| Author |
 Replies: 9 / Views: 1,081 |
|
|
New Member
United States
2 Posts |
Hi all! I am a complete newbie when it comes to coins and I was hoping you experienced folks might be able to help point me in the direction of some good resources. My grandmother recently passed away, and in going through her belongings I found several plastic cases (roll-style) filled with silver dollars from the late 1800s (various years). They look brand new - potentially uncirculated? I've been afraid to take them out and look at them closely in case I spoil them with finger oils or something. How do I go about determining whether or not they're valuable? Any tips of finding a reputable appraiser of some sort? Thanks so much for any info you might have! I've been looking online, but a lot of the info I've found is way over my head.  |
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
827 Posts |
take them out wearing cotton gloves and make sure not to bang them up, then set them down and take some good pictures and post them up, we can probbaly give you an idea of their value and what you can do with them afterwards.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2254 Posts |
Welcome to the forum Cita. Sleaklight hit the nail on the head. Be very careful with these until we can help you identify what you have. Open them over top of a desk even with a towel on the desktop. Use cotton gloves, and take some photos for us. It will also help to just tell us what date and mintmark you have on your coins. A list of some type can get the ball rolling. You can also use this link to help identify what you have and locations of mintmarks etc if you have more than just Morgan dollars. http://www.coincommunity.com/coin_facts/ |
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
Hello Cita and welcome to the forum!
As Sleaklight mentioned, it is best to wear cotton gloves when handling a coin if you are inexperienced in their care. You should always handle a coin by its edge and not the face and make sure you handle them over a soft surface in case one is dropped.
As far a value goes, that can be difficult to determine without pictures. Even a listing of dates and mint marks can be deceptive since the value of a coin is dependent on condition. Adjectives that might seem to be acceptable descriptors to a novice might have completely different meaning to a numismatist. For instance, you might describe a coin as good, but to a coin collector good has an entirely different meaning. Coins are graded on what is called the Sheldon Scale- a 1 to 70 numerical descriptor of condition. A Good coin is actually a 4(Good-4) on that scale with uncirculated coins(mint state) coins starting at 60(MS-60). If you have access to a digital camera or a scanner you can post photos here and we can help with grading and values.
If you are interested in consulting with an appraiser or coin shop in your area, you should get more than one estimate. Make it clear that you are not selling and that you just want an appraisal. Be warned, most places will charge an hourly appraisal fee for this service if you are not selling to them. The trade-off is that if you are selling, you will sometimes get low-balled on the value so the dealer can make extra profit. Most coin dealers are honest and would not do this but unethical people are out there.
Edited by biokemist6
08/31/2007 3:53 pm
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1801 Posts |
Hello Cita
You might want to see if there is an active coin club in your area and contact them. They would probably love to have you come to one of their meetings and let them share the discovery of determining what you have. You'll get a variety of opinions, a good identification of what you have, a lesson on proper handling and care and who knows, you may end up becoming a member of the club and gain a new group of friends. I know our coin club would really enjoy having you bring those in. You won't have to pay an appraisal fee and you may even get several different offers for the coins. I agree with the earlier poster though, be sure you state up front that you don't want to sell at this point so no one thinks they are going to be able buy the coins "cheap".
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
This appears to be coming up on many forums lately. Must be a wave of grandparents with coins passing away. If your really new to coins you may want to just sit down and make a list of what you have. If for intance silver dollars, write down the dates and just guess at the condition such as poor, good, excellant, like new. Then I would suggest you attempt to buy a thing called the Red Book. It is a coin book filled with information but ignore the prices. They are just a joke for the publishers. Now once you have such a book you can find the Mint marks. those are the letters put on a coin to tell you where they were minted. I noticed you did not mention selling those coins so you may want to know something about them. This way you can carry on his tradition of a possilbe family hierloom so to speak. I'm sure he would appreciate that. Now here is a word of caution. DO NOT contact anyone in your neighborhood of what you have. DO NOT go to a coin store or shop and tell them what you have. DO NOT tell friends about those coins. Only discuss this with close relatives and then be carefull. The reason I say this is naturally dependant on where you live. In any large city, villlage, town, etc. area where there is a lot of crime, the word of a coin collection can be told way to many times and each time the amount grows exponentially. In other words if you tell someone you have a hundred dollars in Silver coins, they then tell someone of your five hundred and they tell someone of your ten thousand in coins. This has been a proven and well tested part of most general psychology classes. Your best bet is to make a list, ask right here on this forum, buy a few books on coins so your know where to start. Educate yourself before you do anything. If you find a coin store or coin show in your area, go there and just look and ask, but don't say what you have. Always better to be safe than sorry. |
|
New Member
 United States
2 Posts |
Wow, thank you all so much for your wonderfully helpful advice! You guys are incredible!
It will be a while before I can get pictures of them, but for the time being they are secure in a safe deposit box. (I am having a lot of work done on my grandmother's house right now and didn't feel secure leaving them here, so my mother-in-law took them to a bank near where she lives so I wouldn't have to worry.)
The sad irony of the situation is I had an elderly friend of the family who lived nearby who was an avid coin collector and dealer, but he was killed by a drunk driver just a few months ago. If he were still with us he would know right away what they were, and probably even how my grandmother got them.
Thanks again for all your help. I'm a member of several great forums, but you guys definitely are the fastest-responding, most helpful bunch of online people I've ever had the pleasure of encountering!
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
19930 Posts |
I might add that you really should buy some 2x2 or airtite holders for those ASAP. They can get damaged in tubes from them banging around.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
I might add that you really should buy some 2x2 or airtite holders for those ASAP. They can get damaged in tubes from them banging around.
I missed that part of your story. Glad someone else was paying attention. True, don't let those coins rattle around. If you do not want to presently separate the coins into separate 2x2" flips, for the meantime, place a clean cottom ball in the tube to stop any rattling around. If full to the top, that may not be necessary.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1691 Posts |
Welcome Cita...take them to a local coin club...which can act as a reliable third party...they can appraise & or sell off the cull silver for top dollar and/or buy valuable dates and condition coins for their collections. Win/win for you and the coin club. If you intend to keep your family treasure, the coin club won't mind at all...they love to look at and learn from new material broke to them.
|
| |
Replies: 9 / Views: 1,081 |
|
Posted 08/31/2007 3:39 pm
