Valuing a Collection for Insurance Purposes - How Do YOU Do It?

Right now I'm looking at my Braided Hair Large Cents set (1839-1857).
When I started I collected the varieties based on the Red Book listings.
If I were smart then I noted how much I paid for each.
(NOTE: "Smart" operated only about 50% of the time when I put the set together.)
Then I discovered that there were Newcomb varieties that went well beyond the Red Book varieties.
So I bought the reprint of Newcomb's book AND the Grellman book.
With them I identified many of the Newcomb varieties.

So at this time I have the following information about each coin:
-- Date
-- Red Book Variety (if one exists)
-- Newcomb Variety (if I could determine it)
-- TPG (NGC or PCGS)
-- Grade
-- CAC (if present)
-- My Cost (if I recorded it)

Now the tough part.
Valuing them for insurance purposes.
I know about looking at auction results but finding a coin in your grade AND Newcomb Variety would be unlikely in most cases.
And catalogs generally don't cover all grades used by TPG's.
And all of the Newcomb Varieties -- forget it.

If they were your coins how would YOU go about it?

 

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I'm assuming you're valuing the collection to determine the premium or generate an inventory list for the insurer. This is somewhat different than valuing for a claim. For valuing for a premium, "high end of ballpark" is the goal. Average of the 3 highest, recent auction prices for type, date, mint, major variety, grade, and CAC status ... or use Red Book if it's higher. This will automatically take care of "minor" varieties. One exception is if you have a rare minor variety and feel it greatly enhances value. Then you might need a valuation letter from an expert. If the total value is just over the line for a higher bracket of premium cost, then slightly lower the values.

If you have to make a claim, the insurance company will want very recent and specific data on value.

Cal

 

I'd join the ANA and take advantage of the insurance offered through the ANA by Hugh Wood. Unlike most insurance policies, you don't have to prove value. A reasonable estimate will do.

Chris

 

What you paid is irrelevant... what it's worth TODAY is what matters, because
/1/ You pay insurance based on value (10x maybe 10x premium more or less)
/2/ You recover in the event of loss only what you cover it for

So, cover a $1M coin as a $500K coin and you'll save money - until a loss, when they'll write you a check for $500K and say "tough".


This is why on antiques roadshow the appraisers differentiate an insurance estimate from what it might sell for at auction or in a shop.

If you have a 2016 MS65 Lincoln Cent, I can pretty easily replace it for the value listed in the price guide. If it's a 1913 Liberty Nickel, those don't sell every day.

 

1. I'm an ANA member.
2. I've already got insurance through Hugh Wood.
3. As far as the Hugh Wood policy goes they only ask about coins cataloging more than $10,000.
4. Almost everything that I have of significance is slabbed by PCGS or NGC.
5. My collection database is complete for the slabbed coins.

What I'm investigating is how big my Hugh Wood policy should be.

 

What would it cost you to replace them if you needed to? That's how much you should insure them for.

 

And that's what I'm trying to see, how other people reach the magic "replacement" number.
Fortunately most of the coins I deal with are valued under $1000.
Posted catalog values for those type of coins generally sit stagnant for quite a while.
And that's a reasonable guide to the maximum.
Then I shop for prices under catalog.

 

That is how I calculated the value of my collection for my Hugh Wood policy.

 

Then, it sounds like the "catalog" price is a perfectly good estimate of how to value the coin for insurance purposes. Surely you can find another one at that price if it were lost, right?

 

When I checked into the insurance they required a written appraisal including the content insurance that I carry now!

 

Hugh Wood makes it really easy. I could not find anything better.
I based the amount of coverage on what I paid for the collection.

I do wonder how Hugh Wood handles claims. I don't ever hear anything good or bad from those that have had to file a claim.

 

In 2001 I was quite surprised how easy their claim procedures were. They asked for a copy of the police report and a total amount of my loss. A week later I had a check for that amount. No appraisal, no individual coin listing, no muss, no fuss.

I only wish my homeowners was even close to as easy.

 

Did you have to provide a written appraisal from a professional???? I had to and also for my homeowner's contents liability policy! But if something happens it's better than zero!

 

Back 20-30 years when I was looking into insuring my collection I checked with my homeowners' policy company.

Bottom Line: It's a LOT less expensive and easier to join the ANA and use Hugh Wood.
FYI, you have to be an ANA member to use Hugh Wood.
Plus you'll get a subscription to The Numismatist from the ANA.

 

Replacement cost. That's all that matters. What will it cost to replace that coin in the same grade and condition.

 

If you have an accurate record and inventory, then this shouldn't be difficult. For example, I have a spreadsheet that tracks every coin I own or have ever owned. I record the price I paid, and I record the current value (based on auctions). I update the current value occasionally. I can tell you exactly how much I paid for all of the coins in my collection. (I've been maintaining this spreadsheet since I was 11).