Expert: Joe Hylas - 4/16/2008

Question
QUESTION: I recently stumbled upon an 1878 CC Trade Dollar. My friend is an amateur coin collector who told me he thought it was probably XF40

ANSWER: So Matt,

What is your question?  Do you want to know if it is genuine?  Value?  Have it certified?

Regards
Joe Hylas
www.AllCoins.US

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QUESTION: Sorry about that I hit send before I finished typing. I was wondering what the value was on a coin like this? I am getting married in 8 months and I was thinking about using this to pay for part of the wedding/honeymoon, but I was wondering what kind of an investment it would make to just save it for a few years. Basically, would it be a good idea just to hold onto it?

ANSWER: An 1878-CC Trade Dollar has a retail price of $2400 in XF-40 which mean that wholesale is about $1200-1500
That of course is the case if the coin is infact an XF-40 and genuine.  There are a lot of counterfeit Trade dollars coming in from China.  If it is lower, the price is lower.

My advice to you is that if you are going into debt to get married/honeymoon, sell the coin.  Coins are a store of value for when you need them.  There is no guarantee that the coin will continue to appreciate.

Regards
Joe Hylas
www.AllCoins.US

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QUESTION: What is the difference between retail and wholesale?

Answer
Wholesale is traditionally what a dealer would pay versus what a collector might pay on the open market.
The difference is basicly that a dealer will buy for inventory and take the risk of depreciation or appreciation whereas a collector is seeking a specific coin for a collection.

Regards
Joe Hylas
www.AllCoins.US