How to Set Starting Bids and Estimates for Coin Lots

To set starting bids and estimates for coin lots, start from each coin's value and set each amount as a percent of it: a low and a high estimate around the value, a starting bid well below the low estimate, and a reserve only on coins where a low sale would hurt. Round every amount to a bidding step so the numbers look deliberate. Then save the percents as a template, so the next catalog uses the same method.

Pricing one coin by feel is fine. Pricing 1,800 lots by feel takes days and gives inconsistent results. A method you can apply to every coin, then adjust by hand where it is wrong, is faster and fairer.

The four prices on an auction lot

Price	What it is	Who sees it
Value	What you think the coin is worth today	Only you
Estimate (low to high)	Where you expect bidding to finish	Bidders
Starting bid	The first bid you accept	Bidders
Reserve	The lowest price you will sell for	Usually hidden

Everything below starts from the value. If your values are stale, every price that follows is wrong, so check values against recent auction results for the date, grade, and service before you price the sale.

How to set the estimate

The estimate is a range that tells bidders where you expect the coin to finish. A common method is a low estimate a little below the value and a high estimate a little above it.

For a coin valued at $4,500, an estimate of 80% to 110% of value gives a low of $3,600 and a high of $4,950.

Keep the range tight on coins with lots of recent sales, where you know the price. Widen it on rare coins with few comparable sales.

How to set the starting bid

The starting bid opens bidding. A low start draws more early bids, and early bids draw more bidders. A start too high scares bidders off, and the lot passes with no bids.

Many dealers set the start at a share of the value, often well under half for coins with a deep market. For the $4,500 coin, a start at 40% of value is $1,800.

The risk of a low start is a coin selling cheap when few people bid. That is what the reserve is for.

How to set the reserve

A reserve is the lowest price you will take. If bidding stays below it, the lot passes. Use a reserve when:

• The coin belongs to a consignor who set a minimum.
• You paid close to the value and a low sale would lose money.
• The coin is rare and few bidders may show up.

A good source for the reserve is your cut bid: the lowest price you would accept for the coin in any channel. For the $4,500 coin with a cut bid of $3,800, the reserve is $3,800.

Do not set a reserve on every lot. Bidders learn which sellers reserve everything and bid elsewhere.

Round to a bidding step

A start of $1,837.50 looks like a formula. A start of $1,800 looks like a decision. Round each amount to a step that fits its size, for example:

Amount	Round to
Under $100	$5
$100 to $999	$25
$1,000 to $9,999	$100
$10,000 and up	$500

Platforms set their own bid increments, so a start that matches the platform's steps avoids an odd first bid. Check the increment table of the platform you sell on.

Worked example: three coins, one method

Method: low estimate 80% of value, high estimate 110%, start 40%, reserve at the cut bid when there is one. Amounts rounded to the steps above.

Coin	Value	Low	High	Start	Reserve
1893-S Morgan dollar, PCGS VF-20	$4,500	$3,600	$5,000	$1,800	$3,800
1916-D Mercury dime, PCGS G-4	$1,000	$800	$1,100	$400	none
1921 Peace dollar, PCGS MS-63	$310	$250	$350	$125	none

The high estimate of the Morgan, 110% of $4,500, is $4,950; rounded to the nearest $100 step it is $5,000. Pick one rounding rule and use it on every coin. The Peace dollar's start, 40% of $310, is $124; the $25 step makes it $125.

Pricing hundreds of lots at once

For a full catalog:

1. Check the values. Sort by value and look at the top 10% by hand. They carry most of the sale.
2. Apply the method to every coin: estimates, start, and reserve from the value and cut bid.
3. Fix the exceptions. Coins with no value get no automatic price; price them by hand. Coins where the formula is wrong, such as a key date with strong demand, get a manual change.
4. Save the method. Next month, the same percents give the same kind of catalog.

A different method per platform is normal. A platform with deep coin bidding may support lower starts; a smaller one may need starts closer to value.

When to price by hand

A percent of value works for most of a coin catalog. Some coins need a person:

• Key dates and rarities. A 1916-D Mercury dime has a deep market and a known price; a rare variety with three sales in ten years does not. Set its estimate from the sales you can find, and say in the description where the estimate comes from.
• Coins with a CAC sticker or a strong eye appeal. They often sell above the grade's usual price. A formula built on the grade will start them too low.
• Problem coins. Cleaned, damaged, or details-graded coins sell well under the grade's price. Start them low and skip the reserve, or sell them another way.
• Lots of several coins. A roll or a set is priced as a group. Check that the value on the lot is for the whole lot, not one coin.
• Coins that passed before. Use the last result, not the value. See what to do with unsold coin auction lots.

Sort the catalog by value and give the top coins, often a small share of the lots and a large share of the money, a manual check before you export.

Common mistakes

• Starts at the value. Few bids, many passes.
• Reserves on everything. Bidders stop coming.
• Stale values. Every derived price is off by the same error.
• No rounding. Odd numbers look careless.
• One method for every platform. Sell-through differs by platform; so should the start.

How CoinManagerPro sets the prices

In CoinManagerPro, a listing template for an outside auction catalog saves the platform, how you sell, the buyer's premium, and the platform fee, with the low estimate, high estimate, and start price as a percent of each coin's value. You can set the reserve to the coin's cut bid. Each amount is rounded to a bidding step.

On the Unpublished coins page you select up to 2,000 coins and choose New catalog from template. CoinManagerPro makes the platform sale and adds the coins as lots with the prices filled in; a coin without a value gets no estimate or start price, so you set those by hand. Then you preview the catalog and export it for the platform, now or on a schedule. An eBay template works the same way for eBay listings, with a percent change to each coin's recommended price. The unsold coins and listing templates help article has the steps.