First time Coin Buyer

Hello,
A few weeks ago I took the plunge and bought a sizable coin collection with a buddy. It was kind of a ready, shoot, aim decision. I had some basic knowledge, but basic is the operative word there. Have since done some more research and I don't think we did too bad, just not as good as I thought. The lot consisted of 11 $5 Liberty's, 11 $10 Liberty's, 4 $20 Liberty's, 200 Morgan's and 20 Walking Liberty's. None of the coins are graded, and from what I can gather on my own, only the gold ones are really worth having graded. Correct? The main question I have is how to get the best ROI. I'm new to this, so any and all advice is welcome.
Thanks

 

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The main question, really, is how are you and your buddy going to remain "buddies"?
Unless you blindly divide the coins, or sell all of the coins and divide the money, there could end up being some animosity. For sportsmanship, the person that gets the 6th $10 Liberty should give $250-$300 to the person that got 6 $5 Liberties.

 

Best thing to do first is to make a list of the dates and mintmarks of the coins to see if there are any which are scarce/rare dates.

 

Your best bet, before dividing, is to learn why and how coin values are determined. Morgan Dollars can fetch six-figure prices, and there are gold coins whose value does not much exceed that of the metal they contain.

 

Without seeing the coins (maybe upload some really good pics) its going to be tough to tell you specifics of how you did on the purchase.

 

First, welcome to the neighborhood!

I don't think anyone here can advise you properly without knowing more about the coins.......dates, mintmarks and good photos would help.

Chris

 

The most important thing here is to keep you and your friend, buddies. Decide together what you're going to do with the collection and do it. A lot of factors determine the value. How you split the collection determines your friendship. And welcome to CT.

 

I think you are supposed to aim before you shoot. At least that's what they taught us in the military, although the way some people shot you'd think otherwise.

To add some substance to my post. Your ROI is going to be based on how much your initial investment was. Take that investment and add in each of your time (how much is it worth), how much time you each will spend researching the coins.

I'd suggest taking the coins to a respectable dealer in the area for an in depth price appraisal per coin. That will set you back a few hundred but also tell you which coins would be worth slabbing.

Next, factor in the cost of slabbing those coins, shipping fees, auction fees (eBay or??), and final fees.

Add up all the above to your initial investment and subtract it from the sales of the coins. Voila...

 

With all due respect, the question should have been answered before the purchase. That being said, I wouldn't do it either but would grab the opportunity and have some fun.

 

First thing...coins, in general, are not an investment. A hobby, a sickness, a disease, a compulsion, maybe, but an investment rarely. Only an investment if you got them REALLY cheap and/or you got something valuable. First thing to do is to pass a strong magnet over all of them and see if any are attracted. Second, get a book or post pictures. Good Luck

 

Yes, the magnet test if not slabbed by one of the majors. Even the golds could be fake plated.

 

Well, I think we need to see the coins first, or at least get some dates, mintmarks, and conditions. Most likely, these coins are common date silver and gold and thus not worth much over melt.

 

Well said.

 

edited to correct

 

This is the only pic I have now. I'll try to upload more later.

 

I am a logger...don't have much time to play on my phone.

 

Couple of reviews
http://www.yellowpages.com/minneapolis-mn/mip/investment-rarities-inc-67420

 

From what I've read Investment Rarities is a real company founded by ex-cons. Many complaints but the gold is real. Are they high quality MS coins that's the question now and I would have to say possible PVC holders?

 

No, you just don't slab the gold and leave the others raw. An individual determination of each coin's worthiness of slabbing is needed.

Welcome to the group and have fun!

 

This is not a flippant answer, so please don’t take it that way. Maximizing your return will require a lot more effort than you have currently put in.

The coin market is highly dependent on the grade and condition of each individual coin. In this area, as in many, you will get out of the coins what you put in. If you learn to grade and recognize problem than you can begin to separate out those coins which have numismatic value and those that have only melt value.

Alternatively, you could post a detailed list of what you bought, year and mint mark, followed by clear close up photos of the obverse and reverse of each coin. No cell phone pictures please. If you do that I am sure people here will help you weed out the melt value coins from those with numismatic value.

You need to keep in mind, maximizing your return will involve a lot of work, some of which we are willing to help you with. But in order for us to help determine value ranges and suggest how best to sell the material, we would need a detailed list and very good photos to begin with. Again, preferable from a DSLR made on a copy stand with good lighting. This may sound excessive, but you need to understand that a small scratch on those gold coins could take the value from $5,000 down to $500… Wear and condition are critical in coming up with a value for coins, and without having the coin in hand we would need good photos.

Another alternative is to go to a coin shop/show and ask for a written appraisal from an expert, but be cautious in selecting the dealer you choose. As with everything there are honest ones and dishonest ones. Feel free to ask us for recommendations in your general area.