Badly need lots of advice

Mogadeet · May 28, 2004 5:08AM

Greetings!
I am brand new to this forum and the reason I am here is because I need your (probably considerable) expertise. Please note that I am not a coin collector.
I have just received, by means of inheretance, a coin collection of my grandfather's. He was not actually a coin collector, but rather saved certain coins from his tips when he was working as a bellman at the Post Tavern Inn during the early part of the last century (though how he got some of them, I don't know. Maybe from HIS father). Within this collection I have gold coins, and dollars and half-dollars going back to 1823 (on a glance) that are in various conditions. Also included in this are some roman coins going back to 9 AD, and 1 Byzantine coin.
What do I do with these things? I believe that I need them appraised, and then sold. I would like to know the steps involved to undertake this intelligently. I have some basic knowledge of how coins are rated, and a vague idea of what coins are worth something and what aren't, but there are quite a few coins and this is really a major job here. Any advice? Feel free, I am all ears!

Mogadeet

relayer · May 28, 2004 5:12AM

I would start by buying a Redbook and identifying all of your coins.

See if there are some key dates (lower mintages) in the lot. As far as grading, the Redbook has some guidelines.

After you have an idea of what you have, you should take them into a local coin shop (or more, depending on where you live) not to sell but to get an estimate.

Once you have all that information, you can be better informed on what to do with them.

DominusDeus · May 28, 2004 5:13AM

God, I wish I had relatives that collected coins. I AM THE ONLY DAG GONE ONE in my family that collects coins. >_<

FC57Coins · May 28, 2004 5:13AM

Welcome to the boards!

First thing that I would do is to get a Red Book (available at Barnes and Noble) and at least get a sense of what it is that you have in your collection. You don't want to go to a dealer and say - here I dunno what this stuff is - what's it worth. It's akin to taking a car to a repair guy and saying "it dun broke!". Next you might want to look for some reputable dealers in the area where you live and take the coins to at least two of them for an appraisal. Once you've done that you will be in a better position to make an assessment.

flaminio · May 28, 2004 5:14AM

<< What do I do with these things? I believe that I need them appraised, and then sold. >>

Might I suggest an alternative? Keep them as a remembrance of your Grandfather. Then, bequeath them to someone deserving in the family. Consider them a "family heirloom" to be treasured for generations.

Seems better than just surveying several dealers and selling to the highest bidder, methinks...

prooflike · May 28, 2004 5:15AM

WHatever you do, DO NOT CLEAN THEM!

nwcs · May 28, 2004 5:16AM

Welcome! There are two good approaches. One is to find a dealer in your area and ask for their appraisal. But remember, this is usually a buy price and will be pretty low. Another is to go to a local bookstore and buy a copy of the latest red book (guide to us coins) and an ANA grading standards book. With the two you'll get an idea of the retail value of the coins. For non-US coins, there is a series of various books by Krause Publications for 16th century through 21st century foreign coins. Ancient coins are another topic and the people at http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/index.html and http://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php can help you more.

JadeRareCoin · May 28, 2004 5:18AM

If you do not want the coins and have decided to sell the collection, then you should solicit bids from 3 or 4 coin dealers. We just bought an estate similar to yours and the family who sold it did a fantastic job of documenting each item and obtaining written offers from 6 different dealers. They were very well organized and it resulted in the highest possible offer that was probably a little above the market value.

You can also post images or text descriptions of your collection on this forum. There are plenty of smart coin people here who will give you a rough appraisal of the items.

Welcome to the forum!

PS - ever consider becoming a coin collector?

razorface1027 · May 28, 2004 5:19AM

I agree with frank on the purchase of a Redbook. Once you do that and get a overview of your possessions, you might choose to keep particular specimens and those you choose not to keep put on eBay. eBay is basically where you'll find out just what they're worth. By the way...Yo AYEEEEEEE...Welcome!

wjd283 · May 28, 2004 5:19AM

I agree with the statements above.Educate yourself on what you have.If you could post pics,we could give a little advice,but I would'nt sell anything until I knew what I had.

BTW,Welcome to the forum.

photog · May 28, 2004 5:33AM

I disagree with the eBay comment. There are some things that do remarkably well on eBay, but if this stuff is "raw" as I am assuming it is, you could have a tough time with bidders.
Invest in and enjoy the Redbook. If you think you have average, low grade, low end stuff, it may be more fun to pass it on to another family member down the road to try to spark an interest in the hobby. Maybe you'll want to sell some things, keep others- but before you do anything READ! You'll be glad you did.

Jenna

www.anrcoins.com

mgoodm3 · May 28, 2004 5:36AM

Welcome.

Dennis88 · May 28, 2004 5:42AM

<< God, I wish I had relatives that collected coins. I AM THE ONLY DAG GONE ONE in my family that collects coins. >_< >>

Mogadeet · May 28, 2004 5:43AM

Greetings!
Thank you bunches and bunches!
I really don't want to become a coin collector. I'm already a pack rat by nature and that's a dangerous trait to feed. Also, I have had a heart attack and 6 cath procedures since January of last year, and am currently between jobs, so the money has a use. As far as in rememberence of my Grandfather? Well, he was not someone you would be fond of if you had met him. He was talented, charming, and loved the ladies (his wife and many, many others). Quite the ally cat. The stories I have of his life are far more amusing than any objects he could bequeath.

Mogadeet

cladking · May 28, 2004 5:54AM

Welcome aboard.

As a rule of thumb there won't be any rare coins in an accumulation like this but it's
not impossible. There will likely be several coins which sell for substantial premiums
to melt but rare coins are rare simply because they don't often show up. You need
to learn as much about these and grading as you can. Don't get in a hurry to sell or
dispose of anything but those which you feel confident have little or no value are ripe
to get rid of. If you find a lot of better dates than be extremely cautious about all the
coins. It would imply that the accumulator actually knew something about coins and
some of those coins which seem worthless might be scarce varieties. There's a world
coins forum on this site which has some experts in ancient and other world coins.

The more you learn about these the better a deal you'll be able to get and the harder
it will be not to collect them.

Good luck.

Mogadeet · May 28, 2004 6:07AM

Yeah, I believe you're right.

Here's some that I have, and I am being careful to handle them like we did our old vinyl disks.

2 1/2 dollar gold coins. Some wear but everything is clearly readable. No loss in detail on the ladie's face. 1851, 1872.
2 1/2 dollar gold coin. Still shines. Excellent detail. 1879.
2 1/2 dollar gold coin. Shows wear. Some loss of detail. 1850
1 dollar gold coin. Excellent condition. No loss in detail. Still shines. 1874 (even with a magnifying glass that's one small set of numerals.
1 dollar gold coins. Good condition, some wear, but very little. Detail still clear. Smaller than the 1874, and the lady doesn't have a crown. 1849, 1851, 1853.
5 dollar gold coin. Good condition. Some wear, but detail still clear. 1884 or 1834.
10 dollar gold coin. Good condition. Some wear, but detail is still clear. 1838.

Except for the 1874 1 dollar coin, it looks like all the ladies have "Liberty" on a band just above the hairline.

Mogadeet

nwcs · May 28, 2004 6:13AM

Good idea. Handle them very carefully and don't clean them or wipe them. Sounds like some of them might be candidates for authentication. That costs some money but increases a buyer's confidence in the coin and thus makes you more money.

RYK · May 28, 2004 6:17AM

Unless the 2 1/2 dollar gold coins have a "D" or "C" below the eagle on the back of the coin, the 1838 $10 is the pick of the litter (if that is actually what it is).

GoldCoinLover · May 28, 2004 6:36AM

<< Yeah, I believe you're right.

Here's some that I have, and I am being careful to handle them like we did our old vinyl disks.

2 1/2 dollar gold coins. Some wear but everything is clearly readable. No loss in detail on the ladie's face. 1851, 1872.
2 1/2 dollar gold coin. Still shines. Excellent detail. 1879.
2 1/2 dollar gold coin. Shows wear. Some loss of detail. 1850
1 dollar gold coin. Excellent condition. No loss in detail. Still shines. 1874 (even with a magnifying glass that's one small set of numerals.
1 dollar gold coins. Good condition, some wear, but very little. Detail still clear. Smaller than the 1874, and the lady doesn't have a crown. 1849, 1851, 1853.
5 dollar gold coin. Good condition. Some wear, but detail still clear. 1884 or 1834.
10 dollar gold coin. Good condition. Some wear, but detail is still clear. 1838.

Except for the 1874 1 dollar coin, it looks like all the ladies have "Liberty" on a band just above the hairline.

Mogadeet >>

Is it possible you could post some pictures of the coins?

Neptune · May 28, 2004 6:50AM

I suggest you also get a book on grading so that you can grade your coins - even if approximate, it will help you in determining their value. bn. com or local barnes and nobles should carry the books, or can order them for you. Good luck, and if you have children, it would be really nice if you could save at least one coin for each of them - they will appreciate you for it. Good luck, and welcome to the forums.

flaminio · May 28, 2004 6:55AM

<< As far as in rememberence of my Grandfather? Well, he was not someone you would be fond of if you had met him. He was talented, charming, and loved the ladies (his wife and many, many others). Quite the ally cat. >>

Sounds like someone I would've liked to hang with

!

If you do decide to sell them yourself, either via eBay or elsewhere, make sure to get the gold certified. Raw gold is frightfully hard to sell, and you will easily make back the certification fees in your sale price. Submit them to either PCGS, NGC, or ANACS; more information on exactly how to do this can be provided should you choose to go this route. ANACS is probably the cheapest and easiest -- it should only cost you $15 per coin, and you'll easily make that back at sale time.

relayer · May 28, 2004 7:11AM

On the ones you list as in Good condition are probably not what "Good" condition means as far as coin grades are concerned.

Terms like, Good, Fine, Extremely Fine are used for circulated coins. A coin in Good condition can look pretty bad.

nankraut · May 28, 2004 7:11AM

Something smells fishy here??

Mogadeet · May 28, 2004 7:27AM

I just recently figured out how to get stills off of my digital camera. I will post pictures tonight or tomorrow. It's a good camera so the quality should be OK. I would never have thought of getting the gold certified. Who would do that?

Mogadeet

Mogadeet · May 28, 2004 7:28AM

Can we post pictures from our computers, or do they have to be off of a website? Some forums are website only and some you can upload your own pictures to.

Mogadeet

flaminio · May 28, 2004 7:35AM

<< Can we post pictures from our computers, or do they have to be off of a website? Some forums are website only and some you can upload your own pictures to. >>

You can upload pictures here -- just use the "Attachments" field/button at the bottom of window when composing a post. Don't be shy -- folk around here are always happy to see coin pics!

UncleWiggly · May 28, 2004 9:15AM

Do you have a interest in coins at all other than to keep a few to pass along? If I had absolutely no interest in coins I'd be leaning towards just going straight to a dealer. But defnitely one who is a member of the ANA. I had a few raw gold and silver coins I wanted to sell. I got in touch with a dealer I saw in the ANA magazine. He graded them, but instead of buying them outright, put them up on his e-Bay site for me. And I did pretty good! Not only that, the owner of the Coin Gallery used to be a grader for PCGS. So, I felt pretty safe.

ColonialCoinUnion · May 28, 2004 9:48AM

<< Something smells fishy here??

>>

Yes.

Mogadeet · May 28, 2004 9:58AM

I'd be tempted to go a quick and easy route too, but again, facing what I'm facing makes me feel that I must squeeze maximum value out of these guys. Who knows how close this is going to be.

OK, here's my files.

Where I have 2 dates its because I am not sure which date it is, or (in one case) I screwed up and forgot to write down which one I was photographing. The quality might suck violently. The problem was that I could not focus that fine.

Here they are, select gold coins. I hope I didn't mess this up since I've never done this before.

DominusDeus · May 28, 2004 10:03AM

I would be interested in large cents if you have any. Unfortuantly, I can't afford jack right now.

Placid · May 28, 2004 10:05AM

1834 looks very fine
1888 (1838) looks fine
1851 (1872) looks Very fine-extra fine.
1874 pictures too poor to tell.

All of them could be fake. Sorry, not a expert on fake gold.

nankraut · May 28, 2004 10:23AM

Well, now I definitely smell a rat. IMHO, most/all of these coins are fakes/altered, etc.

ColonialCoinUnion · May 28, 2004 10:26AM

<< Well, now I definitely smell a rat. IMHO, most/all of these coins are fakes/altered, etc.

>>

Of course they are.

RYK · May 28, 2004 11:49AM

I agree. They look fake. It's a shame. I was interested in the (fake) 1838 $10--it's a great two-year type issue. Very historic and important--if you are a rare date gold geek.

Mogadeet · May 28, 2004 12:10PM

If they are fake I have no way of knowing. They would have to have been made prior to 1942 regardless, since we have well documented evidence that the box they were in was last opened in May of 1942 (Banks, God bless 'em) when my father stored them prior to going off to war. I'm sure an appraiser will tell me what's what. So a series of fake gold coins were made? Were they made to fool collectors?

Mogadeet

Mogadeet · May 28, 2004 12:12PM

When I submit the gold to be certified, will this damage the coins in any way?

Mogadeet

gemini12398 · May 28, 2004 12:32PM

If you are selling that $10 eagle from 1838, I am interested.

David

Shamika · May 28, 2004 1:43PM

Mogadeet,

For a new user, you sure know how to use this forum.

Mogadeet · May 28, 2004 1:47PM

Thank you! But I am not new to forums. They are great places to learn stuff. I use EZboard forums quite a bit to cover my REAL interest, military history (notably WW-I aircraft, and old Battleships). So when my inheritence was plopped into my lap it was no stretch of intellect to me to look for a coin collector forum to beg for help. This one was rated the best and most informative when googling the subject. And don't think for a minute what I've learned here is going to be ignored. You're lifesavers.

Mogadeet

PS: Stumbled onto a number of foreign coins, include a big, thick one dedicated to George III and dated 1797. That is for another of the forums here.

Mogadeet · May 28, 2004 1:56PM

<< If you are selling that $10 eagle from 1838, I am interested.

David >>

If it turns out to be a real coin and not a forgery, then I will not forget you. If they turn out to be forgeries I'll post it so we can all have a good laugh.

Mogadeet

PS: Hey, I didn't buy them. They would have ripped off Ol' Grandpaw, and he thought nobody could take him.

ohbaby · May 28, 2004 2:14PM

What's that smell?

For a new user, you sure know how to use this forum.
That's what I was thinking about a dozen posts ago. Knows how to put in a sig line as well!

Why is there always a grandfather or dead relative with a hoard?

XpipedreamR · May 28, 2004 2:51PM

<< What's that smell?

For a new user, you sure know how to use this forum.
That's what I was thinking about a dozen posts ago. Knows how to put in a sig line as well!

Why is there always a grandfather or dead relative with a hoard?

>>

nOoBiEeE · May 28, 2004 2:55PM

<< For a new user, you sure know how to use this forum. >>

Don't assume that being new means they don't know how to use a forum, it's not like this is the only forum around.

<< That's what I was thinking about a dozen posts ago. Knows how to put in a sig line as well! >>

My first post here I had a sig and added the avatar, if you have ever been on other forums, navigating a forum like this is easy.

'nuff said...

fountainheadgold · May 28, 2004 3:08PM

<< 

<< What's that smell?

For a new user, you sure know how to use this forum.
That's what I was thinking about a dozen posts ago. Knows how to put in a sig line as well!

Why is there always a grandfather or dead relative with a hoard?

>>

>>

agree completely

GoldCoinLover · May 28, 2004 4:20PM

Poor fish!

I agree as well. The coins look like crude fakes.

GoldCoinLover · May 28, 2004 4:22PM

<< 

<< 

<< What's that smell?

For a new user, you sure know how to use this forum.
That's what I was thinking about a dozen posts ago. Knows how to put in a sig line as well!

Why is there always a grandfather or dead relative with a hoard?

>>

>>

agree completely >>

Mmmm...fishy maggots?

MacCoin · May 28, 2004 6:33PM

red book dead book if you ain't a collector you won't know how to grade them and there aren't any roman coins in the red book. there are many dealer on this board and I sure some of them will drop you a line. take them to a dealer and don't tell him you not a collector. maybe even lie and say you just upgraded your collection. if he think you know what you're talking about the less chance he bend you over.

MacCoin · May 28, 2004 6:40PM

by the way whats with the no profile? where do you live? if you want to dump them here at a fair price you have to let people know about yourself

Mogadeet · May 28, 2004 11:40PM

Greetings!
It is the foolish person, especially who has potential valuables, who gives traceable information over the internet to strangers. This is "careful living 101." If I were a regular poster and got to know you better it would appear.

I don't care whether anyone thinks I'm on the level or not. All I'm interested in is your advice. PRETEND I'm on the level and give me good advice and I'm happy. But don't say, "Well I think he's a fraud so I'll feed him a line." That is dishonorable. Remember, you don't know me, and you have a 50/50 chance of being wrong.

Mogadeet

Shamika · May 29, 2004 12:11AM

Mogadeet,

While you may be completely on the level, I must say that, from time to time, we get a new user here on the Forum who tells us a story of woe, who has coin questions, and then tries to pawn his coins off on a newbie.

While your story may very well be true, the skeptisism expressed by many of the users here are based factural observations coupled with previous experiences.

It is the foolish person who believes every story he reads over the internet.

And might I add, I would say that 50/50 odds are a bit generous. Wouldn't you agree?

RYK · May 29, 2004 12:16AM

Mogadeet,

Get the 1838 $10 in a PCGS slab, and I will offer you 10% more than your highest bid.

Badly need lots of advice

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