Valuing a Collection for Insurance Purposes

If you are going to value a collection for insurance purposes what prices should you use:
- wholesale (greysheet)
- retail (Coin Values, etc.)
- other?

IMO you are looking to replace your collection so the greysheet doesn't make sense. Very few of us can consistently purchase at those values.
That's why I lean towards listings like Coin Values.

Correct or not?

 

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For insurance values, you want replacement value - hence, you want retail. Coin Values is a good price guide to use for this, because it is widely known.

Just out of curiousity, where and how are you insuring your coins? The ANA has specifically focused coin collection insurance for incredibly reasonable rates. You also do not need to individually account for coins less than $10k with them. If you go with another insurer, make very sure that you read what is covered - most insurance policies do not cover collectibles without an expensive rider.

 

Have any CT'ers used the ANA insurance? If so, what has your experience been. What restrictions are there these policies?

Thanx, Cringely

 

I'm insured with the company (Hugh Wood) that's associated with the ANA.
As I continue to get more coins and the ones I already (mostly) increase in value I'm have to bump the coverage up each year.
I'm now going to try to pin the value down more closely.

Besides Hugh Wood the only other insurer I check with is my home insurer.
My home insurer couldn't get anywhere close to Hugh Wood.
Seems to me it was pushing 5x the cost.

 

I use my best estimate of replacement value, which can be multiples of any published guides given the look of certain coins. Hugh Wood, Inc is also the company that I use. They have been quite easy to deal with and have been willing to issue me insurance coverage for amounts far greater than I typically carry for things such as transporting significant value for a short period of time.

 

Good advice Doug

 

If there coins are registered in your name through PCGS is that sufficient?

 

For those of us who don't have receipts, how do we establish ownership (especially of coins that we acquired decades ago)? Could we sell them to a local dealer and he then sells them back to us?

 

I'm also considering insurance but most of my collection is better rainbow toners which would be hard to put a realistic value on. A common date ms64 morgan might be 50-60 bucks in a ngc holder however one with beautiful green toning on the obverse might fetch $1000+ at auction so in my case I think I would have to pay an appraiser. Some of my purchases were made before toners really took off so any receipts would not reflect what I could sell them for now. Another consideration is whether a complete collection is worth more than the sum of the individual pieces, don't really know the answer to that either. My insurance for now will be the bank safety deposit box until I get this figured out.:goofer:

 

...so who will contact the ANA insurance company first with all of these

questions? everyone will be waiting for the post. quite interesting and certainly

pertains to a lot of collectors. stay tuned.

 

Items in SDB are covered under your homeowners insurance (usually only up to $2K worth), and are not insured by the bank.

 

half the receipts i get are some scribbled on paper/register tape or adding machine tape (if i get 1). at CSNS i dont think i got any receipts.

 

Yea, I know, but still safer than at home. The bank branch I originally had my account and sdb in burnt to the ground last year, I did hear everything in the vault survived but still scary. I guess its kinda like making out a will, most people wait way too long to do it but now is the time for me to get going on the insurance thing. I do keep some pretty good buy/sell records but only recently and really don't have a current inventory, stupid on my part!

 

With collections we have insured through our brokerage, the collection
was mass photographed with 5 or so coins in each shot.
Then the collector, and out broker manager sat down and flipped through the charlton guide assigning a price to each coin.
That was good enough for the insurance company.
The basic home owners policy here offers a blanket coverage of 500$ for
numismatics. Although, ad mentioned, you can purchase a rider for your collection.
And no Doug. An insurance company won't insure something for 500,000$ without any site of the collection. Their goal is to indemnify you no
more, and no less than the financial situation you were in to start with.
So they would need records of what you own up front before they would even consider a replacement cost of 500,000$

 

Is this the voice of common sense, or the voice of experience speaking?

 

I checked my State Farm homeowners' policy and found coins are only covered for a limited amount at face value without a rider. With the rider SF wants an appraisal. After reading this thread, I'll have to check ANA.

On my list to do is check with an insurance company to find out what is required of the appraiser in order for it to be a valid appraisal. Anyone know?