Going through dead uncles attic found coins

I don't collect these, how can you tell it's a dime?

 

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I wasn't to see more too.

 

I don't collect them either, but I assumed it was due to the lack of a denomination marking. Quarters and half dollars both are marked (25c or 50c), I think.

OP, tell your wife that she'll get more money by having it certified and have an easier time selling it. There are probably some folks who would drop 10 G's on a raw coin, but it would probably have to be "in hand" and they either knew what they were doing or liked taking expensive chances.

 

On the dime the top of the eagle's head is aimed up at an angle. On the half dime the top of the eagle head is perfectly horizontal.

 

This coin has die cracks that match a die marriage used for the dime denomination.

 

I think NOT getting it graded would be taking a bigger risk.

 

Post any you have may be Colonial coins !

 

Looks like a 1803 JR-3 Rarity 4 Dime !!

 

Yes you definitely should post whatever else coin wise is in there. Lots of us here can identify it and tell you if it's really good or common. Grading it really isn't risky at all. If you send it in to PCGS or ngc just insure the package for the projected value and they will take care of it. I sent a bulk submission order once that ended up being worth about $30,000 and had no problems and there were 100's of coins in there. If someone buys it raw they will probably buy it at a discount then grade it themselves and resell it and make a really nice profit. The holder also will protect the coin pretty darn well. Just words of advice from my experience. Even some 1700s foreign coins can be valuable so even if you don't think it's American or might not be valuable you could pretty easily be wrong with the older stuff. And older isn't always better either. There's lots of very valuable pre 1900 coins.

 

Lots of the members here are more than willing to supply knowledge, answer questions or help.

 

Here's perhaps a dumb question, but without knowing the coin's diameter, how can anyone be sure if it's a dime or half dime?

 

It may seem 'risky' to spend money to have it graded, but with coins of great value, many times they fetch more once they are authenticated and certified with a grade. Even one grade point can make a huge difference in realized prices. There are a number of dealers who are reputable ones who will be able to see the coin is genuine or not and cleaned or not. But there are others who may tell someone it is less valuable or indicate it doesn't really hold the value it could just so they can purchase it. Grading with a reputable company can generally take those factors out of the equation. Some dealers will help a person submit with the idea that if it comes back graded at such and such a grade, it helps the dealer be able to sell the coin for a marketable price that is fair, and that way the dealer as well as the person bringing in the coin can profit better.

If you are showing this and have other equally untouched items of age and what looks to be collectability, you should (or your wife) should not be cavalier with them. Some items may look to be not worth much, but in the right hands may be identified as quite valuable.

And yes, always bears repeating: NEVER EVER clean a coin you've found (especially in these circumstances) so that the value it has can be retained.

I will give you an example. I had a friend give me 4 coin boards, each filled about 1/2 to nearly full of coins for cents between 1790s and the 1940s. I took them to dealers to sell for him after looking at wholesale pricing for these items based on what I thought the grades were (assuming they were not cleaned or had damage). But unfortunately the person who owned them had actually cleaned almost all the very valuable coins and so the dealers either didn't even want to be bothered with these or gave a much lower quote. I did take the lower amount for them, which I gave to him, because he wanted them sold, but he destroyed a huge amount of value by touching them inappropriately and cleaning the coins, etc. while he owned them. He accepted that as a fact he couldn't change... in fact, he at that point said yes, he had done all that when he was younger. So, what could he change?

If you have a coin or coins which have a possibility of bringing in $$$ for your wife then why toss money in the garbage can by just selling to the first person who might take it and not putting more effort into it?

Just my opinion, not writing this harshly

 

Very nice coin!! Something like this would definitely have to be graded. With that said, I would first take it to a couple of reputable dealers who could give their opinion on it's authenticity and value. good luck!!

 

The design itself. I've collected these and now I can tell within a couple seconds. The easiest ways to tell are the eagle's head as I mentioned above, and also the Y in LIBERTY. On the half dime the Y looks more like a V. And on the dime it looks more like a Y.

 

Also, there are people (not professional coin dealers always) who accept things on consignment for sale (such as myself, for the ebay --- at times ---). If you choose one, choose wisely, because at that point you are effectively 'giving' away your property to be handled and sold and simply have to accept whatever they then give you afterwards. I have been fully honest and upfront with the people I've accepted items to sell for them, but I've also dealt with people who seemed honest, but when the time came they fell short by a long-shot.

That being said, there are a number of people who would act as consignees for an item and if they know their stuff, could pretty much appraise the item and see if it was worth sending in. I think, without knowing more about him, Matt of Lost Dutchman Rare Coins, would fit in that category, based on his activity here and his threads of 'look what walked into the shop' where he shares some of the things that people bring into his store to sell. I do not mention him to put him above others, because I have ideas others are just as fine as he is, but you should check with him or the other guy who offered to either do that or to recommend someone in your area.

 

Thanks for the clarification, CBD and Tom. I must have posted while you two were already answering the same question from someone else.

 

I am relatively new, but I concur with all of the above. I recently inherited my Grandfather's collection about 2 years ago. Don't rush anything. If there is an estate involved, it may all have to inventoried and properly evaluated anyway.

 

If you clean it the slightest bit, even if you can't notice it!!!! At least 60% of the value will be gone!!!

$10,000 coin, only $2,000 if cleaned so do not even think about cleaning it!!!!

 

Watching this one!

Beautiful coin!

 

I've heard other people outside the hobby questioning if having a coin graded is wise or safe. "What if my coin gets switched?" is a common concern.

There should be no such concern with doing this. If you don't want to go through a dealer to send the coin to one of the aforementioned grading services (I would also go with PCGS, but that's just me), you can send the coin yourself, but you may have to pay a fee to join. When you submit it through a member dealer, if they screw up your submission, the grading service may take action against them, which they don't want. If a grading service were to swap coins, the publicity would be ruinous for them. These services are among the most respected names in the industry and have handled billions of $ worth of coins since starting up. Getting that dime graded may cost you $100 or so now, but it is the best thing you can do right now to preserve the coin and ensure that it is easily sold in the future.

I dare say everyone on this list would have that coin in the mail (registered mail for this kind of value) this afternoon or tomorrow.