need advice on inherited collection (a few pics included)

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by grading an inheritance, Jul 21, 2018.

  1. Quick backstory:
    My mom finally got my grandpa's coin collection out of the safety deposit box in her hometown. He died in 1989 so it sat there a long time. Now I have been tasked with cataloging the collection as it has to be split with her brother.

    I have spent the past week researching on the internet. At first the assumption was that nothing was all that valuable. But the more I researched, the more I began to think that some of these coins might be worth a decent bit. I feel a little uncomfortable walking into a coin store without knowing if these are worth $30, $300, or (wishful thinking) $3,000. So I am looking for advice as to whether I should just take them to a coin shop to get evaluated or if I am right to be wary of doing that and should consider getting some graded by a service.
    Thanks in advance for any feedback.

    Here are some phone pictures of some silver dollars from the collection. There are 20+ in a similar condition to these as well as a bunch of other coins of varying quality. The pictures are not great, if the coins look promising, I can try to get better pictures. To me they look uncirculated but I am having a real difficulty having any clue as to where they might fall on the MS scale (and they may well just be AU)...

    1898
    [​IMG]
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    1878-cc
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    1880-s
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    [​IMG]

    1884-o
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    [​IMG]

    1927
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
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  3. wcoins

    wcoins GEM-ber

    We do need better pics. Impossible to get an opinion with what you posted.
     
  4. spirityoda

    spirityoda Coin Junky

    I am liking that 1878 CC :greedy::greedy::greedy:
     
    Murphy45p likes this.
  5. spirityoda

    spirityoda Coin Junky

    whatever you do...do NOT clean these coins. it will kill there value
     
    dwhiz likes this.
  6. Randy Abercrombie

    Randy Abercrombie Supporter! Supporter

    There are a lot of nice Morgan’s in the marketplace. They have to be pretty spectacular to garner the big bucks. You do have though two pieces there that merit some closer scrutiny. The 1878-CC Morgan is a better date. And I don’t have my book nearby but I believe that 1927 Peace dollar is a better date piece as well. I think those two may be worthy of some closer scrutiny.
     
  7. TheFinn

    TheFinn Well-Known Member

    The 78-CC looks like the only one pushing the $300 limit. The others in the $30-$50 range.
     
    Murphy45p likes this.
  8. thanks for the replies
    I am getting together tomorrow afternoon with my photo geek friend. I'll see is he can get some macro shots
     
    spirityoda and Pickin and Grinin like this.
  9. Pickin and Grinin

    Pickin and Grinin Well-Known Member

    Please do and make sure that he photos them out of the flip.
    touch the third side of the coin only, not the obv. or rev.
     
  10. here's the macro shots of the 1878-cc
    my friend had a bit of trouble with it as macro is not his specialty and the luster of the coin made it a little problematic to shoot

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
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  11. and here's the 1927 peace dollar which my friend found even harder to photograph so I included two shots of each side.

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  12. ldhair

    ldhair Clean Supporter

    Maybe $200 on the 78 CC. About $40 on the 1927. Wild guess.
     
  13. rte

    rte Well-Known Member

  14. thanks for the replies.
    I am trying to improve my ability to grade and would be grateful for input on what these might grade. There are a LOT of coins in the collection although only about 100 silver dollars. I just got the ANA Grading Standards book but am still having real trouble having any certainty in what they might grade.
     
  15. ksparrow

    ksparrow Coin Hoarder Supporter

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  16. beef1020

    beef1020 Junior Member

    Very cool experience, to have an inherited collection to go through. Many of us started due to similar circumstances. I think your hesitation to go to a random coin store is reasonable and smart. Some of them are very good, a lot of them are sadly not. Unless you get recommendations from people you trust, I would advise you treat them all with suspicion.

    In terms of value, others have given you good ballparks. If you want a reasonable, and free, price guide you can use this one:

    http://numismedia.com/rarecoinprices/fmv.shtml

    It's a good place to start, and gives you a sense of which coins in a series are worth a premium, i.e. 1878 CC vs. 1878. With that website and the pcgs photograde site you should be able to split the coins out into broad groups, i.e. <$100, $100-$300, $300+. Keep posting coins and keep having fun!!!
     
  17. Clawcoins

    Clawcoins Damaging Coins Daily

    That 1927 is very nice though a lot of surface marks
    and that stain reminds me of possible dipping (cleaning solution) that was not properly neutralized and washed off. I had a coin that was much worse at one time.

    But very nice details. The coinphotograde all will assist in helping you understand grading some in post #14.
     
    Last edited: Jul 24, 2018
  18. Dillan

    Dillan The sky is the limit !

    Please take your time in this process. you waited a long time to get the coins , so make sure that your 100% confident on the values. There are a lot of scavengers waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting coin collection for cheap. The Carson City minted dollars are always sought after. Those hold good value. When in doubt ask here on Coin Talk, there are collectively hundreds of years of experience and knowledge which you can accept as truthful. Many members here have been in the collecting game for years , and do not mind helping others out with their questions. Welcome to Coin Talk , and good luck with dividing up the collection with your brother. If you have more, you would like opinions on, please post these. Hope you come back soon. Dillan
     
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  19. carpman98

    carpman98 Active Member

    If you live in an area where there are numerous coin shops, or alternatively the area hosts a larger coin show, then pick out 15-20 items which you believe are of better value and ask at least 3-4 sellers what their best offer is. And do not disclose any previous offers to the current appraiser. Just simply say that you are looking for the best offer. Once you have established the one or two 'best offers' then you could present the rest of what you wish to sell to those sellers either at the show, in their store later, or at your home. Once a seller knows that you will be offering it to others as well, then he is likely to give you the best offer that he can.
    On the other hand, if you are simply looking for an overall appraisal, be up front with the dealer, because his time to do that is not free. If you want an appraisal only, the cost should be in the $50 per hour range. Should you then decide to sell once the appraisal has been done. an honest dealer would waive the appraisal cost.
     
    DEA likes this.
  20. Bert Gedin

    Bert Gedin Well-Known Member

    1927 in the USA. Work began on Mount Rushmore's Sculpture of 4 Presidents. - Charles Lindbergh on first solo flight across the Atlantic. A Transatlantic Flight Medal minted, to honour Lindbergh.
     
  21. carpman98

    carpman98 Active Member

    Bert? Are you in the right thread?
     
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