Fast Eddie's Used Coin Lot
by Edgar J. Steele

March 17, 2008  

My name is Edgar J. Steele.

Personal circumstances (the need to pay for things, just like you) force me to liquidate some of my holdings. I have decided to sell some of the numismatic coins I hold because they have been slow, like mining stocks, to follow the lead of physical gold and silver. Probably, just as I sell them, they will take off. Numismatics, even more than mining stocks, move in fits and spurts. Heaven knows, they are overdue for a massive correction upward. Meanwhile, I have to feed the kids, of course.

Always, the problem is in valuing numismatic coins. I have avoided that by, almost exclusively, buying only PCGS-certified and "slabbed" coins of the most popular sort, primarily St. Gauden's $20 gold pieces and Morgan silver dollars. I have only a few coins that are not PCGS certified. PCGS is the gold standard in coin-grading services. You can take their judgment to the bank.

PCGS publishes an on-line listing of all coins it has graded, together with their ever-changing market prices at the following URL: http://www.pcgs.com/prices/ . NGC is another company viewed as top drawer, but its products bring slightly lower market values.

I have noticed that, depending upon how active the numismatic market is, "street" prices tend to run about 80% to 95% of those listed by PCGS. Dealers, of course, demand the full PCGS price, usually plus 5-10%. Dealers also like to pay 5-10% less than the "street" prices, for a discount from PCGS prices of 10-30%, or a total commission spread of 15-40% (now you know why they all drive such nice cars). I am going to charge the midpoint - 87-1/2% of the PCGS price - for all the coins I am offering, thereby splitting that unpaid commission with you.

Many who follow my writings know that I fear government seizure of gold, just as was done under Franklin Roosevelt. The rules recently were rewritten exclusively to track all gold sales and facilitate such seizure of all gold bullion whenever the government decides to do so. Those rules specifically exclude coins worth twice their inherent gold content, however, which now is the bright and shiny line distinguishing bullion from numismatic coins. All silver coins have been excluded from confiscation. Numismatic coins will be safe from confiscation, rest assured. All coins that I have bought and now must sell fall into the clearly numismatic category.

Always, in the past, I have taken coins and bullion to a dealer to sell them, though I occasionally have bought PCGS-rated coins on line. It occurs to me, given the increasing number of emails I get from list members wanting to know how and where to buy bullion and numismatic coins, that I can do us both a favor by offering to sell mine to list members; thereby saving the commissions that dealers charge both buyers and sellers of such coins. As noted above, commissions on numismatic coins can be quite substantial. By "splitting the difference" with me, list-member buyers thus will pay less for a known product and I will get more. Difference is, I will have to package and mail them, but that is not so bad, particularly if I charge something for postage, insurance and handling.

So, I have made up a list of what I would like to sell. Go to the following URL to review it: http://www.ConspiracyPenPal.com/coinlist.htm .
All PCGS coin slabs carry unique serial numbers, which enables me to track what is sent and to whom. These will be personal sales between just us.

I am offering a 100%-money-back, no-questions-asked guarantee on all sales. This is because my list members are the most upright, forthright and trustworthy people I know. I've never had a single one bounce a check on me for a book, for example.

Here's how it works:

1. Choose what you would like from the list (I will do my best to keep it current) and email me ([email protected]  ) to reserve it.

2. Then, I need to be paid via PayPal, credit card or money order as quickly as possible (prices are guaranteed while sales are pending or one week, whichever is less). Payment details by email to buyers.

3. I'm going to charge a flat $10 fee for shipping, insurance and handling, no matter how much anybody buys.

4. Then I ship via USPS registered and insured mail. You can pick these up in person and save shipping, but it must be by appointment, because I must retrieve them from the Sheriff's deputy's safe in which I store these and he lives about 20 minutes away.

5. After receipt, you have 48 hours to rescind the sale, regardless of what has happened to prices in the interim. After advance agreement and upon receipt of the coins back, via registered, insured USPS mail, I will issue a full refund, less only the shipping charge.