Hi everyone. I find myself in a predicament. My mother recently passed away and I've been going through her coins and trying to do some research. I purchased a coin book and also have looked a lot on ebay at similar coins and what they have sold for. The problem is that I see one coin that sells for 11.00 and another at double that and they look to be in the same condition (same years and mint mark). All of the coins need to be sold. I have also taken them to local "coin dealers" and I felt the estimate they gave me was very low. So after that mouth full any advice that I can get would be appreciated!! Where do I begin and how in the world do I ever set a FAIR price?? I will thank everyone in advance for their input.
Hi Mike and welcome to the forum. If you post pictures of some of the coins we can help you out in maybe determining a price. Also, what is the 'coin book' you are using as a reference? E-bay isn't always a good indicator of true market value but I have used them in the past to arrive at a ball park figure. Dealers are going to low ball you because they have to turn around the coins and mark them up to make a profit.
I'm using the 2014 red book. Also it looks like the dealers I went to gave me some bad advice when they told me to clean some of the coins............ Thanks for the advice. Is that a P-38 pictured??
Mike, a coin's value depends on more than how it grades. How much the look of a coin pleases it prospective owner, or how well it matches the other coins belonging to that buyer is very important. Some buyers may spend seemingly ridiculous money for a coin having no marks or a certain color on a particular date for which they may have declined many other examples at substantially less money. Conversely, less selective buyers may buy the first example that comes along, even with bad marks or other problems, as long as it is inexpensive. In both cases, the coins may have equivalent details and luster, and grade the same, but be valued very differently. I have seen cases where a buyer paid as much as ten times the generic price for a properly graded coin, solely for superior eye appeal. As a dealer, I have spent as much as 4 or 5 times dealer bid for truly rare coins with outstanding attributes. I've also spent as little as 1/3 or even 1/4 bid for coins that were not damaged, but possessed distinctly inferior eye appeal. Therefore, you should not be too surprised to see 1 coin sell for twice the price of another of the same grade. You'll likely see even more disparity if you keep looking. By the way, the prices in price guides are nothing more than just that . . . guides. Mike at toughcoins.com
Read some books and learn about what you have. Search past sales on eBay and the you draw some type of real world pricing. Not the whole entire answer to your solution but a good real-world start..
