Posted on 09/22/2008 3:18:31 PM PDT by twistedwrench
I have inherited a coin collection, How do I go about getting info on the coins and appraised? I am in the process of trying to catalog and photograph the coins.
Any info on who to contact or FReeper’s with this interest or knowledge,would be greatly appreciated.
TW
I’m dealing with the same issue and have no idea where to begin. Thanks in advance.
I dont think coin collections are worth what they used to be, but good luck with it.
Try selling them on EBay one at a time.
Send me all of the gold and silver ones and I will weed out the junk and return ‘the good ones’ for you to sell. :)
It depends on what type. Numismatists tend to specialise on particular kinds of coins...
Gaining that knowledge you have at least an idea of their replacement value.
Find a registered Stamp/Coin dealer in your local phone book. Make sure that they are a member of the professional organization that should have the words American Neumistmatists (sp. is wrong) in it.
They should be licensed, bonded, and a member of the professional organization.
They can do an appraisal of the value of your collection. It will cost but it is worth it, esp. if you have silver and gold coins in it. Gold coins are worth a fortune today because of their gold content and because of the historical value/rarity of gold coins.
If you can, have two different stores check you collection, esp. if it is a large one.
You need to have people who know the business help you to understand just what you have.
Do not sell on Ebay, at least not during the appraisal phase.
Also, your bank might have a financial investment advisor who can give you free advise on what to do with the collection once it is appraised.
I collect stamps but have a small coin collection, mainly for educational value. However, I have kept about 8 silver dollars my grandfather gave me over 50 years ago, and they are valuable. They will go to my grandchildren as a way of preserving something of our past.
I would look each up individually on Ebay first just to get an idea of their worth and then see about getting them graded by an established independent company (like ICG) if they aren’t already.
Congratulations!
pay no attention to YouPosting2Me (I'm sure he is not serious)
y advise is to go to ebay and check all current prices.
Most large cities have a coin shop. They are stocked with reference books (particularly American coins) that will help you determine the grade [Google: Photograde] and hence value of your coins [Google: Whitman Coin Redbook]. Some coin dealers may also show you a copy of the dealer “gray sheet”, a weekly updated list of actual buy/sell prices. If you are going to sell them on eBay, take extremely sharp and well-lit macro close-up pictures so that buyers can really see what you are selling, because poor pictures are suspect.
I represent a coin appraiser in Nigeria that has fallen on difficult times because of government regulations that require probate forwarding of malprophisms and lucky charms, who can be of mutual beneficial interest to us.
Accordingly, it has come to our attention that you should forward . . .
Don’t rush into anything. Before I sold my collection, I asked around ... and found a local guy who was well established, honest and knowledgeable. When you meet the *right* person, I think you’ll know it.
Don’t leave them with anyone you don’t trust or have a funny feeling about.
I was fortunate, interviewed several people, and the guy I went with spent 6 hours going over the coins [all US including gold, silver and paper]. I had a full inventory when he left with 400# of stuff!
He sold some of it outright, some on eBay and some to people he knew in the business. It took a better part of year for him to get rid of them, and he’d send me a check once a month with full explanation of what he had done.
Good luck.
Coin collecting is full of traps. Local dealers will RAPE YOU IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING.
Coin grading is an art and not a science. Dealers will always grade your coins lower than they really are.
1. Wheaty pennies are mostly worthless.
2. Silver dollars, half dollars, quarters, and dimes pre-1964 have high silver content. Between 64 and 69, they still have 50%. They may be worth more as “junk” silver than collectables.
3. Get estimates from dealers, but don’t sell to them. For all expensive coins go here:
http://www.pcgs.com/
They will grade your coin and encase it in plastic with a bar code. These coins are easily traded on the internet. (I wouldn’t bother for a coin worth less than $100.
bump
I apologize, I don’t know how to reply to all of you at the same time,
I love FR.
So much great advise and humor. I am more interested in passing
them down, but with more detail. Maybe by chance if one of them
is important, I could go on display rather than sitting in the dark.
Again thanks for all the help
Ebay has become the largest de facto coin market. There, you can look up [via “view completed auctions”] what a sampling of your coins are worth, meaning what actual examples have actually sold for. Some nice shiny coins aren’t worth much. Some beat up coins might be worth a “lot”. Is there a “theme” to your particular collection? Early American coins? Silver Dollars? Ancient bronze coins? 20th century US coins? European coins? Get an idea of any such theme.
Another point of reference: go to www.coinshows.com and see if there is a coin show anywhere near you in the near future. Go and visit and bring some samples, if you so desire. Or, seek out sellers selling things like what you have. You’re not very likely to get their asking prices; dealers tend to be optimistic. If there is a dealer near you, as some have suggested, you may wish to take him some samples. I’d suggest you do at leat some research before doing that. Some dealers are listed on the programs for the coin shows, and generally, I have found that these are reputable guys who won’t try to rip you off. But they DO need to make a living.
You may want to get a copy of the “Grey Sheets” which are a listing of what recents slaes of coins have gone for. The problem with this is, if you’re not astute as to coin grading, your estimations could be way way off. Condition is EVERYTHING unless you have one-in-a-thousand or one-in-ten-thousand coins. In general, US coins have to be in UNBELIEVABLE condition to be worth all that much, unless they are certain very rare dates or older than say 1870. You can buy common date silver dollars in pretty decent shiny shape from the late 1870’s for $16 all day long. Ahhh, but if they were made in Carson City, NV [”CC” mintmark under the Eagle’s butt] they could be worth 50 times that, in much worse condition.
If the coins are all loose in a jar or coffee can, it is VERY unlikely you’ll have really rare coins. Just remember that really rare coins are.....really rare!
DO NOT tell people you know that you have valuable coins lying around.
Start with ebay, that’s my low-cost suggestion.
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