What to do with a Large Coin Collection?

RBachman

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A large coin collection given to me by my father before he passed has sat in my safe for years. Dad collected coins his entire life. In all there's easily more than 25 pounds of silver coins, many (if not most) are either uncirculated or have minimal wear for their age and there are a lot of proof sets. Nearly all are already marked/graded and stored in coin holders.

But what do I do with them? Rather than just keeping them locked in a safe and bringing them out to look at every few years I feel they should serve a better purpose...like paying for my gear. LOL

So, is there a good way to turn all this into spendable cash? I don't need the money, it's more of trimming down of the stuff we have, but we also want a fair price.

Any opinions or experience to share is greatly appreciated.

THANKS!!

Rich B.
 
I would guess that most silver coins, barring the MS60+ coins, would be worth scrap silver if you wanted to sell them. There are some exceptions, though, and you would have to get a book or look online for each date/mint to check. Most coin dealers or pawn brokers have no problems dealing in scrap silver.

Some proof sets are better than others. You would need a reference book to tell which is which.

To sum it up, it's really hard to tell what the value is unless specifics are provided. If you sell a 1916-D mercury dime for scrap silver, you will wear out your boots kicking yourself.

-- Tom, who specializes in ancient coins
 
Me, I'd look at different selling venues to see what's giving the best price then sell them there. Search FeeBay and see what your coins are selling for on there. Take same coins to your local coin shops and get a price from them. If they are similar, then you can sell them to your local shop. If FeeBay prices are higher, you can sell there. I'm sure there are coin specific forums that you could look into as well. Hopefully they don't have a 200 post requirement before you can list :laughing:


BCD
 
Me, I'd look at different selling venues to see what's giving the best price then sell them there. Search FeeBay and see what your coins are selling for on there. Take same coins to your local coin shops and get a price from them. If they are similar, then you can sell them to your local shop. If FeeBay prices are higher, you can sell there. I'm sure there are coin specific forums that you could look into as well. Hopefully they don't have a 200 post requirement before you can list :laughing:


BCD

Now that's funny! It's true that a few bad apples have forced everyone else that's honest to go through the hoops. The sad part is that it also hurts those enthusiasts who could truly benefit the most from a good deal are kept from knowing about them by the same crooks.

An example is that I just sold a new AT-Max bundle for about HALF of what I paid just last month. I didn't need or care to get more for it. The AT-Max was used LESS than 2 hours because I also purchased a 3030 and did not need both. There's not even a scuff mark on the AT-Max or the coil. It included all accessories with the bundle, and the Bill of Sale showing when and where it was purchased.

So I thought someone with limited funds who wanted to upgrade or get into the hobby could get a great (and often needed) deal. The 200 post rule kept me from selling here. But the good news is that a young college kid with limited funds is getting into the hobby. He picks it up this weekend.

Probably not practical, but it'd be nice if there was a way for Admins to pre-verify individuals and maybe even charge for selling prior to meeting the limit requirements. For example: a poster can fill out an application with proper credentials (address, phone/contact info., proof of ID/copy of drivers license, etc.). Then the site can require they be a contributing member and also charge an additional fee for accelerated access to the classifieds. But only after proper vetting. It's too many hoops and $$ for spammers and scammers, and could help the forum financially as well as the members searching for deals.
 
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I would guess that most silver coins, barring the MS60+ coins, would be worth scrap silver if you wanted to sell them. There are some exceptions, though, and you would have to get a book or look online for each date/mint to check. Most coin dealers or pawn brokers have no problems dealing in scrap silver.

Some proof sets are better than others. You would need a reference book to tell which is which.

To sum it up, it's really hard to tell what the value is unless specifics are provided. If you sell a 1916-D mercury dime for scrap silver, you will wear out your boots kicking yourself.

-- Tom, who specializes in ancient coins

Thanks Tom! I figured as much. But the idea of melting down an 1800's coin is just bothers me, you know? Thankfully, I think the vast majority of these coins are graded F, VF and AU.
 
It takes about a Lifetime to get really good at Numismatics!...

If you can afford to wait and learn, it may be a really great thing for you to just sit on for a while, Do NOT Sell or even consider any offers! Educate yourself, consider what it meant to your Father and Why he was enamored with such a wonderful collection of Old coins?...Winter is Coming, and its a really fun thing to do in the Winter..research and learn...

Join the local Numismatic club like a lot of us Detectorists have done...Those old bastards aint all scoundrels, maybe 50/50...But they will all appreciate and educate you as to what you have there...especially if you make it clear you are NOT selling!

Then you do!...before you die and your kid runs those full rolls of halfs over the counter at the bank for face! :laughing: The whole idea on an inheritance is to not make the decedant come back after you and haunt you in your dreams...

If this is too much to handle, you can PM me the combination to your safe and your address...Leave your door unlocked...I will alleviate you of this problem and you can file an insurance claim for full Melt value!...:laughing:

This is probably the best way to proceed at this juncture...Thats why this place is known as the 'Friendly Forum'...neighbor helping neighbor on a kind of First Dibs dynamic!...:laughing:
 
It takes about a Lifetime to get really good at Numismatics!...

If you can afford to wait and learn, it may be a really great thing for you to just sit on for a while, Do NOT Sell or even consider any offers! Educate yourself, consider what it meant to your Father and Why he was enamored with such a wonderful collection of Old coins?...Winter is Coming, and its a really fun thing to do in the Winter..research and learn...

Join the local Numismatic club like a lot of us Detectorists have done...Those old bastards aint all scoundrels, maybe 50/50...But they will all appreciate and educate you as to what you have there...especially if you make it clear you are NOT selling!

Then you do!...before you die and your kid runs those full rolls of halfs over the counter at the bank for face! :laughing: The whole idea on an inheritance is to not make the decedant come back after you and haunt you in your dreams...

If this is too much to handle, you can PM me the combination to your safe and your address...Leave your door unlocked...I will alleviate you of this problem and you can file an insurance claim for full Melt value!...:laughing:

This is probably the best way to proceed at this juncture...Thats why this place is known as the 'Friendly Forum'...neighbor helping neighbor on a kind of First Dibs dynamic!...:laughing:



Great info Mud ! I would definitely come back and haunt dreams if my coin collection got pissed away for pennies on the dollar .It already makes me a bit sad that my family doesn't share my enthusiasm for coin collecting or detecting but that's life ! They do love money though and know value so that's a bit of a consolation .
 
@Soil Surgeon, I can completely understand. I have a lot of ancient coins, some very valuable, and the total collection value is way up there. However, NOBODY in my family is really interested in them at all. I have no idea what I will do with them, so about all I can do is leave instructions to contact some trusted dealers in ancients if they want to dispose of them.

-- Tom
 
@Soil Surgeon, I can completely understand. I have a lot of ancient coins, some very valuable, and the total collection value is way up there. However, NOBODY in my family is really interested in them at all. I have no idea what I will do with them, so about all I can do is leave instructions to contact some trusted dealers in ancients if they want to dispose of them.

-- Tom

You should at some point Catalog them with an approx. value of each and leave them with the coins.. funny how when relatives see $$$ next to something how quick they will perk up.. otherwise they might just think it is just a coin and who knows what would happen to them
 
You should at some point Catalog them with an approx. value of each and leave them with the coins.. funny how when relatives see $$$ next to something how quick they will perk up.. otherwise they might just think it is just a coin and who knows what would happen to them

I agree, there's just so many of them. LOL. Yeah, my family perks up like that also, but it's usually to sell family heirlooms. The latest conflict is selling property. A 100 acres of farm land that has been in the family for nearly 300 years. But cousins have ruled and I lost that one. Of course their response is that it's easier for me since I don't need the money and selling it will not change my quality of life. Regardless, I need to get out there and see what I can find before it's gone. I don't believe that it's ever been searched with a MD. Maybe I'll find some more old coins to worry with? LOL
 
I agree, there's just so many of them. LOL. Yeah, my family perks up like that also, but it's usually to sell family heirlooms. The latest conflict is selling property. A 100 acres of farm land that has been in the family for nearly 300 years. But cousins have ruled and I lost that one. Of course their response is that it's easier for me since I don't need the money and selling it will not change my quality of life. Regardless, I need to get out there and see what I can find before it's gone. I don't believe that it's ever been searched with a MD. Maybe I'll find some more old coins to worry with? LOL
Maybe you can parcel it out and "preserve" 10 acres or something to keep it in the family

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
sell the coins and buy the family land.

^
what he said.

Also the winter project of researching and cataloging is good logic. A well documented collection would likely bring a premium at a good coin auction...or ebay, etc. I would not list that on Craigslist.

Also, you might want to hold it until the silver spot price goes high again.
 
The way you're likely to sell is to another re seller who's going to lowball you for his spread.

Best route is letting a collector appraise it and help you liquidate it. You maximize profits and the collectors get deals minus the spreads from the middle men resellers.
 
Buy yourself a coin book and start going through looking for key dates, keep those, everything else maybe put it in a lot and sell on ebay.
 
Finally pulled those boxes out the safe and laid most of it out on a pool table until I ran out of room. I counted over 400 Silver Dollars, but did not have time to go through all of them. There's also a lot of dimes, nickels, pennys and quarters. A lot of commemorating coins, and other stuff. Most are from the late 1800's and a fair amount from the early 1900's. Pennys, dimes and nickels are the same. All are easily recognizable (date/denomination/face and back. I'm thinking 80% or better are lightly circulated or uncirculated. There are also 50 or 60 proof and uncirculated sets, mostly from the 50's onward. The silver $1 in the sleeves are 90% 1800' and in rather good shape.
 

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Finally pulled those boxes out the safe and laid most of it out on a pool table until I ran out of room. I counted over 400 Silver Dollars, but did not have time to go through all of them. There's also a lot of dimes, nickels, pennys and quarters. A lot of commemorating coins, and other stuff. Most are from the late 1800's and a fair amount from the early 1900's. Pennys, dimes and nickels are the same. All are easily recognizable (date/denomination/face and back. I'm thinking 80% or better are lightly circulated or uncirculated. There are also 50 or 60 proof and uncirculated sets, mostly from the 50's onward. The silver $1 in the sleeves are 90% 1800' and in rather good shape.

:shock::shock::shock:

Amazing collection. Going to be a lot of work to liquidate a collection that size. I'm not sure what the cost would be for an auction house to catalog it and sell it for you would be. You're in a great situation though.
 
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