (Blue Book), yet an affordable Canadian catalogue eludes me (I use an online site - coinsandcanada.com - english). I can not find a Charlton for less than $300 (Modern) or $100 (Sometimes as old as 1995 on Ebay or Amazon). Do you Canadians not have like a cheap basic checklist or paperback type catalogue.

The Charlton looks impressive and I would love to get one, but the prices are skytoppical.

The inherent problems with the Numista database as a price guide are many.

1.  Grading - just take a look at the eBay offerings of UNC coins.  Need I say more.

2.  Date of Entry - many of my coins were entered into Numista a decade ago.  No doubt the market has changed somewhat since then.

3.  Value Entry - being a former buyer, I enter the Landed Cost of my coin (sometimes) into the database.  Purchase price + freight (postage) +    tariffs + taxes + etc.  Let's be honest, I'm willing to bet many users don't do this.

4.  Pricing Guides - as noted, the Charlton catalogues are the Canadian bibles and they can't keep up with all the changes.  Let's take a look at  a quick example  N#368    1965.  Numista has priced at $12.00 VF.  Melt value $13.89.  Charlton (2024-                                          25)  MS64 $15.00.

5.  Users - I use Numista as a search engine as well as collection management.  I have a short list of 35 coins which I need for my Countries  pre-1962 collection.  I have entered these coins into Numista with a grade dollar value to make searches easier.  Obviously, I have                            skewed the values in Numista.

6.  Question - What value would you enter?  See my recent post   https://en.numista.com/forum/topic167512.html#p1303898 

                            Do I enter $2.50 Cdn (my purchase price) or $60 USD ($82.76 Cdn) as per the NGC guide?

$44 aud 😅

Its roughly a $300 aud coin.

But i guess they were $25 when they first came out. And i paid $36 in 2016. Great investment :)

Agree totally, the 2023 Renniks has it at $400 AUD and $900 AUD for C mintmark. I got mine in 2021 and paid pretty much close to peak for an album of all the $2 from 1988 to 2018 for like $300 NZD or something.

The other rarity is the 2013, Diamond Anniversary of coronation - Purple Ring, Renniks has it at $210 (Not sure about 2025 Renniks price if anyone knows). Numista has it at - $4.40 for VF, $5.90 EF and AU, $16 UNC. On card $920 (C mintmark likely) and in 2018 set $85 (New Zealand not Australian dollars).

N#46466

$900 aud for the C mintmark?? 😱

AND $200 AUD FOR THE PURPLE CORONATION!? wow! I remember when the coronation was $40

I might have have a spare coronation somewhere 👀

Edit: oh, the circulating version of the purple coronation is still around $40