The things dealers actually ask.

Where do the comps come from?

Public sold records from the venues where this material actually trades, each one normalized back to the spot price on the day it closed. You can see the comp set behind every line and drop a comp you don’t trust.

What if I disagree with a number?

Override it. The line takes your number and records both — yours and what the model said. Nothing argues with you on the next lot, and you can see later which one was right.

Does it work on coins with no metal value?

Yes. Copper, nickel, tokens, paper — melt simply goes to zero and the whole line is premium. Your premium share rules still apply exactly as written.

Is this a POS or an inventory system?

No, and it isn’t trying to be. CounterMint prices lots and issues quotes; it ends where the sale begins. Accepted lines export as CSV so your books and inventory stay where they already are. If you want it to talk to your POS, tell us which one you run.

What if the customer won’t give me an email or a cell number?

Print it. The sheet carries a Quote ID and a six-digit PIN; they enter both at quote.countermint.io and open the same live quote — current pricing, clocks still running, accept or counter from there. Nobody has to hand over contact details to get a working quote.

Can I text a quote instead?

One button composes the message with the live quote link already in it and hands it to your phone’s messaging app. You read it and hit send — there’s no texting platform to buy, no number to register, and the customer’s number never goes to a third party.

What do I need to run it?

A browser. The phone in your pocket, a tablet on the counter, or the machine already sitting there. The customer needs nothing but the link you send — or the printed sheet, if that’s all they’ll take.

Can my staff use it?

Yes, with their own logins. Core covers one location and 8 seats; Multi-Shop covers up to 5 locations and 40 seats. Every line records who quoted it and who priced it, and you choose whether staff names appear on the customer-facing quote.

What if spot moves after I send the quote?

The quote re-prices itself inside limits you set: a dead band so noise never touches the number, a cap on upward movement, and rounding to your threshold. Moves in the customer’s favor land in your review queue unless you decide otherwise.

Can customers counter-offer?

Only if you turn it on. Then you cap how many they get and fence them by band: auto-accept inside a percentage you choose, auto-decline past another, everything in between comes to a person.

Is there a free trial, or is the first month free?

Both describe the same thing: Founding Dealers get their first month free. It is the full product, not a restricted trial — every feature unlocked, no quote ceiling, your own rules and your own branding.

Plainly, on the one detail that matters: it runs through checkout, so a card is on file from the start. We’d rather say that than surprise you. Nothing is charged for the first month, and if you cancel inside it you are not billed at all. After that the founding rate of $50 begins.

Price a month of real lots with it. We’d rather you decide from your own transactions than from a demo.

What does being a Founding Dealer actually get me?

Your first month free, half price for the life of the subscription, and a hand on the roadmap. The beta is capped at fifty because that’s the largest group one person can genuinely listen to — tell us what’s working, what isn’t and what’s missing, and the requests that keep coming up get built. They ship switched off behind your existing settings, so nothing your staff already learned stops working. You stay grandfathered through every release and every future tier.

Can it price a lot from a photograph?

Yes — that is what photo-assisted intake does. Photograph a mixed lot and it separates the pile into individual items, giving each one its own line pre-filled from the detail the image shows: series, year, mint mark, denomination, metal content and weight, plus the grade and holder transcribed from a certification label where one is readable. It is decision support, not identification: CounterMint does not grade, authenticate or appraise, and every line waits on your review before anything reaches a customer.

Does it grade coins?

No, and it never claims to. Where a coin is already certified and the label is readable in the photograph, that label’s detail is transcribed onto the line. On raw material the grade is your call — CounterMint gives you the melt arithmetic, the premium evidence and a place to record the judgment you make.

How is the numismatic premium actually calculated?

Every comparable sale is normalized back to the spot price on the day it closed, so the metal component can be stripped out and only the premium remains. Outliers are fenced statistically rather than dropped by eye. You then decide what share of that premium you pay — by series, by grade, or not at all on generics.

What is the difference between implied and realistic premium?

Implied premium comes from prices currently being asked in the open market: aspirational, and consistently higher than what trades. Realistic premium comes from completed sales. CounterMint shows both, builds the offer on the realistic figure, and the gap between them is usually the entire conversation with a seller.

Does it handle bullion and scrap gold?

Yes. Bullion prices off metal content against your buy band by product, with spot context refreshing under every open quote. Scrap prices off karat, weight and your payout percentage. Both can sit on the same itemized offer as numismatic lines, which matters because mixed lots are the norm.

Does it handle paper currency?

Yes. Notes have no melt floor, so the whole line is premium and the comparable evidence carries all the weight. Coins and currency can appear on one offer sheet rather than two.

Where do the spot prices come from?

Redundant market feeds, refreshing about once a minute under every open quote, in your shop’s timezone. They are provider-delayed and are not an exchange feed or an executable quote. If a feed goes quiet the quote says so instead of guessing.

Can I see the market history, not just the current price?

Each metal carries its own interactive chart. Hover any point for the price at that moment and change the window to read the direction and range before you commit a band on a large lot.

Is my pricing data used to train anything or sold on?

No. Your buy bands, premium shares, offers and customer records are not brokered, resold, or aggregated into a product we sell to somebody else. You can export everything to CSV whenever you want and close your account with your data intact.

I’m a collector, not a dealer — can I use it?

Not today. CounterMint is professional dealer software and there is no collector version, no consumer valuation tool and no appraisal service. If you are trying to understand what a collection is worth before visiting a shop, the collector guide explains how the numbers are built, and you can register interest there if a collector version would be useful.

Does it replace my price references?

No. CounterMint is not a price guide and is not a substitute for the professional references you already price against. It is the workflow around the decision: organizing the lot, applying your rules, showing the market context, and producing the offer sheet.

Will it work with my point-of-sale?

It ends where the sale begins, and accepted lines export as CSV so your books and inventory stay where they are. If you want a direct connection to a particular system, tell us which one you run — founding dealers set that order.

How long does setup take?

One sitting. Buy bands off melt by series and grade, your premium share, the two clocks, and the reality-check wording in your own voice. After that it’s one quote at a time.

Will it price a lot I haven’t sorted?

It prices what you enter. Bulk generics go in as a count and a weight against your melt band; anything with a premium worth arguing about goes in as its own line. Most raw lots end up a handful of lines and one bulk row.

I’m outside the US.

Metals price in your currency and your timezone. The sold-comp coverage is strongest for US material right now, and we’d rather tell you that than let you find out on a lot that matters.

What’s the catch with founding pricing?

None that we can find. First 50 shops, a free first month, then half price for as long as the subscription stays continuous. What we want in exchange is that you tell us when a number is wrong.