How to sell a coin collection?

[NewGuy2005 53]

I'm going to help my Wife's Mom sell her coin collection. Selling it one coin at a time on E-Bay would not be very practical for reasons of time plus we don't have the expertise to describe the coins' conditions.

That leaves taking it to a dealer. How do you go about that and make sure you get a fair deal?

[JohnRich 4]

Buy a coin value guide book so that you have a rough idea of whether or not you're getting what they're worth. Any good hobby shop shold carry such books, or maybe even a bookstore. You might not be an expert at judging the MS quality, but you'll know enough to keep from getting ripped off.

Many collectible coins are now worth more for just their silver or gold content than for their collector value. A silver dollar with an ounce of silver fetches $40 these days for the silver value, but might be worth only $20 for the collector value. There are usually shops around that purchase gold and silver, offering "spot" value, meaning the market value at that particular time.

[NewGuy2005 53]

Sounds good. Thanks, John.

[davelepka 4]

A lot of those 'We buy gold' places have been suspected of either figuring the value with a lesser gold/silver content, or misrepresenting the weight, or the actual price of the gold/silver, so be careful.

Depending on the overall value of the collection, you might want to pay for an expert to appraise the collection. Tell them this is for insurance purposes, not for resale, so they're not tempted to lowball the values and try to buy the collection from you. If it's a straight paid appraisal deal, you stand a good chance of getting a fair value appraisal. If the collection is really valuable, you might even get a second opinion from another expert under the same guise, and compare the results.

You could also take the collection to a jewelry store to have the gold/silver content of the coins testes and weighed, so you know exactly what you have.

While ebay is a pain in the ass if you have a bunch of items, you can use to guauge the market value of some of the pieces. If people are listing identical items, the final selling price is a rough indicator of 'market' value.

[BillyVance 35]

If I knew then what I know now, I could have gotten a lot more bang for the buck when I sold my coin and paper money collection to a coin collector store owner. Among the items was an 1849 gold dollar coin and pristine condition Confederate paper bills. At the time, my back was against the wall, and I felt I had to sell to pay bills that were mounting. That was over a decade ago.

Now, I wish I'd kept at least the gold coin. Gold prices are at all-time highs these days. Get the coin collector guide book as someone mentioned earlier. Also have the collection appraised on the premise that you are not going to sell.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[deltron80 0]

Sell them to APMEX.com. They pay fair market value plus some usually. I've had good experiences w/ them so feel fine recommending them.

[jimjumper 25]

Get a copy of "Coins" magazine at any bookstore. There will be listings in the back for local coin and stamp shows in your area. They are a good way to meet and get quotes from multiple dealers in one place. Also, try to avoid selling to dealers that want to only buy the best pieces of the collection. They are usually "cherry-picking" and you will get stuck having to unload the lower value coins for less than optimum value. Another angle to pursue is to find a local coin club (try google for your area or the American Numismatic Association website) and attend one of their meetings. Most clubs meet monthly and any of their club officers should be able to point you to a reliable dealer or club member that can help with evaluating and selling your collection. I'm the president of my local coin club (Hemet, CA) and have done a few evaluations and as long as there isn't too much to look at it's usually a fairly straightforward process. Avoid the newspaper ad buyers and the TV hucksters. The people selling pays for those ads and a lot of times (not always!) they are only interested in bullion value for coins worth much more. If you have any specific questions PM me cause I hate to see people ripped off in the coin game.

[muff528 3]

This is a "brick and mortar" store that has been around for a long time with a good reputation. Although they are in central Florida, their on-line published prices can be used as a good reference and represents actual prices they will pay on a given day. It is updated as gold or silver prices vary. Also, they single out particular coins in the guide for which there is a high collector demand. For gold bullion coins they will pay "spot" minus $10.00 IIRC. On ebay I have seen gold and silver coins go for substantially more than the spot value as they are being bought up by speculators. Also, here's another good reference site.

[AggieDave 6]

Pawn Stars.

Go in and ask for $20,000 and sell it to them for $500.

At least you might be on TV selling for a horrible loss.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[NewGuy2005 53]

Excellent advice. Thanks everyone.

[1969912 0]

I went to the grocery store last week, and the checker told me a guy just came in and wanted to trade a bunch of silver coins for bills. I asked the checker if he wanted them and he said no. I got 3 1964 half dollars, 1 1965 half dollar, 5 1968 half dollars, and 2 1964 quarters, all for $5. Some of the half dollars have really sharp cornerss between the faces and the edges, so they might be in pretty good condition.

"Once we got to the point where twenty/something's needed a place on the corner that changed the oil in their cars we were doomed . . ."
-NickDG

[cocheese 0]

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Pawn Stars.

Go in and ask for $20,000 and sell it to them for $500.

At least you might be on TV selling for a horrible loss.

What about Detroit? Hardcore Pawn.

[Coreece 190]

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That leaves taking it to a dealer. How do you go about that and make sure you get a fair deal?

I didn't read any of the other posts, intentionally. They may have good advice, but my first instinct is that you're desperate to sell, which makes a "fair deal" nearly impossible, especially in today's market...but never mind me.

Your secrets are the true reflection of who you really are...

[AggieDave 6]

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I went to the grocery store last week, and the checker told me a guy just came in and wanted to trade a bunch of silver coins for bills. I asked the checker if he wanted them and he said no. I got 3 1964 half dollars, 1 1965 half dollar, 5 1968 half dollars, and 2 1964 quarters, all for $5. Some of the half dollars have really sharp cornerss between the faces and the edges, so they might be in pretty good condition.

Those "junk silver" coins are really popular with the TEOTWAWKI crowd...there is a market there even outside of the normal "coin collector" arena.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[NewGuy2005 53]

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That leaves taking it to a dealer. How do you go about that and make sure you get a fair deal?

I didn't read any of the other posts, intentionally. They may have good advice, but my first instinct is that you're desperate to sell, which makes a "fair deal" nearly impossible, especially in today's market...but never mind me.

Not at all. She's been talking about selling them for 6 years and just hasn't gotten around to it.

[muff528 3]

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Not at all. She's been talking about selling them for 6 years and just hasn't gotten around to it.

If you're in no big hurry you can spend a little time researching the coins for collector value. Kinda like treasure hunting. Meanwhile, for the common silver coins, you can set them aside and wait and see if silver will start tracking the rising gold price. It's just under $40 right now but it has been as high as $49 within the last couple of months. (Better examples of a few of the "common" dates are getting more desirable to collectors, too.) Also, you might find a new hobby.

[shropshire 0]

How about at a suitable Auction with sensible Reserve values places on each item OR the complete Lot?

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[JohnRich 4]

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I went to the grocery store last week, and the checker told me a guy just came in and wanted to trade a bunch of silver coins for bills. I asked the checker if he wanted them and he said no. I got 3 1964 half dollars, 1 1965 half dollar, 5 1968 half dollars, and 2 1964 quarters, all for $5. Some of the half dollars have really sharp cornerss between the faces and the edges, so they might be in pretty good condition.

Good deal, even at melt-down prices!
http://www.silvercoinstoday.com/pre-1965-silver-coin-melt-values-hit-30-year-highs/103181/