How do you track the value of your collection?

I have one huge spreadsheet file containing 25 worksheets. I keep track of weight, size, S.G., where purchased, current spots, and of course any current value. I have been using spreadsheets since they came out and it's become routine for tracking anything.

 

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I have sold thousands of dollars worth of coins and currency on Amazon and Feebay but their fees are ridiculous and only Prickhead Bezos makes any money.

 

The hobby's always dying but I keep waiting for prices to come down!

I just re-valued what I have yesterday. Some stuff goes up some goes down. You can look up sold prices on ebay at the advanced button to the right of search. Check completed listings only. I used it to value some state quarter silver proof sets. Just to get something close to adjust the number for what they're currently selling at. Some stuff I've probably left too high but I try to estimate conservatively based on what I paid. A lot of stuff I just calculate at melt to save time. As PM prices go up and down as well as overall interest, prices fluctuate.

Like some have said, don't just buy coins. It's a good experience to try to sell coins once in a while to get a feel for what people pay. Something you went all out for, somebody else may not. Ebay is saturated unless you've got something really rare.

If you think your collection will go to a dealer some day just take all your buy prices and divide by two for a valuation. I played that game the other day. I walked out with what I had brought to trade on something and happily kept what I had. Dealers will look at a generic book price and throw you a low ball offer, if they're even willing to buy or trade what you have. If you paid a premium for exceptional paper quality, their offer will be based on a generic priced, non-EPQ version, etc.

The only thing that is liquid is bullion. To recoup a numismatic premium to break even takes work and a lot of time for a buyer to come along. i.e. NOT LIQUID.

Here's a real world example. I bought a gorgeous toned Morgan dollar back in 2015. It got a star and it seems proof like to me. I remember the seller had a buy it now or best offer. After a few days, I talked him down to $320. That was his bottom line. If I wanted to have it that's what I had to pay or walk away. He wouldn't take 280. So, I ended up paying it.

Last year I decided to list it, just to see what I could get for it for another purchase. It barely got up to $150 and didn't meet the reserve. Maybe on another week, it would do better but who knows? It's hard to capture how nice it is in pics but that's all people were willing to pay. Take fees and shipping out of that. Now you're down to about $115. It's still worth $300 to me so I kept it. I'm not willing to sell it for less. So what's the value? lol

Somebody else had it right. It's a hobby man. This is why.

 

Only REAL way is recent sales history

 

Thank you for all of the information you provided to me. I appreciate all of the work you put into it.

 

I have a basic estimate of my silver dollars, around 300 or so for both my Morgans and peace dollars. And a few of my really rare stuff as well such as my 1976 serial number error I know is around 600$ but I don't have a full grasp on mine. Perhaps this summer I can make it a goal to value it all. As for my book collection I have a good idea of some of them, my Naval books I got a few between 120 and 200$ a piece, those being Jane's fighting ships. I also have a Texas Almanac from 1878 worth 375$. But for coins, I just guess and stuff .

 

And don't worry brine, I am the chosen one of the Gen z. I will keep it alive as long as I live!

 

its only worth what a person is willing to pay

 

I just come here and know that everything is of no value when they say so. Just kidding, sorta. I use coin tracking software that pulls the values with nice little pictures and such. Also does a backup online in case the pc blows up.

 

It is a waste of time all those references...The true value is what a person is willing to pay for it. NO MORE AND NO LESS. I used to be a dealer in Australia and never sold anything at my table over $1.00 at most of the time...I did have good stuff but so did most of the other dealers...As collectors in general are penny pinchers and lousy or mean, the $1 mark or any 12 items for $10.00 suited them.... I used to come home with have an empty SUV every show and i assure you my profit margin was much more thatn the others selling there.. You could count the kids there on 1 hand which is disgusting. This is where our hobby is going to go...MELT MELT MELT is the only way and make into blocks of bullion....As we grow older they are worth less and less as we in our later years of life die off and the kids are not interested...I sold a lot of mine in australia and what i could not sell i took tin snips to and melted the metal..The higher graded items went into auction and let the fools of nowadays waste their money...I simply did not want anyone gaining what i had done over the last 45 years or so... Revalueing items is a waste of time and money as markets have plummetted.... I find the lower valued items sell better than key dates..But you all will choose for yourself...Hope you all dont mind my bluntness.....have a nice day

 

No problem I like bluntness. Yeah I suppose it's always only worth as much as somebody will pay. I do the software thing more for inventory tracking more so than actually value though. Somebody has to have an idea as to what I have when I croak.

 

Wow! You sound a little bitter.

 

Fair market value

 

Some people will just never understand that collecting has always been a later in life hobby because it costs money which kids and teens generally don't have. However those kids and teens grow up to be adults are FAR more collectors start late in life than collect their entire life. They either seem to not want to realize it or just love being pessimistic. It would more entertaining seeing the out of touch comments if new people weren't likely to believe it and have some be scared off by it.

 

This I can confirm, Getting the money for my collections has been very difficult. Some of it my granddad gave me so I had a bit of an edge starting out but even still I have spent probably around 500-700 over these past 3 years. My other source of collectibles is from my grand parents, like things they never even knew were that rare but I did and they let me take. I think that the vital thing for young people to collect is have an older person who helps them learn along the way, as my granddad did for me. He himself collected coins and I took after him.

 

No bitter at all... But when someone asks you what is the best to buy to earn money in the future ( or invest in ) and i give my knowledge ( which i learnt from over 45 years of collecting ) and those penny pinchers only want to spend a nickel...it is not worth helping anyone...Personally i keep it to myself and forget the rest...if ythose people dont want to take advice, then i wont give it and let them get burnt..That is what it is like in australia but the only thing is they want to buy something today and sell tomorrow at a profit and that wont work....So bitter is not really the word ... It is let them get stung if they dont want to listen.... I personally made tens off thousands of dollars on used stamps as post offices these days have self adhesive stickers..Anyone can get mint stamps but genuinely used and postmarked in the bottom left corner of the stamp is hard to find thatks to letter sorting and franking machines. But you cant tell people anything so i let em get bitten and stung. have a nice day

 

Right. Even more, they must have an idea of what to do with your coins. Your heirs will likely want to turn your collection into cash. If you yourself don't know how to sell your coins, how can they? Learn how to sell coins.

To help them do that, I recommend you indicate somehow (I color code the flips) which coins are worthy of being auctioned individually. For a low-level auction firm, maybe a minimum of $50 per coin for the likely PR is necessary. For a high-end firm like CNG the likely PR would need to be more ($500 paper auction, maybe $150 for an e-auction) because the minimum fees are higher. Make sure they know which auction firm you have in mind for which coins, with its contact information.

For coins worth less, or much less, you have a problem. It is not easy to get a good percentage of retail value out of coins worth less than $50. I invite you to take, while you are still alive to learn, a number of your under-$50 coins that you don't care much about anymore to a show and shop them around to dealers. Go with the attitude that "I am going to sell these today" and you will take the best offer, even if it is low (It will be.) It is not fair to use the time of dealers unless you are really willing to sell.

If I inherited a collection of something I don't know well, I would be worried I would get ripped off when I sold it. I'll bet your heirs feel the same way. "Dad put his life into this collection and they are only offering me x for it!" Or, worse, "The local dealer offered me x and I took it. I was glad to get rid of it."

Tracking the retail value of your collection is of no use to your heirs. Help them with what to do with it. Some coins deserve different treatment than others. Make clear which are which. Outline what to do with each category of coin, on paper, and give your heirs a copy. Until you have sold some coins, you can't know how best to sell them. Of course, you can do nothing and avoid the issue and give your heirs a problem they don't want.

 

I read that you think you are getting ripped off for it. Why dont you ley the coins get buried in your grave so no one else has them??? Thn you wont be ripped off. Look at it in another way... You pay a car yard 15,000 for a new car and they did nothing to make it, did they....All they did was buy from the manufacturer and put 100% profit on for themselves...That is also being ripped off....What about when you go into a restaurant...You tip the sever bringing over plates to you and you could have gone in and got your own ( hense no tip ) that in my eyes is also being ripped off..You could have gone to the supermarket and bought the ingredients to make the same meal at home but were too lazy..Instead you prefer to get ripped off by the restaurant charging 3 times the price you would have paid for the groceries... If you think a coin dealer is going to rip you off, then i suggest you make a study of numismatics for approximatly 20 - 25 years , then open up a shop, then place retail price on them and then sit in the shop twiddling your thumbs waiting for a customer. You will pay rent, phone, electricity, advertising etc etc etc because someone else may earn $5 or more than what you may think it is worth by selling it wholesale...This is just one word and that is GREED!!!....I suppose you would rather go to all that expense , torture , anguish, hardship and not sell them outright to another dealer... I sense a lot of distrust in your words so how could anyone buy off you if you dont want to let others have a go...Remember the old saying, there has to be some meat on the bone for the next person...Lots of luck with getting ripped off......Now onto these heirs... ( THE YOUNG GENERATION OF TODAY ) ...They are only going to sell the items and if you think otherwise, you are fooling yourself.... I personally left my kids nothing as they showed no interest so i melted my gold and silver into bullion and then sold the rest on fleebay and enjoyed the money on about 6 few cruises. Have a nice day.