I'm getting conflicting information

Test the waters...sell a roll and see...the buyers on eBay are wary enough already, but you won’t get in trouble if you are truthful...Spark

 

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Another option is to take them to a local coin show - you might get closer to 95% from a collector.

 

@ldhair the albums are a little disappointing. I'll post the pictures below, if I don't crash the site. Everything seems to be in sad shape:

Wheat Pennies


Buffalo Nickels:


Indian Head Nickels:

 

@ldhair More pictures, here:
Standing Liberty Quarters;


Washington Quarters:

 

And I've got 10 1969 mint sets. He must have meant to hand these out as graduation gifts.

 

I'm not sure I understand @GoldBug999. Take the Jeffersons to the coin show and get 95% of the face value? 95% of the book value?

Or were you talking about the War Nickels and 95% of spot?

BTW: I've been offered .45 each for the War Nickels if I sell more than 10 rolls to the dealer.

And then curiously, I was told by another dealer that he dealt with large estates, and couldn't be bothered with 33 rolls of nickels. I wonder if he thought I said 33 nickels? Or do really large amounts of War Nickels appear frequently?

 

Hey Wandering Man, if you are being offered $.45 each for the war nickels, that is about a 55% discount from face value, and not at all a fair deal. With silver at $17.77, each war nickel is worth $1.00 in silver value ($40.00/roll). When the price is higher, each nickel will be worth more, and when the price is lower worth less.

 

@GoldBug999 , I’ve pulled the better ones out. I think I left a few very good in there.

How do you figure silver value in a nickel? I know it’s not .999%. Is there a formula?

Selling on EBay for $42 a roll sounds appealing.

 

https://www.ngccoin.com/price-guide/coin-melt-values.aspx

 

Sorry...I didn't mean "face" value - I meant "silver" value.

 

Actually it is legal to melt copper pennies. But it all depends upon *why* you are melting the pennies ..

If you are melting pennies to get the copper to sell, then it is illegal.
If you are for some art situation or something, then it is not.

We've had threads about this in the past and you've must have missed the Swords made from Copper Pennies.

 

Going through the same thing only on a smaller scale. Have the advantage of years of experience as a collector. The modern and some not as modern silver (Washington, Roosevelt, Kennedy, Common Morgans, and Peace, Franklin's that are circulated) I am selling at melt to forum members. Tried selling war nickels and 40% half dollars with no success so now I have bought them and absorbed into my collection. I would rather see him get a fair price than get ripped by local store that offered 40% of melt.

My recommendation is for coins like Barber, Mercury, and Walkers, sell them on ebay as these can get prices above melt. Barbers can get expensive if they are earlier than 1900 or in AU or better condition. I am looking on ebay for a decent pre 1900 Barder half that is original surface and it looks like I am going to have to drop some significant coin to get one. Never sell a coin like this for melt. Look at closed ebay auctions if you have a question on value.

Take your time with it and sell a little at a time if you can. Do not get to stressed out. Do not be afraid to ask questions but be sure to post pictures when you do.

 

Coins are really like anything else.
Ever try to sell a car? Are you selling to the end buyer; someone who wants to just flip it; someone who wants to repair it or improve it then flip it?

Each of them will value the same vehicle completely differently.
The same with coins.

One particular coin dealer may value bullion based coins, no matter what, for simply the metal content and nothing else. So an early based silver coin, no matter what, is simply based on the silver content. It doesn't matter if it is the most pristine coin anyone has ever seen, it's only with it's silver content.

Another particular dealer may recognize some rarity and offer more.
Some may or may not also look at varieties, mint errors, etc.

So it all depends upon how much time you want to invest in learning about coins, to determine how you want to separate the bulk. Do you want to sell it as bulk, or break it down into groups, or break it down into individual coins ?

Of course some may have been bought in bulk for their silver content.

If they are mostly from vending machines then you'll have a wide variety of coins from over the decades. It all depends upon how much time you invest in the entire scenario. The more time you invest then you may get more physical dollars out, but which requires much more time.

 

The War nickels have about $1 each in silver content but because of the manganese content in them (which makes the refining tougher) what you get as a percentage of the silver content will not be as high as for the 90% silver dimes, quarters and halves.
Even so, you should be able to get at least 75 cents per War nickel at today's prices. I sold some last week to a wholesaler for 80 cents each after another dealer offered me 77 cents each.

 

This is good to know. I was recently offered 45 cents by a storefront, but only because I had so many.

 

<scratching needle across record>

Take NOTHING to the bank yet.

That single coin, even in that poor condition, could well fetch $100 or more on eBay.

Looking at your other photos, that 1924-D quarter looks like it might be worth some individual attention as well -- it's certainly worth tens of dollars or more in that condition if it's not damaged. The 1927-S is a key date, but it draws less of a premium when heavily worn.

If I were you, I'd take the 1924-D quarter, the 1885 nickel, and a few other good dates you've identified to the show, and show them to several dealers. Don't sell them yet, but that will give you a better idea of what they're worth. You might also take a few of the war-nickel rolls to see what you're offered.

In my experience, dealers make stronger offers at shows than they do in their shops, because they know it's easy for you to walk a few feet and get a competing offer.

One point to clarify: as you talk about nickels, you mention rolls of Buffalo nickels and rolls of war nickels. I want to make sure you don't mean "15 rolls of Jefferson nickels". Only the Jefferson nickels with large mint marks above Monticello's dome on the reverse contain silver. These were minted from 1942 through 1945, but some 1942 nickels are not silver, and don't have the large mint mark. (1942 nickels with no mint mark or a small "D" beside Monticello are copper-nickel; the ones with a large "P" or "S" above the dome are silver.)

 

My go-to site for all silver coin values is Coinflation - silver values are updated whenever the spot price changes - click on any individual coin type for more details and info; click on silver value for the specific formula - http://www.coinflation.com/silver_coin_values.html

 

I would love to have that job. I bet you find some real winners.

 

Yes, they are the silver nickels, although they look more like lead.

 

Yeah, they don't age well. But at least, unlike zinc-cored Lincoln cents, they only turn ugly on the outside.