A true noob, I'm wondering about general coin 'worth'. Specifically, I saw a website called Cointrackers that had supposedly up-to-the-minute values listed for just about any coin out there. It stated values for many of my late-60s thru 70s & 80s Washington quarters at at least $1 (none are high quality--all just generally circulated). I'm wondering if this is a price that dealers pay for these coins or if it would be up to the individual to sell them to obtain this 'worth'. Thoughts? Thanks kindly, Dawn
well, a dealer will always buy bullion for less than melt, and sell it at melt or sometimes with a small premium, it varies. Honestly, how that site values coins is very vague. the best way for you to value your coins is to pick up a 2012 Redbook. Generally, the prices are a bit inflated, but it will give you a general idea how to grade coins and determine their value.
Washington quarters from 1965 to present can be obtained from sorting rolls of Q from a bank. Value, 25 cents each. There is no extra value to circulated quarters 1965 to present. Sorry.
Thanks cookiemonster12--I'll pick up one of those guides. And mecha1166, that's what I was wondering! Thanks kindly...
You're welcome! Rolls from banks can yield silver coins, which any silver coin is valuable. I pull a lot of wheat pennies, 1 per roll or two. Good deal for a penny each.
As previously stated, common circulated coins don't generally have a value greater than the coin itself. If you have a "variety" or an "error", it can bring a premium. That's why we roll search.
Bearing in mind, of course, that Redbook price guide is 20% higher than actual FMV for everything, including bullion coins. The best way to see what your coins would be worth is to check eBay completed listings, more of the BINs than auctions because auctions are crazy at times with out of control bidding. You also need to realize that the true value of any coin is only what someone is willing to pay for it. Heavily circulated Washingtons, 1965 to present, unless it is a rare error, is realistically worth face value.
I view it as a little more complicated than that. My default view on price guides is the common stuff will be way overvalued, sometimes 100%. The middle material is about right, and the high end stuff usually undervalued. There are various theories as to why this is, but as a generality seems to hold true fairly well. Chris
Really? Funny, that didn't come up as one of the 'rare' ones in my search of 'valuable' coins... Bummer, just cashed in $80 of quarters!
Actually, it's not complicated at all. By the time Redbook has been printed, shipped, and placed on store shelves, the prices quoted in the guide are already way off the mark, on everything. It's not accurate pricing for coins. Great info on coins, probably considered to be bible of coins by most, but not the price guide section.
But my point sir was its not uniformly out of date pricing. I bet you could go back to a 1980 red book and the price of common, non silver coins would be higher then that you can still buy them for today. You are correct all price guides are out of date by the time they are printed, but my point was a little different. Btw, I would call the redbook the US coin beginner's bible, not the "bible of coins". As an advanced collector I would rather have Breen if I have only one US book, and there are hundreds of other "bibles" depending on what coins you are collecting. Chris
