I am a newbie to this group and to coin collecting. actually, i don't collect, but i do have a question for the group... what is the best way to get a decent buck for old coins? My father-in-law passed away a couple weeks ago. Left behind some old coins (so many i cannot lift the box!). I want my mother-in-law to get a decent dollar for them (doesn't have to be top dollar). He didn't 'collect', he just squirreled away change for nearly a century. He has rolls of what appear to be unc. silver half dollars, indian pennies, bufalo nickels, shiny steel pennies, lots of well worn silver coins, etc... what are my mother-in-law's options? local dealer? ebay (this will take forever to catagorize and list)? this list? are their auctions or shows? you can email me off-list at rkoustas@removeforspam.yahoo.com thanks.
Howdy rkoustas - Welcome to the Forum !! Your best bet would likely be asking around town and trying to find a dealer you can trust. And the best way to do that may be through a local coin club.
thanks. i have an appointment with a local dealer who has been there for at least 18 years that i know of. its funny, i have to put everyting in a small suitcase with wheels . How do i know if i can trust him?. where can i find local coin clubs (ocean county, nj)?
rkoustas, to find a local coin club you can either search the internet, check with local coin shops, or in some cases - you can inquire at your library (since that is a great place to hold monthly meetings). I disagree with putting your trust in any one person. Sometimes it all turns out ok, but other times it doesn't. If you have that many coins, I would also recommend purchasing a copy of Yoeman's Blue Book (wholesale prices) or Red Book (retail prices). Both are excellent sources, but the prices are only guidelines, and not actual market trends. Both books are somewhat inexpensive, and you never know - you may find a hobby interest you want to pursue!
Personally if I were to sell alot of old silver coins I would be numismatically responsible and ask if they had any intentions what so ever to sell them to a refinery.
I would say that most dealers who have stayed in Business for 18 years would be alright...he must do something right ;-) I would get a "Red Book" and read some so you don't get ripped off. Speedy
thanks for your replies. while my wife and i were going through the coins we came accoss quite a few foreign coins. i posted photos of the 2 oldest ones in the what is it worth forum click here . Anyone know about these? thanks.
We do - you can use the Open Forum and/or the Auction Forum to make buy, sell or trade offers. But these forums have rules that must be followed. Members are permitted to make 1 BST post per week in each of them. And it is suggested that replies be made by using a Private Message so as to protect your privacy.
If you do end up selling to a dealer, I'd recommend asking a couple different ones what they'd offer.
thank you for all your input. we found a blue book and a red book going through my father-in-laws stuff...but they were from 1964!, so i went to the bookstore today and bought a red book. my wife and i are having a lot of fun going through all the coins. she doesn't what to sell until we have some idea of what is there. the hardest part is probably going to be learning how to properly grade these things. i do plan to get two opinions before we decide where and how to sell.
If you're going to grade them yourselves, you might want to invest in Photograde. The Red Book will give you an idea what a coin in a particular condition is worth; Photograde will help you determine what the condition is. Photograde at Amazon.com
You may want to Consign!! If you know someone that sells on Ebay, I'm sure you could get a fairly good amount and also most probably premium on most coins. Most dealers will do somewhat the same thing. Give you a little and sell for a lot. That's their business. Most Ebay sellers do it on the side and some people would probably do it for "pick of the litter" Good Luck!!!
Wide range I recently had an experience where I went to three dealers to sell off some coins for a friend of mine. All were established dealers. Offers they gave me for the coins ranged from $600 to $1600 Now you can see why you just do NOT go to just one dealer if you are new. So we walked out with $1600 rather than $600 Are you willing to take the same chance. If the coins have been around for so long a week or two longer should not make much more of a difference. Good Luck
do dealers sell things on consignment? if so,what is a typical fee? also, should i bring everything to the dealer? i was thinking of bringing only half...just to see if he was interested or not. i wouldn't mind listing these on ebay, it would take a long time and i fear misgrading something (wouldn't want someone starting a nasty thread about me here because i mis represented the condition! ).
Always shop around when possible....go to more than one dealer. One other point that I feel is important. The Red book is high end RETAIL prices, generally speaking. The blue book is closer to what you can actually expect to get for coins that you sell. Many coins can be bought at coin shops for less than red book prices, so it can be a bit misleading when you have coins to sell. Nick
Many answers you will receive many answers to this and you will have to decide for yourself how much time you want to spend I sold off the coins because my friend did not want to take the time and effort to use eBay. The dealer that gave us the best price, was kind enough to look through the coins and pull out the best one and pay us "going rate" the rest and all of them were silver we sold for bullion price. But before we went to the dealer, we had gone through the coins and Not being good at grading we used a Redbook to determine which coins we thought were of value we were about 90% correct in our guesses- and we are newbies also. First enjoy your coins look through them and maybe there will be some you want to keep , some to donate to a scout or friend or maybe you just want to sell them. Remember many people are looking for that one coin that is worth a fortune and they are rare- so don't be too disapointed if the coins you have don't turn up to have "great value" They will have history and perhaps sentimental value to your family. Good luck.
I say don't worry about grading unless something is without a doubt uncirculated. If they are circulated, then take very good closeup pictures and let people bid. The market demand will set the price and you can put in a disclaimer that you are not a professional coin grader and the bidder shoud judge for themselves by the pictures. You will end up making a whole lot more than selling to a dealer,
