Helping organize and liquidate passed Father in Law's collection - Wheat Cents
droberts7357
Posts: 12 ✭
Hi Folks,
I checked the forums but didn't find anything definitive.
What is the cutoff point for year on value of Wheat Cents being worth it to put in a coin flip and try to sell a dealer or online?
I have a few hundred circulated ones, but I also have mint rolled uncirculated ones from 1956 (500 in rolls and a box from the First National Bank of Boston) as well as another 13 rolls of 1959 mint state.
At what point is it no longer worth processing these before selling?
Thank you.
4
Comments
Take a look at sold original bank wraps on eBay for what people want to pay.
Thank you. Now I know this is a thing!
The box is at least as interesting as the rolls inside.
If it was me, I'd list the whole thing (box and rolls) in a single lot on eBay. Based on Fraz's pics you know not to expect more than $10 per roll. So you're talking about $100-200 total. If it sells for $75 instead, will you be devastated? I wouldn't stress too much.
This is good advice. It takes a long time to sell a roll of cents as singles.
A local dealer may be a better option. Shipping costs on a box might be excessive.
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You can flat rate ship it.
I'm usually the 1st person to suggest that a dealer will save you the trouble. But bank boxes like that will rarely get a significant premium from a dealer but can yield a significant premium in ebay.
Also, eBay shipping has gotten significantly cheaper recently.
I thought the box was cool as well and ideally want to find a buyer that agrees. Will dealers just not care? Is Ebay my only hope?
Part of my challenge is effort versus reward. I have already spent more than 100 hours on this project trying to maximize the value for my wife's mom. I have gotten pretty close to organizing everything and have a cool spreadsheet of the coins I have already put into the 2x2 sleeves. I haven't added the 10 or so old bills, the mint wheat penny rolls, and another 200 or so loose wheat pennies. Oh yeah, I also have another dozen-ish coins that I couldn't figure out what they were.
Here is a public viewable link for the curious - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_YdmkmAdLY1rT_UVzHMcAkdv7Kal7vmJXGzkcOzad0U/edit?usp=sharing
There are even pictures!
Thanks for looking and kibitzing.
The box is the draw for me. Very cool item.
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I love that spreadsheet. Other than the portion involving a family member passing away, that is a dream project that I would love to do. Really nice work!
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Post the spreadsheet in the world coins forum too.
If it is no longer fun, give yourself a break.
Effort versus reward, yep.
Great work on the spreadsheet! You have some goodies as well, including a Fugio cent, gold dollar, and a higher grade barber quarter.
Keep the uncirculated cent box with the coins. I have never seen that before!
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Thank you. I try for methodical. I will probably add the rolls, coins I can't identify, and the bills to the spreadsheet over the next couple of weekends. I'm trying to have something I can email dealers as well as share here and on Reddit.
Is there a good place on this site for a single post of a mix of US coins, foreign coins, and currency on here or should I go for multiple posts?
Thank you all for the comments and help!
Fraz you have been super helpful here and in the PM's. Thank you!
Sell the whole box at once or by individual rolls...The dates you mention are pretty common and individually are not worth slabbing, and if you open the rolls you reduce the value of the Lincolns as a roll. And I would be interested in either the whole box or an unopened year roll of each year you have. rcmurphey@gmail.com
For any coin, I would not put it in a 2x2 holder unless it will sell for at least $1.
That rules out almost all the wheat cents (most of them sell for 2-5 cents).
Your google sheet is very nice.
I would add a column for mint mark.
I would leave out the coins worth under $1.
As others have mentioned, the 1787 Fugio cent is high value, around $500 - $700 if in a PCGS slab.
You could get more opinions on the grade and variety if you post better photos of it in a separate thread.
https://www.pcgs.com/prices/detail/fugio-cents/5954/grades-1-20
A good site for values of US raw coins is:
https://www.numismedia.com/rarecoinprices/fmv.shtml
You can use numista.com to look up world coin and banknote values.
https://en.numista.com/
You can post For Sale ads on the US and World Buy, Sell or Trade forum here,
but it is mostly used for higher value single coins.
Ebay is a good choice for group lots.
https://forums.collectors.com/categories/buy-sell-trade-u-s-coins
Post photos on the World & Ancient Coins Forum here, if you are curious about what they are.
Yeah, I think I would only be interested in the entire box with the rolls. If it was broken apart, it's just like everything else. It's all the original packaging that makes it special.
I am a newer collector (started April 2020), and I primarily focus on U.S. Half Cents and Type Coins. Early copper is my favorite.
Um, please somebody tell me I’m not seeing what look like maybe 8 copper 1943 cents in there. Get a magnet out!
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In 1943, cents were struck on steel planchets to save copper for the war effort during WWII. A very small number of 1943 cents were struck on copper planchets left over from 1942 and all are extremely valuable. Some of the steel cents have been copper plated by the unscrupulous to sell to collectors but they can be easily detected because they are attracted by a magnet while a copper cent isn't.
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The unique box with the Boston marked rolls is the way to sell. I agree $75-100 should do it. Good luck. Peace Roy
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I would suggest purchasing a 2024 Red Book to look up the remaining United States coins before putting them on a spreadsheet. This should save you a lot of time. Most silver dimes quarters and half dollars that I encounter when looking at peoples accumulations are only worth their silver value. The Red Book would help you if any valuable coins are present.
Selling them on the BST with good pics may be a viable option. As a new forum member with a low post count, a well established member may require delivery and examination prior to sending you payment.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
That box is really cool and I imagine would bring a premium over the average value of a normal unopened roll.
I don’t imagine that a dealer would pay more though, you’d have to find the right collector for that. I would hate to see that box broken up and parted out for individual cents.
I’m sure someone here in the forum would want to buy it as is, I certainly would.
I feel likes folks are suggesting I sell the "Boston" box and coins on this forum. Is that allowed? If so, I guess folks can PM me an offer. I'll need to figure out payment method an shipping...
You can list items for sale here:
https://forums.collectors.com/categories/buy-sell-trade-u-s-coins
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
Is the bank gonna come after me for the box?
All right folks. I'll add my bills to the spreadsheet and figure out next steps from there.
I'll anticipate I'll post the Box as a set to the suggested forum but farm out everything else to a few dealers to see what offers I can get.
Thank you all.
Why not list items on the Buy, Sell & Trade forum and check with some dealers?
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
Hi Mark,
I truly have spent enough energy already on this project. If a dealer makes me a reasonable offer for the whole lot or a significant portion I would be happier.
At this point I plan to add a few odds and ends to my spreadsheet, let my wife pick the items out that she would like to keep for herself, and then approach a half dozen dealers for a bulk sale proposal. If the dealers don't satisfy me then I'll create lots.
In my mind I have the following lots:
For those who might be curious here are the bills: https://imgur.com/a/3LUBYvr
It will all look better in the spreadsheet.
That makes perfect sense to me, and I commend you on your devotion and efforts.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
That is so well done and organized. I might borrow your template for my own collection.
Click on this link to see my ebay listings.
Thank you. I started with the CoinSnap Android app, then exported as a CSV to my email and worked on it in Google Sheets. I usually prefer Excel, but Sheets has better sharing and is easier to embed images in.