Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: Coins thru eBay vs banks

  1. #1
    Banned Aniela's Avatar
    Joined
    Jun 2009
    Location
    KW
    Posts
    3,291
    Thanks
    6,920
    Thanked 5,854 Times in 2,242 Posts
    My Mood
    Cynical

    Default Coins thru eBay vs banks

    I am a very casual collector of foreign currency & was wanting to get sm thoughts on this.

    Last nite I went on eBay for shits n giggles & looked at auction prices for coins. The first few pages of any of the search results … sm prices started as low as $0.05USD for small-denomination single coins. Many of the low prices I saw were even for older coins of various collector worth -- like a 1923 Polish złoty, supposedly 'minimal circulation' for less than $5USD. Also sm claiming to be 17th-century original coins 'found via metal-detector' for less than$10USD. But that sounds WAY too good to be true.

    I had already thought abt going to my local bank to ask if they would trade me American $$ for foreign notes/coins. Looked up exchange rates for sm of the countries I'm interested in. Sounds like it would be a better tradeoff than going thru eBay; even if it's a bit more expensive, at least I can see upfront what I am getting.

    I don't really focus on any single feature … pretty much any denomination, age, or whatever of foreign currency + any Lincoln wheat-ear penny will find a spot in my collection jar. I like older coins too but again, don't know much abt 'what makes it worth anything' & don't really care.

  2. #2
    Featured Member minnow's Avatar
    Joined
    Sep 2007
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    1,003
    Thanks
    242
    Thanked 519 Times in 315 Posts
    Blog Entries
    10
    My Mood
    Twisted

    Default Re: Coins thru eBay vs banks

    I'd go to a specialty currency exchange place that can sometimes be found in downtown areas, or in major malls. Those places give you better exchange rates than banks do. Banks don't mess with foreign coins because of costly shipping weight considerations. Some foreign exchange places might make exceptions for Japanese Yen, or EU Euro coins. Mostly, those places like to stick with paper currency.

    Two other suggestions would be major hotels near international airports, or look up the local coin dealers. Both those can be hit or miss. HTH......
    I'm right 96% of the time. I don't sweat the other 5% .......................

  3. The Following User Says Thank You to minnow For This Useful Post:


  4. #3
    Banned Aniela's Avatar
    Joined
    Jun 2009
    Location
    KW
    Posts
    3,291
    Thanks
    6,920
    Thanked 5,854 Times in 2,242 Posts
    My Mood
    Cynical

    Default Re: Coins thru eBay vs banks

    ^^^^ thnx for the input! Maybe when I travel nxt wk end I will have the time to look for one of those specialty exchanges. My jeweler also deals a bit in foreign coins, I think, or he may be able to point me toward sm1 who does

    I tried asking at my bank the other day, only since I had other business there anyway. Struck out since while that branch keeps a stock of American currency (of course) they do not keep any stock of foreign currency, in either note or coin.

    I don't entirely trust eBay, sm of those listings I saw it would cost more to ship them than to pay for the actual item & no way to verify authenticity. Would you say Amazon is reliable for this sort of thing? I have had only positive experiences ordering from them so far, but have nvr ordered anything of a 'collectibles' nature.

  5. #4
    God/dess miss.a.p1600's Avatar
    Joined
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    16,438
    Thanks
    47,039
    Thanked 34,922 Times in 12,869 Posts
    My Mood
    Aggressive

    Default Re: Coins thru eBay vs banks

    In defense of eBay. They have a new program where you can return any item and get your money back if it's not as described. So read carefully and ask the seller questions. You mention authenticity and the items should come with some paperwork that verifies authenticity like how diamonds for example can be appraised and come with an official documentation stating the value and other important qualities.

    Amazon can be a good place to buy also. Read carefully. Amazon as the seller is good as far as return and giving your money back its not what you were expecting. If Amazon is not the seller then review the sellers feedback and return policies just in case.
    “Cook for him like a housewife, fuck him good like a nympho….pay the rent and the car note, he invests in me like crypto”

  6. The Following User Says Thank You to miss.a.p1600 For This Useful Post:


  7. #5
    Banned Aniela's Avatar
    Joined
    Jun 2009
    Location
    KW
    Posts
    3,291
    Thanks
    6,920
    Thanked 5,854 Times in 2,242 Posts
    My Mood
    Cynical

    Default Re: Coins thru eBay vs banks

    ^^^^ thnx miss.a.

    Wasn't trying to knock eBay. Was just hesitant to order anything of this nature off there since a number of items looked too good to be true. But I didn't know abt their new return policy, that's good info to have if I look there for other things in future.

  8. #6
    God/dess miss.a.p1600's Avatar
    Joined
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    16,438
    Thanks
    47,039
    Thanked 34,922 Times in 12,869 Posts
    My Mood
    Aggressive

    Default Re: Coins thru eBay vs banks

    I know you weren't. My bad how I worded previous comment but yes You're right to be cautious. Not all sellers have customer experience in mind. eBay and Amazon have refined their system to significantly cut back on scammers that you would hear happening back in the day. I suppose with collectible items you just want that extra layer of security. And a lot of people just want to feel and touch the item before buying.

    Well happy coin hunting hope you find just what you're looking for.
    “Cook for him like a housewife, fuck him good like a nympho….pay the rent and the car note, he invests in me like crypto”

  9. The Following User Says Thank You to miss.a.p1600 For This Useful Post:


  10. #7
    Banned Aniela's Avatar
    Joined
    Jun 2009
    Location
    KW
    Posts
    3,291
    Thanks
    6,920
    Thanked 5,854 Times in 2,242 Posts
    My Mood
    Cynical

    Default Re: Coins thru eBay vs banks

    Well, using an airport currency exchange today was quite the eye-opener. $40USD got me £20 -- almost half of that $40 was eaten up by the transaction fee. Bastards. Guess I will be giving Amazon another

Similar Threads

  1. Gold and Silver Coins
    By UrbanOzz in forum Dollar Den
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 06-13-2012, 08:03 PM
  2. Replies: 4
    Last Post: 01-02-2008, 03:38 PM
  3. Dollar Coins
    By minnow in forum Dollar Den
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: 10-26-2007, 12:06 AM
  4. About the dollar coins...
    By cherry_sin in forum Dollar Den
    Replies: 18
    Last Post: 06-12-2007, 09:16 AM
  5. does anybody collect coins?
    By fancygirl in forum Dollar Den
    Replies: 17
    Last Post: 01-23-2006, 05:49 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •