Confused about Coin Values, esp. when they may have been Cleaned, or Damaged in some way

Hi everyone! Looking for some help please!! Thanks in advance!! : )

I’m very confused as to why some people say that anytime a coin is cleaned, that it’s basically now worthless and worth only the melt value. I’ve found this to be untrue so many times, so is there a reason why some people will still pay decent money for a coin if it may have been slightly cleaned 40 years ago, & why others think it’s now worthless? Is it just because of the type/kind of coin it is? Because of the year? Is it people’s preference? Is it only when the details are still really good, that it makes people still want the coin? Or, is it a combination of everything above? Also, if a coin has some other little damage to it - maybe it has a plug, or a scratch or something on it, why some people still will pay for it, & others won’t.

I have 2 different coin shops (And I may even check out some others), that are willing to buy some coins of mine, for anywhere from a few hundred, to almost $1,000, for each coin, & the gentleman at the one place has even told me that I could get more if I went the Ebay route.
Selling them on Ebay makes me nervous though, as I don’t want the hassle of people trying to return coins, & also I’m afraid they may try to screw me over & when they return "my coin” to me, that it won’t be my own coin at all, but a counterfeit coin, or a real coin, but one that’s in much worse condition & try to say it’s the one I sent to them. So, I recently met with a collector, who claimed to be very “fair” when it came to buying coins, & he said that he paid market value on them, (& I liked the idea of dealing with a collector in person instead of over the internet) & he basically wants many of my coins for next to nothing! I don’t think he’s believing me when I tell him what the coin shop is willing to give me, which I do find rather offensive, but then I remind myself that it’s business, & that it’s not personal, as he doesn’t really know me, same as I don’t really know him. I was hoping to sell to him because I wanted them to go to a collector that would truly cherish them, but he also then was making comments in our meeting about turning around & selling them himself, so obviously his whole shtick about paying “market value” for them is complete bull edit - forum rules, as he, himself, is basically also a coin dealer, not a pure collector, but just without the high overhead of having a coin shop.

This “collector" also wanted to buy some of my Liberty Seated half dollars, that the coins shop that I really trust told me to send in for grading (they are even willing to do it for me & pay for it themselves, & then I can pay them back once the coins come in, or if I do decide to sell them some of the graded coins, they will just subtract it from what they pay me for the coins); I think that this is incredibly fair. The “collector” that I met with, wanted to give me around $40 each for High AU, possibly MS60 Liberty Seated halves, so I laughed when he told me $40, as I know they are each worth a minimum of a few hundred (at the lowest 200), for the grade that they are in. He was trying to tell me I’m being ridiculous, & he showed me one Ebay listing where someone sold an AU50 Liberty Seated Half for like $47.50, & just because that coin sold for that, that means nothing to me as to what my coins are worth. Obviously, that seller needed money & didn’t set a minimum amount that they were willing to take. I’m selling them because I too, need the money, but $40 a coin isn’t going to help me enough to make selling them worth it; I’d rather keep them if that’s all I would get for them.

Anyway, if any of you have answers for me on that, I’d really appreciate it! I am going to try to post some pics of some of my coins on here tomorrow night, & see what people’s thoughts are. Thanks for reading and any input you may have! : )

 

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I'm not saying that there are not people who will try to cheat you on eBay, but I've never been burned there. True, I've sold less than 100 items and none were coins, but if eBay were rampant with cheats, it wouldn't be able to survive.

Why don't you try it with a few lesser value items?

Also, I suggest this. Many dealers don't take the time to accurately list coins or provide good photos. Obviously that time would cost them more than their expected profit. However, this is a labor of love for you, so why not provide complete descriptions? If there's something a photo can't show well, describe it. Your listing will be better than 99.99% of your competitors.

 

Go back to that coin shop if you think they were fair and easy to deal with. Don't waste your time with Mr. Collector. eBay can go both ways in my opinion.

 

If you trust that local dealer, then sell or submit the coins for grading through him. Forget the cheapskate "collector"! Forget the hassles associated with FleaBay.

Chris

 

To answer the question: Why some people say your type of coin is worthless or worth melt only, rarity is part of it. The other side is financial, what a particular collector has available or willing to spend. If it is neither one of these, the cleaned or damaged piece doesn't sell. If it meets either requirement it may be a slow sell, if it qualifies, because that collector isn't in the market every day.

 

+1 for your coin shop.

 

After you get the pictures, post them on here. You'll probably get a good idea of value, and maybe some offers that you would be happy with. I've always been pleased with my transactions on CT.

 

I agree. If the coin shop is going to give you the price that you think is fair...don't deal with the collector. You might get more on eBay but it's a lot of work and you seem skeptical. I would just use the dealer and be done with it.

 

Hello,
Can anyone who knows anything about coins let me know if this coin I found today is a keeper? It is the size of a nickel, the thickness of a penny, is cooper, and has an Indian on the front and buffalo on the back. I have never seen one like this, but then, I do not know much of anything about coins Was just digging a garden in the back yard and found it.

 

Sounds like a dark Buffalo Nickel. Probably worth little more than a nickel, but post a picture.

 

it is very dirty - with green tarnish on it.... it is the color of a dirty penny. and I can't seem to be able to add a pic on here.... Boy I am not very good at this eh? LOL

 

Buffalo nickel. Sometimes they are bought for jewelry if date is worn off, but not for much. Can you see a date?

 

I can't see much of anything with all this green tarnish. I will go throw it in my jewelry cleaner quick and see if I can get the green tarnish off of it. maybe this is a better picture?

 

DO NOT CLEAN COINS!

 

ohhhh.......ok. I will leave it green. :-( I was just hunting my jewelry cleaner and could not find it....
So pretty much this coin is just an old one but not really worth anything. But why on earth is a nickel made out of copper?

 

It isn't. It's nickel and copper. It just looks that way from being in the ground.