swapping

It's my first swap and I have two on-going. I am a little confused as to what to do next. If a person wants several coins for one or two of theirs how do you know you're being fair? Also what do you do next? Do you send them a private message with your address and request theirs? (I am assuming here) but then if the coins are unequal in weight they are paying MORE for postage. How do you make it fair?

Quote: gammonmomIt's my first swap and I have two on-going. I am a little confused as to what to do next. If a person wants several coins for one or two of theirs how do you know you're being fair? Also what do you do next? Do you send them a private message with your address and request theirs? (I am assuming here) but then if the coins are unequal in weight they are paying MORE for postage. How do you make it fair?

How indeed. Some coins are worth quite a bit. I reckon on modern foreign coins being worth 5 p (that's roughly what they cost me wholesale, and equates to a Krause book price of 10 c). However, there are variations, years and even coins which change hands for a lot more. I have some which while appearing ordinary to the baive, change hands and have a guide price of about £20, which is 400 times the value of most modern coins, therefore a  fair swap would be 1:400 !!!

How do I make it fair? I compare the value of the coins being swapped. Take US dollars, they are worth roughly 60 p sterling, so a swap of a British 50p coin for an American dollar coin is pretty fair, its not widely off the mark.


If you don't have access to a price guide, try looking at how many people are offering a particular coin for swap. If there are a lot it is probably a common coin, if you are the only one it may be a rare or valuable coin, and then you should be wary (if only someone had told me this when I first joined Numista).

As for postage, that's just something we all swallow. Sometimes you send heavy items and pay a lot, sometimes light. It's not something I take into consideration with regard to the firness of a proposed swap, but it is something I take into consideration when pondering whether or not I wish to make a swap.

Matt

The main thing to remember is to make sure that, both you and your swap partner are happy with the swap. Most people I have dealt with are fair, but that doesn't mean to let down your gaurd. You will get a feel pretty quick for swapping. If you have some coins that  you want a little better deal on, just say so. Your partner can make the choice to give extra if they want it.  Communicatio is the key to a good swap.

Quote: gammonmomIt's my first swap and I have two on-going. I am a little confused as to what to do next. If a person wants several coins for one or two of theirs how do you know you're being fair? Also what do you do next? Do you send them a private message with your address and request theirs? (I am assuming here) but then if the coins are unequal in weight they are paying MORE for postage. How do you make it fair?

First of all, welcome aboard!

For common coins I pretty much calculate the same as Matt, I don't have the time to see if it's a 10 cent coin or a 25 cent coin. Pretty much 1-1 swaps for these. Same with modern coins, they are usually worth about face value. However for anything worth a little more, older coins, coins with a precious metal content etc. then it's important to know the approximate value. For world coins I would recommend NGC as most collectors have heard of them and they are impartial.

http://www.ngccoin.com/poplookup/World-Coin-Price-Guide.aspx

Anything worth more than say $10 I don't list here for two reasons. One, I don't like to include valuable coins in bulk trades. Two, there are just too many collectors trying to swap pocket change for high value items. There is of course nothing wrong with collecting low value coins, I've got plenty myself, but I've quickly learned to avoid anyone who thinks it fair to trade a bunch of 5 cent value coins for an equal number of $2 / $3 coins. I don't expect, or even attempt, to come out on top in every trade but come on guys! At least include a few decent coins in your exchange lists if you want to move beyond the basics. There is no value that I can see in exchanging 1 $10 coin for 500 5 cent coins even though the exchange looks fair on paper.  

Postage is another issue, I don't see the point in spending anything up to $25 to mail $10 worth of coins. Some countries insist that coins are sent by registered mail otherwise there is a risk of confiscation at customs. Of course you can send them by regular mail but at whose risk?  Other countries prohibit ANY importation of currency, again... who should take the risk and stand the loss in the event of non-delivery? I have the benefit of living in a country where such things are not an issue, which is great for the other person, but there is no way I am accepting the extra cost or risk if someone else doesn't have that good fortune. Anyone who doesn't like this can feel perfectly free to petition their government to change the rules - it ain't my problem.

In answer to your last question, it seems to be the norm that addresses are exchanged after both parties have confirmed the swap.

Gammonmom...welcome. As my educated friends have already given you a run down I would advise you to hit the books and research the coins you are planning to swap.

Also...friends like SmartOneKg, Phil Nightingale, and Matt Probert...and many more on here are decent chaps and know their stuff.

There will be a guide to swapping appearing soon...published eventually by me.

As ctucker has already said, Communication is key to a good swap.

Research what you have got, learn from others...I'll be posting the guide in Numisdocs hopefully by or before the end of this week.

Ben

Quote: pnightingale[Anything worth more than say $10 I don't list here for two reasons. One, I don't like to include valuable coins in bulk trades. Two, there are just too many collectors trying to swap pocket change for high value items. There is of course nothing wrong with collecting low value coins, I've got plenty myself, but I've quickly learned to avoid anyone who thinks it fair to trade a bunch of 5 cent value coins for an equal number of $2 / $3 coins. I don't expect, or even attempt, to come out on top in every trade but come on guys! At least include a few decent coins in your exchange lists if you want to move beyond the basics. There is no value that I can see in exchanging 1 $10 coin for 500 5 cent coins even though the exchange looks fair on paper.

A good point, Phil. I didn't really mean to suggest that anyone should seriously consider swapping 1:400 !

1:3 is quite reasonable.

I have stopped listing my serious coins, its just too much hard work fighting off the sharks, I'd rather just hoard them and leave them as an investment to my grandchildren (yes I am that old, nearly 47).

A word to the novices out there, don't think silver coins are necessarily valuable. Many "ordinary" coins, of sought after mintage dates are worth far more, so beware!

Matt

I wonder if there coud be a way to identify better coins in a way that allows for the listing of better coins, so that we could avoid the "sharks".

 I'm sure some people are actively hunting trades that are designed to gain better coins for as little as possible, but I think a lot of the time it is lack of knowledge.

Perhaps, if we could come up with some sort of scale to identify coins as being "better", we could avoid some of the problems, and be able to swap more effectively. There should be a way to trade both the common and uncommon coins in a manner that everyone feels is fair.

Mmmmm...I know what you are saying but mintage numbers can sometimes mean it is rare...I think Numista could label these coins; but then again some genuinely rare coins are available to buy in a couple of clicks off eBaY; is that rare. I dunno!

That is one of the problems. Do we gauge by value, rarity, or what have you?  Rarity would be the only one that would translate internationaly, I think. As I have read in more than one post, coins sell for different prices depending on location.

Maybe the individual would have to set the value they are asking.
1:1 for common coins
2:1 for less common
and so on, until you get to
X:1 meaning you don't want to trade it for common coins

This way we have a simple way to identify what is considered fair by one another.

As Matt pointed out in another post, some common coins with a fairly high mintage can reach values greater than one would be able to guess at. And I don't know about others, but I spend almost as much on supplies to manage my collection as I do on the coins (this may be slightly unfactual, but it sure feels that way) . If I spent $60+ every time a new Krause guide came out, it would be that much less I had to spend on coins.

Quote: ctuckerI wonder if there coud be a way to identify better coins in a way that allows for the listing of better coins, so that we could avoid the "sharks".

 I'm sure some people are actively hunting trades that are designed to gain better coins for as little as possible, but I think a lot of the time it is lack of knowledge.

Perhaps, if we could come up with some sort of scale to identify coins as being "better", we could avoid some of the problems, and be able to swap more effectively. There should be a way to trade both the common and uncommon coins in a manner that everyone feels is fair.

Oh indeed. I once asked someone for some coins, in good faith, unaware that they are rare. He simply explained that they were rare and he was holding on to them for exchanging for similar. I took no offence, but did feel a little embarrassed - that's my paranoida coming out!

French coins are a major point in question. Some of the French Franc coins minted over the years are quite expensive (as in about £20 or more) and yet there is no indication of this on paper. The mintage figures while low relative to their peers, are still significant as in 1.7 million or there abouts. Its only from reviewing Krause that I discovered their value, and this was confirmed by the prices they change hands for on eBay.

If you know the value of your own coins, you can add a  personal comment in Numista next to the coin, perhaps saying "swap for 10 low value coins". This at least gives other swappers a nod that this coin is a bit special, saves any embarrasment caused by genuine ignorance!

Matt

thanks for all the good info. I truly appreciate it.

Gammonmom maybe you could check the swap guide below this post. What do you think; is this helpful?