Selling on the Secondary Market - From Captivity Into the Wild

When our kids were younger, there was a series of animated films about four animals from a New York Zoo who unexpectedly return to the wild after being born and raised in captivity. Madagascar 1, 2 and 3 may not have been a critical success, but they were a lot of fun for us. The stories of the hypochondriac giraffe that yearned for the safety of his enclosure and the lion that revelled in the attention he was showered with at the zoo both remind me of some of the collectors I meet who have only ever bought their coins from a mint and are finding their feet in the open market for the first time.

The best thing we can do as sellers in a secondary market is to accept that we're now in the wild. The die was cast when we bought our coin or coins; all we can do now is to deal with the reality of the market as best we can. That doesn't mean we need to revert to a dog-eat-dog mentality where we have to lie and cheat to survive, but it does mean our success is in our own hands.

The way to get the best outcome in a market like this is to reflect, to get clear on what we want and the guardrails of what we're not prepared to accept. 

Is achieving the highest price the only consideration we have? What about time - do we want a quick transaction, or are we prepared to spend hours of our own time to increase our rate of return? How much risk are we prepared to take? Are we ready to expose ourselves to physical risk during a face-to-face transaction? How much risk are we prepared to accept when it comes to payment? Are we prepared to risk an item being lost in transit? Do we have the mental and emotional bandwidth required to haggle and negotiate with potential buyers? Are we confident we can price our items accurately, and are we prepared to accept the consequences if we're wrong?

Three Main Choices

There are three main choices when it comes to selling a coin or collection:

1: Sell it yourself via FaceBook Marketplace; Gumtree or eBay. Selling directly eliminates intermediaries, but you’ll need to manage the entire process, including descriptions, photos, and negotiations. Platforms like Facebook groups and Marketplace can connect you with collectors but require adherence to their rules. eBay offers a wide audience but requires effort—descriptions, photos, answering questions, and managing shipping. Costs include a ~15% fee and potential risk discounts from cautious buyers, making it less ideal for high-value items.

2: Consign it for sale through an auction house. Auctions can yield high prices if multiple bidders compete for your item. However, success often depends on setting a low reserve price, and the timing and final amount can be uncertain. Additionally, commissions for both buyers and sellers can reduce the net amount received.

3: Sell it to a dealer. Selling to a dealer is quick and straightforward. Dealers often pay strong prices, especially for items their customers want, and provide instant payment. They also handle marketing and may charge lower commissions than auction houses. However, ensure you understand the value of your items to avoid underselling.

The owner of a single coin or set that has a relatively modest value can easily sell it themselves to a fellow collector via an online marketplace without taking on an undue amount of risk. The owner of a complex, valuable or large collection needs to weigh up a few more choices.

Before We Start, We Need to Get Clear on Values

Before we choose how we're going to sell a coin or collection, I believe it's really important to determine just how much we're likely to get for them. The best way of doing that is to get clear on what buyers are paying for them, in much the same way I recommend collectors do their own due diligence before buying.

I believe it's fundamental to look only at those that have sold recently, not those that are being advertised for sale. Why? In 2025, an advertised price online is no guide to what a coin will actually sell for. A market that's open to all means a collector can advertise their coin for whatever they like. Some desperadoes that grant themselves the gift of the gab try asking for exponentially more than what their coins are worth, reasoning that even if they only get more than twice what something is worth, they're well in front. Advertised prices from fools like that don't help the rest of us, so we need to filter them out to begin with.

Auction websites (eBay and otherwise) allow you to look at historical prices or sold prices only - they are what we need to look at if we're to get a guide to how the market actually values a coin. We've recorded a link that shows how to look up sold prices on eBay, watch that to see how we recommend you do it. eBay definitely isn't the only place coins are bought and sold, but can be a transparent market if you know how to filter out the liars, thieves and charlatans.

Once you're clear on how much a collector is likely to pay for a coin, you can review each sales option (dealer, auction or marketplace) to see which best suits your situation. Selling them yourself online might increase your return, but the juice might not be worth the squeeze. Consigning them to an auction might take the decision-making out of your hands, but the timeframe to payment and uncertainty about the final price might not be worth the potential premium. Selling outright to a dealer might be quick and easy, but you may leave you with a gnawing feeling you should have done more.

Whichever option you choose, keep in mind the obvious adage that we can't have our cake and eat it too. No option will be perfect, the trick is to pick the alternative that is the best overall solution.