How Do I Know If My Old Coins Are Worth Anything.

Posting a couple of the coins in a new thread with photos will be best for us to help you with your questions.

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Hello and welcome.

Things that make a coin valuable:
- Precious metal content. Gold and silver coins are usually more valuable than base-metal coins.
- Rarity. This is a combination of mintage (how many were originally made) and survival rate (how many are likely to have been destroyed since then).
- Condition. Generally, better condition (less well worn) coins are much more valuable than otherwise identical worn coins.
- Demand. A coin might be really, really rare, but if no-one wants it, it won't be valuable. Some coins are simply more popular than others.

Another factor in the price discrepancies you are seeing is that there is a great difference between what people are asking for a coin, and what people actually get for a coin. Some sellers, either through ignorance or malice, offer completely unrealistic prices on their coins.

There are coin catalogues that give typical selling prices for most coins; an honest, reputable coin seller will not aim to go much higher than the prices listed in those books. You're in Britain; the standard coin catalogues people seem to use there are the Spink catalogue (which covers all of British/English history) and the Rotographic guidebook (which only has modern coins, 1813 onwards).

For foreign/world coins, the American-made Krause catalogues are the standard reference. There is an online version of the Krause catalogue maintained by NGC, one of the American coin grading companies; you can find it here. If you know the country, date and denomination of your coin, you can look up the price guide there.

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