I am obligated to dispose of a number of coins from my mother’s estate. I am asking for advice from this community of experts on how best to do that. Should I list items here or on eBay? Can anyone suggest appropriate starting or reserve prices? What are these coins worth? Can anyone give advice on List singly or in combination? My post is not an offer for sale but a request for community advice. The list is small and I have not yet done the photography. The set includes: 1976 S Proof Set in original case 1976-S Bi-centennial Silver Proof Set in original case 1968 Complete mint set in cardboard holder and plastic sleeve. 1978 un-circulated set $1 to 1 cent in plastic Whitman holder 1942 circulated year set 50cent -1 cent in plastic Whitman holder. Penny and Nickel are D mint 1918 circulated year set 50cent -1 cent in plastic Whitman holder. Dime is S mint 1912 circulated year set 50cent -1 cent in plastic Whitman holder. Half dollar is D mint Peace Dollars (51) 1922 - 18, 1923 – 29, 1924 – 3, 1925 – 1 Morgan Dollars (34) 1879, 1882, 1890, 1891. 1899, 1901 1 ea; 1885 -2, 1889 - 21, 1921-5 All silver dollars are from circulation. Most are in VG to F condition. Two circulated Series 1899 large 1$ bills silver certificate (one well worn). Four circulated Series 1923 large 1$ bills silver certificates (two well worn). Seven circulated Series 1935 F1$ bill silver certificates. Thirteen circulated Series 1957 1$ bill silver certificates. Thirteen circulated silver quarters 1943 – 1964 Seven Canadian silver quarters 1956 – 1964 Any suggestions from this community of experts will be greatly appreciated. My post is not an offer for sale but a request for advice prior to offering for sale at some point in the future. I do realize that I am not yet eligible to sell here but was counting on receiving sound advice from this community before offering the items.
Sorry to hear about your mother. While it is almost impossible to provide you with a fair assessment value without some photos of the individual pieces, the proof and mint sets on the auction market can be readily obtained by looking into the Ebay Coin Auctions. For the Whitman or Dansco album sets, I would suggest you may want to have a local Dealer look at the coins to properly grade.
I can't speak about the paper money at all - know nothing about it. But from among the coins, nothing is going to be worth more than a few dollars with the possible exception of the 1912 & 1918 sets. To evaluate those we'd have to see them. You may or may not have something there. The Mint & Proof sets are worth less than $10 each. The Morgan & Peace dollars probably about $12 each or whatever melt value is at the time. The quarters will be melt value. In all honesty, your best & easiest bet is just to take the coins to a coin shop and get what you can get. Realize that dealers will only offer about 10% less than whatever the spot price is for silver at the time. That is a fair offer.
I'm not sure about the paper money, you'll have to wait for one of those crazy collectors to stop in . But the silver dollars, considering they're all around VG-F like you say (and all are P), are all common dates, except the 1899. The 1899 is a better date, and is worth around $125 in VG and $150 in F. The rest are going to be worth silver value, probably right around $15. Btw, CoinTalk has an open section, where you can sell your coins (*Once you have 10 posts).
Everything I have ever sold on eBay has been a true auction starting at $0.99. It draws bids, and once somebody bids on it, it draws more people to look at it and bid on it. Most true auctions like this will bring more money than a set price. A true auction on items people want will sometime create a frenzy, and you might get much more than you thought . . . but then it depends on what you are selling.
Raider is right - I missed the '99 Morgan. edit - Unless LostBob has an already established and trusted name on ebay - and I gather he does not - ebay will be a waste of time, effort and money. People are not going to buy raw coins that are worth anything from somebody with no track record.
I agree with you 100%. Perhaps I should not have suggested that. One must be a well established seller to make that effective. Thanks for pointing that out Doug. Chuck
Thanks for the information and please keep it coming. I do have a good eBay reputation for other items from this estate but not for coins. I think the secret to eBay is to be a knowledgeable seller and that’s where you folks come in. Even if I decide to keep these I still need a fair evaluation in order to reimburse my sister’s shares. As I take pictures I will post them for opinions. A closer look at the 1899 dollar and the 1901 as well show them to be an O mint coins. I will post pictures and let you guys be the judge of condition.
The 1899 O and the 1901 O are common dates, so they're going to mainly be worth only silver value. (Be sure to check for mint marks O,S,CC and D on 1921, they can make a big difference in price).
Buy the coins back I vote for getting several written estimates. Then submit the estimates with your personal check to the Estate. No one can blame you for wanting to hold on to your mom's coins. Sorry for your loss.
