Inherited coins -- how to dispose of them? -- asking for a friend

First off: yes, I really am asking for a friend. She knows next-to-nothing about coins, and she knows that I know a tiny bit about coins, so she was asking me for advice. (She's not a collector, and wants to sell them off).

Her father-in-law was a semi-serious hoarder, and saved a gazillion things, including coins (he was not a coin collector -- he just saved lots and lots of things). I asked her to send me a list of all of coins, and she started with the dollar coins.

In short, she has a bunch of Morgans and Peace Dollars. All of them are the common dates, all are circulated, but the conditions are all over the place: some are G-4, some are F, some are XF, a few may be AU . . . I feel fairly certain that each of her Morgans are (going by Numismedia) worth in the $20 to $40 range. Between the Morgans and Peace dollars, she has about two dozen of them.

Somebody told her that if she goes to her local coin dealer, she'll get 30% less of what they are worth -- he's gotta make a living, overhead, etc. But, what other options does she have?

(And then we're going to repeat the process with halves, quarters, etc. It's pretty much all circulated silver, various conditions, nothing that's even close to a semi-key date (although, of course, I will verify!)).

Thoughts from the esteemed crowd? (And others? ;-) )

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Fleabay, Etsy, here (in the 'buy, trade sell forum). Well worn Morgans and Peace dollars are considered bullion, and as such you're gonna take a bit of a hit.

Post some photogs here and maybe we can help a bit in determining what you really got.

 

You have to go coin by coin.
There will be a pile of face value coins. Take them to the bank.
There will be a pile of old coins, but not much value.
You have to find the silver (gold) and valuable coins that are worth selling
individually. Can't do anything without photos, dates, conditions, price guides,
auction results.
A friend of mine just inherited a $1000 star note. I'll post a photo when I get it.

 

It all depends on the coin, date, mintmark and condition. Common date Morgan and Peace dollars can be bought at $17 each retail. If she sells them she should expect to get $14-$15 at a coin dealer. Please post photos of both sides of coins if you can. The more information you give us the more we can give you.

 

If I were selfish and had an agenda to get a good deal from Canada I would make lot bags with a generic variety of the more decent pieces and try and sell a few to the members here. A fifty dollar tag including shipping would be manageable for most in gambling on a small bag of coin.

 

I'm not sure I understand. My question is not "what are they worth", it's "how can she dispose of them?" given that I already know that almost all of them are worth between, say, $15 and $35?

In other words, to give an example:

Does my question of *how* she sells them depend on whether we're talking about an 1884 Morgan VG, XF, or AU? Either way, we're not talking about high demand coins.

Certainly. But I'm working on an assumption that I am reasonably certain about, and that is: all of these are circulated silver, and all of them are common dates within their series. E.g., in Morgans, she has two 1883-O, four 1885-O, three 1921, and so forth.

 

You have to know exactly what each coin is.
In case you have a rarity.
You are speaking in generalities. Without photos, dates, etc. There's no
way to know what you have.
The price for the common Morgans was given. ($14-$15)
$20 if you want to spend a lot of time selling them individually.

 

A local coin shop will offer $14, $15, maybe $17 each.

You might do $1 better at a local show because you'll find some dealers w/o brick&mortar and so lower operating costs. Ask a few dealers who are selling generic silver dollars for their buy prices and take the best offer.

 

The best way would be to call some dealers and get them to quote you a price for generic Morgans or Peace dollars and go to the highest.

 

If they were mine I'd sort them into lots, (90% silver, Wheat cents, etc.) bulk sell all the 90% silver on eBay with a starting bid at slightly lower than melt, common date Wheat cents in rolls at a few cents per coin ($1.25-$2.00 per roll). I think you get my drift. If you want to send them "free shipping", charge a little more to cover the postage. Or, take the advice given above by experienced members re LCD's, coin shows, flea markets.

 

In your first post you stated $5.00 higher than in your reply post to me. It's very difficult to answer your quest without photos and more information so all we can do is give you general answers.

If she just wants to sell them try getting offers at your local coin shop. Go to a coin show and offer to different dealers. Sell at the local flea market or hold a garage sale. Sell the coins with the other stuff she no longer wants.