I have recently been willed a bag full of old coins and paper money and not quite sure how to go about getting a value on the collection. Nothing is cataloged and there are at least a 1000 pieces, most from the 1800's, all U.S. Would a local coin shop be the first place to go? Do I need to catalog everything first? I would consider selling it but don't know how to get a resale value on it. Thanks for your help :rollling:
If you could take pictures or scans of your coins and post them here, Coin Talk members could be able to help you get an idea of the value of your coins.
Check the BBB rating for the coin shops in your area. Go to the coin shop. Do not tell them you have this big bag. Hang out at the shop a little bit. Buy a copy of the Red Book. The Red Book is a ROUGH guide for retail prices. The Red Book will show you what dates and mint marks to look for on your coins. (Dealers buy at WHOLESALE prices. They're a business and need to make money to stay in business.) Pro Tip - The dealer is not going to dig through YOUR coins for you. That is work, it costs TIME, and it is a pain in the butt. They will sort your coins into types, put them in a coin counter, and give you bullion price. If you don't care enough to sort your coins, the dealer isn't going to do it for you. If you educate yourself and look through your stuff BEFORE you go to a dealer, you will get MORE money. Time is money. Thank you for your time.
I would catalog the coins using Excel, logbook, etc. You can get general idea of mintage, metal, and value of the coin using the redbook but I'd use ebay to get a closer idea to market value. The red book can often be way off on the value of coins. It will take a little time to estimate the condition of the coins but it can also be fun.
Thanks for the info. Is there a downloadable excel template to log the coins and paper money to to make it easier to list all the important info?
What fun that would be to take that collection, organize and catalog it. Maybe this would be just the thing to get you involved in this great hobby. Maybe your friend would hope this collection would stay with you and get you interested. There are a bunch of people here who would love that opportunity.
Agree with everything posted. That is exactly the kind of thing I like to do with my 7 year old. Perhaps there's someone who would like to learn with you as you sort, catalog and understand what you have. This forum is great if you are trying to figure out how a certain coin grades out. If you are intent on selling it, ebay can do okay for you, but only if you can tell people what is in the bag. Good luck! Scott
Buying a copy of the Redbook (A Guide Book of United States Coins by R.S. Yeoman), as has already been suggested, is a great first step to identifying and cataloging your coins. If you want a quick link to ID the types of coins, try this one: http://coins.about.com/library/Coin_Identification/bl_identify_us_coins_using_photos.htm Once you've figured out what the coins are by type and series, and have cataloged them by date and mint-mark, you will need to determine their grades to make an accurate assessment of value. That gets a little more tricky for the novice. Several books have been written on the subject of coin grading, and I can't do the topic justice in a few sentences. But here's a helpful link that will introduce you to the concept of grade and condition of US Coins. http://www.us-coin-values-advisor.com/grading-coins.html
Like Texmech said, you should just sit down with your coins once you get a Redbook and just take your time sorting thru them. It's very fun and who knows what you may find, all while educating yourself about coins as well. And post us some pics so we can see.
You have to be very careful when you ask anyone to put a value on the coins who may also end up making an offer on them; especially if you let them know you are unfamiliar with the hobby. You might tell them you are in joint ownership with others in the family and your brother or sister (or both) have first right of refusal to buy out your interest. Or you are planning on getting them insured and you need some kind of replacement value for the correct coverage. Either case give the impression they are not for sale. Be prepared to pay for this service, especially if you want it in writing.
