I’m considering selling a U.S. gold coin, but don’t really know how to go about it. Any advice or info would be appreciated.
The coin is a 1924 (or 1928 – I forget which) Saint-Gaudens $20 Double Eagle. My father gave it to me years ago. It’s in a 2x2 cardboard holder, on which is marked “UNC” and a price. I haven’t made out the mint mark yet.
Questions:
Does the current high price of gold make this a good time to sell? I realize the coin has collector value beyond that, but I’m wondering how much of a factor the gold market has on its price.
Is it feasible for me to try to find an end consumer, rather than deal with a coin shop, to maximize how much I could get for it? I’m inclined to think that going to a coin dealer might be the all-around best approach, but I’d be willing to put a little legwork in if the various possible problems are not too great.
How should I go about getting a professional appraisal of the coin’s current value?
How should I go about finding a trustworthy coin shop? There are several listed in the Yellow Pages, and several on the internet, but I haven’t seen much in the way of reviews to help evaluate them.
Gary, there was another thread recently about buying and selling gold coins, but I’m too lazy to search for it. One Doper who is a coin dealer (I don’t remember who, aren’t I useful?) said that they generally pay spot gold price for non-collectable gold coins and charge around $85 over spot gold when selling them. Spot gold today is about $1125, I think. It peaked at about $1200 in December, no telling when it will get back to that level.
From what I’ve read, your coin, if really uncirculated, will have collectable value above that; Saint-Gaudens coins are apparently desirable because of the quality of the design and workmanship.
If it were me, I would just start taking it into different coin shops and asking them what they would offer me for it. I’ve seen reviews of shops that claimed that “they could tell I had to sell it so they low-balled the offer, and I had no choice but to accept”, but if you have the time and the choice of coin shops, it certainly won’t hurt to go to two or three and see what they say.
I’ll be interested to see what the more knowledgeable coin collectors say about selling to private parties.
Your coin is not uncommon among St. Gaudens Double Eagles. You will, if truly uncirculated, get a smallish premium above gold value. I would go to a few dealers and get a price. Honestly, I’d take spot value, unless one of the dealers offered a few percent above spot.
Some people think gold will rise, some don’t. I don’t think it will go WAY above what it is at now. It’s at $1117.90 right now. I’d sell for that.
I would agree with going to a dealer, but not a bullion seller. Bullion dealers will only offer you spot value. A dealer will pay a premium for an UNC St. Gaudens. Or you could subject yourself to the misery of selling coins on eBay and risk taking a bath on it. UNC is a bit vague, but 1928 double eagles have sold recently from about 1300-1500 if they are not slabbed.