1ST COIN OF NEW SERIES ( "Lunar Skulls" )

5 bidders at circa US$240 or above with a finish at $255, looks more legit

 

yeah, I'd say someone was playing games with the last bid for like a gazillion dollars.

 

Wouldn't be surprised if a few of 'em got a 2nd Chance Offer, due to quantity available.


2 birds with one stone, and all that..

 

Sales have really slowed on ebay the last couple of days. I wish SM & FCC would drop their prices back to original release price and just let them sell out, rather than the current hoarding and price changes. They'd be making a good margin at the original prices anyway...

 

Eh, it's a marathon, not a sprint.


It is a 12-year series, after all. And I'd say only a small % of potential purchasers still even know about these -- for now, anyway.

 

This has got to be the most bizarre price tinkering I have ever seen for a new series coin that has not even been minted or released yet. The coin itself looks like it should be pretty cool if it is minted well and ends up looking like the pictures, and the numbers on the coin matching the COA is a great idea . I think the dealers should just stick with the original pre-release price let it sell out and look forward to the next one being popular , but instead the prices have just gone all over the place. Now of course ebay is getting flooded with everyone trying to sell theyre prerelease of a prerelease when the coin hasn't even been minted yet. I have even had someone try and trade me these on prerelease for a ridicules price. Its fine with me though its a free market and that is a beautiful thing as long as they dont go changing the mintage or flooding a million more varieties. It will be interesting to see where all this goes.

I wonder what the Chinese collectors would think of these. It kind of takes the "life" out of the whole Chinese Zodiac thing...

 

This kind of bizzare/ugly design could NEVER attract many Chinese collectors, I can tell you this much

I will never touch it with a 10 -foot pole

 

Sold one of my proofs on eBay: 217.00. A far cry from 500.00. LOL. I think prices will come down to about 150.00 once the market is flooded.

 

Release was covered on Coin Week: http://www.coinweek.com/coins/news/...intages-revealed-ghana-lunar-skulls-take-off/

Also site is now live with updates on the production schedule: http://smmint.com/

 

"Sold one of my proofs on eBay: 217.00. A far cry from 500.00. LOL. I think prices will come down to about 150.00 once the market is flooded."

With just 500 proof coins, the market cannot be flooded. Most people will hold on to the coin pending future releases. 150 would be grossly undervalued.

 

The Coin Analyst: 2014 Libertad Coin Mintages Revealed; Ghana Lunar Skulls Take-Off

http://www.coinweek.com/coins/news/...intages-revealed-ghana-lunar-skulls-take-off/


By Louis Golino for CoinWeek


Part II of article

2015 Ghana Lunar Skulls

The Chinese Lunar calendar-themed coins have emerged as the largest and perhaps most diverse coin program in the world in recent years. But for the modern world coin collector that results in such a dizzying range of coins, sometimes even from one country, that it is hard to decide which ones are worth getting. In addition, some animals seem to result in more attractive art work than others. The 2015 year of the goat coins have been more challenging in this regard but have already been rendered very nicely in Perth's bullion and collector coins, the 5 oz gilded Niue issue made by Pamp in Switzerland with a mintage of 500, and others.

But now there is a totally original take on the Lunar theme from the country of Ghana with the first coin in a new series of a more macabre nature that depicts the skulls of the animal. The 2015 Lunar Skulls goat issue is being minted by an e-Bay dealer named Son-Montuno, who specializes in modern world coins, who decided to establish his own private mint to produce this series. It will be a 12-coin series, and first year releases are often the most sought after.

The skull coins, which will be minted in high relief, and issued in low mintages in BU (2,000 coins) and especially in proof (just 500 coins), have really struck a chord with many collectors, even though they will only be issued in January, which means buyers have only line art drawings to go by for now.

The coins were produced with the assistance of SMmint.com and were designed by U.S. tattoo artist, Kiana Roo, whose signature appears on each coin. Each coin is also individually numbered on the rim, and the number on the certificate of authenticity will match that on the coin. This is a feature many collectors find appealing.

It is hard to say exactly why these coins have become popular so quickly, but it is not terribly surprising given the success of the Zombucks and similar limited edition rounds sold by Provident Metals, which sell for solid premiums over the issue prices. At the recent Whitman Expo in Baltimore, Maryland I ran into a dealer who said she was particularly taken with the Feast dollar, a macabre version of the famous Peace dollar. Zombucks is billed as "the currency of the apocalypse" by Provident.

Son-Montuno decided to split the mintage of these coins with his business partner. Son-Montuno allocated only 10 coins per dealer
with his half of the mintage, with the other half going to his business partner. Each dealer who buys coins to sell retail will only receive 10 coins in most cases. This method of distribution is one of the reasons prices for the coins in proof have taken off so quickly, though auction results have also been uneven.

Pre-orders for the proofs began on November 22 at $89, there were many sales in the $150 range, and by the 24th they reached $199. Then auction prices started going much higher reaching $596 on the 30th. But on December 6 someone got a proof for only $255, still a healthy increase from the initial price, but a fraction of more recent sales.

From what I have read and heard from other collectors it is clear that some buyers quickly realized the proof coins represented a good value at $89-$150 and appear to have purchased extras to sell at a profit. It remains to be seen whether by January the proof coins will still bring $600-700, but $300 seems like a reasonable prediction. A lot will depend on how the coins look in person, and on the extent to which buyers decide to sell their extra coins, or keep them to see how prices develop.



Update: Article updated to reflect the current address for the producer, to reflect that the Ghana coin is numbered on the rim, not the edge, and to correct the spelling of "Son-Montuno".

Posted in: Casa de Moneda de Mxico, Expert Columns, Louis Golino, Mints, News, Recent Articles & Video, World Coins

 

Make it 498.

My 2 aren't going anywhere anytime soon.*


However, between now & the release, I suppose the buyers of these "secondary" pre-releases could theoretically immediately turn around & list theirs on eBay -- thereby simulating the spot market by the same ounce being sold over & over again multiple times without even actually existing in that quantity...



[*Unless, of course, I see consistently ridiculous things happening with the price, where I couldn't refuse. ]

 

how do you flood the market with a coin that has a mintage of 500 and at least some of which buyers will not want to sell?

 

Shoulda had SM sell it for ya..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/371209363678


EDIT: Corrected..

 

it's enough to flood the ebay market without a doubt, and people do use that market for prices. There are obviously exceptions but most are looking to flip coins like this, and you can only do that if you find a bigger sucker on places like ebay.
Given enough auctions, the price will continue to fall, and if you do not sell in the small hype window then you're stuck with a depreciating asset.

I hope that doesn't sound too bitter, I hope you all make money and the coin turns out great, but all I see from this thread is a lot of future disappointment. You're too hyped up for something you have not seen, buying an idea rather than a product is risky.

 

exactly right, I'd rather get direct, rather 2ndary. Perception perahps is, 'he won't cherry pick, or who knows what this other buyer will do...'

 

Even still you netted 100% profit even after ebay fees. Not bad in my book.

 

Hi Gatito Bandito. You have erroneously attributed this quote as mine "Sold one of my proofs on eBay: 217.00" Please check the earlier threads. I had quoted that from barsenault.

 

Yeah, that's what I was thinking, too..

Cherry-picking for condition / serial #, and/or getting ripped off somehow.


Still a nice profit, though. I don't blame anybody who might have a few to short-term flip to unload a little risk.

 

Ah, but where are all the auctions? I don't see many, current or sold.

Under your logic, we'd be seeing a lot more right now. Fact is, we're not.


Wouldn't all the original buyers be dumping right now in this "small hype window"? Again, they're not. And they're all not waiting to get the coin in hand first, as what would be the point?

Seems like the exceptions are those who *are* flipping -- not those who are holding, as you suggested.


The only scenario I can see your prediction coming true is if these things turn out to be worse quality/condition than the early batches of the 2014 Yellowfin Tuna's.

Something tells me that won't be the case.