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 Replies: 12 / Views: 1,370 |
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New Member
United States
2 Posts |
Hey coin gowers! So I recently inherited a load of coins from my grandfather. I know nothing about collecting them or what they are worth. There are a ton of them... maybe 500, maybe 5000.... I'm not sure yet Really I am looking to find out if there is a good/correct way to go about selling the coins. I would like to sell them individually; however, I am unsure if ebay is the best way to do so. Also, should I have them appraised before hand? Is there any methods of appraisal that you guys would recommend? Thanks for the help guys... maybe we can find some gems and you guys can buy them :D Brett |
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Valued Member
United States
395 Posts |
Im impressed... This question comes up once every three days it seems... but usually its "how do I do it with no work on my end, quickly, most money, etc etc etc."
You stated you are willing to sell them individually AND correctly... sounds like you are willing to actually put the work in, learn, get help, etc compared to some others that seem to think it can be done in 10 minutes. Kudos. You may end up like me and I imagine others here that were in your situation and before you know it you are a collector ;)
Step one is knowing what you have. Divide into type of coins would probably be the most basic first step. If you give us an idea of what you have someone can probably steer you in the best direction.
Oh, and Welcome!
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5417 Posts |
First divide your coins by country. Then by denomination (i.e. 5 cent, 10 cent, 2 euros, 5 rupees etc.). The NGC world coin price guide ( http://www.ngccoin.com/poplookup/wo...-guide.aspx) is a good start. Really though judging by the amount of coins you have you may have to consign them to a coin dealer or sell them in group lots becasue if you sell them individually on ebay, it will take you maybe 10 years. |
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New Member
United States
24 Posts |
I would take pictures of them and then post them here to ask.
The questions we need to know the answers to help you are as follows:
what denominations of coins are they? (penny, nickel, dime, quarter, half dollar, dollar, gold coins?)
what dates are they from, in general, 1800's?, 1910's, 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's, etc)
are they in sets, in 2by2 cases, coin folders, or are they just in plastic baggies or something.
Once we know this we can ask you more specific questions and we can help you but until we know what we are dealing with, it is no good
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
856 Posts |
Photographing them individually (which would be essential to get a decent price on ebay) would take a lot of time so I'd agree with trying to list by value and date to pick out ones that are potentially worth more. Importantly, don't clean them. That will reduce the value of any that have some. Once you have all your quarters, dollars whatever together maybe take a good quality photograph of the whole lot. That way people here should be able to see what sort of condition the coins are in. That too affects the value of a coin and the lower grade ones might be best sold together. Any valuable ones (if there are any) might be better sold through an auctioneer or to a specialist dealer. Any you can't ID, well there's an "identify my coin" section here where people can help. |
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New Member
 United States
2 Posts |
Thanks for the quick replies everyone.. Yes, I could see after I learn more about the collection there will undoubtedly be a few that I am not willing to give up. I will be picking up at least the first grouping of them here in a few days and will get to sorting. Once I have a few of them sorted Ill have to go from there. The information you've given me already is great. Sounds like I dont need to have them appraised since looking them up in the price guide will give me a good starting point.. perhaps ebay starting price of 2/3 the list price? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1130 Posts |
If you are going to sell them, I would put the lower value ones together and sell better value ones separate. When you get them sorted, let us know what you have.  Edited by Bassmaster
08/24/2013 6:28 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
Quote:Sounds like I dont need to have them appraised since looking them up in the price guide will give me a good starting point.. perhaps ebay starting price of 2/3 the list price? Completed ebay listings and http://www.numismedia.com/fmv/fmv.shtml is what I use. I wouldnt bother with an appraisal. For selling on ebay though nothing is going to beat the completed history to see what they generally go for. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1130 Posts |
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
Let's first get a feel for what you have, and then figure out appropriate ways to liquidate them. For the record - just being a Moderator  - we have strict rules regarding new members selling (you might have noticed that in the Rules you agreed to when you registered). I don't consider what you posted to be remotely in violation of those rules - you were just being polite - but we're going to have to recommend other venues for the sale unless you choose to stick around for 250 posts. And if you do that, we're going to convert you into a collector by then and you won't want to sell anyway. I'm going to move this to a more appropriate subforum. |
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Valued Member
United States
477 Posts |
Yes, don't be in a big hurry to sell(like I did), take some time and learn what you have, look them over, learn some basic grading and just enjoy the history.
I made the mistake of trading off the rare and valuable coins I acquired for junk silver before I became interested in numismatics. Now I regret that and don't even know what I had, I trusted the coin shop to be fair.
So take a few months, hang out here, study up on your coinage and once you have a basic understanding of what you have acquired you can make better decisions on whether to keep or sell them.
Rick
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8904 Posts |
to the Forum!! You've come to a good place to get help! You have found yourself in an enviable position! I agree with every bit of the advice offered so far. Don't clean the coins and don't be in any sort of a hurry to liquidate your new collection being the most important advice given so far. Learning what you have and what the going rate for each coin is something you'll never regret doing when you look back at this time in your life. I wish you good luck and lots of fun sorting through the collection your ancestor lovingly collected!!  And we want pictures!  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
I have many suggestions. 1. Stick around mere and become a coin collector. 2. Go to coin shows and ask how much it cost to rent a spot or table. Then take all your coins there and sell them as a dealer. 3. Go to coin shows and ask dealers if they would like to sell your coins on consignment. 4. List them all on Craigs list. Not sure if spelt right since I don't use it. 5. I think there is something called Angies list foo for selling or buying stuff. 6. Send all your coins to me and I'll pretend to estimate their value and send you money instead.  Note the pretend statement. 7. Go to ebay and say Quote:So I recently inherited a load of coins from my grandfather. I know nothing about collecting them or what they are worth. There are a ton of them... maybe 500, maybe 5000.... I'm not sure yet Of course you would see hundreds of the same story there. 8. Look around for a copy of the Red Book by Whitman Publishing. Buy it and sit down and sort of estimate what you have. By values, reduce the Red Books values by about 25%. 8. Take them all to a coin store and then you'ld have something to cry about for many years. 9. I'd keep them all as a momento or remembrance of my grandfather. |
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Replies: 12 / Views: 1,370 |
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Posted 08/24/2013 4:31 pm
