Hi i found this forum and hope you can help! Just inherited a coin collection including US Mint American Eagle gold and silver coins and commemorative coins in lovely velvet boxes some with US Mint receipts, as well as a laege amount of coins from all kinds of foreign countries form various times in the 1900s. I called some coin dealers that i found on google some of whom sounded sketchy and all want me to cart all the coins to their location rather than send them photos. Some people said the value is probably no more than the commodity price of the metal. What is the best way to find out the value of the coins and if we want to sell them, to find a reputable buyer?
First of all dealers are not in the business of working for free, and if they spent all day on the computer answering questions they’d go out of business. Sadly, in this business if you give an inch there are many that will demand a mile. Additionally, if you really want a proper evaluation it’s best to do so in person for what should be obvious reasons. I certainly understand your concern about sketchy dealers, but please keep in mind there are many, many more sketchy collectors/customers and may help explain why some dealers are rather cautious. From what little you’ve said, metal prices are almost certainly where most of the value is, but you could also look up the individual commems to see if there’s anything with added potential. The foreign coins will probably not be worth much and brings us back to the working for free thing. Still, if you wish to post photos here there’s likely someone who would be willing to help within reason. Good luck!
There are a lot of ways to go about this. The easiest way might be posting photos here and getting input. This website will help you with gold and silver melt values: http://www.coinflation.com/ As far as non billion coins, if they’re not slabbed (in professional looking plastic cases) then you’d have to do a lot of learning on your end about grading to know what values the coins could bring. If you post some photos of ones you have questions about, we can help. Also, you can sell here if you desire, but there are other venues for selling, depending on what you have.
@ekektibbles Yes, you can sell coins here, but there are rules you must follow. You can find the rules in the Buy/Sell/Trade forums. Chris
Your American Eagles are likely Proof and Uncirculated versions. These sell for a premium over the commodity price of their precious metal content. The latest examples are on the U.S. Mint website: Click here for American Eagle Coins. A few American Eagles have additional value due to their low mintage. For example, the 1995 W Proof American Silver Eagle (ASE) can sell for $2000 and up. Price is also affected by condition, grade, hazing, spotting, toning... general eye appeal. But generally, most of your Proof ASEs are probably worth $50 more or less. Mid-$40-ish for the Uncirculated ASEs. And sadly, for most modern commemoratives (1982 to present), I think you'll be lucky to get original issue price. But I'm no expert on commemoratives; maybe you have some valuable examples. My Suggestion: Educate yourself BEFORE you try to sell anything. If this seems like a daunting task, you might find a helpful mentor at a local coin club. Lastly, a handy reference: But the prices in the Red Book are more like high retail, not what you'll typically get if you try to sell. Good luck. And welcome to CoinTalk!
Thank you! So it depends on the year they were purchased? The receipts feom the US Mint are in the collection. edited to remove personal info for your own protection
Seems like most everything comes with a receipt that says what it is. Do yourself a favor. Make a list of everything you have. They’re all in original mint packaging, that will help us help you. Specifically try o note whether they’re mint or proof sets. Most original packing stuff should be high MS or PF. We can’t give you exact values, but can point you in the right direction. A great way to look up values is to look up eBay sales history for what sold in the last 30 days.
Thank you! What is MS and PF? Some of them say Proof Set right on the box. How would i know if they are Mint?
Look at the coins, if the fields of the coins are like mirrors they are proofs, if they aren't they are MS. Most everything from the US Mint after 1986 have "certificates of authenticity" that will typically tell you if they are proof or uncirculated (MS). Frem what I have seen so far You did OK on the four coin gold proof set, and probably the groof gold eagle. maybe broke even on the proof silver eagle, and lost money on the gold First Flight commemorative, the bicentennial set, and the stamp ingot. Biggest loss is on the commemorative, probably somewhere around $400 lost. But you're up about $1,000 on the four piece gold set.
