Using Heritage Auctions to Sell Coins
FolsomMike62
Posts: 9 ✭
in Q & A Forum
Hello, has anyone had experience consigning coins to Heritage auctions?
I have contacted Heritage to discuss my collection and they are very nice and professional. But, it requires a leap of faith to use them. Essentially, i send in my coins in on consignment and they evaluate them. Then recommend the best way to sell them. Sounds easy enough but how do I know I am getting fair market value? I have 27 PCGS graded Morgans $1, 219 ungraded Morgan $1s several of which are MS, a collection of 83 Indian Head pennies starting with 1859 several of which are MS.
Has anyone used Heritage and are you happy with their service? Thank you in advance for your feed back.
1
Comments
I’ve used Heritage, and have been VERY happy. However, they really deal mostly with graded coins, and mostly (I believe) with coins valued in the high three figures each, and higher.
While you have described in excellent detail the quantity of the coins in your collection, you have not said anything about the value of the individual coins. While those of us reading your post don’t need a complete list, we might be able to give you sounder advice if we had a better sense of the typical value of your individual coins.
Regarding your comment that several of your 219 raw Morgan Dollars and several of your 83 Indian Head cents are Mint State, maybe they are, maybe not. The third party graders like PCGS and NGC may indeed grade them as Mint State, but maybe lower Mint State, like MS63 as an example. Do you have any key dates or other dates/mint marks that are difficult to find, even in circulated grades?
As just one example, maybe you have a common date Morgan Dollar, like 1881, graded MS63. Chances are a collector buying that coin in an auction will bid no more than $100, if even that high. I believe that collections of coins with that value are really not of interest to auction companies such as Heritage or Stacks Bowers.
I wish you success in getting fair value for your collection.
Steve
My collecting “Pride & Joy” is my PCGS Registry Dansco 7070 Set:
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/type-sets/design-type-sets/complete-dansco-7070-modified-type-set-1796-date/publishedset/213996
Hello Steve, thank you for taking time to respond to my post. Below is a list of my PCGS graded coins. Nothing spectacular but a few nice coins. Of the 219 Morgans, I don't have any key dates but I believe that 50% of the coins would grade at MS60 or higher just based on my experience sending in coins to PCGS. I am a novice and appreciate your comment that they may or may not be MS. The dates span from 1878 to 1921. i.e. 1878-S, 1880-S, 1881-S, 1882-S, etc. Lots of San Francisco mint marks as my wife's Grandmother lived in CA. I've also provided a list of some of the Indian Head pennies. Again, I'm no expert but I do believe that some of the older coins would be graded MS.
The cull value for 219 morgans is $5,400+ depending on silver price. Any of the Morgans viewed as MS, should bring $40-$60 per coin or higher depending on the date even though they are not key dates. So I'm hoping to get $7,500 or higher for the 219 ungraded Morgans.
Graded Coin Grade PCGS Cert # Blue Book
1878-CC Morgan $1 MS63 51018292 $475.00
1878-CC Morgan $1 MS62 49534535 $450.00
1880-O Morgan $1 MS61 49404976 $225.00
1881-CC Morgan $1 MS64+ 49404978 $800.00
1883-CC Morgan $1 MS63PL 51018293 $275.00
1885-O Morgan $1 MS61 51018299 $50.00
1886-O Morgan $1 AU55 49534538 $550.00
1890-CC Morgan $1 MS63 49404981 $1,100.00
1891-S Morgan $1 AU58 51018298 $115.00
1902-O Morgan $1 MS65 51018297 $165.00
1903-O Morgan $1 MS64 49404983 $700.00
1909-S VDB 1C AU53 49534541 $1,300.00
1909-S VDB 1C AU50 49534540 $1,150.00
1934-S Walking Liberty $50C AU50 51018302 $65.00
1926-S Oregon Commem MS65 51018301 $175.00
Example of Indian Head Pennies in collection
1859 - Est. grade - EF
1861 - Est. grade - MS60 or above
1862 - Est. grade - MS60 or above
1863 - Copper Nickel - Est. Grade AU 50
1863 - Est. grade MS 60 or above
1864 - Est. grade MS63 or above
1865 - Est. grade MS60 or above
1866 - Est. grade MS60 or above
1867 - Est. grade AU50
These all came from a coin shop from the 1980s and this is how they had them labeled. The estimated MS coins are bright and look like you would expect an MS coin to look like.
Heritage told me that they have, invitation only, walk through auctions where they sell "ungraded" coins in various lots. Collectors walk through and pay fair market value for coins in lots.
Hope this gives a little more context around my question. I have never consigned anything to Heritage and was hoping to get feedback from others who have. Thank you.
Mike - You have some very nice coins. I don’t have a lot of expertise, but I can say two things:
I wish you luck!
Steve
My collecting “Pride & Joy” is my PCGS Registry Dansco 7070 Set:
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/type-sets/design-type-sets/complete-dansco-7070-modified-type-set-1796-date/publishedset/213996
Don't waste your time or theirs. Honest opinion.
Agreed. These are all ultra common coins that don't need to have the expense and time of going to an auction. You will almost assuredly net more selling in a different manner.
Are you in Folsom, CA? I have a good friend who runs a coin shop in Folsom who will give you a fair appraisal and cash offer which will likely turn out better for you than shipping to Heritage. If interested, please feel free to send me a DM.
chopmarkedtradedollars.com
Welcome, I haven't sold many coins, but have been purchasing them for years. Heritage likes to sell NGC/PCGS graded coins near and above 4 figures. I agree that your raw coins might be best served at your LCS. My also suggest 2 options for your 27 slabbed morgans: 1) list them with good pictures on the Buy, Sell, Trade forum. I would suggest the price to be between CDN greysheet & CDN CPG retail. In the case of your 78cc ms63 (between $500 and $650) higher for a nice toned coin. Or 2) list them at great collections coin auctions web site. They also determine the best strategy to sell your coins, like Heritage. There are many coins priced at lower 3 figures there. Common date morgans will not warrant a premium, unless they are toned.
If you plan on going the route of the LCS, please make sure you get offers at multiple shops before making the sale. Shop them around.
Also, I looked up that 90 CC ms63 & 81 CC ms64+, they are nice, and I would consider buying them on the BST forum.
I'm late to the party; but, another consideration would be Great Collections which may be a better fit for your coins.
Do you have the 1909-S Indian Head Penny by chance? Serious Value in that Coin, especially if it's RD(Red)!
In this case, I'd advise against any auction methods with your collection, and strongly considor the advice by @lermish above. The local dealer in Folsom is also a dear friend of mine, I normally set up with him at shows. While you may not net every last nickel of the deal, if you take the entire collection to him, he will be able to make you a fair offer, right then and there, and you can leave with a check or possibly cash. GC will take about 6 weeks before the coins are auctioned, another month to get paid, and with many of those coins you're paying $10 listing fee in addition to the 10%.
I understand collectors often like to try not to leave any money on the table, but how much is your time and convenience worth? For example. you have a Morgan that hammers at $300, the buyer pays approximately $335, and after all fees you might net $285. A good dealer might be able to pay you $260 or even $270, so while your'e losing out a bit on the total net, you get immediate liquidity and you dont have to wait 2-3 months. These aren't esoteric coins that need a ton of visibility, they trade pretty consistently like commodities and are easy for a dealer to price and sell. Sometimes, the dealer offer would end up being more than what you would net at GC, if for some reason it's an off night (which does happen).
A local dealer is going to give you far better offers if you bring him the whole collection, vs send all the good stuff to auction and bring him all the low grade raw Indian cents and uber common raw Morgans. GC is a great service, but in your position, it sounds like it might be most convenient to go the LCS route for the benefits I mentioned. In addition, this is how you build a relationship with a dealer, and in the future when you want to purchase a coin from them, they'll take into consideration that you're a repeat customer and they'll be more likely to work with you on pricing in the future. Dealers have to make a living too, and the way they do that is by offering a safe location to meet, no shipping or packing, immediate payment, and an hour or more of their expertise. If all of that might only cost you a few hundred bucks total, it sounds like it might be a worthwhile option for you.
+1 to what others have said regarding Heritage, this is not the right collection for that venue, and you'll likely net the least amount of money with that option.
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