Hi, I was wondering what my collection is worth roughly. I bought it in 2008 and it has nickels from 1938 to 2007 with open slots going to 2013. I'm trying to sell it now and am getting flooded with questions like if it's uncirculated and if it's a complete set with mintmarks or a year set. How can I tell these things? I'm afraid I don't know anything about coins and was hoping someone could help. Thanks.
Just from counting the coins, I can tell what you have is a year set. The mintmarks on the coins from 1938 to 1964 have mintmarks on the tails' side (reverse) just to our right side of Monticello. Jefferson nickels since 1968 have mintmarks just below the date on the heads' side (obverse). I can't tell from that photo if they're uncirculated....
Knowing if a coin is worn is usually simple if it has been in circulation for a while...many of the details have been worn away. Now, telling if a coin is uncirculated or not can be a great deal more difficult -- especially if you're not accustomed to examining coins on a numismatic level. While you can look and see if the coins have uninterrupted luster (that sheen you find on brand new coins) or any signs that the coins has no evidence of circulation wear whatsoever, I don't want to put you in the spot where you inadvertantly sell something misadvertised despite your best efforts to discern if your Jefferson nickels are really uncirculated or not. I think you're best bet is to simply respond to such questions with something like you are "not a coin grader" and you are selling the coins "AS-IS." I hope this helps you!
Thanks, but how can I tell if they're uncirculated? What do you think this set is worth about circulated and uncirculated? I'm just looking for a rough idea so I can price it more confidently. Edit: Some of the luster on the older coins is worn away but no scratches as far as I can tell. Someone is going to take a look at them next week who should be able to tell me but I posted this on ebay as "uncirculated" thinking that just means that it hasn't been jangling around people's pockets or anything. I better update my listing!
"Uncirculated" is the adjective grade of a coin that has never seen wear in circulation. Now, I'll tell you that there are many cases where a coin may look uncirculated at first glance only to find that there is a tiny bit of wear on the very highest point of the coins (like Jefferson's cheek on the nickel, for example). But being able to tell this take a magnifying glass (5X or higher power), a keen eye, and knowledge of what Jefferson's cheek looks like when it's seen no wear. Again, if you have no real knowledge of grading coins, I don't want to put you in a spot where you think you have uncirculated coins only to learn that the expert coin collector who buys your coins finds out that some -- or all --are circulated. I'm not trying to suggest you can't figure out if your own coins are uncirculated or not, but it takes a really good understanding of knowing ALL about coin grading to confidently grade a coin as uncirculated. As for pricing, if your 1939 or 1950 have a "D" for a mintmark, your set is already worth AT LEAST $25 to $30 on the retail market. If they don't have "D" mintmarks, the price is lower. I think if I were selling that set, and they were all circulated coins (and the 1939 and 1950 did NOT have the "D" mintmark), I'd feel good at starting the bids at around 10 cents each for the nickels from 1938-1964. $1 for the wartime nickels from 1942-1945 (these have a large "P" "D" or "S" over the dome of Monticello....check and see if the 1942 has that large mintmark. If not, it's not silver; the mint made both regular and silver nickels that year). I'd probably charge a 2-cent premium for the circulated nickels after 1964... they really aren't worth more than face individually, but I'd justify the fact that they help complete the collection as a reason for charging a slight amount over face. Maybe a couple dollars for the holder.... So, I think a minimal price I'd charge is about $12. Maybe shoot for $15 if you think it will garner enough bids. HOWEVER -- check the 1939 and 1950 nickels. Again, if you see a small "D" to our right of Monticello, aim for a realized bid of at least $25-30. Good luck!
Good idea! Yes, if you see that even a bit of the luster is gone and they appear worn, then I'd definitely relist them as circulated! Play it safe
I checked the 1939, 1942, and 1950 coins and only the 1942 one has a small D next to Monticello. I guess this set is not worth much and probably circulated. Oh well. Going to start the bid at $15 and hope for the best! Thanks again for your expert advice!
Enthusiastic indeed! In case you're interested to know, this set sold for more than I thought it would thanks to some bidding wars over this, though I can't imagine why. After shipping costs and the usual fees I cleared about $46.50! The funny thing is before I came I here for advice I thought that's how much this set was worth. It was bought from Heartland America mail catalogue for $70 in 2008. Did this catalogue rip me off? Oh well, guess it doesn't matter now!
