SPQR's Last 20 Posts
| Went To The Pawn Shop Yesterday...
|
|
SPQR
Valued Member
United States
327 Posts |
 Posted 03/19/2015 5:22 pm
|
Laughing at you guys but not in a bad way. You gotta know how Pawn Shops work to understand them. Pawn shops aren't in the retail game; not really.
They are in the high interest loan game.
What they make off the stuff they sell is FAR below what they make in loaning money out to the ignorant and unwise that are their primary customers. Most of whom are repeat customers, many times over. Normal rates run 30-50 percent interest (on what on average is about one third of the perceived retail value of the item). Most of the time people pay up and retrieve their items, frequently at over what a new one might cost. Even if they make all of the payments except the last one, once they default the item will be sold for what the perceived value was at pawn, so the profit margin may go as high as 100-150% over the loan amount.
That $100 dollar item you bought there was probably pawned for $30 or less. The pawn was paid back $20, but went south and forfeited for $10. $100 purchase +20 pawn payments, $120, minus 30 dollar pawn equals $90 profit. Jewelry frequently pawns at less than 10 percent of retail value as pawnbrokers routinely discount stones and only offer value for scrap gold/silver. |
| | Forum: US Modern Coins |
| |
| How Crazy Is My LCS?
|
|
SPQR
Valued Member
United States
327 Posts |
Posted 03/13/2015 4:23 pm
|
Quote:
The guy who owns this shop also sells random banknotes for about US$0.25 each
Hmmm...that's a great price.  |
| | Forum: Main Coin Forum |
| |
| How Did It Go Down When The US Stopped Minting Silver Coins?
|
|
SPQR
Valued Member
United States
327 Posts |
Posted 03/13/2015 4:18 pm
|
| The US Treasury folks were not unaware what would happen. They upped coin production massively knowing that the silver would be hoarded heavily. One solution to this was stepping up production of the nickel; over 1 billion 1964 date nickels were minted, a HUGE increase over previous years. So many were minted and the nickel is so durable they are still commonly found in circulation. |
| | Forum: Main Coin Forum |
|
| So, I Went Through My Deceased Grandfather's Coins...
|
|
SPQR
Valued Member
United States
327 Posts |
Posted 03/13/2015 3:59 pm
|
Actually those little license plates used to be issued with real license plates by California DMV many years ago, I remember my parents getting them when I was a little shaver (I'm 50). Yeah, people used to put them on their key rings, but somebody figured out that putting a license on a set of car keys told whoever found (or stole) those keys what car they went to, a less than ideal situation.
There's probably a collectors market for those. |
| | Forum: Main Coin Forum |
| |
| Treating Iron Coins With A Tannic Acid Coating
|
|
SPQR
Valued Member
United States
327 Posts |
Posted 03/10/2015 4:18 pm
|
Ah, something I can speak to. In the first place, throw out any idea you have of "oh, don't alter it, do as little as possible!" Iron, no matter what it may be alloyed with is still going to rust so long as it has active, red rust and oxygen.
Airtight holders would work if you could remove the air from them first but they are going to have air in them when you close them up. Rust does not take a huge amount of oxygen to continue.
Here is what you are going to have to do. First, you need to remove the red, active rust. Yes, you are going to have to alter the surface of the coin. Considering the coin is currently self-destructing, this is a small price to pay, sot of like how Ancients collectors remove Bronze Disease to preserve the coin itself. Careful work with small implements will be required,as well as copious amounts of patience, but you have to do this. Once you've gotten the red/orange active rust gone, you have to seal off the coin from oxygen. There is a product called Renaissance Wax, it's for conserving fine old items. Apply a coat to your coin, and you will note no color change but your coin will be sealed from air and moisture. |
| | Forum: Main Coin Forum |
| |
| Do You Collect Coins Or Plastic Slabs?
|
|
SPQR
Valued Member
United States
327 Posts |
Posted 03/10/2015 12:55 pm
|
Slabs were invented with two goals in mind:
To remove the subjective interpretation of the Sheldon scale, and to make coins an easier investment for non-enthusiasts.
The Sheldon scale is quite honestly kind of like Chinese stereo instructions for non-coin people. So to make it easier for dealers to push coins out to the non enthusiast, as investments, the slab is perfect.
It's also a continuous, never-ending bone of contention between collectors and dealers. One man's MS65 is another's MS68, and so on. Slabs help with this but as we know are far from infallible.
|
| | Forum: Main Coin Forum |
| |
| Wow, Just Went To My First Coin Show
|
|
SPQR
Valued Member
United States
327 Posts |
Posted 03/09/2015 6:42 pm
|
Yeah, I'd buy at more coin shows...if the three that occur within anything like driving distance weren't 75 to 100 miles away.
I live in a pretty crappy place to be a coin collector.
Actually there is one tiny one about 50 miles away, got snowed out this year. |
| | Forum: Main Coin Forum |
| |
| Would You Support A Reagan $2 Coin & T. Roosevelt $200 Bill?
|
|
SPQR
Valued Member
United States
327 Posts |
Posted 03/04/2015 12:04 pm
|
Yep, one dollar and two dollar coins are the way the vast majority of Europe does it; works fine for them. I rather like the idea of the first man on the moon 2 dollar, as it commemorates a unique moment in history.
Ditch the cent? Yep. The nickle and quarter? Not on your life; the vending industry needs them.
$200 bill? Not a chance, nor a five, either.
Really want to make a change? Polymer notes. Much longer longevity and as an added bonus I understand they are a real PITA to counterfeit. Supposedly more sanitary, too. |
| | Forum: US Modern Coins |
| |
| Argentina To Issue New 50 Peso Falkland Islands Note
|
|
SPQR
Valued Member
United States
327 Posts |
Posted 03/03/2015 12:30 pm
|
| This could be the very first instance of a nation issuing a note honoring two resounding military failures and a consistently unenforceable territorial claim. I can't imagine what they are thinking, celebrating getting the British Crown to colonize the islands, then NOT being able to wrest them back, while having the world community looking on with complete disinterest, since the Falkland Islanders want exactly *zero* to do with the Argentine Government. In March of 2013 a referendum was held in the islands and 99.8 percent of voters indicated wanting to stay a part of Britain. |
| | Forum: World Paper Money and Banknotes |
| |
| Ultrasonic Cleaner - Before And After
|
|
SPQR
Valued Member
United States
327 Posts |
Posted 03/02/2015 4:54 pm
|
I've used the ultra sonic cleaner on numerous world coins with good results. It's amazing how absolutely filthy they are raw- I swear they are retrieved from bathroom floors worldwide.
I've used the ultrasonic with hot water and DAWN dishwashing soap to remove the utter nastiness from the more interesting coins with great success. I also used it to remove what turned out to be nicotine deposits from a batch of Peace dollars I owned for awhile.
I'll confess I've never quite grasped how allowing a coin to languish under decades-in some cases centuries-of dirt, grime, oil and that sticky stuff on movie theater floors somehow makes it more valuable or desirable. I get the whole "no metal removal" bit, but allowing dirt and corrosive substances (like salt) to remain seems contrary to "conserving" for future generations.
|
| | Forum: Main Coin Forum |
| |
| Photo Trickery
|
|
SPQR
Valued Member
United States
327 Posts |
Posted 02/26/2015 5:28 pm
|
| Honestly, One50 that is one doggone nice early Wheatie. It has great detail and is in fantastic shape for being 104 years old, you know? So, you've learned about digital photography now; it shows things sometimes not clear to the naked eye, and doesn't necessarily have anything to do with fancy lights or trickery. Camera type and settings, video chipset that processed the original photo, your video chip that reproduced it and the monitor you display it on can all effect how you see it. If you are shopping on a tablet or god forbid a smartphone, all video integrity can go out the window. It's a tough call, and even tougher when you remember how much can effect what you see with your eye. Even your lighting on your monitor and the light in the room you are in can mess with how it appears to you. |
| | Forum: US Modern Coins |
| |
| Future Of Kennedy Half Dollars
|
|
SPQR
Valued Member
United States
327 Posts |
Posted 02/26/2015 5:15 pm
|
Quote:
I wish they would change to the design too. The nickel and dime needs a complete change too. Especially the nickel.
They just changed the nickel a few years ago, so don't look for that one anytime soon. The Dime, however, is seriously overdue. |
| | Forum: US Modern Coins |
|
| 1910 Nickel Found
|
|
SPQR
Valued Member
United States
327 Posts |
Posted 02/25/2015 3:35 pm
|
| As a detectorist, I can tell you that yes, that nickle has been in the ground a long time. |
| | Forum: Coin Roll Hunting |
| |
| Photo Trickery
|
|
SPQR
Valued Member
United States
327 Posts |
Posted 02/23/2015 11:31 pm
|
Quote:
On second thought I think it is the same coin. I'd return it anyway
On what grounds? The seller posted a clear good quality photo. Obviously the photo is repeatable, since the buyer did just that. There is no deception, no manipulation here. It's a nice coin, condition is as shown. Is the seller supposed to use crappy out-of-focus photos? I'd rather see this kind of sharp detailed photography than a fuzzy non-macro cheap cellphone pic any day.
|
| | Forum: US Modern Coins |
| |
| Amazing 1909 VDB LWC For Under 3 Bucks!
|
|
SPQR
Valued Member
United States
327 Posts |
Posted 02/23/2015 11:42 am
|
Quote:
When I receive it should I crack it out of the dumb case, take pics and put it in a flip?
Yeah, I would. You could probably re-sell that...ummm...giant replica doohickey for a couple dollars. |
| | Forum: US Modern Coins |
| |
| I Am New To Collecting And Have A Concern
|
|
SPQR
Valued Member
United States
327 Posts |
Posted 02/23/2015 10:18 am
|
I love that fact that people break proof sets. I have several dealers who show up at my (few) local shows who have big baskets of proof nickels, dimes and pennies broken out of sets and 2X2'd. I've built almost a full set of proof nickels from '68 to current for as little as 25 cents each...they aren't like the quarters and above which go off to be graded. The only ones I'm having difficulty with are some of the mid seventies nickels (the proofs absolutely sucked and getting a decent one is tough) and of course the Lewis and Clark commemorative set.
It's cool to see the quality of the proofs improve from the 70s and 80s to now; the difference is night and day. |
| | Forum: Main Coin Forum |
| |
| Pawn Shop Shoping
|
|
SPQR
Valued Member
United States
327 Posts |
Posted 02/23/2015 10:08 am
|
Pawn shops here are laughable. I'm talking junk silver quarters for $9.99, proof sets from the 80's for $50,ASEs for $75 or more, well-circulated IKE dollars for $4-5 each. Most remarkable lately- $2 bills, circulated, only $6.95 |
| | Forum: Main Coin Forum |
| |
|
