Collectors should sell a few coins just to learn the process.

Many never sell anything and let their collections get out of control. Many never sell until they have to and don't know where to start.

Just learning the postal service can drive you crazy. Registered Insured is really fun. The package must be sealed in just the right way with the proper tape. Every seam on the box must be sealed. There is a small form that needs to be filled out for the clerk and you must have an insurance value. That requires you to grade and research the value of each coin to come up with a total.

Next is knowing how to market each coin. Some coins need to be graded by a TPG service and auction services may only take some brands of holders. Most grading services will crack coins out of off brand holders for you and grade them based on their grading standards. Each service has rules on what varieties they will show on the label for free and what attributions you must pay more for. They charge for that research.

Some coins are not worth all the fees and others are well worth the cost. Lots to learn if you wish to get the most out of your collection.

Please feel free to post other important factors of selling.

 

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I agree. Selling some stuff is the only real way of knowing what coins are worth. Price guide prices are inflated for sure.

 

Thanks Larry - I hadn't known that regarding the taping of all seams. I guess I'm lucky that I never had to make a claim. I'll know better going forward.

 

A lot of them that don't sell anything are the ones who, sadly, think that their common coins are worth a lot of money. With me, there's times I really want to sell stuff, which is why I'll price items quite low. I don't hold onto it thinking its value is gonna skyrocket in the next few years; unfortunately that is the case with a lot of these new collectors. Here's a scenario:

A collector has a stash of clad half dollars, and after looking them up and a place saying they could be worth as much as $15, he wants to sell them for $15 because he says they're worth it. He also has overpriced Ikes, SBAs, and "gold" dollars, all of which are circulated and worth little over face. Other coins include a low-grade Barber dime for $25, as he says it's XF (the average collector can tell it's an AG), an 1875-CC dime for $300 (he says it's worth every penny because it's from Carson City, when it's truly tied with 1876 10C for most affordable CC coin, and I've gotten one for $10 in the same condition). He also has Buffalo nickels, Indian Head cents, and wheat cents, which are all overpriced. After selling nothing, he wonders why, and after buying a copy of the Greysheet, he realizes that many of his coins are ones that should literally be turned back into the bank.

I have actually seen something along the lines of this. A vendor in a flea market in eastern Kentucky wanted $3 for half dollars (clad, of course), when you could spend a better $3 giving your mom the scare of her life in a roller coaster simulator at the mall. Buffalo nickels were $2 each (most were dateless), uncirculated clad Roosevelts were $6 (I've gotten better looking coins from the laundromat) and a circulated PDS set of steel cents was $30. I can get that for 30 cents at my local coin shop.

When I'm selling coins, the Greysheet goes out the window. I try to offer the best prices on coins, like $1.25 for war nickels (at my coin club, I've sold 24 in the past 2 months), and slabbed coins at lower prices. I think once someone gets familiar with collecting rarer stuff, they will too.

 

Curious if you have ever made a claim and if so how complicated was that process? Do you use FedEx or postal?

 

Larry.... Were you speaking directly to me perchance?

 

Absolutely

 

This is great advice. The selling experience has also taught me some things I needed to know about BUYING for my collection. Ferinstance, a coin's not a "bargain" if you can't sell it for what you have in it. It's better for me to win a high-demand coin, even if it means paying up a bit at auction. Quality will hold value!

 

As will we all… @ldhair …great info!

Selling to an individual buyer versus prepping for an auction house are 2 different animals, and both have their pros and cons. For both the seller needs to know his coin and its’ value: grade and attributes. This takes time to accomplish properly. There’s a huge difference between a 1893-S Morgan and the run of the mill 1921 PDS Morgans, for instance. Auction houses will fall over themselves to get a piece of the action on the former and may outright reject any action on the latter. Know your coin.

Whereas for an individual buyer, the seller must guarantee the coin is as advertised and is on the hook if the buyer has a disagreement upon receipt. If you are a dealer it is paramount otherwise reputations are at stake.

Selling can be and is challenging, but it is a learned skill and done properly, legally and honestly there are no shortcuts.

Thanks again to ldhair…imo…Spark

 

With registered mail it is a requirement. The postal clerk will ask you to fix it and come back or if it is slow they may fix it for you. The clerk has to put an ink stamp on every seam of the tape. The tape has to be the paper type with the threads through it. Plastic tape won't work. The ink stamp will rub off. All of this is to be sure that the package has not been messed with.

 

Not really. I just keep seeing folks that need to sell fast and figure out that it's not all that easy to do it right.

 

Way to blow up a great dream, Larry! Thanks a lot!

 

Good thread, Larry! I too believe that any serious collector should dip their toes in the selling end of the pond at some point. It does give a whole new perspective on the hobby. I've sold through many venues in my collecting adventure, eBay, Teletrade, Great Collections, and even set up as a dealer at numerous shows, to name a few.

Full disclosure; I am currently back in the "letting my collection get out of control" phase.

 

Oh I know... I was teasing really.... I am probably this sites worst coin hoarder. I really should become a bit more attuned to selling considering my rapidly advancing years.... Just feels like selling my kids.

 

Since Larry brought it up, and I have a submission going out today, figured I would show you guys what a properly taped registered mail package looks like.



For those of you who sell coins and use the post office regularly, you may notice that the size of my package matches a USPS Small Flat Rate Box, and the postal clerks will notice this as well. Occasionally, I run into the "company" clerk who charges me extra for Priority Mail, but the nice ones will let me use First Class Mail and save me a few bucks.

 

I'm still in the acquiring phase. I have traded bullion for coins, for example, a pattern nickel that I liked. As for everything else, I record the purchase listing dealer, date of purchase, grade, and cost etc. on a spread sheet. This is for my heirs so that they at least have a starting point for when they decide to off load the collection.

 

Informative thread, thanks Larry.

I think some collectors know deep down that their coins aren’t worth all that much. But they are happy to think the collection is great and don’t want the bubble to burst by selling any.

Actually, these days, you don’t have to use the old soak-it-in-water paper tape with threads in it for registered mail. There are self-adhesive paper tapes that are acceptable. The big deal about not using plastic tape is the ink from the clerk’s stamp might not stick to it, and masking tape is too weak. I use Intertape (Intertape Polymer Group, aka IPG) 9341 Kraft Paper Carton Sealing Tape, which meets USPS requirements. See the pic. Available on Amazon and elsewhere. I was introduced to it by a postal clerk and have shown it to other clerks who were grateful to know about it. Always take the roll with you to the PO in case you encounter a clerk who is unfamiliar with it or in case some additional taping is needed.

The entire registered parcel does not need to be covered with tape, just the seams and all printing on the cardboard including logos. Shipping and return addresses should be written on the cardboard or tape. Separate address labels are not allowed.

I use private insurance. One advantage is I write zero for value on the registered paperwork. I’ve had clerks ask why I’m shipping something of no value via registered mail when there are cheaper alternatives. I tell them there are business papers inside (not a lie) which have no intrinsic value but need to get to the destination without fail.

Some clerks will try to sell you faster delivery postage, like priority or express. Usually these won’t result in faster delivery because registered goes at its own speed due to security measures.

Cal

 

Collectors should know how some dealers treat collector sellers. Some dealers have a policy, “I pay less to the public.” Really?

When I was a dealer, I paid according to how easily I could sell the coin. If a collector was offering a coin that I needed, I’d pay him or her the same as I would pay a dealer. Do you ever wonder why some dealers have a boring inventory? Maybe it’s because they won’t pay decent money to “the public.”

That being said, collectors need to realize that when they try to sell better items that should be certified, you are going to get less. They dealer has to reduce what he pays by the certification costs (grading cost plus shipping to and from the TPG) plus a “risk factor” for not getting grade you expect.

 

I will leave the selling of coins to others, at least for the foreseeable future. I have respect for those who sell for a living and the work involved to delivery a quality product to this or any other seller.