Am I correct to assume that a coin is worth its face value untill it has been professionally graded? Is there any rule of thumb for what age a coin should be graded?
i guess i should have asked if the only way for an amature collector to find the true value of their coins is to have them graded.
Not really. the best way to find the True value of your coins is to look at realized auctions (finished auctions) Purchasing a Redbook is another option for finding the whereabouts value…………….are you familiar with how to search ended auctions???? if not shoot me a pm and I can help you out
Definately not a good idea to send coins in for grading unless you know exactly what you got. Too dang expensive....
you can have an expert grade them and it will likely give you a good idea of what a coin is worth. What many have done is to learn about the coin that they are grading, search the references on that coin and learn to grade that coin for themselves. If you just want to know what something is worth, ask an expert. If you would like to start collecting and plan to own several coins, then it behooves you to learn to grade for yourself.
I really appreciate the help, and no i am not familiar with any aspect of an auction. Not only that but I am not tech savy by any means, I dont know what a pm is, but if i did know I would shoot you one.
lol….its cool!!! its a personal message. do you have an ebay account?or possibly heritage , teletrade
You can post a picture of a coin and we will be glad to help you decide what grade it is, and then the value of it. Speedy
No i dont have any of these. I havent spent a lot of time on a computer. I have looked on ebay, at various things, and i see coins that i have been told have a value of between $50 and $1500 that have bids of $1 or $2 offered. That is why I thought the coins needed to be graded. I guess I need to look into a catalogue, can you suggest a good one? Is there a standard "must have" guide? I will keep my eye out for auctions. thanks for your replys as soon as i figure out how to get a clear image up i will post a fue.
A Guidebook To United States Coins is the bible of the coin collector. Not very good as a price guide, but an excellent reference for beginners. probably the best one available. here's a link to the book at alibris.com: http://www.alibris.com/booksearch?qisbn=9780794831516&browse=1&qwork=7708549
No, it's only "the bible" to collectors of US coinage. For coinage of other countries there are individual country-specific catalogs such as Charlton's Canadian Coins; and foreign language catalogs such as the Japanese Numismatic Dealers Assn. annual catalogs, Gunter Schon's German language World Coin Catalog, etc. Both a backup for individual country catalogs and a primary source for coinage of countries without specialized catalogs is the Krause Publications Standard Catalog of World Coins, in five large telephone book-sized volumes. None of them are truly accurate sources of values, which fluctuate much too rapidly to be authoritatively compiled in books.
you're right I sit corrected. It is the bible for US collectors. I assumed he was in the US, and the OP is not necessarily here. The RedBook although thought of as a price guide, is more of a guidebook and reference.
