Not mine. A friend of mine. This person lives in Senatobia, Mississippi, close to Memphis. If you guys and gals have a recommendation, please let me know. Use private messaging if you wish. Thanks all!
OK, but you're an knowledgeable fellow and have references at you disposal (both online and hard copy I'm sure). You would be able to give an modest assessment I'm sure. You are qualified. Is the fellow in question looking to sell?
I think driving up is your best bet. Makes the missus happy, and you know/trust who you're referring. You can visit the Memphis CC when there and see if you trust them too, for the future needs of your friend.
Little story.......the wife has a ring she bought many years ago that she wanted to get appraised. I did some research and found a fellow very close by, who was very highly recommended. I purposely went looking for negative feedback on the guy, but I couldn't find one bad word about him. We made an appointment to get the ring appraised by him. Our experience with him was delightful and very educational. He explained every aspect of what he did to determine a price for my wife's ring, and though the price was not what she (wife) was looking for, he made perfect sense regarding his determination. Everything was written and explained and printed out for us to show to the insurance company in the event the piece was to be insured. The guy spent over an hour with us and we were very pleased in our dealing with him. I inquired if he appraised coin collections and he said he did, but relied on a person out of the area. LI people are only interested in making money on coin collections, he said, and he did not trust any of the locals opinions. When he found out that I collected coins, and had been doing so for a good many years, he was ready to consider my opinions. He encouraged me to get into the so called business. I'm not qualified, I said, but he assured me that I was, based on my love for the hobby. The wife has been on my butt ever since to print up some business cards. The appraiser said he wanted my first one. Too humble. I'm incapable of making such a move, as I feel unworthy, but the bottom line is we (all of us collectors) do possess a great deal of knowledge. We all could maybe put a price tag on a collection.
That was more than a little story lol. It was a wall of text. Might want to consider breaking up large paragraphs like that to make it easier for readers. Not being critical or negative. It was a good story. Local institutions? Good point. I think with the internet we are all pretty much capable of making educated estimates/appraisals of coin values. The beauty of appraising something collectible is that it is basically just an opinion of value based on previous sales of similar item. Ultimately value is whatever someone is willing to pay. I think the tricky part would be missing a rare variety if the coin is raw (or graded without the designation on the label) or improperly grading the coin(s). I once graded a coin for a family friend (about a year ago). It was a well worn seated liberty dime. If I remember correctly I told them it was worth about $40 in it's condition. They were expecting higher but very accepting of my assessment since I explained how I came to that determination thoroughly.
A person charging for an appraisal shouldn't make an offer for the collection unless asked. What he would give for a coin should never enter into the equation. The appraisal is or should be for a fair market value and with that a listed discount for wholesale if the owner decides to go that route. In fact there are laws that have to be followed when giving a legal appraisal, that you won't get from the Internet or fly by night collector.
