Question on inherited Mogan and Peace silver dollars

sgreer1962

Hello -- hope this is the correct forum, if not feel free to point me in the right direction.

My wife and her sister recently inherited a bunch of old coins from their parents. The vast majority are Morgan dollars and Peace dollars. None are mint, a few are in decent condition and most are average wear or very worn. My wife wants to just split them between the two of them and then each sister could do what they want with them. Her sister thinks there is additionall value if they are all kept together. In total, there are probably a hundred or so coins. ** Is there any addl value to keeping them all together or can they just split them up and not worry about it?**

Thanks for any insignt you can offer.
SG

Steven59

@sgreer1962 said:
Hello -- hope this is the correct forum, if not feel free to point me in the right direction.

My wife and her sister recently inherited a bunch of old coins from their parents.

Check here with your Q's

ColonelKlinck

Some dates and mint marks are more valuable than others. Check this site to check.

http://numismedia.com/fmv/fmv.shtml

jmlanzaf

There is no advantage to keeping them together as a group.

erwindoc

@jmlanzaf said:
There is no advantage to keeping them together as a group.

Just sentimental value

rte592

@ColonelKlinck said:
Some dates and mint marks are more valuable than others. Check this site to check.

http://numismedia.com/fmv/fmv.shtml

Thanks for that link, interesting site I'll have to check out further.
I especially like the year to date + or - price points.
I usually just use https://www.usacoinbook.com/
it's pretty easy to navigate.
Has some good info as to weight and metal composition.as well as mintage.

dsessom

@sgreer1962 said:
Hello -- hope this is the correct forum, if not feel free to point me in the right direction.

My wife and her sister recently inherited a bunch of old coins from their parents. The vast majority are Morgan dollars and Peace dollars. None are mint, a few are in decent condition and most are average wear or very worn. My wife wants to just split them between the two of them and then each sister could do what they want with them. Her sister thinks there is additionall value if they are all kept together. In total, there are probably a hundred or so coins. ** Is there any addl value to keeping them all together or can they just split them up and not worry about it?**

Thanks for any insignt you can offer.
SG

First thing I would do (and it's easy) is to check to see if any have a "CC" mint mark on the reverse, below the eagle. Those are more valuable than most, and easy to spot.

TomB

As has been mentioned, there is absolutely no increase in material value for keeping a generic group of coins together. If your wife and her sister want to split the coins up then I would suggest two things. First, don't clean anything at all as this will reduce any numismatic value significantly. Also, you should buy a copy of the Red Book, which is actually titled A Guidebook of United States Coins. It is available online, at every major book retailer and in most smaller bookshops. Buy a new one, they cost about $20, and you never have to replace it again. It will show mintages, give some history, provide a basic grading guide and list approximate values. Just be aware that the values listed might be a bit too high. An image of the book is below-

daltex

@TomB said:
As has been mentioned, there is absolutely no increase in material value for keeping a generic group of coins together. If your wife and her sister want to split the coins up then I would suggest two things. First, don't clean anything at all as this will reduce any numismatic value significantly. Also, you should buy a copy of the Red Book, which is actually titled A Guidebook of United States Coins. It is available online, at every major book retailer and in most smaller bookshops. Buy a new one, they cost about $20, and you never have to replace it again. It will show mintages, give some history, provide a basic grading guide and list approximate values. Just be aware that the values listed might be a bit too high. An image of the book is below-

I generally agree with this advice, but here we have a guy who inherited an accumulation of silver dollars. Little interest in the coins, and he certainly needn't invest $20 for a five minute (if lucky) glance through the coins to see if there is anything special there. The links above are adequate. Should the OP, his wife, or her sister develop any interest in coins as a result of this, buy a Red Book by all means, but until and unless save the $20.

We often think that anyone sufficiently exposed will become interested in collecting coins. Sadly, it's not at all true. There is a sizable minority who will say "Huh? Neat." and put the wheat (soon to be Memorial) cent they found in change away in a box and never see it again. A very, very small minority will look at the Red Book with any interest other than to see what that strange coin that grandma gave them is worth, and no amount of our evangelizing will bring someone from the first group to the second. How many people who tried to save one of each statehood quarter have saved, let alone purchased, another coin once they got all 50/56/100?

TomB

@daltex said:

@TomB said:
As has been mentioned, there is absolutely no increase in material value for keeping a generic group of coins together. If your wife and her sister want to split the coins up then I would suggest two things. First, don't clean anything at all as this will reduce any numismatic value significantly. Also, you should buy a copy of the Red Book, which is actually titled A Guidebook of United States Coins. It is available online, at every major book retailer and in most smaller bookshops. Buy a new one, they cost about $20, and you never have to replace it again. It will show mintages, give some history, provide a basic grading guide and list approximate values. Just be aware that the values listed might be a bit too high. An image of the book is below-

I generally agree with this advice, but here we have a guy who inherited an accumulation of silver dollars. Little interest in the coins, and he certainly needn't invest $20 for a five minute (if lucky) glance through the coins to see if there is anything special there. The links above are adequate. Should the OP, his wife, or her sister develop any interest in coins as a result of this, buy a Red Book by all means, but until and unless save the $20.

We often think that anyone sufficiently exposed will become interested in collecting coins. Sadly, it's not at all true. There is a sizable minority who will say "Huh? Neat." and put the wheat (soon to be Memorial) cent they found in change away in a box and never see it again. A very, very small minority will look at the Red Book with any interest other than to see what that strange coin that grandma gave them is worth, and no amount of our evangelizing will bring someone from the first group to the second. How many people who tried to save one of each statehood quarter have saved, let alone purchased, another coin once they got all 50/56/100?

I don't think the husband, the wife or the sister will have any interest in coins other than what they can liquidate them for. For approximately $20 the book mentioned is cheap education and might help them parse the coins in a more educated manner and could be useful if they are shopping the coins around at a local show or coin shop. That's it. I have no grand illusions of new collectors popping out of the air.

jmlanzaf

@erwindoc said:

@jmlanzaf said:
There is no advantage to keeping them together as a group.

Just sentimental value

Sure. But that wasn't the question asked

jmlanzaf

@TomB said:

@daltex said:

@TomB said:
As has been mentioned, there is absolutely no increase in material value for keeping a generic group of coins together. If your wife and her sister want to split the coins up then I would suggest two things. First, don't clean anything at all as this will reduce any numismatic value significantly. Also, you should buy a copy of the Red Book, which is actually titled A Guidebook of United States Coins. It is available online, at every major book retailer and in most smaller bookshops. Buy a new one, they cost about $20, and you never have to replace it again. It will show mintages, give some history, provide a basic grading guide and list approximate values. Just be aware that the values listed might be a bit too high. An image of the book is below-

I generally agree with this advice, but here we have a guy who inherited an accumulation of silver dollars. Little interest in the coins, and he certainly needn't invest $20 for a five minute (if lucky) glance through the coins to see if there is anything special there. The links above are adequate. Should the OP, his wife, or her sister develop any interest in coins as a result of this, buy a Red Book by all means, but until and unless save the $20.

We often think that anyone sufficiently exposed will become interested in collecting coins. Sadly, it's not at all true. There is a sizable minority who will say "Huh? Neat." and put the wheat (soon to be Memorial) cent they found in change away in a box and never see it again. A very, very small minority will look at the Red Book with any interest other than to see what that strange coin that grandma gave them is worth, and no amount of our evangelizing will bring someone from the first group to the second. How many people who tried to save one of each statehood quarter have saved, let alone purchased, another coin once they got all 50/56/100?

I don't think the husband, the wife or the sister will have any interest in coins other than what they can liquidate them for. For approximately $20 the book mentioned is cheap education and might help them parse the coins in a more educated manner and could be useful if they are shopping the coins around at a local show or coin shop. That's it. I have no grand illusions of new collectors popping out of the air.

I agree completely. While valuations can be had on the internet, there is too much information there and some of itc is bad. The Red Book is concise and less likely to confuse people with hype or odd varieties.

I see a lot of people who come around thinking their coins are worth ridiculous amounts of money. 99.9% of the time, their source of the misinformation is ebay, Etsy or some internet site. I've never had someone show up with the Red Book and quote a ridiculous price other than occasional overgrading.

DisneyFan

Could somebody here quote the going wholesale rate for common date silver dollars. Times 100 and we have a significant amount of money.

jmlanzaf

@DisneyFan said:
Could somebody here quote the going wholesale rate for common date silver dollars. Times 100 and we have a significant amount of money.

For pre-1921
Fine or better are still $32.

Culls are at $23.50 (no holes)

1921 Fine or better are $27.75

ricko

@sgreer1962 ... Welcome aboard. The advice provided by @TomB is very good. It will allow the ladies to quickly see if there are any 'special' coins, and also to sort them into two groups. They can then sell or keep as they so choose. Cheers, RickO

DelawareDoons

@jmlanzaf said:

@DisneyFan said:
Could somebody here quote the going wholesale rate for common date silver dollars. Times 100 and we have a significant amount of money.

For pre-1921
Fine or better are still $32.

Culls are at $23.50 (no holes)

1921 Fine or better are $27.75

Those seem low. My company is at $25/ea on culls for example, no holed/bent.

jmlanzaf

@DelawareDoons said:

@jmlanzaf said:

@DisneyFan said:
Could somebody here quote the going wholesale rate for common date silver dollars. Times 100 and we have a significant amount of money.

For pre-1921
Fine or better are still $32.

Culls are at $23.50 (no holes)

1921 Fine or better are $27.75

Those seem low. My company is at $25/ea on culls for example, no holed/bent.

Upstate's bid from this morning. I'm sure there's some variation.

GoldFinger1969

@daltex said:
We often think that anyone sufficiently exposed will become interested in collecting coins. Sadly, it's not at all true. There is a sizable minority who will say "Huh? Neat." and put the wheat (soon to be Memorial) cent they found in change away in a box and never see it again. A very, very small minority will look at the Red Book with any interest other than to see what that strange coin that grandma gave them is worth, and no amount of our evangelizing will bring someone from the first group to the second. How many people who tried to save one of each statehood quarter have saved, let alone purchased, another coin once they got all 50/56/100?

I agree with your general statement. As someone who was on-again, off-again with collecting for DECADES, I certainly blew hot and cold. Pretty much confined myself to bullion.

However, the story and history behind many of our coins are as interesting as the potential for making $$$ is enticing for others. When I learned about the background stories involving Saints and Morgans -- they're effects on monetary policy, trade settlements, use in commerce, production, survival rates, hoards, etc. -- it really stoked my interest in reading books, seeking out auction catalogs, reading descriptions of upper-end coins, etc.

Most people ARE interested in history and I think if more people knew about some of the unique history of American coinage, there'd be more people collecting and/or "investing" in the sector rather than speculating in meme stocks or crypto crappola.

david3142

I also started with the Red Book but like most of us, that was before pcgs.com existed. The reference material on CoinFacts is more comprehensive, the Photograde section is significantly better for grading rather than worded descriptions of details and you have auction results in addition to a price guide. Also, it’s free and provided by our forum hosts.
It even comes in an app for your phone!

jesbroken

Please be aware that the prices listed are in varying degrees of wear and do not just look at the highest price and think all coins are worth that. Wear being the greatest factor to a coins value. Probably your coins will fall into the silver value for most. Hopefully you will find a bonus or two. Good luck.
Jim

DelawareDoons

@jmlanzaf said:

@DelawareDoons said:

@jmlanzaf said:

@DisneyFan said:
Could somebody here quote the going wholesale rate for common date silver dollars. Times 100 and we have a significant amount of money.

For pre-1921
Fine or better are still $32.

Culls are at $23.50 (no holes)

1921 Fine or better are $27.75

Those seem low. My company is at $25/ea on culls for example, no holed/bent.

Upstate's bid from this morning. I'm sure there's some variation.

Definitely is but that's $1.50 back of at least two other companies. In my experience, they're always weaker on dollars than the others, just fwiw.

dsessom

The OP made one post and dipped out. I'm not sure they are coming back, but if they do, there will be a wealth of great info for them!

I am fortunate in that when my time comes, my entire collection goes to my son and he is fully aware of what everything is and the value. He is a collector as well, albeit not to the degree I am. LOL

sgreer1962

Wow, thanks to everyone for all the info. Never expected to have such a great response. I expect they'll keep a couple for sentimental value and to pass down to the kids and sell the rest. Luckily, I read a little first (at my wife's suggestion) and knew not to clean them. I imagine I'll spend the next couple weeks going thru them all and if I find anything exciting, I'll post back here.

Thanks again for all the responses - it's been a huge help.

logger7

@DelawareDoons said:

@jmlanzaf said:

@DelawareDoons said:

@jmlanzaf said:

@DisneyFan said:
Could somebody here quote the going wholesale rate for common date silver dollars. Times 100 and we have a significant amount of money.

For pre-1921
Fine or better are still $32.

Culls are at $23.50 (no holes)

1921 Fine or better are $27.75

Those seem low. My company is at $25/ea on culls for example, no holed/bent.

Upstate's bid from this morning. I'm sure there's some variation.

Definitely is but that's $1.50 back of at least two other companies. In my experience, they're always weaker on dollars than the others, just fwiw.

The problem with Upstate, Apmex, etc. is you have to have a real account with them, fill out paperwork etc. before they will even buy and they have minimums, and count on Upstate at least to be quite fussy. "Looks lak a cull to me". Arizona Coin seems to be easier to deal with.

Namvet69

@sgreer1962 May I suggest a fun family project, to self slab some of the silver dollars with labels of personalized notations. Quickslabs come with 2 white label inserts. P-touch labeller or just nice printing creates a memento. Good luck

sedulous

I would keep nice macro pictures for remembrance-sake before selling. Note that some Morgan and Peace dollars have VAM varieties worth additional $.