Where to Get the Best Price When Poly C. Gilmore Flew the Coop: eBay or Coin Shows?

The Venue You Choose to Sell Your Item Can Drastically Affect Your Net Profit

The venue you choose to sell your item can drastically affect your net profit. I see it all the time. So let’s compare the modern digital market to the traditional dealer bourse floor — honestly, coin by coin.

I’ve examined thousands of transactions in my career as an online coin dealer. I can tell you this with absolute certainty: the same coin, in the same grade, in the same holder, can net you 30%, 50%, or even 70% more depending on where you sell it. It is not just about the hammer price. It is about fees, taxes, shipping, insurance, returns, time, and the very real psychology of the buyer standing — or not standing — in front of you.

This question came up again recently in a collector forum thread titled “It appears Poly C. Gilmore Flew The Coop!” What started as a simple question about a PCGS submission address changing — some forms saying “PCGS,” others saying “Polly C. Gilmore” — quickly turned into a debate about which address was correct and whether a package would actually process. PCGS staff eventually clarified to use Polly C. Gilmore and said the team was working to align the documents.

For a seller, that little forum confusion is actually the perfect starting point for our larger discussion. Before you ever list a coin on eBay or walk a bourse floor, you have to decide: is it graded, is it properly attributed, and is it ready for the market you are about to enter? A coin that is not ready will underperform in both venues, but for very different reasons. On eBay, a poorly photographed, ungraded coin gets lost in search. At a coin show, a dealer will offer you a conservative buy price because he has to assume the risk you are unwilling to take.

In my experience grading and selling both online and in person for over two decades, there is no single “best” place to sell. There is only the best place for a specific coin, at a specific time, with a specific seller profile. Let’s break down the economics, the etiquette, and the strategy — the way I actually use them.

eBay: The Global Auction Floor With a Very Real Toll

eBay remains the largest liquidity pool for coins in the world. If you have a truly rare, high-value piece — a 1793 Flowing Hair cent in VF, a 1916-D Mercury dime in MS-65, a key-date Morgan dollar VAM — the global audience is unmatched. But liquidity comes at a cost, and as an online dealer I calculate that cost on every single listing. A coin with a sharp strike, original luster, honest patina, and real eye appeal will pull that global audience in. A dull, cleaned example will not.

The Fee Stack You Must Calculate Before You List

New sellers are often shocked by the final fee stack. It is not just the final value fee. As of my most recent sales in 2024-2025, here is what I actually pay on a typical $500 coin sale:

• Final Value Fee: 13.25% for most collectibles categories, plus a $0.30 per-order fee. For coins and currency, this is the baseline.
• Payment Processing: Managed payments are included in that fee, but you also absorb sales tax collection and remittance headaches in many states.
• Shipping and Insurance: For anything over $200, I ship USPS Priority or Registered with full insurance and signature confirmation. That is $12 to $35 per coin, non-negotiable if you want to protect your reputation.
• Returns and Chargebacks: Even with “no returns” policies, eBay’s buyer protection means a coin can come back for “not as described” — especially if your photos are poor or your grading is generous.
• Promoted Listings: If you want visibility for a common-date coin, you will pay another 2% to 8% to boost it.

On that $500 sale, you are realistically netting $410 to $425 before shipping. On a $2,000 coin, the percentage stays the same, but the dollar loss grows. That is the price of global reach. I do the math before I list. Every time.

Online Reputation Is Your Currency

On eBay, your feedback score is everything. I’ve built my online reputation one carefully described listing at a time: honest grading, true-to-life photos under natural light, and prompt shipment with tracking uploaded the same day. I also note provenance when I know it — an old collection, a family estate, a documented find. That history builds trust. One negative for slow shipping or one return for a cleaned coin can tank your visibility for months.

Buyers on eBay cannot hold a coin. They rely entirely on your reputation and your return policy. That means as a seller, you must be more conservative in your grading than you would be in person. If I describe a coin as “Choice AU-58, original surfaces,” I need three obverse and three reverse photos that prove it. If I overgrade, the return rate — and the reputational damage — will erase any short-term gain.

The advantage, however, is undeniable: eBay creates competitive bidding. Two collectors in Ohio and Oregon who would never meet at a show will bid against each other at 9 p.m. on a Sunday night. For a coin with a strong collector base, that auction pressure can push a coin 20% to 40% above dealer buy price.

Coin Shows: The Bourse Floor and the Art of the Dealer Buy Price

Walking a coin show bourse floor is a completely different world. The air smells of old holders and coffee. The lights are bright. And the negotiation is face-to-face, immediate, and highly social. You can see the luster under the light. You can judge the strike in hand. That matters.

Coin Show Etiquette That Protects Your Price

If you are new to shows, etiquette matters more than you think. Dealers talk. They remember who is fair, who is knowledgeable, and who tries to “sell” a coin by arguing. In my experience, the sellers who get the best prices follow a simple code:

1. Never open with your asking price. Let the dealer examine the coin first. Hand it over with the obverse facing them, and say, “I’d appreciate your opinion and an offer if you’re interested.”
2. Do not interrupt an examination. A good dealer will turn a coin under light for 30 to 60 seconds. Let him. Rushing signals insecurity.
3. Do not shop your coin to five dealers at once. Pick two or three reputable specialists for your series. Dealers dislike being used as a free appraisal service while you sell to their neighbor.
4. Be prepared to walk away politely. A simple “Thank you for looking, I think I’ll hold it for now” preserves the relationship for the next show.
5. Never handle coins from a dealer’s case without permission. Always ask, and always hold by the edges of the holder.

When you follow that etiquette, you signal that you are a serious collector, not a flipper. That signal alone can improve a dealer offer by 5% to 10%.

Understanding Dealer Buy Prices: Wholesale Is Not Retail

This is the most misunderstood part of selling at shows. When a dealer offers you 60% to 70% of retail for a common-date coin, he is not insulting you. He is offering you a wholesale price because he must then grade it, photograph it, list it, pay show table rent ($400 to $800 per show), travel, and wait for the right retail buyer — who may not come for six months.

For a generic MS-63 Morgan dollar that retails at $80, a fair dealer buy might be $45 to $55. For a key-date coin that retails at $1,500, a dealer might offer $1,050 to $1,200 because he knows he can move it quickly. The spread is always there, but it narrows dramatically for rare, certified, and correctly attributed coins. True numismatic value is not just catalog price. It is condition, strike, surfaces, and collectibility in today’s market.

The trade-off is speed and certainty. You walk out with cash or a check in 15 minutes. No shipping, no waiting for payment to clear, no return window. For an estate lot or a collection you need to liquidate quickly, that liquidity at a show is worth the discount.

Liquidity: Fast Money vs. Maximum Money

Every seller must decide: do I need money now, or do I want the most money possible?

Coin shows offer immediate liquidity. I’ve bought entire collections on a Saturday morning and sold individual pieces by Sunday afternoon. The bourse is a market of immediacy. If you have a coin show coming up in your region — a major ANA World’s Fair, a FUN show in Florida, or a regional show in your state — you can convert coins to cash in a single day.

eBay offers slower liquidity but a higher ceiling. A fixed-price listing might sit for 30, 60, or 90 days. An auction ends in 7 or 10 days, but you must wait for payment, ship, and hope the buyer does not file a claim. For a $5,000 coin, that waiting period and risk window is significant.

In my experience grading coins for resale, I use this rule: if the coin is worth under $200 and is common, the show is almost always better after eBay fees and shipping are factored in. If the coin is worth over $500 and is either rare, certified, or has a strong rare variety — a VAM-4 Top 50 Morgan, a 1955 Doubled Die cent, a 1937-D 3-legged buffalo nickel — eBay’s global pool will almost always beat a dealer’s wholesale offer.

The PCGS Factor: Why That “Poly C. Gilmore” Thread Matters to Sellers

Let’s return to that forum thread, because it reveals a critical step that both eBay sellers and show sellers often skip: proper certification before sale.

When collectors were confused about whether to ship to “PCGS” or “Polly C. Gilmore,” it highlighted how many submitters were working from outdated printouts. As an online dealer, I have seen submissions delayed for weeks because an address was wrong, a form was old, or a variety attribution was not requested. That delay costs you money — your coin is in transit limbo instead of on the market.

Before you sell anywhere, ask these questions:

• Is the coin in a current, genuine PCGS or NGC holder with a verifiable cert number?
• Has the variety been attributed? A 1921 Morgan dollar is $50. A 1921 Morgan dollar VAM-1A1, VAM-3, or VAM-4 is $150 to $400. Attribution is profit.
• Is the grade conservative? A PCGS AU-58 with original luster will sell faster on eBay than an NGC MS-62 with hairlines that will get returned.
• Are your submission forms current? Use the online submission portal, not an old PDF. The forum confusion proves old documents create real problems.

A certified coin sells for more on eBay because buyers trust the holder. A certified coin sells for more at a show because dealers trust the holder and will offer a stronger buy price. Certification is the great equalizer — it removes the grading argument from both venues. It also protects the coin’s provenance and surfaces, from mint condition examples down to honest circulated pieces.

Which Venue for Which Coin? A Dealer’s Decision Framework

After years of selling in both places, I have developed a simple framework I share with clients:

Sell on eBay When:

• The coin is rare, key-date, or has a major variety or error.
• You have excellent photos and a strong feedback history.
• You can wait 7 to 30 days for payment and accept the fee structure.
• The coin is certified by PCGS or NGC with a CAC sticker or strong eye appeal.
• Your target buyer is a national or international specialist collector.

Sell at a Coin Show When:

• The coin is common-date, lower value, or part of a large lot.
• You need immediate liquidity for an estate, tax, or purchase.
• The coin is raw and you want multiple expert opinions in person.
• You value the social network and want to build dealer relationships.
• You want to avoid shipping risk on a high-value coin.

The Hybrid Strategy I Recommend

My most successful strategy is hybrid. I bring my best certified inventory to major shows to build relationships and get quick offers. If a dealer offers 70% of retail, I often take it for speed. For the coins where the offer is 50% or less, I take them home, photograph them properly, and list them on eBay as fixed-price or auction items with a reserve that reflects the show offer. That way, the show price becomes my floor, not my ceiling.

I’ve examined this approach with hundreds of coins. The hybrid method consistently nets 15% to 25% more than selling exclusively in one venue.

Conclusion: Collectibility Is Proven in the Market You Choose

The debate between eBay and coin shows will never be fully settled, because both venues serve a vital purpose in the numismatic ecosystem. eBay democratized access to rare coins and created a transparent, global price discovery mechanism. Coin shows preserve the human element — the handshake, the loupe, the conversation about a coin’s history that no listing description can replicate.

What that forum thread about Poly C. Gilmore reminded us is that the market rewards preparation. Whether your submission goes to the correct PCGS address or your coin goes to the correct venue, preparation is profit. Grade honestly, attribute correctly, photograph truthfully, and understand the fees and etiquette of the floor you choose to stand on.

As an online coin dealer, I respect both markets. I list on eBay because my buyers are everywhere. I attend shows because my best suppliers, my best customers, and my best education are there in person. The smartest sellers do not choose one side and defend it forever. They learn the economics of both, they build a reputation in both, and they let the coin itself — its rarity, its condition, its story — tell them where it will achieve its true value.

Your next coin deserves that kind of thoughtful placement. Choose the venue not by habit, but by math, by timing, and by the coin in your hand.

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