Advice On Selling Silver Coin Collection

Thank you for all of the quick responses! There are about 2,000 quarters, 1,200 dimes, and 700 half dollars. The rolls are not new, and the coins, based on my cursory and inexperienced examination, are not generally in very good shape (although some probably are). It looks to me as though the collector was picking them out of circulation decades ago. None of them seem to be severely damaged. I'm probably not up to the task of selling them in individual lots through a service like ebay, and I don't think the heirs are interested in me splitting the coins. (But that's a good point - I will ask.) I am probably faced with the challenge of finding a good way to sell the whole thing. Is there any rule of thumb, like a minimum value that I might expect? For example, if melt value is $12,000, what is the least I should accept for the collection?

As is the case in selling any group, expect 10 to 15% less than market if you sell to one buyer.

ALL "dealers" will offer less than spot.

If you want to maximize the value, more than likely, you will need to sell in small/smaller lots to multiple buyers.

Personally, I would find the local coin club and try to sell to members there.

I've been in the unfortunate position you describe of needing to liquidate an unknown as an executor.

We coin collectors are always going to hope you have some high grades or rare errors or overdate to make a big value from a melt value.

If none of the heirs want to take the coins at 10% less than melt, save yourself time and work and sell to a coin shop or pawn shop for what you can get, no less than 85% of melt.

Get a list of the rare years/mints for each denomination for the time period. Run through the coins and determine whether any of them are present.

Set these aside for possible sale on ebay (a PITA but your best bet) and then sell the rest to a local coin or pawn shop for not less than 85% of their melt value.
For the set aside coins, look at the sold listings for each coin in the condition matching those coins.
Hopefully you won't have that many. If you have a bunch in the <$10 range, sell them to a local coin shop (I find that ebay isn't worth messing with below $10.)

What you are experiencing is why I have left explicit instructions in my will how to sell off my collection. As I've gotten older I have also simplified my collection, and will continue to do so to avoid leaving my heirs a mess. Learned this when my wife was an executor of her parents estate.

Another thing .. if you feel comfortable with saying.

What state or area are you in .. someone here might be able
to recommend a good coin shop or bullion dealer. Maybe even
find out what they are paying in your area. If there are
multiple places in your area, I would contact them all.
Just to compare prices.

Some small shops may not be able to purchase $10,000 or
more at one time. You could offer to break down the
amounts and sell over a few weeks.

More than half of the 1/2 dollars are walking liberty, and some of the dimes are mercury, but most are not. I'm located in central Jersey not far outside Philadelphia. Any references to local coins clubs or shops would be appreciated. Thanks again for all the help!

Unfortunately, you don't have enough posts to offer them for sale here. I can think of one person that would be interested in buying the whole lot from you.

I think you'd easily get 8.5x face from a "We Buy Silver/Gold" place, or maybe a little bit more. 10-12x face is typically what a dealer would sell them for, in my experience.

Not saying anyone did anything wrong, just an obligatory reminder...

Buy/Sell/Trade Rules