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 Replies: 12 / Views: 1,391 |
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New Member
United Kingdom
2 Posts |
Hi all Need some advice please.......  My dad past away and has left a large collection of coins can anyone give me some good advice as to how I can sell them for my mum. There are 10 boxes of files and some logs which he kept. Thanks Tracey |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2254 Posts |
Welcome to the forum Tracey. Couple of things come to mind in the position you are in. We must first deduce what you have in your collection. If you and your father are/were from the UK, chances are you may have a mixture of world and US coins. Maybe even mostly world. First things first, tell us what you have. Even a brief list of something. 1. Prior to selling anything, do yourself a favor and do some research. You're already headed in the right direction by joining here. 2. Unless it is unavoidable or the money is needed instantly, slow down and take a deep breath.  3. If you have access to these logs and files, start perusing them and compare the items to things here in the coin facts section on the left for US coins. If you have a large world collection, there is also a world section on this site in which you can ask questions. 4. Take the initial monetary setback and buy some books with current pricing in them. For US coins it is the RedBook, by R.S.Yeoman. I think there are many different ones for world coins, so someone should be able to tell you which one to purchase. I went through this same drill myself, and I am now a collector. Others just may want to liquidate and be done with it, which is perfectly fine. I just want to stress to take your time if possible and enlist the help of the great people here for advice and questions. There is a wealth of knowledge here, and lots of people willing to help. |
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New Member
 United Kingdom
2 Posts |
Thanks for the reply  I will try and find some time to look through them and see if I can find any that I think may stand out. Problem is... so little time ... so much to do. I am in the process of moving house so very busy. My mum wants to sell as soon as to buy a headstone for my dad. Can anyone recommend a dealer in London that will do a visit and value them ? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4589 Posts |
Tracey do you know the origin of most of the coins United Kingdom, US CAnada. etc. Most of the time you can idea by looking at them also dates and Denominations (shilling, pound, etc) ask away on any question you may have post some photos of the coins we can give you a ballpark idea , figure on them.
I have to agree with my friend tights24 thought and all he said. their are alot of honest dealers in the world and their are alot of crooks out there. Some people might try to take advantage of you. but if you can post some pics we would be able to help .
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4589 Posts |
Tracey I forgot my manners. Welcome to the forum and We are all sorry to here of your loss.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
882 Posts |
Your a good man, Jim.
Welcome to the forum, Tracey. If you don't research your collection and sell fast you may lose quite a profit. And I'm not talking about a little one either.
Ty
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Moderator
 Australia
16836 Posts |
Being in the UK, I assume the collection is mainly British coins, perhaps with a few Ancient Roman or British Empire/Commonwealth.
For highest "quick profit" with smallest chance of missing out on getting "true value" for rare collectable coins, I would suggest starting with any "bullion coins" he has, especially gold - things like low grade sovereigns or modern British or world gold coins. These aren't as likely to be rare or valuable in the numismatic sense, and with the gold and silver price where it is, you'd probably get enough to cover your costs with just a couple of coins. Just about any coin dealer, gold merchant or jeweller would pay bullion value for such coins.
I don't think we've got too many regular members here who are familiar with the British and particularly London coin scene - I've never been to the Old Dart myself. I'm told by frequent visitors to that city that most of the "Old Coin Dealerships" have evolved into auction houses now, and may not show much interest in consigning your coins unless there's something spectacular in the collection.
The best book to check the values of old English/British coins is "Coins of England & the United Kingdom" issued by Spink, one of the larger London auction houses. If you don't want to buy one your local library ought to have a copy, if they're anything like libraries in Australia and the US. For world coins, the phone-book-sized, American-made "Standard Catalog of World Coins" by Krause Publications is just about the only boat afloat.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
United States
830 Posts |
Tracey, I'm so sorry to hear of your loss.
But, welcome to Coin Community.
I'd agree with tights24 and others who highly recommend taking your time, and getting educated. However, in your situation, needing to liquidate it rapidly, perhaps posting some photos and/or descriptions of the collection here would help us to help you with estimating value. It will really depend on the nature of the collection as to how much we here might know about pricing.
I hope we can be of assistance to you.
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Valued Member
United States
50 Posts |
Having dealt with this issue quite a few times over the past several years, please make note of the single most important thing you must know in your situation: It is absolutely essential to receive multiple appraisals on the collection. The worst possible route to take is accept the very first offer. I've seen it happen far too many times!
If the collection is large (it sounds like it is), then select a sampling of perhaps 15 coins of the widest possible variety (old, new, worn, ugly, pretty, etc), and number the flips from 1 - 15. Place them all in unlabeled flips, and then get appraisals on them. Request line-item appraisals, whereby the dealer will list the flip #, coin, grade and offer. NEVER show one dealer's valuations to another dealer! Get three to five appraisals and compare them.
This is by far the single most educational step you can take toward finding out which dealer is most likely to treat you fairly.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
I too am sorry for your loss. I'm well up there in age and worry about where my collection will end up. For the most important thing you should really do is everything noted by tights24 and then some.
Note you could be sitting on a fortune and letting it go in desperation could cost you and your family more than you could imagine. I know from what you discussed this is not exactly the time to try getting involved with anything complicated. However, in remembrance of a person that may have spent many hours involved in a hobby, I hope you give everything a little more thought prior to selling everything off. Again, please accept my condolences.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4589 Posts |
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Valued Member
United States
73 Posts |
Agree with all the great advices, if money is not an issue hang on to them they will be worth it.
and welcome to the forum, hopefully you be a fully time member, sorry for your loss.
Coinmaniac
Edited by coinmaniac
03/16/2007 8:42 pm
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Rest in Peace
United States
3730 Posts |
Sorry for your loss.
Welcome to the forum!!
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Replies: 12 / Views: 1,391 |
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Posted 03/14/2007 7:05 pm
