What to do with these coins I found

Discussion in 'What's it Worth' started by MargaretA, Jun 21, 2012.

  1. GeorgeM

    GeorgeM Well-Known Member

    Going to the World Fair of Money sounds like a really good idea. I'll second that.

    As for getting a coin book to check your collection, you may want to go to a local library. They often have redbooks, blackbooks, bluebooks, and Krause catalogs.

    When researching a coin, the price guides in the catalogs should be used only as a general guide. They are often outdated (silver prices can change quite dramatically, making the melt value of the coin far beyond the collectible value), and often over the wholesale price by 20-40%. But, looking at the list prices will give you an idea of the relative scarcity of a coin.

    It's also important to grade your coins. The price difference between a beat up coin and a cleanly struck uncirculated coin can be staggering.

    For example; here are some quotes from the 2002 Standard Catalog of World Coins (aka the "Krause cstalog", a phonebook sized book often found in library reference sections). Bear in mind that these prices are outdated - the rise in silver values means that many of the lower grade coins have risen in value or been melted down for their silver content... which tends to make them scarcer and drive up price to a parity with silver value and beyond.

    US Walking Liberty Half Dollar (0.3618 troy oz of silver each: with silver at $26.89/oz as I write this, that's $9.73 per coin in melt value)

    1917(p) (mint marks in parenthesis generally mean there is no mint mark, which means that all other mints used a mint mark of some kind):
    Mintage: 12,292,000 (this was the first year of mintage; despite a high number minted, this date often has a high value simply because people collect the first year more than other years)
    Value in Good (4/70): $3.50
    Value in Very Good (8/70): $5
    Value in Fine (12/70): $8
    Value in Very Fine (20/70): $16
    Value in Extremely Fine (40/70): $32.50
    Value in About Uncirculated (50/70): $60
    Value in Mint State (60/70): $110
    Value in Choice Mint State (65/70): $800

    1917-D
    Mintage: 1,940,000
    Value in Good (4/70): $9
    Value in Very Good (8/70): $14
    Value in Fine (12/70): $24
    Value in Very Fine (20/70): $80
    Value in Extremely Fine (40/70): $195
    Value in About Uncirculated (50/70): $400
    Value in Mint State (60/70): $700
    Value in Choice Mint State (65/70): $16,000

    1917S
    Mintage: 5,554,000
    Value in Good (4/70): $4
    Value in Very Good (8/70): $6.5
    Value in Fine (12/70): $12
    Value in Very Fine (20/70): $27.50
    Value in Extremely Fine (40/70): $50
    Value in About Uncirculated (50/70): $125
    Value in Mint State (60/70): $300
    Value in Choice Mint State (65/70): $950


    1918(p)
    Mintage: 6,634,000
    Value in Good (4/70): $4
    Value in Very Good (8/70): $6
    Value in Fine (12/70): $14
    Value in Very Fine (20/70): $47.50
    Value in Extremely Fine (40/70): $130
    Value in About Uncirculated (50/70): $245
    Value in Mint State (60/70): $500
    Value in Choice Mint State (65/70): $3500

    I could keep copying the book, but that gives you an idea. You'll probably notice that the value of these coins tends to go up geometrically in the higher grades. Also, the years in which fewer coins were minted tend to command a price premium.

    One quick word of advice - whatever you do, please DO NOT CLEAN your coins. That can have devastating effects on their value (as it strips away the surface layer, destroys toning, and makes the coins less desirable to collectors).
     
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  3. MargaretA

    MargaretA New Member

    OK, here are a couple of answers -

    - I was mistaken about the 1928 Peace dollar; it's actually a 1923. So, I have two 1923s and no 1928s. [sigh]

    - The 1938 Walking Liberty does not have a mint mark, so that means it's from Philadelphia, yes?

    I think I'm getting overwhelmed so I guess I need to set some priorities. I think the biggest one is finding out what some of these coins are worth so I can decide whether it's worth the extra trouble to me to try to sell them to a collector rather than just for melt. I agree, I don't think I need to buy a price guide since I'm not planning on collecting; as fascinating as the history is, collecting doesn't work with my movable lifestyle. But finding a guide I can just look at may not be easy; I can't get to any of the area libraries without a car and when I do a search online all I find are melt values. Does anyone know of any online price guides that are at least reasonably trustworthy? Also, while I wish I could wait until August for the show, I can't afford to - literally. I don't think I need to sell everything right now, but I do need to sell some, hopefully in the next couple of weeks.

    I tried getting some pictures but I can't get the light right so I will try again tomorrow. I just have one other thing I'd like to ask about, and it's in this quote:

    How do I determine the condition, or does the prospective buyer do that? And what do the numbers after the condition, ie "20/70," mean? Is there some kind of point system being used?

    Thanks again for all your help, everyone.

    Meg

    EDIT: Just one more thing - I haven't cleaned the coins, they are just the way they were when I found them. I did sort and check them for dates so I could do the inventory but I think I did read somewhere that it wasn't a good idea to clean them, so I haven't. (I do wish I had some "toned" ones, those look really cool.)
     
  4. dsmith23

    dsmith23 Gotta get 'em all

    Coins use the sheldon grading system (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coin_grading#The_Sheldon_grading_system) its a 70 point scale, taking them to a dealer would be a good idea, or post pictures here to get rough ideas of grades, heres a site that shows most grades for most coins. http://www.pcgs.com/Photograde/

    Also :welcome:
     
  5. miedbe7

    miedbe7 Wayward Collector

    I don't think anyone mentioned this, but you don't need to buy a red book. You can get a good idea about the value of the coins that are in better than circulated condition by using this website: http://www.numismedia.com/fmv/fmv.shtml

    I would take the time to locate and document mintmarks because some of these dates could bring some premiums over the melt value, especially if they are in nice condition.
     
  6. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    The Numismedia link above is one of my most-used references. Here's another:

    http://www.pcgs.com/photograde/

    This site shows pictures of every type of US coin in each grade. So, for example, to see grades of the Walking Liberty halves, you'd click on the "Half Dollars" image, then again on the "Walking Liberty Half Dollar" link. It'll first show very high-grade (uncirculated) coins; click on the arrow pointing left to see lower grades. This site alone isn't enough to teach you how to grade, but it'll start to give you some idea of how the grades run.

    Have fun!
     
  7. bjtjm

    bjtjm New Member

    in the morgans alone you could have $1,237,260 that or you could have much less it all depends on varities condition and mintmark and also errors
     
  8. Blaubart

    Blaubart Melt Value = 4.50

    This ^^^

    To put it in perspective how outdated they can be, the 2013 Redbook has been out for quite some time already.
     
  9. kaosleeroy108

    kaosleeroy108 The Mahayana Tea Shop & hobby center

    do you have kids if so give them to them.. or spare it to the grands, you never know where it would lead...
     
  10. MargaretA

    MargaretA New Member

    Finally got some pictures taken. They're not the best the camera could do, I think, but they're the best *I* could do :) . One thing to mention: In order to save space I combined the pics of the fronts and backs (obverses and reverses?) into one image. I didn't change any of the orders, just turned the coins over and righted them if the other side would have been upside down.

    In order of denomination, here are the dimes:
    [​IMG]

    And the Kennedy halves:
    [​IMG]

    And the Morgan dollars:
    [​IMG]

    And the Peace dollars:
    [​IMG]

    And the 1938 Walking Liberty with the Sesquicentennial:
    [​IMG]

    I found some other interesting ones that I must not have inventoried for some reason, but I think I can put only 5 pics in a post, so I'll do another one for that.

    I hope the quality here is good enough for you to see what you need to see. If I need to do anything else please let me know.

    Meg
     

    Attached Files:

  11. MargaretA

    MargaretA New Member

    And here are the other ones. I think they are all nickels (I sort of remember "buffalo heads" myself).

    [​IMG]

    The one on the left is so worn I couldn't find a date on it at all, but maybe someone else will.

    All these pics are in my album where hopefully you can see bigger versions; I sized them to fit my monitor screen. They are not all the coins I have, of course, just the ones that seemed to be in the best condition.

    Thank you for the other links. I don't have time to check them out now but should later on today. Just one other thing, about the mint marks - those are just the little letters that tell where the coin was minted, yes? Like Denver, San Francisco, Philadelphia? Or is there something else I should be looking for?

    Meg
     
  12. Lon Chaney

    Lon Chaney Well-Known Member

    Yes, just those little letters. On the Morgans you may find some O (New Orleans) or CC (Carson City). I didn't really look too closely at your pics though.

    And a great collection! I hope you find it a good home.
     
  13. cremebrule

    cremebrule Active Member

    At a quick glance, I see a bunch of mintmarks on the dimes, a single (O?) mintmark on a Morgan, and possibly some others as well. Can you post the pictures of the rest of your collection (Quarters)? Check the reverse of those coins, and if you see a random letter sitting somewhere around the periphery of the reverse of the coin, chances are that that's the mintmark :)

    Hope that helped! :) By the way, nice collection. A bunch of those could easily grade AU-BU.
     
  14. elijahhenry10

    elijahhenry10 New Member

    The one Morgan with a mint mark papers to be a D, which makes sense because it was the '21
     
  15. beachbum99

    beachbum99 Member

    Craigslist is a great idea. but, do not meet someone by yourself and try to bring a big male companion. Meet in a public, safe place. For example: Where I live, there is a Wells Fargo near a police station. that would be a good spot to meet someone. Starbucks is another good place.

    as for appraisals, get several....if you can.

    good luck! you're getting lots of great, sound advice...
     
  16. KoinJester

    KoinJester Well-Known Member

    Look again it's a 99o
     
  17. chip

    chip Novice collector

    In my short time collecting, I have found that some shows are buyers shows, you get good deals, some shows are sellers shows, you will not be able to get things for a good price, but you can sell things for more than normally. I sold silver bullion (10 ounce bars) at the worlds fair of money when it was in chicago for 3 dollars over spot. I do not know if that would be the same at the show in Philly, but there are lots of dealers to shop your hoard around to, so you can get lots of good offers.

    Whatever you do avoid the hotel buyers, some of those outfits have been known to bounce checks.
     
  18. MargaretA

    MargaretA New Member

    Thank you, it did help. I'm going to try to get to the mint marks tomorrow; I won't have time today. I'll also work on more pics starting tomorrow. And look up the grades you mentioned; right now that part is completely over my head.

    Meg
     
  19. MargaretA

    MargaretA New Member

    Actually I think I'm going to forego Craigslist. Even without the safety issue, and the fact that I don't know the area, I just can't get anywhere easily here without a car. It does create a problem because, as you said, I would like to get some appraisals. About those - Where would I go? I see there is an association (the American Numismatic, I think?) and on their list of members there is one I might be able to get to. Or maybe a coin dealer? There aren't many of those around here either. (I haven't lived in a suburban area for so long that I'd forgotten how isolating it can be, especially without a vehicle.)

    Meg
     
  20. MargaretA

    MargaretA New Member

    Thank you all for your replies. I hadn't gotten any emails so I didn't know there were any new ones, but I haven't had a lot of time to be online anyway. I think I will just have to keep checking. I'll post more info as I get it.

    Meg
     
  21. MargaretA

    MargaretA New Member

    It took me longer to do than I thought, but in case anyone is still interested here's the full inventory, with mint marks (which were a lot of fun to find; I'm glad I'm really nearsighted :) ). This includes the pennies and nickels; I know there's no silver in them but thought someone might be interested.

    Indian head penny (I think), 1901, 1
    Wheat penny, 1921, 1
    Wheat penny, 1926, 1
    Wheat penny, 1936, 2
    Wheat penny, 1937, 1
    Wheat penny, 1938, 1
    Wheat penny, 1939, 1
    Wheat penny, 1940, 2
    Wheat penny, 1941, 3
    Wheat penny, 1942, 4
    Wheat penny (steel), 1943, 1
    Wheat penny, 1944, 4
    Wheat penny, 1944-D, 2
    Wheat penny, 1945, 4
    Wheat penny, 1946, 4
    Wheat penny, 1948, 1
    Wheat penny, 1949, 1
    Wheat penny, 1950, 1
    Wheat penny, 1951, 3
    Wheat penny, 1952, 1
    Wheat penny, 1952-D, 2
    Wheat penny, 1953-D, 4
    Wheat penny, 1954, 1
    Wheat penny, 1955, 5
    Wheat penny, 1955-D, 1
    Wheat penny, 1956, 5
    Wheat penny, 1956-D, 7
    Wheat penny, 1957, 1
    Wheat penny, 1957-D, 4
    Wheat penny, 1958, 4
    Wheat penny, 1958-D, 2
    Liberty nickel, 1911, 1
    Buffalo nickel, ?-D, 1
    Buffalo nickel, 1936, 1
    Jefferson nickel, 1939, 5
    Jefferson nickel, 1940, 7
    Jefferson nickel, 1940-D, 1
    Jefferson nickel, 1941, 9
    Jefferson nickel, 1941-S, 1
    Jefferson nickel, 1946, 9
    Jefferson nickel, 1947, 4
    Jefferson nickel, 1948, 6
    Jefferson nickel, 1949, 6
    Jefferson nickel, 1949-D, 1
    Jefferson nickel, 1952, 2
    Jefferson nickel, 1953, 3
    Jefferson nickel, 1953-D, 3
    Jefferson nickel, 1954, 2
    Jefferson nickel, 1954-D, 6
    Jefferson nickel, 1955-D, 2
    Jefferson nickel, 1956, 4
    Jefferson nickel, 1956-D, 1
    Jefferson nickel, 1957, 2
    Jefferson nickel, 1957-D, 8
    Jefferson nickel, 1958, 1
    Jefferson nickel, 1958-D, 7
    Jefferson nickel, 1959, 2
    Jefferson nickel, 1959-D, 1
    Jefferson nickel, 1960, 2
    Jefferson nickel, 1960-D, 3
    Jefferson nickel, 1961, 6
    Jefferson nickel, 1961-D, 15
    Jefferson nickel, 1962, 8
    Jefferson nickel, 1962-D, 14
    Jefferson nickel, 1963, 11
    Jefferson nickel, 1963-D, 12
    Jefferson nickel, 1979, 1
    Mercury dime, 1939, 1
    Mercury dime, 1942, 2
    Mercury dime, 1943, 1
    Mercury dime, 1943-D, 1
    Mercury dime, 1944-D, 1
    Roosevelt dime, 1946, 2
    Roosevelt dime, 1946-D, 1
    Roosevelt dime, 1947, 1
    Roosevelt dime, 1948, 1
    Roosevelt dime, 1948-D, 1
    Roosevelt dime, 1949-D, 1
    Roosevelt dime, 1951, 3
    Roosevelt dime, 1952, 1
    Roosevelt dime, 1952-D, 1
    Roosevelt dime, 1953, 1
    Roosevelt dime, 1953-D, 3
    Roosevelt dime, 1954-D, 1
    Roosevelt dime, 1958-D, 2
    Roosevelt dime, 1959, 1
    Roosevelt dime, 1960, 1
    Roosevelt dime, 1960-D, 4
    Roosevelt dime, 1961, 2
    Roosevelt dime, 1961-D, 1
    Roosevelt dime, 1962-D, 3
    Roosevelt dime, 1963, 4
    Roosevelt dime, 1963-D, 4
    Roosevelt dime, 1964, 14
    Roosevelt dime, 1964-D, 5
    Washington quarter, 1939, 1
    Washington quarter, 1944, 1
    Washington quarter, 1946, 1
    Washington quarter, 1963, 1
    Washington quarter, 1964, 2
    Walking Liberty half dollar, 1917, 1
    Walking Liberty half dollar, 1918, 1
    Walking Liberty half dollar, 1935, 1
    Walking Liberty half dollar, 1936, 1
    Walking Liberty half dollar, 1937, 2
    Walking Liberty half dollar, 1938, 1
    Walking Liberty half dollar, 1940, 1
    Walking Liberty half dollar, 1941, 5
    Walking Liberty half dollar, 1941-D, 1
    Walking Liberty half dollar, 1942, 6
    Walking Liberty half dollar, 1942-D, 1
    Walking Liberty half dollar, 1943, 8
    Walking Liberty half dollar, 1943-D, 1
    Walking Liberty half dollar, 1943-S, 2
    Walking Liberty half dollar, 1944-D, 1
    Walking Liberty half dollar, 1945, 9
    Walking Liberty half dollar, 1945-D, 1
    Walking Liberty half dollar, 1945-S, 3
    Walking Liberty half dollar, 1946, 4
    Sesquicentennial half dollar, 1926, 1
    Franklin half dollar, 1950, 2
    Franklin half dollar, 1951, 2
    Franklin half dollar, 1951-D, 1
    Franklin half dollar, 1952, 4
    Franklin half dollar, 1952-D, 3
    Franklin half dollar, 1953, 1
    Franklin half dollar, 1953-D, 3
    Franklin half dollar, 1954, 4
    Franklin half dollar, 1954-D, 1
    Franklin half dollar, 1957-D, 3
    Franklin half dollar, 1958-D, 3
    Franklin half dollar, 1961, 7
    Franklin half dollar, 1962, 2
    Franklin half dollar, 1962-D, 7
    Franklin half dollar, 1963, 6
    Franklin half dollar, 1963-D, 9
    Kennedy half dollar, 1964, 6
    Kennedy half dollar, 1966, 3
    Kennedy half dollar, 1967, 5
    Kennedy half dollar, 1968-D, 2
    Kennedy half dollar, 1969-D, 1
    Morgan dollar, 1886, 2
    Morgan dollar, 1887, 1
    Morgan dollar, 1889, 1
    Morgan dollar, 1890, 1
    Morgan dollar, 1896, 2
    Morgan dollar, 1897, 2
    Morgan dollar, 1899-O, 1
    Morgan dollar, 1900-O, 4
    Morgan dollar, 1902-O, 2
    Morgan dollar, 1902, 1
    Morgan dollar, 1921-S, 2
    Morgan dollar, 1921, 10
    Peace dollar, 1922, 1
    Peace dollar, 1923, 2
    Peace dollar, 1924, 4
    Peace dollar, 1925, 3
    Peace dollar, 1926-D, 1

    I tried taking everything to a coin dealer, the only one I could get to easily (my brother let me borrow his car). The dealer's charge for an appraisal was $150/hour with an hour minimum; I couldn't afford that but he said he could take a look at the coins to see how much they were worth. It was a very quick process, not even 10 minutes, and it got very confusing because he was pricing different coins differently and not writing anything down, and he didn't give me time to do that either. But it sounds like his offer would be only for the silver value, and that was less than the local Cash for Gold place I'd already talked to. Plus, he wasn't very customer-service oriented; I got the impression he thought he was doing me a favor just by offering to look at my coins. I won't go back.

    So, it looks like I can't get the coins appraised for condition and there are so many different ones I can't keep them all straight to do it myself. I guess I'll just have to do the best I can with pictures and hope others can get an idea from those. In the meantime I do have images of everything but the nickels. They are all in my album but here are a few:

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    All of these are scans; there are so many coins that I just couldn't find a good way to take individual pictures of them all. But if you see something you'd like a photo of just let me know and I'll take pics and post them.

    EDIT 7/2: I forgot to mention when I first did this post that the coins are organized by date and then mint mark (ie 1941 then 1941-D) going from top left to bottom right. I hope that helps clarify things a bit...

    Meg
     
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