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 Replies: 25 / Views: 3,638 |
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New Member
United States
2 Posts |
First off I'd like to say thanks for the valuable information I gathered here before even posting! I (and my siblings) have inherited a collection of coins from my mother and father's estate earlier this year. I inventoried the collection, careful to keep my hands well washed and handling the coins only by the edges. I did not clean the coins. The collection is mostly U.S. coins, denominations from pennies to silver dollars. I'd say the collection was acquired more with an eye towards the intrinsic metal value of the coins, or the possibility the coin might be rare. There is no jar of wheat-head pennies.. The breakout is like this: 52 silver dollars 54 silver half dollars 407 silver quarters 669 silver dimes 80 various pennies, some foreign coins When I say silver, I mean the silver content is high (~90%) based on the coin date. I did some reading on how to grade coins, and have given every coin my guess of the coin grade. I chose to err on the conservative side of the grade (i.e. being pessimistic on the grade), purposely looking for what might be the minimum value of the whole collection. For the higher value coins, I made sleeves out of acid-free paper, which has low sulfer content, by folding the paper and simply using a staple along the sleeve to create slots for each coin, and numbered each slot. The coins do not contact the staples. It's not perfect, but keeps things organized in a safety deposit box, and it's far better than the odd scraps of paper, boxes and other ways the coins were found in the safety deposit box. A lot of the dimes and quarters are back in paper rolls (made out of the acid free paper). So now I have a complete inventory of the coins, and a way to get to individual coins. Some of the coins we'll keep for sentimental reasons (i.e. the mercury head dimes design is awesome, and they remind us of times when we might have gotten one for Christmas). Eventually our children will inherit those coins. I'd like some words of wisdom on how to approach selling coins that in our view are only taking up space in the safety deposit box. I'll take a rough guess that we'll have about $6000 worth of coins (today's value) to sell. In particular: 1) Is the price of silver likely to rise enough in the near future that we'd be smarter to hold the coins for a period of time and then start to sell them? (will silver value go up more than 5-6% a year?) 2) If I was at a coin show or shop, how would I recognize a reputable dealer vs someone just out to take advantage of me? I realize that's a difficult question but if there are obvious things to watch out for I'd be very appreciative of fore-warning. At some point you've got to develop a sense of trust (or not) with an individual. Thanks in advance for reading this far, and for any information! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1192 Posts |
Silver value is a funny thing. You cannot predict a certain growth percent on it. It could hit $12 or less in 2016 or it could hit $30 or more. We have had a period of high silver value the last decade but it has dipped back down. Personally I wouldn't sell any of my silver at these prices, it's at a price point where it's all about buying right now for me. Silver is like gambling and atleast used to be a hedge bet on the state of the economy. It's also a long term game, the more short term the more gambling it is. The best way to make sure a dealer isn't taking advantage of you is knowing the value of your coins. Get a RedBook and take out the rarer dates. The rest of the coins they will likely buy as junk unless they are AU+. They may only offer like $14 for Morgans, $5 for halves etc. This is a lot less then retail but everyone has to make a living. Set aside anything in a third party graded plastic case. Your other choice is to sell them yourself on ebay not for the faint of heart or finding a auction house. Edited by Bertensgrad
09/13/2015 7:13 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1192 Posts |
Oh and buy flips for the high end ones, or the ones you want to keep. They are like .05 apiece and make them easy to handle label and display.
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Valued Member
United States
100 Posts |
 Silver seems to be going down in value, but it could change. Could. As of 9/13, the melt value of your silver coins is $2642.66(!), assuming that they're all 90% silver. All the same, check the dates and mint marks of your coins, as you might get lucky. And finally, I would advise to try and get to know a coin dealer, preferably someone who sells coins at a reasonable price.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
513 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
513 Posts |
oh, and |
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New Member
 United States
2 Posts |
Thank you for the info Bertensgrad, I'll get some flips for the coins, and start checking out local dealers. Sounds like there is certainly no hurry to get these sold, which is really good news for busy people like me :) OK Hibernias, here's a pic:  And I forgot to mention I got Beth Deisher's book "Cash In Your Coins" 2nd Ed. Wish I'd had it last spring when I was trying to grade the coins... Edited by jjw
09/13/2015 9:18 pm
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
5828 Posts |
I hope you dont clean any of the coins... And also, what are the dates of the pennies, specifically the ones between 1909-1958? Any of the following dates? 1909 VDB 1909 S VDB 1909 S 1910 S 1911 D 1911 S 1912 D 1912 S 1913 D 1913 S 1914 D 1914 S 1915 D 1915 S 1921 S 1922 ( no mint mark) 1922 D 1924 D 1926 S 1931 D 1931 S 1932 D 1943 (Brown color) 1944 (Silver color) 1955 Doubled Die |
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New Member
United States
2 Posts |
Description year mint grade
US penny 1901 vg
US penny 1905 vg
US penny 1906 vg
US penny 1941 s vg
US penny 1944 vg (not silver color)
There are also 2 older, nice condition pennies, which I think are worth more than $50 each:
US penny 1845 f-vf
US penny 1851 f-vf
I can't give pics right now, these are in the safe deposit box.
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New Member
United States
7 Posts |
Seems like any close to respectable Morgan or Peace dollar I see omln ebay goes for $20ish. ebay can be fun. Have all your auctions end the same day and hopefully ppl pay before you ship to save trips to the post office. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5828 Posts |
Ah, okay I see you do not have any key date cents but those large cents sound cool! Given the grades, I would say $15-$25 range, but i'd need to see pics to know for sure.
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Moderator
 United States
188660 Posts |
to the Community! I moved your welcome post to the appropriate forum for the proper attention.  |
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Valued Member
204 Posts |
Do you plan on posting more pictures? Are all these silver dollars Morgans and/or Peace?
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Valued Member
United States
73 Posts |
Welcome jjw!
Curious what you considered the higher value coins that you put in sleeves?
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Valued Member
United States
156 Posts |
Oh, if I could answer your question number 1 with any certainty, I would be very happy. It is not a question anyone could really answer with certainty, as even the 'big boys' who write the forecasts for the price of silver are wrong. It is a commodity. It can fluctuate like any commodity that is traded regularly. What I would say is...if you need the money, than consider selling. If you dont? Hold onto it. As far as question 2. Have an idea what your coins are actually worth. Look on ebay for sold listings of your more valuable coins. Try to find comparative grades. Look at numismedia's fair market value guide. Knowledge is the key here. Are most of your Peace dollars 22 or 23's? Morgans 1921's? If so, those are the most common dollar coins for sale and rarely get much more of a premium than $20 unless in exceptional condition. Oh. And buy some carboard coin flips. They are cheap and an easy way to catalog coins while protecting them. Edited by jay799
09/14/2015 4:00 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5828 Posts |
OH YES, I forgot something: If you have any 1921 Peace dollars (the type of coin you posted a picture of) your in for some $$$ |
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Replies: 25 / Views: 3,638 |
Posted 09/13/2015 7:16 pm
