Is anyone here a coin collector?

[adam1mc]

So I went to my first coin show this weekend. I am still relatively new to collecting PM's and I wanted to go to the show as I figured there would be lots of silver/gold as well as cheap prices due to competition (which there wasn't) plus I wanted to look for an interesting 1/10 gold coin to add to my collection.

Well I decided on the Gold Panda as I don't see many of them and I figured it would be fun to have. Well, apparently gold panda's have quite the markup and many are much more expensive than spot.

After looking for a while I found a guy who offered me a 1999 1/10 panda for $115. He told me that it was the second lowest mint date for that particular coin and that that year typically went for roughly 50% more than spot on ebay. After some discussion I bought the coin.

I went home and did some research. Sure enough, the coin was minted in the year that had the 2nd lowest mint. http://reviews.ebay.com/Mintages-of-China-Gold-Pandas-1982-2006_W0QQugidZ10000000003517751

However, I am unable to find this particular coin anywhere on the internet so that I can see how much the coin sells. If I could sell the coin for a nice markup and then go replace it with another 1/10 gold coin I would probably do it (and would even invest the profit into some silver rounds) as I am really only interested in the metal and not the collectors value of the coin.

The coin is in a hard plastic case which is then located in what appears to be sealed manufacturers soft plastic shell. I'm not sure what the specific coin conditions are but I looked at the coin with my magnifying glass and I don't see any scratches, marks or blemishes.

Anyone have an idea of the value?

 

[brandon]

So I went to my first coin show this weekend. I am still relatively new to collecting PM's and I wanted to go to the show as I figured there would be lots of silver/gold as well as cheap prices due to competition (which there wasn't) plus I wanted to look for an interesting 1/10 gold coin to add to my collection.

Well I decided on the Gold Panda as I don't see many of them and I figured it would be fun to have. Well, apparently gold panda's have quite the markup and many are much more expensive than spot.

After looking for a while I found a guy who offered me a 1999 1/10 panda for $115. He told me that it was the second lowest mint date for that particular coin and that that year typically went for roughly 50% more than spot on ebay. After some discussion I bought the coin.

I went home and did some research. Sure enough, the coin was minted in the year that had the 2nd lowest mint. http://reviews.ebay.com/Mintages-of-China-Gold-Pandas-1982-2006_W0QQugidZ10000000003517751

However, I am unable to find this particular coin anywhere on the internet so that I can see how much the coin sells. If I could sell the coin for a nice markup and then go replace it with another 1/10 gold coin I would probably do it (and would even invest the profit into some silver rounds) as I am really only interested in the metal and not the collectors value of the coin.

The coin is in a hard plastic case which is then located in what appears to be sealed manufacturers soft plastic shell. I'm not sure what the specific coin conditions are but I looked at the coin with my magnifying glass and I don't see any scratches, marks or blemishes.

Anyone have an idea of the value?

I have no clue about the value, but every year reference books are published with prices of every coin you could imagine. Go to a book store or library and look it up.

I'm just starting to get into PM and numismatics myself. From what I have learned so far, it doesn't seem wise to start out buying coins with collectable value. Start out just getting junk coins close to spot value, and over time you will start to learn what is worth what.

 

[tmosley]

Yeah, I made the mistake of collecting some silver coins off of Ebay, and found that I had bought a number of them for more than they were worth. Happily, they were small mistakes, and out no more than 40-50 bucks. Had I started with gold, I probably would have lost a lot more.

Hopefully silver will go up enough to make them worthwhile purchases.

 

[adam1mc]

I don't really think I lost anything as I only paid about $15.00 more than other dealers were charging for random 1/10 gold coins.

The dealer who sold me the coin stated that the coin was the 2nd lowest mint date (which is correct) and also told me that the coin typically sold for about $150 on ebay as they were hard to find... which I would also tend to believe as I have yet to find a single 1/10 gold Panda anywhere on the internet.

I was just hoping someone with some experience in the matter could give me a more definitive answer.


And to answer the previous poster... I have no intention of collecting coins, but I was looking for a panda (or something unique) so I had planned on spending a little bit more just to have one..

 

[tuckessee]

I think you got a pretty good deal. I would've snatched it up at that price.

The fact that there are none ebay currently or in completed auctions is a good sign. That shows it is not a common item.

I have a buy/sell list dated 2/08 from a reputable, experienced dealer I have known for years. He was selling 1999 1/10 Pandas for 150.00 with a gold spot of 935.00.

Even though gold has dipped a bit since then I think the Pandas have stayed rather constant. Lots of Chinese buyers are snatching up such Pandas since it was illegal to own them when minted but the laws have since been lifted.

 

[Hoover Dog 1957]

You should weigh the panda to insure it is not a counterfeit. The Chinese are the world leaders in producing fake coins. I don't want to scare you just weigh it for peace of mind. If their is a question you can maybe still get a refund, than if you find out years from now. I always weigh any gold I purchase just to be sure.

 

[adam1mc]

You should weigh the panda to insure it is not a counterfeit. The Chinese are the world leaders in producing fake coins. I don't want to scare you just weigh it for peace of mind. If their is a question you can maybe still get a refund, than if you find out years from now. I always weigh any gold I purchase just to be sure.

I actually spent some time researching after I bought the coin and I found a great article about Chinese counterfeit Pandas.
http://reviews.ebay.com/How-to-spot-a-counterfeit-silver-panda_W0QQugidZ10000000000966183

The counterfeits seem to be the 1oz coins and not the 1/10oz coins.

I hate to open the package as it's in some sort of what appears to be manufacturer sealed package and if the coin is worth more due to the mint year then I'd hate to devalue the coin in any sort of way.

 

[AceNZ]

Here's a link to a dealer that sells 1/10th ounce Pandas:

http://www.apmex.com/Category/376/1_10_Ounce___Gold_Chinese_Pandas.aspx

They don't seem to have any 1999s in stock, and most other dates are selling for more than you paid, so it looks like you got a good deal -- assuming the coin is authentic, of course.

 

[adam1mc]

Here's a link to a dealer that sells 1/10th ounce Pandas:

http://www.apmex.com/Category/376/1_10_Ounce___Gold_Chinese_Pandas.aspx

They don't seem to have any 1999s in stock, and most other dates are selling for more than you paid, so it looks like you got a good deal -- assuming the coin is authentic, of course.

Yeah, I've been able to find Panda's of other years, but, specifically I have been looking for the 1999 coin as this design/year only had 25,501 coins produced and because of the low mint the price should have even more of a markup than other random year pandas.