Back in the early 80's (or maybe before) during the silver boom I bought some junk silver at a high price. That is the story of my life; buy high and sell low. Now twenty years later I am wondering if the pneumismatic value of some of the coins might be enough to justify going through the coins to check on individual values. It looks to be a monumental task given that there must be 5,000 dimes in a half bag of junk. However a few people have told me that so many coins were melted to be sold for their silver content that the ones that were left often are more in demand and more valuable. I have some doubts regarding this, but thought I would ask the experts.
Howdy Don - Welcome to the Forum What you have been told could be the case although it is unlikely. Even in the '80s collectors knew what was what. I will say though that values for many common coins have increased substantially since then. Now I'm not saying you're gonna be rich. But say a coin was worth 20 cents in 1980 - today it might be worth $1.00. So the only way you will know anything is to go through them all. And remember - the condition of the coin has everything to do with its value.
Thanks Thanks, friendly moderator. Beginning such a task is a daunting task. First I haven't a clue as to how to get together a list of the coins that are more valuable than others. The the matter of grading is of concern. Is it usually more efficient to separate the coins by dates and mint places and then grade for quality or is there a set procedure for doing a search covering a large number of coins? Hoping there is some way to ORGANIZE the search in a meaningful and efficient way.
Well I'll tell ya what Don - I do understand because I've done it before. And not even for myself but for a friend. And it does take a while. But if you'd be willing to sort the coins and get a list of dates & mint marks - I'd be willing to help you out with determining which ones are worth looking at further. Then we'll tackle grading Be aware of this though as it does not sound like you are a collector really - just somebody looking for some help. Right now any silver - pre 1965 - coin is worth about 4 1/2 to 5 times its face value because of the silver content. You can take your bag to just about any dealer and get that price. If that makes it worth it to you - that may be your best bet. If not - my offer to help stands.
Thanks for the offer. You are right I am not a collector. I am an old duffer getting ready for a living estate sale and am up in the air about what to do with the coins. In addition I have found a few other coins that my dad had among which is a 1900 Lincoln head penny in a little square cardboard case with a window. I think there are seven Lincoln heads and some other stuff. I just haven't time to get the dates and mintmarks now, but after I move I may have plenty of time. Later.
well, if you're planning to search through all 5,000 coins, you should divide these coins into groups of around 1,000. Each week, look through the coin lot for any rare dates or overdates. It may seem like FOREVER, but you'll have the task done in around 5 weeks. please do not melt the dimes that you have. they carry great numismatic value to the people of our country.
Sounds like loads of fun to me I go through a thousand or so coins every week. Good thing I love what I do.
i would LOVE to have 5,000 silver dimes, and I would also like to look through them too. you are one LUCKY dude. National Dealer is a genius
I recommend that you run, not walk, to your nearest coin shop or large bookseller and get the 2004 Red Book - officially named Guide to US Coins or something similar (I'm away from home and can't see the cover) - by Yoemans. A little time spent studying it will give you a lot of info on coins in general and basic grading, along with retail pricing that can help you decide which specific year/mint combinations to hunt for in order to find the coins likely to be worth more than their melt value. It's not very expensive, and well worth it's price.
Aye, Chevy, that is the rub. I have between 20 and 25 thousand of those dimes and an equal number of quarters. The thought of looking through that many coins kind of puts me in a daze.
There are two ways to handle this. Either you take the time to go through each coin looking for a few extra dollars, or you wholesale the bags and let someone else do it. Personally, I love searching.
