Rare coins

[Scoot]

I've got a bunch of valuable coins that were left to me by my grandma. What's the best way for me to determine what they are worth? If I take them to a place to have them appraised, they can tell me anything and I won't know any different as far as the accuracy of their info.

Suggestions welcome.

[bobbymalone]

I think a quick and dirty and way would be to just plug in the type of coin and year into an online auction site and search for completed auctions to see what they are going for.

Many moons ago, an old timer came into the grocery store I was working at and tried to pay for a loaf of bread with a silver dollar from the late 1800s. I told him I wouldn't accept it and that it had to be worth more than a dollar... I even told him that I would pay for his loaf of bread so he didn't have to use that coin. He wouldn't listen and insisted that I take it. So I did. Then I took a dollar out of my pocket and traded it.

Checked it on that auction site a couple years ago and the exact coin with similar quality was going for about $50...

[halad]

Good luck finding an honest coin dealer you might check with several of them. You need to know Denomination of coin, date, mint mark, condition, any damage, cleaned, dont clean the coins. You might look for a coin club on the net and get a collector to look at them. Whatever you do get more than one opinion if you are goin to sell the coins.

[Bowfin]

They publish a blue book of coin values and different appraisal guides every year. Go to the library or nearest book staore and get a recent appraisal book. Easy to look up different rare coins and they give you approximate value. Hardest part is to determine the coins condition. Condition really affects value.

[Scoot]

Thanks for the info!

[halad]

You will still need somebody who can grade coins to look at them. You can find date and mint mark in a book But there can be a big difference between say a VF-30 and a MS-63.

[Scoot]

Thanks again. Any suggestion as to where I can find such a person who won't take advantage of my lack of knowledge?

[Steve Foss]

Heritage Auction Galleries in Dallas, Tex. They are online. They are honest and good people. My Dad, who has been a coin collector most of his life, has worked with them and continues to do so. He is planning on selling some extremely rare coins through them. You talk to them on the phone first to give them a rundown of what you have. They send you shipping info/materials and you send the coins to them (they are insured throughout the whole process) for grading and auction.

[Scoot]

Cool, thanks Steve. Can I send the coins to them and have them give me a handle on what I've got. I'm really not sure what I want to do it them, largely because I have no idea what I've got. If their value is low to medium, I'd hang on to them for sentimental reasons. If it was high, I'd likely sell them.

[Steve Foss]

Call them first and see how best to proceed. They're well used to phone inquiries from non experts. They can tell you what you have and what its approximate value is over the phone, but will have to have the coins in hand before they can make a more accurate estimate, since quality/wear is as important for many coin sales as rarity.

Are the coins loose and banging around, or are they packaged as sets or individually?

[DTro]

Just remember that appraisals are just that and used mostly for insurance replacement.

That figure is different than what you will be able to sell them for usually.

You can only get what someone will pay you for them, no matter what any book says. But at least it will give you a ballpark figure.

[Steve Foss]

Just to be clear, Heritage Auction will tell you what they think the coins will bring at auction today, just like Antiques Roadshow. I bet they'll also give you an appraisal for insurance purposes if you ask. And like Darren said, the two estimates likely will not be the same.

[Chris55386]

The best way to find the value is HSO-Classifieds, it is a world wide market. You just need to have great photos and lots of them with a good description and they will sell for what the market will bear. Sometimes higher than expected other time lower.

Check it out it works... Even if you are just looking to see what something is worth do a search and put it in your watched list, when the auction ends you can go back and see what they got for the item.

[Chris55386]

Sorry i used a banned word, try the Big E online auctions.