Seeking Advice: Selling Inherited US, World Coins, Proof Sets, & Paper Money

Hello Everyone,

Seeking your advice to maximize sale of Mom's coin collection, thanks.

Background: Dad died 20+years ago and Mom died in Sept 2016. I inherited Mom's coin collection (about 50 LBS of coins) and have spent the past year sorting, inventorying, putting the loose coins into coin holders and labeling Mom's coin collection getting it ready for sale.

The collection of mostly circulated coins is comprised of loose coins, coin sets (proofs), paper currency, coin tokens and commemoratives.

The loose coins (586 different denominations in various quantities) from the U.S. and World Coins run 1771 German States Prussia Thaller to 2002 Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Golden Jubilee. Roughly 15% are uncirculated and 85% are circulated. 4% are 1800 vintage. 95% are 1900 vintage. Of the 1900 vintage, 7% are pre-WW1; 16% are pre-WW2; 14% are WW2 and the remainder are post WW2. Approximately 25% of the loose coins are 40-100% silver.

The 41 coins sets (proofs) - all uncirculated - are US, Canada, Finland, and Norway minted 1954-1994. Most were minted in San Francisco and the others in Philadelphia and Denver. All are in their original Mint container/sleeve/case/ with the mint documentation. One group of the proof sets run consecutive from 1981-1988 with the exception of 1987.

The Paper Currency is from across the globe. 100 different bills from Asia, Africa, Europe; South, Central, and North America. 20% is Pre to WW1; 30% is WW2 including Japanese/US Currency from the "rebuilding years" following the end of WW2 and includes some US Military Script.

The Tokens and Commemorative Coins are everything from 1920/1930 NYC Transit Authority Tokens to State Commemorative Token/Coins to 1892 Columbian Half Dollar.

I frequently accompanied Mom to coin shows/sales when I was little. During the past year the sorting/inventorying of the coins has been a labor of love; however, coins aren't really "my thing" and I'd prefer the coins be sold to folks who find the same joy and interest that held mom's rapt attention.

I live in Huntsville, Alabama and have researched the coins shops in the immediate area through online research and visits at each store but was disappointed by the conditions of the three stores. I am willing to travel to Atlanta, GA; Nashville, TN; or B'Ham, AL, if needed.

Bottom line, I would appreciate advice centered on:

1. How to find a reputable coin shop?

2. If I receive an offer, how do I determine its a fair offer?

3. Is there a best-way to group coins for sale? I.E., by Country; years minted; precious metal content; type or denomination of coin?

4. Anything else I should be aware of?


Bottom line, even though Mom isn't alive to reap the benefits of her coin collection, I would like it to be sold for a fair/just amount. Thank you and I sincerely appreciate your time, assistance, and replies.

 

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That is a wonderful gift you have inherited. You do need to build a trust with a local and reputable dealer. Hopefully somebody here will know somebody in your area. I would like to encourage you to get an independent appraisal done. Tell the dealer you need the appraisal for insurance purposes. It's very common and reputable dealers will do this for a fee. But also understand that appraisal will be on the high end and a bit higher than what you should expect when selling. The other advantage to doing this is that a reputable dealer will recognize if your mother might have a few higher valued pieces in that collection. And perhaps you may want to glean one or two prize pieces in remembrance of her. Good luck!

 

Please accept my condolences for your loss.

All too often, people who have inherited collections like you have want to try to get the most they can from the sale. The problem as I see it is that the collection you've inherited is quite varied which means that it could take some time to sell everything. Why don't you just tell the dealers in your area that you will be taking the best offer and leave it at that. Then maybe they will try to be a little more competitive in their offers. Please keep in mind that you paid nothing for this collection!

Chris

 

I have an ex-wife in Huntsville, AL. She's the one I still like. There is or was a good dealer in one of those strip malls on the main north-south drag - the one with the humps at the intersections, east side of Redstone Arsenal. If you'd like, I can ask her if he's still around.

 

I might suggest separating all foreign coins into regions; Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia, South America, etc. Some guys like to specialize in regions, and it may help.

My own son is an Eastern Europe specialist. Also, US military scrip has been hot lately, in exhibits, if not the market.

 

Most of what you mention sounds like common material that is very hard for a dealers such as myself to find a home for and requires much time and effort and expense to sell.

Material that is common and not very liquid brings very low prices.

If you have any items that are rare and in demand you can expect higher prices for them.

Another option is to put them in a local coin auction and let the market determine the value. Sometimes this works fine and other times it can be a disappointment.

 

Last year I helped an elderly friend sell he late mothers collection. She had both US and foreign coins. She had multiple US mint and proof sets from 1968-2004. She also had many foreign proof sets and proof coins as well as many dimes, quarters and halves. It took me the better part of a week organizing her coins before taking them to a dealer friend. It really helps speed up the process for a dealer.

Basically, I organized everything by type and whether the coins were US or foreign. Mint and proof sets are generally worth considerably less than what the mint sells them for. There are a few exceptions: the 1970 mint set is worth more because no halves were made for circulation and can only be found in mint sets; the 1996 mint set brings a premium because of the extra West Point dime.

Anything containing silver or gold should be separated since they bring more for their bullion value. This goes for both US and foreign coins. If their are any older coins you may want to check their values in US and foreign coin reference books. This all depends on how much time you're willing to spend sorting through everything.

The collection I helped sell had several mint state large cents and gold coins. I set those aside and sent them to NGC for attribution and grading. The coins were then sent to one of the major online certified coin auctions where they sold. The dealer would have paid her half or less for the raw coins so the cost/effort of certification ended up being worthwhile for her.

 

Find a Coin Club, if you can of course. There are a lot of very talented people that may or may not be dealers and can give you a estimated value of your collection.
Go on line if you can, to get an idea of values. EBAY (Sold Items)normally is higher but will give some est's.
Already mentioned above is to sort all variety's , makes it easier to sell that way.

 

Welcome aboard - sorry for your loss - hope you find a good home for your inherited collection.
1.) CoinZip for dealers and clubs : http://coinzip.com/coinDealers.php?state=AL
2.) Blue Book for fair offer guidelines : https://www.amazon.com/Handbook-United-States-Coins-2018/dp/079484510X
3.) Robert Minichino for preparing your coins for appraisal : http://www.centraljerseyrarecoins.c...organize-my-circulated-silver-coins-for-sale/
4.) Don't rush it - do some research, get multiple offers, sell well
http://worldcoingallery.com/index.php (good for foreign coins)

 

Four years ago I purchased an inherited collection from a co-worker that sounds much like yours - over 7000 items. He tried to sell it to a couple of coin dealers but couldn't find any interested as the coins were not organized or cataloged. I offered to help him estimate their value. I purchased digital versions of Krause Standard Catalog of World coins and researched the tokens on-line at tokencatalog.com. I created an Excel spread sheet, listing each coin, with a column for silver content and value with estimated grade as listed in Krause. If you choose to sell the coins to a dealer it will help to know the potential value. I gave the spreadsheet to my coworker and offered to buy the coins or sell them on eBay for a commission. He decided to take the cash offer.

I'm realizing about 1/4 book value before eBay & PayPal fees. Unfortunately the bulk of the coins are valued at less than postage costs. I sold the more valuable ones first, recognizing that collecting coins as a hobby does not seem to be growing.

Plan on spending about an hour per coin to identify, grade, photograph and list, (re-list), package and mail. You'll need to report the income for tax purposes. Or you can find a retired collector in your community who would do what I did and help you out. Alternatively, enjoy researching them yourself and start selling them on eBay, (50 free listings per month without a subscription) and learn as you go. You will gain an appreciation for coin collecting, learn world geography and history. I only sell within the U.S. to avoid shipping costs and complications.

 

You have already done a lot of work.... and, sadly, there is much more to be done. Unless you do a bulk sale. Yes, selling the coins individually, maybe getting some graded, will probably make a bit more profit...however, the investment in time will be prodigious. Most of what you have will be considered extraneous material and dealers really do not want it... they will offer very little since such inventory takes up space and moves slowly if at all. If you do not intend to keep it and collect yourself, shop it around and take the best offer... you will likely find most offers are close in value... some will try to lowball you. There is always the Buy, Sell,Trade forum on Collectors Universe if you want to sell piecemeal... at least there are no fees there.

 

Good Evening Everyone! Sincerely wanted to thank each of you for taking the time to share your candid insights, detailed responses, and links to additional reference material. Your responses have helped me to validate the best path forward. Best regards!

 

One other thing to keep in mind about dealers. They may not need everything that walks in the door. If he already has a safe full or has few buyers, he may not offer much. He may not even want to make an offer.

 

Take the time to pick out a small # of pieces - maybe ones you remember your Mom buying with you and set them aside as momentoes.

 

When someone brings me a large collection or hoard containing mostly "Glorp", items that either can't be sold or are extremely difficult to sell and then picks out the few pieces that I may make enough profit on to cover my time and overhead, I usually pass on the whole deal.

 

Which is why I suggested doing it now, and doing it based on memories not value.

 

Yup, this is the eternal problem. The hobby is afflicted with a version of the 90/10 problem, but in our case, it's the 99/1 problem. 99% of most collections is pure unadulterated garbage, and only 1% of it makes the whole deal interesting to a dealer. What is the 1%? That's easy - the stuff nearly no one has, that everyone wants, probably including the seller to keep for himself.

That is precisely why my region of the country is so awash in public auctions full of coins of dead people - dealers' buy/sell spread theoretically gets stripped out of the pricing. The prices get set by the remaining alive buying collectors, and NOT the need to pay for a dealer's overhead - a percentage that seems to do nothing but grow over the decades. Auction house's "vig" is still FAAAAR below the spread that coin dealers feel they need.

 

I've always wondered what dealers do with all of that excess junk when they buy large collections.