Starck Reality: Using eBay Sales Results When Pricing Coins

We recently updated pricing for the coins Puerto Rico issued just before the U.S. administration of the island, following the Spanish-American War.

In updating the pricing for the Numismaster.com database, it became clear that sometimes certain sources can’t be counted on for accurate information. At least one data point is eBay.

That sales platform has allowed hundreds of millions of dollars of world coins to be presented to a global audience over the last 25 years, and is an important source for pricing items that aren’t regularly featured in major auction houses.

That is not to say we don’t look at those listings with a critical eye. In pricing the 1895 silver peso of Puerto Rico, it quickly becomes clear that some eBay results could skew the pricing if we weren’t vigilant.

The site is littered with sales of this key coin for about $40 each, from sellers around the world. All these sellers have relatively low or even no feedback at the time of the sale. Meanwhile, an American-based seller’s sale of an example encapsulated and graded About Uncirculated-50 by Numismatic Guaranty Co., for $815, does help us in confirming the pricing.

Based on that and similar sales records and records in major auctions, we held the line for the price of the coin at $950 in the AU-50 grade. We adjusted prices downward for coins in Very Fine, Extremely Fine, and Mint State grades, but the $40 sales results were immaterial in this exercise.

The odds are extremely high that those examples are counterfeits, given that the coin’s value makes it a target for fakes, the sellers have low feedback, and they are not in pockets of the world where such numismatic activity is expected.

Sales of counterfeits never factor into pricing legitimate coins, but someone new to the hobby may be confused by the disparity between online sales results and Numismaster.com pricing. When such disparity exists, it’s probably for good reason.