It seems to me that estate sales could be a potentially excellent way to find coins, perhaps whole collections, at reasonable prices. For those of you who have gone this route to purchase coins, could you share your experiences? I'm curious as to whether I could expect to find good deals, or overpriced garbage (I expect more of the latter, with enough possibility of the former to make the hunt worthwhile...), whether you have to be "connected" to find out about them, whether someone on an ordinary budget can find anything he can afford, or whether you'll be more likely to be up against large dealers with more capital than you could dream of playing with, etc. Tell me your stories. It strikes me that I live in an area (South Florida) where there must be a lot of estate sales, and yet I never hear about them. Do you just have to scour the newspapers for announcements?
Really valuable collections are normally owned by people who understand the value of professional assistance in everything they do. The executors of their estates (or the successor trustees of their family trusts) know how to get Heritage, Superior, the Goldberg brothers, etc., etc. to accept their consignments. Of course there are occasional opportunities to obtain some coins at less than their real value, but they are few and far between. Publication of intended estate sales is regulated by the probate courts of the 50 sovereign states, the District of Columbia, and the territories and possesions. A visit to your local probate court clerk is the best way to find out if there is a public notice requirement, and if so where to find the notices. Trustees of family trusts (so-called "living trusts") are universally exempt from any such notice requirements, so the only place you're likely to find out about them is in the classified ads of your local newspaper, where you can also sometimes find notices of true "estate" sales.
Rules and laws about estate sales are similar to the rules and laws of garge, yard, moving sales. At least everywhere I ever have gone or have friends. For instance around here all it takes is time to hang the signs that say estate sale, Saturday, 8 to 4 or something like that. I go to these all the time. I hardly think or believe that the police or anyone ever arrests or tickets people for breaking any laws concerning them. Sort of like asking for taxes at a flea market around here. Or arresting some kids for having a lemon aide stand without a license. Just not done. Just remember there is a big difference in an estate sale and an estate auction. As to such sales I just went to an estate sale a few miles from my house last Saturday. Picked up a sword that is a Made In Spain, 30" Toledo blade, looked new for $10. I've gotten coin albums, loose coins, guns, swords, knives and lots of other stuff at such sales. My best was a jar of old cents. I always ask if any old jars, cans, boxes of coins. This one time at an estate sales they produced a jar full of cents that was sceduled for the bank. The bottom was full of Indian Cents and the rest all looked like brand new Lincolns. I offered $5 and got it. They thought I was nuts because there was only about $3 worth in that jar. I later valued that jar full at about $5,000. Recently found a book of Nickels at a flea market. Almost filled a Buffalo Nickel Whitman Album and a Liberty Head Nickel Album with that and still had many, many left over. There was a total of 228 Buffalo Nickels alone in that book.
Now there's an example of the vital need for defining our terms. Coming from my own life history, I read the OP as being about sales conducted by the Executors/Administrators of the estates of deceased persons, in accordance with the probate laws of the particular jurisdiction. Coming from his life history, Just Carl read it as being about yard sales and flea market-type sales and any other sale where the seller calls it an "Estate Sale". His post is just as accurate about the kind of sales he had in mind as mine is about the kind of sales I had in mind, so long as it is recognized that his first sentence is accurate only for his definition of the term, and wildly inaccurate for my definition of the term.
And remember there is also the eBay definition of an estate sale which is: "Any junk that the seller may have regardless of it's actual origin, and the seller thinks it will command a greater price if it is claimed to be from an estate sale, then by ebay definition is is from an estate sale." Really, a guy selling his own junk is selling parts of his estate, right?! lol:headbang:
For 99.99% of the eBay auctions that have the words "estate, unsearched, retired banker's hoard, retired grocer's hoard, attic, basement, secret wall opening, etc.," are just JUNK as posted above.
I have to admit that my definition of the term, at least what I had in mind when I started this thread, was closer to what was in Just Carl's post. Roy, what you're talking about is for much bigger players than myself. I probably used the term incorrectly. I was interested in the stories of finding the jar of pennies from the guy who hoarded them his whole life, who has had experiences like this, where to look for this type of sale (the classified ads?), etc. I've been around and have enough common sense to know that you aren't going to find this kind of deal on eBay or Coinage. I also know that finding the needle in a haystack is extremely rare, but I know that it happens, and I love the thrill of the hunt.
Sun City is one of the largest retirement communities in America. Sun City is close to Phoenix where I live. As you may have guessed they have many many large estate sales in Sun City, and I have attended a few (went to one this weekend) and I have never seen coins at an estate sale. Typically the estate hires pros to liquidate assets and the pros know where to take coins.
