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 Replies: 39 / Views: 2,963 |
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New Member
United States
12 Posts |
I just found this forum and I need your help. My father-in-law passed away last year and he had an extensive coin and stamp collection (had been collecting coins for 70 years). His children are trying to figure out what to do with the collection. They have assigned me the task of coming up with a plan. I don't think any of them want to keep the collection because none appear to be interested in coin collecting. What is the best way to get an evaluation of the value of the collection? None of the coins are graded. Very few were bought from dealers. The collection is large. All of the containers collectively probably weigh over 500 pounds. I want to make sure that I get a good value and, of course, don't want to get taken. Can any of you recommend dealers in Kansas that are reputable? Or, should I consider a nationwide search? Where do I begin? Thanks in advance for your help.  |
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Valued Member
United States
174 Posts |
I cannot recommend anything much because I am new at coin collecting, but I sympathize with you! You have a job a head of you--don't get overwhelmed like I did. Get a Red Book Coin digest and then you'll have some info to start with. The sorting is going to be a big job! Wish I lived closer--I would help you sort for nothing except to have the fun of doing it! We collectors are a crazy lot! ha   Beginning here and asking the experts on this forum is a smart idea!  Good Luck! Gussyboy1 |
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Member
United States
3242 Posts |
1st thing buy a Red Book2nd then with some glove check out each coin 3rd take your time 4th take some picture and post them we may help you with values & grades you may want pass this collection down to the next generation |
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New Member
 United States
12 Posts |
Thanks for the suggestions. They are a big help. If anybody has others, I will be happy to hear them.
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
The value you derive from the collection is going to be proportional to the amount of time you're willing to spend learning exactly what's in it. If you sell to a dealer, even a reputable one, he's going to give you a price that allows him to profit - that's understandable - even if you've identified varieties and potentially valuable coins. The more of the dealer's work you do by way of identification, the better he'll do by you, but the convenience of selling to a dealer in bulk is at the cost of what could be significant additional profit. For that matter, you'll probably have a hard time finding a dealer who's willing to take on an unsearched 500lb collection to estimate.
In a collection that size, I would be genuinely surprised if you don't have at least a few which carry substantial premium value. It's all about finding out which ones they are. Is there any sort of existing catalog of what's included?
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New Member
United States
6 Posts |
Like the others I would suggest getting a Red Book or a current price guide. Seventy years of collecting may yield some key coins if one knows what to look for. With that being said I feel as if a collector would have trouble buying such a large collection with little to no knowledge of what it contains. Do you mind telling us some of the coins: Morgans, Lincolns (wheaties, memorial), silver dollars, Walking Liberties, etc. How did the coins come to you? How were the stored over time? A collection this large might turn you into a collector after some time dealing with it. Good luck... |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Seen these before and here is my suggestions. First let me tell you of a family where a family member passed away. He was quite a gun collector, fixer, reloader, etc. His entire basement looked like or better than most gun stores. His family had no idea of what to do so they called a gun store. The representative came over, offered $1,000 and he would haul all the JUNK away. They took it. Many Lugers, P-38's, Mausers, etc. Possibly a few hundred thousand in total value. All lost due to ignorance. Then the relatives still argued about who should get this fortune. My suggestions though are to find out just how much those others will rely on your estimate? Do you think they really trust you? You are not even a blood relative so naturally you must be a little on the shaddy side, or so they will think. Would they allow you to purchase it all? Then naturally there will be the problem from this day on. Did you screw them out of a fortune? Did you pocket the rare, worth millions into your pockets? Are you in with a dealer to make a fortune by messing with your relatives? If you say all are worth XXXX they will think it's really worth 10 times that. IF you can. Find one of those people or more to actually sit down and help evaluate those coins. Buy a Red Book and evaluate those coins based on about a 25% less factor. That is due to the Red Book being to high and those are the buying prices, not the selling prices. IF none will help you I'd almost say tell them to take the entire mess to a coin store. It is a shame but if only you do this you may be starting a problem that will last for the rest of all of your lives. This is not just a guess on my part. It happened in my family over my grandparents house and land. Ended up everyone lost since no one would pay the taxes on the house and land so the state confiscated it all. Now no one has this and no one talks to each other. |
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Valued Member
United States
82 Posts |
I am still FAIRLY young (in my 30's) but this whole thing makes me think. It is really a waste to not either a) sell your collection before you pass OR b) leave it to an heir who is truly interested in collecting. Any other option robs your heirs of a potential large amount of money. Obviously if you leave it to an heir, it is a great gift that might even pass to their kids/grandkids etc which is a great legacy. But passing without taking care of your collection is really just a chore for a survivor to spend alot of time on. Even if they do spend alot of time on it, they would NEVER be able to get the value out of it that you yourself would. It really is a waste. I have a hard enough time selling things when I DO know how much they are worth!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1934 Posts |
The value you derive from the collection is going to be proportional to the amount of time you're willing to spend learning exactly what's in it.
The exact equation.
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Valued Member
United States
302 Posts |
This is one reason I am in the process of putting my collection into an inventory program. I downloaded Procoin 2008 and have been adding coins almost daily. The demo is good for 1 month and if you want to keep it the cost is only $35. Each month you can update the coin prices at no additional charge. I've told my wife that if anything happens to me she will be able to take this and have at least a ballpark figure on the collection's value. She won't get the actual value listed in the program because the prices are not exact but it's at least a starting point.
There is a couple threads in the Software Forum that has some pretty good info.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
As I noted though, remember that since you stated those people are in laws and not even direct relatives, think about this a lot. Even relatives don't always trust each other so why should they REALLY trust you? They all may say so but to end up in a life long irritating situation and possibly over nothing may well not be worth it. If you are going to evaluate anything for anyone, I strongly suggest you do it with at least one other individual. Buy a Red Book and sit down and study exactly what is what. Now the stamp collection is going to be something that is really difficult to know what to do with. Some coin forums have sections for other types of collections and/or stamps. Try those for suggestions. Stamps have basically fallen as a great collectable similar to Beanie Babies, but there are still many stamp collectors out there. Some stamps may well be worth a lot of money or the entire collection may be practically worthless. I recently gave my stamp collection away free. Had it since the 50's but just a kids collection so gave it to a kid. |
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New Member
United States
12 Posts |
WOW! Thanks for all of the great advice. To answer some of your questions, I do have rudimentary inventory of the coins. It includes the type of coin with the date, but has no grading. My father-in-law's collection includes about 25 gold coins, including $1, 2.50, 5, but mostly $20 St. Gaudens. He has large collection of Liberty, Morgan, Peace and Trade dollars. He was particularly proud of a 1795 dollar and an 1893-S Morgan dollar (but he seems to have just about every Morgan dollar, including at least 5 rolls of BU Morgan dollars). He also has vast collection of half-dollars(dating back to 1810), quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies. He also has large number of proof sets (at least 5 from each year for the last 40 years). Finally, he a lot of misc.--Confederate currency, Olympic coins, Nazi coins and currency, foreign coins and currency, etc. I appreciate the comments about the relatives. I have been working with them at each step and I take no action until I have the approval of all involved. I will take your advice and get a Red Book. By the time I die, I may have the coins valued. I will attempt to take some pictures of the coins and put them on here for your help in evaluating them. Thanks again and if you have further advice, please feel to provide it. |
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Valued Member
United States
174 Posts |
4ku, What about the stamp collection? I am a collector and we have a stamp forum here too! Those could be worth some big bucks,too! Especially to a collector. Gussyboy1 |
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New Member
United States
21 Posts |
From your description, you are talking about some really serious money here, as well as great fun.
How very sad that no one in the family shared your father's-in-law passion. So many years and so much effort went into this wonderful collection it would be such a shame to break it up.
But one has to do what one has to do. If you have the time to invest in doing the research personally, since there are so many different types of coins, I would probably separate them into manageable units by type and deal with each category individually, taking all the time necessary to find out as much as possible about each coin (first from books, then from reputable dealers), until I was completely satisfied with the answers I gathered, and then decide what to do with them.
Of course, there may be some reputable auction houses that may be interested in handling some of the coins. You may want to send out some inventory lists to some of them.
Whatever you decide to do, good luck with what looks like a difficult project for many reasons.
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New Member
United States
12 Posts |
Gussyboy,
I don't have as much information on the stamps. I know my father-in-law has bought a sheet of stamps for every stamp issued for at least the last 40 years. He also has a number of other stamps--older, foreign, Nazi, etc. I will get on the stamp forum and see what I advice get there. What is general market for stamps these days? A friend said that the market was pretty bad. Is that true? Thanks again.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6326 Posts |
Well sorry for the loss to your family.. You know the task of going through these coins can be really fun and interesting. Like others have said, just take your time with it. I live in Kansas too, but other than a coin shop or two or ebay.....I would keep them or sell them privately. You said that none in the family are coin collectors ....so I take it they would just want the money value to them.....that's tough because only a dealer would likely pay large cash amounts for these coins and you wouldn't get what they're worth with his profit margin that's necessary. You could sell them "privately" in individual groups after you've looked them up in your RedBook price guide. Remember though.....it's MOST PEOPLE'S TENDANCY TO "OVERGRADE" THEIR COINS ! So...grade them conservatively ! Edited by eaglefoot
02/28/2008 1:51 pm
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Replies: 39 / Views: 2,963 |
Posted 02/27/2008 11:50 am
