Searching for a good dealers and Mints

Discussion in 'Silver Coins' started by Brandon, Aug 22, 2019.

  1. Brandon

    Brandon New Member

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    Hello,
    Recently I turned to some premium issues of coins. Started collecting Tiffany series, Masterpieces of Art series and am looking for some more interesting coins and places to purchase them, for the hobby isn’t quite cheap :)
    1. How your opinion about such dealers as PowerCoin, The Coin Shoppe, TWC (TopWorldCoins), Dazzling Coins and Art in Coins.

    2. Have any one heard about new Mint in Poland "Mint21" ?? Some of their products is Apocalypse, Spartan Hoplite, Mercury, BinaryBull.

    Thanks for any advice!
     
  2. barsenault

    barsenault Well-Known Member

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    The coin shoppe typically has the lowest introductory prices...but raise their prices fast, so you have to catch them quickly. Power Coin has everything, but prices are typically high. Dazzling Coins...some cheap prices on occasion...oh, and Art in Coins, just dealt with the yesterday and picked up a couple of the Multifacated Wolf...that thing is nice.
     
  3. superjeka

    superjeka New Member

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    The Coin Shoppe, TWC, PowerCoin - good, Power Coin similar to Coin Shoppe has low introductory prices (Amazons were 249 Euro, for example).
    Art in Coins - usually cheaper than all above, but some products are missing, Dazzling Coins - I had bad experience with them
    (purchased Hephaestus for 530 CAD, and two months later received my money back).
    There are also https://www.directcoins.com.au/ and https://www.pela-coins.eu/ - both seems to be OK, I buy from Direct Coins more.
     
  4. Brandon

    Brandon New Member

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    Hi, thanks! I will look at Coin shoppe and Art in Coins. Recently I've bought some Spartan Hoplite coin product from Mint21 on TWC. Waiting for it and hope it will meet the expectations of the new manufacturer.
     
  5. Brandon

    Brandon New Member

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    Thanks a lot! Never heard about Direct Coins, will check them soon :)
     
  6. Trinkets

    Trinkets Active Member

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    What barsenault said is most accurate. Also note that where you are buying from matters in most cases. I've ordered from all of those you listed, so I'll give my feedback on each:

    • Coin Shoppe: always the cheapest initially but they raise their prices quickly on hot sellers; if you get in early you'll get a good price; they also have a fairly wide selection and always carry the "hot" coins
    • PowerCoin: has everything and generally has them early, but they are always more expensive than just about every other place; note that they do occasionally have decent sales
    • TopWorldCoins: prices are generally OK, but I find they are better for EU customers (Note: you can occasionally find very good eBay auctions for them); also has a fair amount of exclusives
    • Dazzling Coins: in general more expensive than The Coin Shoppe but sometimes have items you can't find at The Coin Shoppe but TCS has a better/wider selection in general (Note: it has never happened to me, but some people have had their orders cancelled for popular coins because they oversold)
    • Art In Coins: more expensive than TCS and don't get a lot of wide releases quickly (Note: be careful of their eBay listings; their Buy Now prices are overpriced and their Auctions generally get cancelled before closing date)
    • Mint21: a copycat mint of Mint of Poland, but they do coins in 3 oz instead of 2; only a few releases so far, I preordered the Hoplite as I like the design but their others I found less interesting

    A few other stores to consider:
    • Pela Coins: similar to TWC in price and selection
    • NumisCollect: higher priced and their site isn't always reliable in terms of selection (several months ago I was told they were in the process of updating their site because a number of their listings were incorrect, but they didn't seem to update yet)
    • Magikos Coins: similar again to TWC, but their prices seem sometimes better
    • Coins Master: prices are generally OK, a little higher than TCS but generally better than Dazzling/AIC (Note: selection is only mediocre though)
    • Intercoin Berlin: prices in line with TWC
    • apmex: wide selection, prices vary, shipping may kill the deal
    • Direct from government mints: don't overlook getting direct from mint (like the Perth Mint) as it will get you the best price in a lot of cases (as long as you get them before they sell out)

    Everyone has different experiences with stores so best to always shop around to see what works for you.
     
  7. Art in Coins

    Art in Coins Active Member

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    Greetings all,

    Just wanted to chime in for a moment to explain about the early cancellations on eBay. Listing prices I try to keep well in line with the other major dealers and I don't think I'm wildly out of line in that regard but in terms of early cancellations, yes. Guilty as charged but only because my auction listings appear at times to be suppressed in comparison to other dealers. I might have a product on auction of equal value and equal duration as another player and theirs sells for X times percentage over mine. Not sure what's going on with eBay and my account at the moment, but I won't stay in business very long selling for well under wholesale cost. In the cases that an auction isn't getting it's fair value, yes, I do elect to cancel rather than take the loss. As far as my website pricing, I try to stay in line with everyone else dealing in the luxury collector products so if you find it for less elsewhere, please, let me know and I'll do my best to meet or beat :)
     
  8. Art in Coins

    Art in Coins Active Member

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    Oh yes... Art in Coins, for sure some products are sadly missing. I am a one man company and this is a side business to my regular full time employment. All that said I'm working hard to increase my supplier relationships and I am bringing on new product streams on a regular basis. I hope you'll all check in from time to time as I am building my brand and company and... introducing all the exciting new coin issues :) One frustration I'm finding is exclusive dealer/mint issues. I am an authorized distributor for several premier manufacturers but I can't carry some of the most highly sought after coins due to existing agreements. Grrrr. But, no worries, I have plans for my own coin projects in the future. Cheers all, Michael
     
  9. Brandon

    Brandon New Member

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    Wow! Thank you very much, your opinion is very helpful for me! I see that you are well known with TWC products, will go on their eBya :)
    I also started to follow the products from Mint21 and saw that thay have a few interesting releases, some of the most that amazed me was Lu BU - Warriors of Ancient China, interesting combination of gilding and digital printing from above.
     
  10. Grizzly

    Grizzly Active Member

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    I'm planning a trip to Canada soon, will keep an eye on your site and see if I can pick up some things while I am there.

    This might be a silly question as I have never sold anything on ebay in my life, but can you not put a reserve price on it so you don't have to cancel?
     
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  11. Art in Coins

    Art in Coins Active Member

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    For any fans of the new Mint21 products coming online... Art in Coins has just become an authorized distributor :) They're an offshoot venture of Nueva Moneda in Spain and being familiar with the quality of their numismatics, I have high hopes that Mint21 will be producing some fantastic high relief collectibles. We have that China Warriors Lu Bu on the way and it just looks incredible.
     
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  12. Art in Coins

    Art in Coins Active Member

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    Actually, you can put a reserve (minimum) price in but it adds a ton of cost to the listing. I should have mentioned earlier that occasionally the product that I have on auction sells externally through my website so I have to cancel the auction as it's no longer available. Probably not "best practices" in the realm of eBay, but I try to keep such events to a minimum. If you're up in the Montreal area, be sure to touch bases. I don't have a traditional storefront, but if you found some items for purchase on the website, I do offer personal and free delivery within the greater Montreal area. Always enjoy meeting customers face to face when the opportunity presents.
     
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  13. mongrelmaple

    mongrelmaple Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    I’ll be in the Kingston, Ontario area for a friends wedding next northern summer. A detour to Montreal for authentic poutine and bullion sounds like a great day trip!
     
  14. Trinkets

    Trinkets Active Member

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    I won't speak to a store's direct words (this isn't a storefront and shouldn't be used as one). My only general comment would be to compare prices at stores (their prices and selection speak for themselves) and look at eBay listings for current and historical offerings. Then find what works best for you: there's plenty of places to buy from (yes, some are better than others).

    Also, FindCoinOnline is your friend.
     
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  15. Art in Coins

    Art in Coins Active Member

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    Kingston is a nice little town and yes, easy reach to Montreal (less traffic). If we happen to meet for a Poutine, that will be my one per year allowance :)

    For those who may be wondering what the heck a Poutine is... it's a bowl of french fries bathing in brown gravy and then topped with a particular Quebec cheese curd. And for the brave among us who opt to go right into cardiac arrest, you can always top it with beef, sausage or smoked meat. It's quite tasty actually but death be knocking on the door shortly after.
     
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  16. BigrichM

    BigrichM New Member

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    I recommend Mint of Gdansk - Mennica Gdanska. I always buy from them, they have all of Mint of Poland's coins in reasonable prices and there's no problem if you have some typical issues with shipping or multiplied shipping. I found them because they issued Nizaris - Assassins. I want all of the coins straight from the issuers with low numbers!! Amazing work...

    I sometimes buy at Pela, also from Poland. Good prices but I see he has a low range of products... With some of the newest he does not deal.

    Skarbowa is calling me all the time since I once left my personal data... trying to sell 15g silver with UV print, some crazy coins in price of 4xsilver spot.

    Power Coin is the best - they have everything... but the prices are the worst.... So since few months I just send links to my Mint of Gdansk asking for a price and availability... and have the coins cheaper from them. Good I found the store :D
     
  17. madaw1

    madaw1 Well-Known Member

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    They have got very nice coins,but the premium is very high compare to some others country au coins.
     

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