| Author |
 Replies: 7 / Views: 129 |
|
|
New Member
United States
4 Posts |
OK. This may end up being a long thread (but hopefully interesting!), so please bear with me. First - hopefully this is the right forum to post this - if not let me know where I should. (No other one seemed obvious, given the situation and mix of coins I'm looking at.) I am a casual collector, and a history buff. I haven't yet retired - figured I might get into coin collecting more in the years to come. First - the situation. I inherited a fairly large collection from my father. I'll post info and pics over the coming few days. I have several siblings. We've talked about selling all or most of the collection and splitting the funds; initially it was going to help with my father's care, but he passed a couple years ago so that need is not there. However I'm still considering selling all or most of it - in part so that there's no question of impropriety (i.e. me keeping them and paying the rest of the family for them, but not paying them what they're really worth). However they're fairly understanding, so me keeping them is still perhaps on the table. It may depend some on how much they're worth. (knowing that "worth" can be difficult to really ascertain). So - I'm hoping to get people's opinions on best ways to try to value them, best ways to (potentially) sell them, and also just have some interesting discussion on the coins themselves. I did look at the "what to do when you inherit" page - lots of good info there. I'm doing this post to get some thoughts on my specific collection. So, here we go.... Edited by WolfStock
Today 8H 39M ago
|
|
|
|
New Member
 United States
4 Posts |
First - a general list of what I have (more high-value ones generally at the top): - Several PCGS-cert Morgan silver dollars - MS62-64 - One German 1963 JFK commemorative gold coin - Several rolls of silver dimes, quarters, and half-dollars - A bunch of low-grade numismatics in flips (e.g. 1901 Barber dime, 1852 3-cent silver, etc.) - Roll of 1886 Morgans - A bunch of sheets of unmarked flips of lower-value coins - A bunch of sheets of European coins - A bunch of different commemoratives - A bunch of date set books (Whitman and others) - A few different proof sets - More to be added... Most of his collecting was done in the 1960's and 70's. I can post some pictures if appropriate / desired. I'm still going through things though! Edited by WolfStock
Today 8H 33M ago
|
|
New Member
United States
4 Posts |
I'm doing quite-thorough cataloging of them - in a spreadsheet with numbered references, dates, type, etc. and pictures of everything. Not going to post it here, just noting that I'm keeping track of everything. May use this a crude way to estimate the total value.
It's a huge variety!
|
|
New Member
United States
4 Posts |
One big question is going to be estimating the value, and how much I could potentially sell them for. One key thing - there's an upcoming "buying event" next week at a local jewelry store. I popped by this a couple of years ago and chatted with the coin person (from out of state) and got his info. I emailed recently but no response, so he may be out of the business. I'm guessing that it would hard to get a decent price by selling to them his way. I'm sure there's too much variety and quantity to just bring it into the store and plop it down and get any kind of reasonable amount for it. My guess would be it would be a process of working with this someone (broker I guess) and mailing things to them or the like; depending on their location. However my guess would be using such a broker probably wouldn't be the best option for getting a decent price. Other options I've seen include selling at a good coin shop (there's one a few miles a way, though not sure if still open), and selling online - e.g. ebay. ebay seems to be place most likely to get the best price. Unfortunately I'm a busy person and don't have tons of time these days. So if I sell them within the next year or two I'd probably get less than otherwise. If I wait until after I retire in a few years I'd be able to devote more time, e.g. to break out and sell each individual coin / set. Thoughts on all that? (this is assuming I sell some or all; that's TBD) Edited by WolfStock
Today 8H 30M ago
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2297 Posts |
Take your time thinking about the options before doing anything. Those traveling buying events are not the best in my opinion. Try local coin stores, coin shows, the well known online dealers. Sold prices on ebay is a good place to get current values. If you decide to sell them all you are not far from major city, there's several coin stores within about an hour drive you can check out. Use your browser to find them. Coin stores will offer lower price than retail of course so they can sell and make a profit. There's prior comments about this on CCF, here is one: https://goccf.com/t/491701Edited by livingwater
Today 8H 0M ago
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
19337 Posts |
Agree with livingwater. Do avoid traveling buying events. Looking at ebay sold information is a good place to develop a sense for what people are paying. If you have access to an established, reputable coin shop, a reconnaissance visit might beneficial. If you are in Northern Virginia, there should be more than one in the area. Looking forward to seeing some photos! |
|
Bedrock of the Community
 United States
26289 Posts |
 to the CCF, WolfStock! I get the feeling that there is no urgent need to liquidate this collection ASAP, which is a good thing. Having to rush into a sale guarantees that you won't get the best price for your items. If there's no pressing need for the funds, take your time to itemize the collection in a spreadsheet. You can then assign values to each item. More on this in a bit. I advise you to not sell anything if you are considering taking up the hobby. I have quite a few coins from my father - he had been a more than casual collector and then got more serious when I showed an interest in collecting in the early '70s. The family connection makes me appreciate these coins more than other similar ones. Also, it would be a shame to have to go back and reacquire an example of a coin that you sold if you do take up the hobby. There are a few different ways to assign values to each coin. The first is to ask someone, such as your LCS or better yet here on the CCF. We don't have a financial interest in your coins so we'll give you the best estimate. Start a new topic for each coin, and post a clear image of both sides of the coin. If you have a large number, you could scan an entire sheet and post that. A second way is to look at ebay sold listings - not items for sale.em After you have a firm idea of what you have and the general value, you can then look into what you'll do with the collection. Inordinately fascinated by bits of metal with strange markings and figures
|
|
Valued Member
United States
63 Posts |
Find a coin club near you and attend a couple of meetings. Most will do an auction during the meeting. Not only will you usually get a better price than a dealer will pay, but the coins will go straight to another collector instead of to a flipper. Plus, you will probably make a bunch of new friends.
Like most collectors, I had a "specialty" but accumulated a lot of other "stuff" in many years of collecting. I find that a coin club is a great way to auction off the extra items I have accumulated so my wife won't have to deal with them down the line.
As folks have said above, the most important thing will be to educate yourself, first, so you know what you have.
|
| |
Replies: 7 / Views: 129 |
|
Posted Today 8H 54M ago
