Great Grandfathers Coins
CaCoinCollection
Posts: 3 ✭
I just inherited a coin collection past down from my great grandfather through the generations to me. Have multiple questions but here’s a few:
How do I find a reputable person to help me determine the value of these coins without being robbed?
I found a 1943 mercury dime where the 4 looks like a sideways 8. Is that an error?
A 1942 d merc dime, a 1964 d Jefferson nickel, etc
He had these separated.
Looking for some advice. I have a couple hundred more coins to go through
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Comments
Go and splurge, buy the Red Book--
"A Guide Book for United States Coins".
At Whitman Publishing, or your local library
BHNC #203
Welcome to the forum!
A Red Book would be a good place to start, you can also check ebay "sold" listings and you can post photos here for advise from members.
Or Free
numismedia.com
As in the above post, find a copy of the Red Book, so you can look up the coins.
There are also price guides on websites, but the book is faster to use.
Or if you have a local friend who knows coins, they could help.
It is not a known error. Often circulation damage can create effects like this.
It is still a 90% silver dime, worth about $2 for its silver bullion value.
These are common dates, although the dime is worth $2 as above.
Red Book.
Someone may know a dealer in your area
Need photos of full obverse to say
The 1942d dime and especially the 1964d nickel are extremely common coins. They would have to be in pristine condition to be of interest to anyone as a collectible
But
The 1942d dime is 90% silver and will be worth more than 10 cents because of that
Besides going to the library and getting the red book, you can look online at PCGS’ CoinFacts:
https://www.pcgs.com/coinfacts
Keep the questions coming
Nice! Take your time.
Look very carefully at the 1942d... It could be the 2/1 variety, which is why it was separated from the rest of the coins. If you post pictures of both sides of the coins that were separated we could maybe tell you why.
Greysheets.com
Not sure why the red book is being recommended when greysheets app is free and MUCH easier to use ...
if I were you I would go to a coin dealer and then get a second opinion... find an expert that has no financial benefit to your collection.
Educate yourself first on what you have Before you ask someone by saying I got these from my Great Grandfather, and I don't know what they are worth, you will in most cases by an "unreputable person" they might try and lowball you and give you a lower value than what they might be worth. Like the above advice get the book educate yourself first then you know what you have, and have an Idea what they should be worth then you can negotiate a better price. or just say No Thanks I know what I have and move on. Good Luck in your adventure and hope you find something of Great Value.
The red book has great information
The red book prices are a bit too high
For pricing the blue book is better!
I will second the red book recommendation. It will give information far beyond value. It has information for the beginner that is invaluable, grading, mintage, composition, and history of the coins. All of this information will help to understand what you have, and not only what it is worth, but why it is worth it. Just remember, any pricing given is pretty much retail price, not what you should expect to get for them from a dealer.
FIRST: do not mess with them, no cleaning, wiping, dipping or anything else. Leave as found.
Cleaning and messing with coins destroys the value.
bob
Greysheet is aimed at experienced people. Red book is generally more useful for newbies. It explains grading, has numerous pictures to aid identification.
Many times people interpret the results of a low valuation to mean they are being robbed. I assure you the number of dealers standing in line to rob you of your 1942 Dime and 1964 Nickel is near 0.
The first thing is to determine which coins are possibly valuable. That will depend on condition and on rarity. Condition is an eyeball determination on a scale of one to seventy. A review of the free PCGS price guide on their website will show you value (based on condition) of every coin. When you have narrowed it down to the possible "money" coins you will then be ready for professional opinion. The best opinion will be had by sending those coins to PCGS for grading (1-70) and authentification (not counterfeit). So get started by weeding out the coins that have no potential of being "money" coins. These will be the common coins that have no great value even in great condition. Let the price guide tell you which coins are worth the $15-$30 grading fee.
PS: inexperienced collectors tend to over grade their coins only to find out PCGS grades them quite a bit lower. To get free opinion of a coin here on the forum you will need good pictures of both sides.
Repetition of ignorance is ignorance raised to the power two.
with all due respect, I beg to differ. I would agree that the number of reputable dealers standing in line to rob you is near 0. Not all dealers are reputable, their is no licensing or examination process.
Repetition of ignorance is ignorance raised to the power two.
I think the point was, likely the dime and nickel have a combined value of around $2, so not too long a line will form...
@CaCoinCollection.... Welcome aboard.... The recommendation for acquiring the Redbook is great advice. That way you can check for any coins of potential value. Post pictures here, the advice is from experienced people and free. Good luck with your coins... Cheers, RickO
DO NOT CLEAN OR MESS WITH YOUR COINS!
To everyone who posted a comment- Thank you! I ordered a red book and will take some high quality pictures to hopefully solicit some more of this great advice. Looks like I’m about to embark on an adventure through time.
“Be excellent to each other and… party on dudes!” - Abraham Lincoln
Anxiously awaiting your pictures.
Wayne
Kennedys are my quest...
It isn't "near zero" it is zero.
You can't get any nearer to zero than zero...
There are a lot of resources that can help you on your journey found on the American Numismatic Association website.
money.org
I’ve gone through maybe 20% of the coins and with the help of the mega red book, standard catalog world coins 3rd edition and the deluxe library edition volume 1&2, I’m doing pretty good at tracking them down. Not sure if I’m even close to grading them right but organized it all in a excel spreadsheet with possible grades and values.
I tend to come across error coins or potential error coins. This being one. Can anyone tell if this is one of the errors for the 1859 Canada one cent?
Any help would be appreciated. Again, new to all this but I get why you guys get into it! Here to learn.
There is a world and ancients forum here that would be more helpful
In the future, if you have a question about a coin, take the pictures first.
it looks like the early form of the narrow 9, which is most common