Hi, I am new to your chat room. My husband was a coin collector and I have allot of coins. If I were to sell them what would be the best way? Thank you, CK
It depends on a number of factors. Chief among them are the scarcity of the coins, their state of preservation and how quickly you want to be paid.
Hello Cindy. Sorry for your loss. We are here to help you. If you can add some pictures or descriptions it will help us to help you
I echo @Heavymetal sentiment. Assumption is that you don’t have much of a feel for the value of your husband’s collection. And you would want to go about selling a $500.00 collection differently than a $50,000.00 collection. A few photos and/or brief descriptions could help us to point you in the right direction.
Welcome to the neighborhood, Cindy! There are several ways to go about selling your coins. One of them is here, but please be aware that there are certain rules you must follow. You can review these rules in the Buy/Sell/Trade forum. Chris
I think he had allot of the coins certified? I know they were appraised, and are all very clean and some never been touch. Chris what are the rules? And thank you all for your response, to help me.
Howdy Cindy - These are the rules - https://www.cointalk.com/threads/coin-talk-rules.34131/ In a way your questions have kind of been answered, but not really huh ? Well, that's because the answers are pretty complicated, and they're complicated because the answers are dependent upon many things. And it seems that no matter how many times the same question as yours is asked here on the forum, it always seems to me that the first questions that need to be asked are ones that only you can answer. So I'll ask. To start off, how much time, work, and effort are you willing to invest in this ? And that's a very important question because in the end it usually answers all the other questions - especially yours. I'll explain a bit more. If you are willing to invest a lot, and I mean a lot, of time, work, and effort into this then the answers you will be given change, and possibly change a great deal. But if you'd simply rather have it be over and done with you only having to expend a little time, work and effort - the answer is simple and straightforward. And I'll be honest with you, in the end the easy way will net you somewhere between 10-20% less than than the hard way will, and probably closer to 10. So what's the easy way ? You mentioned a lot of the coins were certified, given that my suggestion would be for you to take the coins to a couple of different coin dealers, maybe 3, and have them make you an offer on the entire collection. Choose the best offer, he'll write you a check and it's over and done with. That's assuming of course that you have 2 or 3 dealers close by to wherever you live. If there aren't any, then you'll have to mail the coins off to them to get an offer. The hard way is spend at least a few months and maybe much longer learning some of the things you need to know. Taking lots and lots of pictures of the coins and posting them here so people here can offer opinions. And then once that's done you'll have to choose what venue to use, ebay, an auction house, a private sale. And that's just the start really, because depending which venue you choose, that amount of time and work you have to put forward increases or decreases, and so does the amount of time involved. At the very best I'd say 6 months as a minimum. And that's to end up with 10, maybe 20% if you're real lucky, more than you would by doing it the easy way. So you decide, which way ya wanna go ?
Welcome and sorry for your loss. A few photos and/or an inventory would really help us help you. Ultimately, knowing what you have and how it is organized will help us guide you and help you get the most for your money. Selling coins is a difficult process and knowledge is one of the best ways to ensure you get the most for your money. Is there a rush to sell or are you trying to gather information? Certified means it’s in a plastic slab/case. The most common companies that do this are PCGS, NGC and ANACS. Here is an example of a slabbed coin.
I helped an elderly friend several years ago sell her late mother's collection. It was very bulky as it filled more than eight office paper boxes. I spent several days sorting and organizing. The many proof and mint sets were put in one group, silver commemoratives in another, gold in another, foreign coins in another, paper money in another. I then went through the thousands of raw coins and pulled out pre 1900 coinage. Note than none of her coins were in certified plastic holders. Since I have been a long time collector I pulled aside some coins that I knew had value and decided to send them to get certified. These included 3 mint state large cents and mint state $5 gold coin. After these were certified I sent them to Great Collections to be auctioned. The rest of the coins were brought to a coin dealer friend who ended up buying them. He was a trusted friend who went through each sorted lot and came up with a fair price for each. The friend I was helping was there as well and got a good education in the process and felt very comfortable when the transaction was completed. If i was in your position I'd send all of the slabbed (certified coins in plastic holders) to an auction house like Great Collections to be sold. The rest I would take to a coin dealer. Did your husband belong to a coin club? If so I'd ask members to suggest a dealer.
Checking in with the local coin club can be a good idea, especially if you know someone there. A friend of mine had some coins to sell - a couple of dozen items, mostly modern US, but included some gold. I said come to our next meeting 15 or 20 minutes early, and I'm sure some members will be glad to take a look and give ball-park figures of wholesale value. And we had a near unanimous agreement on which local dealer to take them to. That's what she did and got a very fair price.
Hi Cindy, You are getting some good answers here. I have a friend who was in the same situation last year and gave her some advice; 1) Do NOT go to the local coin shop and accept the first offer. 2) Do not attempt to clean any of the coins. 3) Find someone you trust who can help evaluate your situation. After seeing my friend's late husband's collection, I introduced her to a very reputable coin dealer who gave her a very fair offer for the entire collection. As others have said, there may be several different paths to take depending on what coins are in this collection; some coins may be common circulated coins that are enjoyable for a collector to have, but do not have much value over their face value, some coins will have value because of their silver or gold content, some coins may have great numismatic value (more than face or bullion value) due to their condition and scarcity. Good luck!!
Hi, Cindy. I'm sorry about your loss. Did your husband never give you an idea about the value of his collection, either in a will or verbally, and what he wanted done with them ? If not, you will have to decide, preferably with some specialist advice. You appear not to be unduly interested in coins, and may prefer some easy option for their disposal. One possibility is selling them, at a reasonable price, to any of his friends. Another possibility is to have them sold at auction, with proceeds going to yourself, or maybe for a chosen charity. Or you might like to give them to your husband's relatives. But don't act in haste - take your time and consider wisely. And, if you wish, you might like to inform us of your decision. Best wishes to you, Cindy.
Buy a Blue Book, or Red Book. It does not even have to be the most current one. But no more than 3-5 years old, max. Coin values vary a lot, but you can still get a great idea of relative value. You will be able to identify what has highest value both individually, and what type is likely to have value. For instance, a tube full of half cents is going to be worth more than a roll of wheat cents. Value centers around rarity, inherent value, and condition. Rarity to most collectors means key dates. 1909-s VDB Lincoln cent. 1916D Mercury dime. Checking these dates in your book, it will be immediately apparent to you regarding value. With key dates, they have value even in worn condition. Inherent value means the metal its made of has value. Gold, silver, etc. Condition is a wild card, and can be subjective. A coin such as a common date Type coin, in high grade, can be worth thousands where a low grade example of the same date goes for $20. In your case, given this is likely an older collection, you may have any number of high grade coins in albums or tubes, because having them graded and encased by a third party is a relatively new thing. I would suggest you get that Red Book, pour yourself some coffee, and spend an afternoon educating yourself so as to have at least a general idea of what you are dealing with. Knowledge is so rmpowering. I would also suggest you sell here on this site. There are soooooo many pitfalls dealing with others, and there are many eager collectors here. Good luck on this, and God bless.
Cindy, Sorry for the loss of your husband. My condolences sent to you and your family. Everyone on here is very friendly, knowledgeable, and eager to help; above and beyond. You are in very good hands. Take care, Kim
@cindy kreutz. What @littlehugger said seems like good advice. Get (The Red Book) and match some of your coins in the red book. This will really help you guage your collection. It will be fun. Don't worry you won't be overwhelmed. You'll fall in love with your husband all over again. Make him proud. Thats why he married you in the first place. You just might find out you can share the same excitement and love that your husband enjoyed. I'm here if you need me. Us girl rock!!!
