What to do with a Large Coin Collection?

Auctions

I would look into having an estate auction. You can usually combine yours with another estate. Try contacting locale auction firm, they can help you with the best venue to sell. Around here they conduct multiple family auctions about 3-4 a year. There is always large amounts of coins and other collectibles at these auctions. Between the coin collectors and dealers bidding, the coins always go for a decent price.
 
I would post coins here. Plenty of people here buy them.

Absolutely! Do not contract for an Estate Sale! Not for Coins! Those B'tards are pulling 30% commission off the top! Plus, they steal a lot themselves before the doors open...

Post them for sale here! I bet theres a dozen members within your AO that will drive on over even! Cash Money!
 
As a lifetime coin collector and former coin dealer I can tell you the best thing you can do is become knowledgeable before you go ahead and sell. That takes time but is worth it in the long run. Also, remember that if you sell to a coin dealer, even an honest one is only going to give you the wholesale price of the things you have and may not be interested in everything. Many people try to sell their coins and have an inflated idea as to what they're really worth and then think the dealer is ripping them off. If you can sell to other collectors you'll get more for them but it will take a long time to dispose of them.
 
Its understandable...It takes a lot of research and effort to learn about old dirty coins and their alleged "Street Value"....Even then, its a real pantload to get the G's sometimes without dicking around with some old dummy trying to buy for face......So as a philanthropist to a suffering Forum Member, I make this offer...

I'm here for you Brother!.....I will give you Face X10 and can be there tomorrow! Put the coffee on! :laughing: Sure I'm losing my ass...but thats pretty much the norm for me...

Folks in Texas say, "All Hat and no Cattle"...Well, I'm "All paper and no Silver"...Yeah, plus we gotta lotta Werewolves migrating around here in the Fall, coming down from Canada, so I need some silver for the self defense....
 
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.

Very Nice... it's good that you have a safe, and hopefully a decent insurance policy also. That looks like a LOT of value there.
 
As a lifetime coin collector and former coin dealer I can tell you the best thing you can do is become knowledgeable before you go ahead and sell. That takes time but is worth it in the long run. Also, remember that if you sell to a coin dealer, even an honest one is only going to give you the wholesale price of the things you have and may not be interested in everything. Many people try to sell their coins and have an inflated idea as to what they're really worth and then think the dealer is ripping them off. If you can sell to other collectors you'll get more for them but it will take a long time to dispose of them.

Agree with this, however; you may find that people collect certain series, even on this forum and will pay strong money for that material.
 
Agree with this, however; you may find that people collect certain series, even on this forum and will pay strong money for that material.


Agreed. I have bought and sold some high end Marbles. I find when selling that people who collect a certain niche will pay far more than the “general collector “. Finding those collectors will undoubtedly reap benefits.
 
Agreed. I have bought and sold some high end Marbles. I find when selling that people who collect a certain niche will pay far more than the “general collector “. Finding those collectors will undoubtedly reap benefits.

So true. I make jewelry as a hobby and sell what I make to pay for materials and tools. If something doesn't sell right away, raise the price. It will usually sell and if it doesn't, put it on "sale" to the original price. :?::lol::D
 
Very Nice... it's good that you have a safe, and hopefully a decent insurance policy also. That looks like a LOT of value there.

Thanks! We're covered on that and live in a great area for safety. Other than the safe, there are wireless alarms & cameras, gated/security monitored community, nosey neighbors, everyone knows everyone and what they drive, a police officer living across the street. A good many neighbors are active concealed carry and three or four homes here have their own shooting range. Get robbed once and it's GAME TIME!!!
 
As a lifetime coin collector and former coin dealer I can tell you the best thing you can do is become knowledgeable before you go ahead and sell. That takes time but is worth it in the long run. Also, remember that if you sell to a coin dealer, even an honest one is only going to give you the wholesale price of the things you have and may not be interested in everything. Many people try to sell their coins and have an inflated idea as to what they're really worth and then think the dealer is ripping them off. If you can sell to other collectors you'll get more for them but it will take a long time to dispose of them.

Thanks! It's mostly carving out some time to do it. I think I'm busier now retired than when I was "working."
 
Absolutely! Do not contract for an Estate Sale! Not for Coins! Those B'tards are pulling 30% commission off the top! Plus, they steal a lot themselves before the doors open...

Post them for sale here! I bet theres a dozen members within your AO that will drive on over even! Cash Money!

Good idea! I'll do that once I start getting them catalogued and an idea what they're worth and worth to me.
 
Good idea! I'll do that once I start getting them catalogued and an idea what they're worth and worth to me.

The famous "Red Book" is only a guideline. In my experience, some coins can't be bought at that price, and some won't sell at that price. I have a couple of Liberty Seated 1$ coins I bought recently, and I *wish* I could have bought them at the Red Book price.

As I recall, under some of the coin series (large cents for example) that higher grade uncirculated coins being worth considerably more. I think some older series coins topped out at MS60 in the Red Book listings. I paid more than Red Book for my 1851 large cent in MS63 Red/Brown condition.

I have noticed that some auction houses charge both buyer's and seller's fees of 10-15%. For example, at 10%, a coin selling for a hammer price of $100, the buyer would have to pay $110 and the seller would only get $90, leaving $20 for the house.

So, if you have the time and patience, you would get more selling them yourself. However, while the great coins would sell well and high, the lower grade coins might have to be bundled at bargain prices.

Good luck,

-- Tom
 
If it were me, I’d sell on here with your idea of price and see how that goes. It may take longer, but in the long run you will get a bigger bang for the buck. I collect old coins and several others do. If you have great stuff you should be able to sell it. Look at the both the red book for retail and blue book for an idea of what a dealer would pay you. No one is going to want to pay full retail you will sell more fasternif you go below red book on the common coins. For key dates or uncirculated specimens you might list the retail and say you are open to negotiate.
 
The famous "Red Book" is only a guideline. In my experience, some coins can't be bought at that price, and some won't sell at that price. I have a couple of Liberty Seated 1$ coins I bought recently, and I *wish* I could have bought them at the Red Book price.

As I recall, under some of the coin series (large cents for example) that higher grade uncirculated coins being worth considerably more. I think some older series coins topped out at MS60 in the Red Book listings. I paid more than Red Book for my 1851 large cent in MS63 Red/Brown condition.

I have noticed that some auction houses charge both buyer's and seller's fees of 10-15%. For example, at 10%, a coin selling for a hammer price of $100, the buyer would have to pay $110 and the seller would only get $90, leaving $20 for the house.

So, if you have the time and patience, you would get more selling them yourself. However, while the great coins would sell well and high, the lower grade coins might have to be bundled at bargain prices.

Good luck,

-- Tom

Exactly. Plenty of coins sell for multiples of list and others you’ll be lucky to get a fraction of it
 
If it were me, I’d sell on here with your idea of price and see how that goes. It may take longer, but in the long run you will get a bigger bang for the buck. I collect old coins and several others do. If you have great stuff you should be able to sell it. Look at the both the red book for retail and blue book for an idea of what a dealer would pay you. No one is going to want to pay full retail you will sell more fasternif you go below red book on the common coins. For key dates or uncirculated specimens you might list the retail and say you are open to negotiate.

I'd like to and plan to sell on here...I think. Unfortunately, I'm still on probation as a new member and do not have the strictly required 200 posts in the somewhat mysterious forums that count as part of the 200. Also, my "time in service" here at Friendly probably isn't enough to allow using the classifieds yet. So, maybe on Treasure/Findmall/ebay/etc. I tend to avoid craigslist as aggravating dealing with some of their shoppers. (LOL)
 
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.

If they mean nothing to you other than cash don't feel bad about having an auction or paying someone to liquidate them for you in one shot.

Parting them out piece by piece on ebay or on here or other forums would be DREADFUL. The internet is full of scammers and annoyances.

Say you have $10,000 in value and you get scammed for $1,000 or USPS loses 2 of your 500 packages (don't plan to count on USPS insurance)...at that point you might as well have paid the local auction house their 30% and called it a day.

Not saying it's the best option, but certainly don't discount it because it costs money.

That collection looks like it could be someone's dream so consider all your options carefully!

good luck!!!
 
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 .

Yet, that idea of no one caring for them and dumping them for face value happens so often that is what keeps all CRHers hunting on a regular basis, finding those silver left by relatives at the bank machine!

KT just hopes in your circumstance, this does not happen to your collection!

BTW, KT was a coin collector for a few years when young....and suffered from what most collectors have.. An emotional attachment to those objects. Now KT is simply a hoarder, saving every silver He gleans by CRHing. Still like to look at coins, but now putting them away for Prince John. Your situation is different because, from what you have stated, these could be quality coins collected by a knowledgeable collector....perhaps some key dates, etc. Also, early proof sets have a collector value, but later ones mass produced by the Mint are worth less that what they originally sold for! You have a lot to investigate! Best wishes for finding some really good coins in there!
 
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Yet, that idea of no one caring for them and dumping them for face value happens so often that is what keeps all CRHers hunting on a regular basis, finding those silver left by relatives at the bank machine!

KT just hopes in your circumstance, this does not happen to your collection!

BTW, KT was a coin collector for a few years when young....and suffered from what most collectors have.. An emotional attachment to those objects. Now KT is simply a hoarder, saving every silver He gleans by CRHing. Still like to look at coins, but now putting them away for Prince John. Your situation is different because, from what you have stated, these could be quality coins collected by a knowledgeable collector....perhaps some key dates, etc. Also, early proof sets have a collector value, but later ones mass produced by the Mint are worth less that what they originally sold for! You have a lot to investigate! Best wishes for finding some really good coins in there!


Thanks KT ! Yes , I do have a few really choice coins collected back when I
had a little spare money to invest in them . I never did get into proof sets
though .Now it's what little silver I can dig up and Coinstar finds .I used to do great coin roll hunting but now the competition has gotten too intense . It seems the tellers have cornered that market . Happy Holidays to you and your family KT .
 
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