There are quite a few companies that buy coins directly from the mint (or sometimes acquire older coins in other ways) and sell them on to collectors. I have had zero positive experiences with them.
The only one that I’ve seriously looked at is the Westminster collection. I find it very exploitative that they harness novelty value to sell low-value coins in little cardboard holders to people that are none the wiser for enormous profit. They had a ‘Christmas set of six sixpences’ in a small black bag for £20. The sixpences were not silver and were all quite circulated. Last time I counted, I have 44 sixpences as spares for sale and I could easily sell six for £5 and turn a profit. Admittedly, mine don’t come in a little presentation bag, but surely a single bag doesn’t add £15 to the value of the coins.
They also sell the commemorative 50ps for massive markups compared to buying them direct from the royal mint, and third-party packaged coins aren’t as valuable. These are sold to more naïve collectors who don’t know they can pick them up at the royal mint in original packaging for cheaper.
One of the especially dirty things they do are the ‘historical sets’, where a common coin is packaged with a paragraph about historical background and once again sold at a massive markup. One of these is a George VI half crown in packaging detailing the 1939 king’s speech, but the coin is not actually dated 1939. I understand the coins in 1939 were .500 silver, but what am I paying ten pounds for? A relatively common coin in a fancy frame? They’re sold out though. Another example is a sixpence in fancy Christmas-themed packaging, also for ten pounds. Once again, an Elizabeth II sixpence. Another framed set for ten pounds is a penny-farthing set, containing a Victorian penny and farthing.
But in my opinion the worst ones are the ones that exploit childhood nostalgia to get elderly people to pay far more than market price for coins and banknotes they remembered using as children. An example of this is the ten shilling note, on a listing called “remember the ‘ten bob’ note?”. The note was selling for twenty pounds, but is once again completely sold out. Admittedly the notes are uncirculated, but I can pick such a note up on eBay for seven pounds in uncirculated condition. The seller is verified and has 99.9% positive feedback.
Anyway, that’s my completely deranged rant about the Westminster collection ripping people that don’t know where to get good deals off. I really needed to vent off this penned up range. I know this isn’t really a popular opinion, but this is the only place where I can let it out. Have you ever experienced this? Are there any other companies that use similar techniques to sell common coins for huge markups?
Totally agree, don't get Westminster here, but judging by posts I have seen here and on CCF, I agree - all wildly overpriced.
Here in NZ I would say Bradford exchange, they only offer a few coins, mostly gold plated "Crowns" of Tristan da Cunha worth a couple of bucks in all honesty, but they sell them at $39.95 as one off specials from their regular price of $89.95 per coin (Plus an abhorrent $10 postage and packaging per coin - true postage even by post bag/courier would be $4 at most). But this company also sells all sorts of other gee gaws like Thomas Kinkaid sculptures, porcelain monstrosities, painted plates a lot like the 1980s scam outfit Franklin mint.
There is an excellent series of articles by someone called James Bucki I think in the US who goes on about how buying any coins or notes advertised on TV or fliers will be overpriced to death and designed to snag unsophisticated buyers by linking them to some historic event of that year (1941 US coins for Pearl Harbour etc and they are all really worn and overpriced).
https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/james-bucki-768107
WARNING: The articles are at the bottom, scroll down and they are very addictive, once you read one, you will want to read another, they are very good and full of sensible advice.
It's part of the reason I avoid NCLT unless its fairly old and cheap (Lots of 50s to 80s stuff is much cheaper than modern gimmicky stuff).
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
The Royal Mint is the same as Westminster, if you compare the prices you'll see that Westminster is a pound or two cheaper. But the mint does the same, a perfect example is this:
I know coins from the royal mint are sometimes more expensive than Westminster, but coins in original royal mint packaging are worth more. I totally agree that the royal mint also pushes their historic coins with random events that happened in their year of minting, example is a 1912 sovereign stating in the description ‘Struck in the year the Titanic embarked on its ill-fated voyage’. But the Westminster collection places a huge emphasis on this, an example being a George III sixpence and shilling in a set called ‘Secure two coins from the time of Waterloo...’. Even though the coins do not have anything directly to do with the battle of Waterloo, the set has been sold out.
The Westminster collection also runs the ‘change checker’ programme. I admit some good has come out of the programme, but it floods the coin markets with people trying to sell relatively common coins (usually commemorative 50ps or 1971 1 and 2ps) for hundreds, thousands and tens of thousands. I’ve seen some sellers requesting in the millions for various 50p coins. Search up ‘rare coins’ into google from a UK IP address and nearly all the sponsored items are 50p and £2 commemoratives. As of time of writing, someone wants £96,884.99 for a Charles Dickens £2 coin. Someone else wants £49,999 for a £5 note with a supposed ‘misprint’ that looks a lot like ink from a ballpoint pen. Many people are hoarding 50ps, thus preventing them from circulating. The 2017 standard reverse is pretty much impossible to find in circulation because when the low mintage was announced, many articles made it very the low mintage very well-known and quite exaggerated, so nearly all were hoarded.
I used to think so, and commemoratives are part of the reason I started collecting. But no, in uncirculated condition I would buy for about £10. The only one that’s genuinely rare is the Kew Gardens, and that sells in the range of about £100, not in the hundreds of thousands as many people believe.
I saw one of Windsor Mint's adverts on the TV today and it just screamed "cheap tat" to me.
Gold plated commorative - check
Massively reduced priced from £55 all the way down to £7.99 plus P&P - check
free watch (gotta have the free watch!) -check
Windsor Mint - I just love how these overpriced companies have these official and royal sounding names when they are not actually a mint at all and just re sell overpriced crap.
The gold plated crown racket must be a big one, as Bradford exchange does these too.
There should be laws banning any the usage of the word "Mint" in a company title unless its a brand of peppermint or there is an actually facility that strikes coinage for usage in a proper country (So they can't just make fantasy coins).
I looked up Westminster mint too and they seem to be just awful, overrpiced reseller website, although it seems they mint their own silver rounds and ingots.
The Americans have got organised and this website listing complaints with Westminster's American wing came up.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Decided for a giggle to guess the real cost of these items on a Westminster page
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Bear in mind a New Zealand $ is worth 48 pence, so a 1953 coin set that cost £40 is worth about $15 - $25 or basically ¼ of their abhorrent price). Diama and Jubilee crowns are grot worth 50 cents in face value and have NO collector value even in GEM UNC condition.
I have not valued Banknotes as I know little or have little interest in them, but my guess is if they are £10 each, they are really worth between £1 and £1.50.
These nuccas are also saying they are selling a 1969 50p coin for £6 as it no longer circulates and that reflects its scarcity and value. I am sure an average street dealer on online auction would get you one for under a quarter of that crazy price. And the top lines of the enxt panel which is trying to sell the mega common 1972 25p for £5. i can't get rid of these things and always end up with 3 or 4 in every buy in, always UNC and even in the 1970s vinylette red flips from banks.
Notice how the images make the coin look really shiny and polished and nothing like they are in real life.
I tried to look at their International store, but it says its shut down due to Coronavirus!!!
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Quote: "Moneytane"Totally agree, don't get Westminster here, but judging by posts I have seen here and on CCF, I agree - all wildly overpriced.
Here in NZ I would say Bradford exchange, they only offer a few coins, mostly gold plated "Crowns" of Tristan da Cunha worth a couple of bucks in all honesty, but they sell them at $39.95 as one off specials from their regular price of $89.95 per coin (Plus an abhorrent $10 postage and packaging per coin - true postage even by post bag/courier would be $4 at most). But this company also sells all sorts of other gee gaws like Thomas Kinkaid sculptures, porcelain monstrosities, painted plates a lot like the 1980s scam outfit Franklin mint.
There is an excellent series of articles by someone called James Bucki I think in the US who goes on about how buying any coins or notes advertised on TV or fliers will be overpriced to death and designed to snag unsophisticated buyers by linking them to some historic event of that year (1941 US coins for Pearl Harbour etc and they are all really worn and overpriced).
https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/james-bucki-768107
WARNING: The articles are at the bottom, scroll down and they are very addictive, once you read one, you will want to read another, they are very good and full of sensible advice.
It's part of the reason I avoid NCLT unless its fairly old and cheap (Lots of 50s to 80s stuff is much cheaper than modern gimmicky stuff).
the franklin mint and Bradford exchange have never bin the same since the 1970’s .
they made the best proof coins for the Caribbean nations, I always collect those coins there so cool, cheap and stunning.
there old gold coins for Bahamas and Jamaica are at the top of my list to get and there sterling coins are what I really want in my collection.
now they have changed and sell nock offs, painted bills, and over priced worthless coins.
Quote: "allexis"Hoarding is what's bothering me the most. Everybody thinks now they struck gold when finding a commemorative.
that’s like in Canada, the people collect the commemorative 25 cent coins each year, people un skilled in collecting think they are rich when it’s worth nothing then face or unless it a proof.
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