the collection i have includes every coin type ever minted by the united states since 1900...i was wondering how much i should sell it for or what a reasonable asking price is
When you say every coin type minted I would assume you mean a single representation of each design type & denomination of coins produced for regular commerce. If that is the case the value would depend entirely upon the condition, date(s), mint mark, and if applicable, the die variety. If I am correct this should be 20 coins, this of course is not counting commemeratives, gold coinage and other bullion coins. And of course this would treat the State quarters and Jefferson commemorative reverse coins not as seperate designs, which technically they are. If you give a detailed list then someone may be able to help you or point you in the right direction to find out values.
I found this photo of a 20th century "no gold" type set of 31 coins.In addition to the 20 or so unique designs jumpingrat mentions,it includes such varieties as the bicentennial reverses and silver vs. clad.and the wartime nickel and cent..etc.
A good place to start is to find a coin dealer and ask him/her to give you an appraisal making sure you tell the dealer that you are not interested in selling the coins you just need to know the value for insurance reasons. That way, he or she isn't likely to low-ball the estimate in hopes of getting them from you cheaply. Ask the dealer which are the most valuable (keys) coins in the collection and then go to ebay and look up some auctions to see what those coins are selling for currently. Lastly, get yourself a good coin reference book like a red book and look up as many coins as you can after determining what grade they may fall into. Grading? Grading is the tough part. You could easily ask three different coin collectors/dealers to grade a coin and get three different grades. As the seller, you want the highest grade possible and the person buying wants the lowest grade possible because the difference can mean hundreds to thousands of dollars. Also, most coins in a set that large are relatively common and worth very little unless they are in extremely good condition and could bring a little extra. Never, Never clean any of the coins. It only decreases their value. After doing all of this you will start to get a fair idea of what they are worth. You will figure out which ones have the greatest value and which ones are going to be handed out as change at the grocery store. Good luck and consider keeping them for the next generation if they aren't worth as much as you had hoped. They could be a great asset to someone in 50 years.
Interesting picture. I read recently that some folks will not call 5 cent coins from 1942 to 1945 nickels because they do not cointain any nickel. Snobs! :kewl:
