how can I get top dollar for my foreign coin collection???...

i'd certainly be only too happy to help, as i'm sure most of us would.

 

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As a low-income coin collector, I think about this sort of thing from time to time, and here are my thoughts:

If you really don’t want to keep the coins yourself, but want to profit from them somehow, then think in terms other than money (and I know that if you need the money it’s hard to think in other terms.) There are plenty of people who would love to have them or look through them; even if you can’t profit from them financially, you can profit from it in friendship and in just feeling good about making other people happy.

So I’d ask around with family, friends, and co-workers. Do any of them have a world coin collection, or have kids who might be interested? The Cub Scout suggestion was a great one. You could also ask school teachers if they know of any social studies classes that might find them useful for learning.

I have a great appreciation for the people who have given me coins and advice over the years (de Orc and Drusus, on this forum, have both given me things, and everyone here is very generous with their knowledge; I have a great memory of my next door neighbor when I was about 8 years old giving me envelopes of coins when he returned from Europe, and I still have most of them!) They certainly can’t spend my appreciation, I’m sorry to say, but I hope I can send some good spiritual vibrations their way:smile

How on earth does a person accumulate twenty gallons of world coins, anyway?

 

my thoughts exactly, i would much rather trade a coin than sell it, i mean there are people who may have spare coins i would like and i am sure i have spare coins other people would like so why not make both sides happy and exchange? this hobby is not about making money for me it is about sharing and helping others to benefit as well.

 

Look for silver first. What are the dates of these coins?

 

They could be worth 10 cents or less to 1000's. You should consult a local dealer.

 

I'd be really interested in seeing your occupation coins. It's something that I have been dabbling in. Are images hosted somewhere?

 

Well I have to agree with everyone else. Best way to sell them off is in lots. 20 gals of world coins has to be somewhere well over 500lbs. So you might be better offering them in 5lb or greater lots.

And I know most of us would love to see some photos of all these coins.

 

I am an avid world coin collector. Just as some of the others here have mentioned, I collect them for their artistic and/or historical significance. Also as others have suggested, cataloging them is a great start to knowing an approximattion of what they're worth. However, even if you go through the time to do so, and even if you look up each coin individually in the Krause set of world coin books, which are not at all cheap, there is no real guarantee you will always get true top dollar. If you want to go through and truly find the value and catalogue them, then I think you may very well find that you will decide to keep them simply due to all the wonderful things you have learned along the way. Remember, it's not the journey that makes a trip worthwile, but how you get there. The only advice I can offer is simply to parrot what others have said and suggest selling them in lots on ebay. Or to me. Seriously, don't hesitate to ask if you have difficulty with any of them. Oriental, Arabic, and Thailand coins can be especially troublesome, but then knowledge worth having very rarely comes easily.

 

It's difficult to sell if you don't know what you're selling. I believe you first need to catelogue every specimen. Maybe you could sort them by country and century for starters ? Then get some sealable containers (freezer bags, jars, etc)and number them. Make 2 lists of the coins in the bag or jar and number them to match. Put one in the container and file the other.

Once that is accomplished, you can begin to research the coins off your file lists. Then if you find a rare variety at least you know where it is.

You save time with the research and time with over-handling insignificant items. Also, it would be easier to offer the coins for sale on eBay by the lots you already have. IMHO

gary

 

Krause Publications has a book called the Standard Catalog of World Coins, you could check one out from your local library and get a fair idea of retail value, mintages, varieties, they also tell of the coins composition, percentage of metal, and amount of precious metals in the coin.

 

You could probably get one a few years old on the cheap at eBay or other on-line auction. Even if not current, it would still identify and give you an idea of which ones could be worth more.

 

20 gallons = 75 liters = about 2.5 cubic feet. Please post a photo and list some of the countries & dates you have.

Consider going through the entire lot & sort them by country. Once sorted by country, you could then select a nice example of each coin present and begin your own world coin collection. The technique I recommend is to use a zip-lock baggie for each country. Just keep the baggies on the table in alphabetical order & put the coins into the appropriate baggie. As you find coins from different countries, just write the new country name on a new baggie & sort sort sort.

In the end, you may have an interest in continuing the collection and you will know what you have if you still want to sell it. Any coins you have trouble identifying can be posted here for a little help from the experts.

 

Like others have said, no way to know without a knowledgable coin collector going through them.

I will give you a quick hint though. If there are no silver coins in there, and most dates are late 40's on, with just a few small coppers older than that, then what you basically have is the stuff sold by the pound on Ebay. Prices there are around $3-$4 a pound in bulk. If you want top dollar, you will need to research what you have otherwise.