Coins 4 sale
swissmiss45
Posts: 35
Hi,
Swiss miss here again. Computer was down for over a week so I have been unable to keep up with what is going on. In the mean time, I went to a coin show but got lost and arrived 15 min. before it closed so did not have much time for learning. One kind gentleman took some time to look at my coins (a few silver dollars I had with-1921 & 1923 mostly and tried to show me how to grade them. He put a few in little plastic envelopes and gave them a grade so I could do the rest at home. Most were AU to ms-58 to ms-60 a few better. I looked on the coin price list and they are a min. of $10.00 for fine. Going to a couple of shops they offered $4.00 to $5.00 ea. I am a little depressed. Some one mentioned selling them on ebay last time I was on line-can anyone tell me how to do that the right way? Also how much does it generally cost? I am a little afraid to just jump in knowing nothing about it. Also, I noticed on the price sheet that one coin can have as many a 3 designers and the prices can really vary-how can you tell the designer on the coins? Any help would be much appreciated. One other quick question-other then double stamped or proof sets are any coins after 1964 worth anything? If so where can you find a pricing guide?
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Comments
Obscurum per obscurius
The fees are listed there.
i think shiro can answer this question objectively and without sarcasm.
2 Cam-Slams!
1 Russ POTD!
Russ, NCNE
2 Cam-Slams!
1 Russ POTD!
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In the event that you are a sincere newbie, Swissmiss, I'd add that Shiro's advice (he's referring to A Guidebook of United States Coins 2003, R.S. Yoeman, Whitman Press) and Placid's suggestion, do steer you efficiently in the right direction.
If you aren't a sincere newbie, then
Here's a warning parable for coin collectors...
Also, does this red book that was mentioned tell how to know what the design is? An example - on the coin price guide I down loaded from the web site it lists the 1904-O Morgan Dollar in 3 columns one is blank, one is PL and the third is DM, this is repeated on the list for the 1921 no mint mark. How can I tell (the closest coin shop is 35 miles from me) which design the coins are? I did look thru 3 assorted coin books I have here and they tell where to find the mint mark but none mentions the design.
Swiss miss 45
As far as the extra notes, here is a list of acronyms and their meanings someone else posted here. You'll learn a lot of the lingo in coin collecting in this.
ACG -- ACcu-Grade. Grading service. Controversial at present, because the assigned grades
seem to be inflated relative to standard services like PCGS and NGC.
aF (VG10) -- about Fine. Grade.
AFAIK -- As Far As I Know. Internet phrase.
AG (AG3) -- About Good. Grade.
ANA -- American Numismatic Association. Collector and dealer organization.
ANACS -- (originally) American Numismatic Association Certification Service. Grading
service. It has since been sold to a company independent of the ANA.
AU (AU50, AU53, AU55, AU58) -- About Uncirculated. Grade.
aVF (F15?) -- about Very Fine. Grade.
aXF (VF35?) -- about Extremely Fine. Grade.
B# (B1-B10?) -- Browning number (1925). Die variety - Bust Quarters, 1796-1838.
B# (B1-B23?) Bolender number (1950, 1998). Die variety - Silver Dollars, 1794-1803.
BB# (BB1-BBn?) -- Bowers and Borckardt number (1993). Die variety - Silver Dollars,
1794-1804 and later.
BG# (BG101-BG1313) -- Breen and Gillio number (1983). Die variety - California private
gold, 1852-1882.
BIN -- Buy It Now. eBay (www.ebay.com) phrase.
BN -- Brown. Color grade for uncirculated copper coins (BN, RB, or RD).
BTW -- By The Way. Internet phrase.
BU (MS60?) -- Brilliant Uncirculated. Vague Grade.
BV -- Bullion Value. The value of the coin is closely related to its metallic content
(usually silver or gold).
C -- Charlotte (North Carolina). Mintmark, 1838-61, gold coins only.
C# (C1-C23?) -- Cohen number (1982). Die variety - Half Cents, 1793-1857.
CC -- Carson City (Nevada). Mintmark, 1870-93, gold and silver coins only.
CMM# (CMM1-CMM13?) -- Cohen, Munson, Munde number (1971). Die variety - Half Cents,
1793-1857.
CSDG -- California Small Denomination Gold.
CW -- Coin World. Publication.
D -- Dahlonega (Georgia). Mintmark, 1838-61, gold coins only.
D -- Denver (Colorado). Mintmark, 1906-.
DC (DCAM) -- Deep Cameo. High grade proof.
DDO -- Doubled Die Obverse. Type of die variety.
DDR -- Doubled Die Reverse. Type of die variety.
DMPL -- Deep Mirror Proof Like. Business strike, with deep mirrored planchet.
EAC -- Early American Coppers, Inc. Collector and dealer organization.
EF (EF40, EF45) -- Extremely Fine. Grade.
F (F12, F15) -- Fine. Grade.
FA -- For Auction. Internet phrase.
FAQ -- Frequently Asked Question. List of such questions and answers. Internet phrase.
FS# (FS1-FS?) -- Fivaz and Stanton number (19xx). Die variety - many series.
FS -- For Sale. Internet phrase.
FWIW -- For What It's Worth. Internet phrase.
FYI -- For Your Information. Internet phrase.
G (G4, G6) -- Good. Grade.
GMM -- Gallery Mint Museum. A current producer of replicas of early US coins.
HTH -- Hope This Helps. Internet phrase.
ICGS -- Independent Coin Grading Service. Grading service.
IIRC -- If I Recall Correctly. Internet phrase.
IMHO -- In My Humble Opinion. Internet phrase.
IMO -- In My Opinion. Internet phrase.
ISO -- In Search Of. Internet phrase.
J# (J1-J1778?) -- Judd number (1959-77). Pattern or experimental coin.
JR# (JR1-JR13?) -- John Reich number (Davis, et al, 1984). Die variety - Bust Dimes,
1794-1837.
KM# (KM1-KM?) -- Krause and Mishler number. From Standard Catalog of World Coins. Type of
world coin. Includes California, Mormon, Colorado, Hawaii.
LOL -- Little Old Lady. (Possibly) naive customer/seller. Objectionable term; included
here because of the other LOL.
LOL -- Laughing Out Loud. Internet phrase.
MS (MS60-MS70) -- Mint State. (Uncirculated, business strike). Grade.
N# (N1-N17?) -- Newcomb number (1944). Die variety - Large Cents, 1816-1868.
N# (N1-N105?) -- Newman number (1952). Die variety - Fugio Cents, 1787.
NARU -- Not A Registered User (implies account terminated due to violation of rules).
EBay(www.ebay.com) phrase.
NC -- Not Collectable. A unique or nearly unique coin. Usually one of Sheldon's die
varieties of Large Cents. At the time of Sheldon's "Penny Whimsey" (1958),
for a coin to be NC, there had to be less than 3 specimens known.
NGC -- Numismatic Guarantee Corporation. Grading service.
NLG -- Numismatic Literary Guild. A prestigious organization of writers of numismatically
related articles, books, etc.
NN -- Numismatic News. Publication.
NTC -- Numistrust Corporation. Grading service. (relatively new, reputation unknown)
O# (O101-O128?) -- Overton number (1970). Die variety - Bust Half Dollars, 1794-1836.
OMM -- Over MintMark. Two different mintmarks involved. (versus RPM, which is the same
mintmark punched more than once). Type of die variety.
OT -- Off Topic. Internet phrase.
OTOH -- On The Other Hand. Internet phrase.
P -- Philadelphia (Pennsylvania). Mintmark, 1942-45 (5c only), 1979- (all but 1c).
Sometimes denotes absence of mintmark.
PCGS -- Professional Coin Grading Service. Grading service.
PCI -- Photo-certified Coin Institute. Grading service.
PF (PF60-PF70) -- Proof. Type of coin production and/or Grade. Contrasts with business
strike.
PL -- Proof Like. Business strike, with mirrored planchet.
PNG -- Professional Numismatists Guild. Dealer organization.
PQ -- Premium Quality. Sometimes part of the sealed slab grade, such as a MS64 PQ
(not quite good enough for MS65). Often it is just a hype adjective like "Choice" or
"Select".
PR (PR60-PR70) -- Proof. Type of coin production and/or Grade. Contrasts with business
strike.
PVC -- Poly Vinyl Chloride. An ingredient of soft plastic "flip" coin holders which will
damage coins over time.
R# (R1-R8)
Rarity scale. R1 most common; R8 least common. The often used Sheldon scale is:
R8 = 1-3 known (estimated), "Unique or Nearly Unique"
R7 = 4-12 known, "Extremely Rare"
R6 = 13-30 known, "Very Rare"
R5 = 31-75 known, "Rare"
R4 = 76-200 known, "Very Scarce"
R3 = 201-500 known, "Scarce"
R2 = 501-1250 known, "Uncommon"
R1 = over 1251 known, "Common"
RB -- Red-Brown. Color grade for uncirculated copper coins (BN, RB, or RD).
RD -- Red. Color grade for uncirculated copper coins (BN, RB, or RD).
RIC -- Roman Imperial Coinage.
ROFL -- Rolling On the Floor Laughing. Internet phrase.
RPC -- Roman Provincial Coinage.
RPD -- RePunched Date. Type of die variety.
RPM -- RePunched Mintmark. Type of die variety.
RSC -- Roman Silver Coinage.
S -- San Francisco (California). Mintmark, 1854-1955, 1968-.
S# (S1-S295?) -- Sheldon number (1949). Die variety - Large Cents, 1793-1814.
S# (S1-S9?) -- Snow number (1992). Die variety - Flying Eagle and Indian Head Cents,
1856-1909.
SEGS -- Sovereign Entities Grading Service. Grading service.
SP -- Specimen. Better than business strike, but not quite a proof.
TIA -- Thanks In Advance. Internet phrase.
TTFN -- Ta Ta For Now. Internet phrase.
UC (UCAM) -- Ultra Cameo. High grade proof.
UNC (Unc., MS60?) -- Uncirculated. Grade.
V# (V1-V10?) -- Valentine number (1975). Die variety - Half Dimes, 1794-1873.
VAM# (VAM1-VAM230?) -- Van Allen and Mallis number (1976). Die variety - Morgan Dollars,
1878-1921.
VG (VG8, VG10) -- Very Good. Grade.
VF (VF20, VF30, perhaps VF35) -- Very Fine. Grade.
W -- West Point (New York). Mintmark, 1984-.
WTB -- Wanted To Buy. Internet phrase.
XF (XF40, XF45) -- eXtremely Fine. Grade.
YMMV -- Your Mileage May Vary. Internet phrase
Also, "PL" and "DM" don't refer to the coin's design, but instead stand for Proof-Like and Deep Mirror Proof-Like and indicate how reflective the surface of the coin is. PL and DM are usually applied to MS-63 or higher Morgan dollars.
Check out the Southern Gold Society
I started where you are a couple months ago. I knew NOTHING about coins. And now I know a LOT more than nothing. But I still have LOTS AND LOTS more to learn.
You've been given some good advice. Get a redbook and start reading! Hang around here and read. You'll start learning a lot. Cruise around ebay and look at auctions that are similar to the coins you have. Don't jump into selling your coins until you learn a lot about them.
Sign up for ebay but don't sell yet. Read about their fees and policies. It is a whole world unto itself.
My best advice is to be patient and try to learn as much as you can.
PCGS's site also has an excellent coin guide and price guide to get you familiar with what you have. The PL and DM notations in the price guide are not the "designer;" they are abbreviations for "Proof like" and "deep mirrors," which refer to the reflecitiveness of the coin. You can do a search on PCGS for that term and it will explain it.
Good luck and enjoy your education. I'm having a blast!
--CD
Since I am such a novice I wouldn't want to mislead anyone who is interested in the coins. There are some really nice ones in with the circulated ones- pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, halves, and dollars from late 1800's to mid 1960's and I am sure someone's collection is missing some of these. I think when my mother was waitressing in the 50's,60's & 70's she went thru every bit of change that went thru her hands and picked out and bought all the old stuff. I used to give her a hard time about it - I told her her floor would collapse and she'd find herself in the lower apartment. Ha Ha! Thanks again! swissmiss45
swissmiss45
If you are patient, you can get a lot of information about coins and selling on ebay on this forum. I think you should first learn what you have. Get the "RedBook" and maybe even a grading book ("Photograde" or "Official ANA Grading Standards"). There have been some horror stories told on this forum about dealers paying pennies on the dollar to uneducated sellers for their inherited collections. Until you know what you have, or personally know or trust a coin dealer, it may be wise to keep your coins.
By the way, I'm not a coin dealer, just a collector (and a newbie at that!). Good luck, and keep in touch.
Proof Dime Registry Set
There are a lot of strategies to eBay selling, and I couldn't begin to list them all. Certainly, the advice of familiarizing yourself with the whole eBay world is gospel. It's a big site, but it has lots of resources and tutorials and chat boards to help new folk.
In a nutshell, here would be my suggestions regarding the sales of coins on eBay:
1. The picture is the most important thing. Do not use eBay's picture hosting services unless you go with the option that lets folks "supersize" your picture. Those teeny iPix photos one sees on eBay are probably fine for selling stuff like Beanie Babies, but for small, detailed items like coins, they stink. Also, use a scanner rather than a digital camera, unless you are knowledgeable enough to do good macro shots with your digicam. Too many folks take pictures that look like they were standing on the roof of their house, or leaning out of a low-flying plane! Nobody will bid on a coin that looks like a microscopic dot in the picture (except maybe some gamblers). I say again, the pictures are of paramount importance.
2. If you are unsure of your coin grading abilities, it is best not to attempt to grade the coin yourself, or go by what is written on the holder (unless it is a certified coin). Probably best, in this case, to just say, "here is a good picture of the coin so you can grade it as you see fit," or something similar. Ridiculous grading claims will get you laughed at, or worse. (It's a tough crowd around here).
3. If you must use a high starting bid or a reserve to cover your investment, then do so, but it is best, when possible, to do a "true auction", that is, start the coin out low and put no reserve on it- winner takes all. Your coin will generate more interest (and bids) that way. While there is some risk to a true auction (that your coin will sell for a disappointing price), the risk is fairly small, if your expectations are realistic and your coin of average to good quality. I have found that I often make much higher than expected on a true auction, while those with reserves frequently do not sell.
Good luck.
By the way, there is no such grade as "MS58". To be MS (Mint State), a coin must grade 60 or higher on the Sheldon scale. "AU58" ("AU" meaning "About Uncirculated") is a near-Mint State coin with only the slightest trace of wear on its highest points.
Common-date silver dollars are something dealers see very often and are unlikely to offer more than $5 or so for. You are likely to do better selling them to collectors, particularly if you put them on eBay with the above advice. The common-date dollars, even on eBay, are not going to make you rich, unless you have a ton of them to sell, so don't get your hopes too high. Nevertheless, there is always a market for them, and you should be able to at least double the wholesale offers you were given.
The best way to auction these on ebay would be with the estate auction.
You auction title should read L@@K > ESTATE SALE ** RARE COINS < L@@K and your description should include a story on how you got the coins. If you have a scanner or digital camera, a picture can sometimes help, but it's not nessecary as long as you describe them well. Use adjectives like rare and flawless to describe your coins.
You should start your auctions with a starting price rounded up to the next 9 dollars to what you think they are worth. For example, if you think the coin is worth $50, open it at $59.
BUT if you have any coins with cracks in them you should price them by multiplying the date by 47 and add the year of your car plus what you paid for your refridgerator.
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Try and find out if there is a coin club near you. (Check with any lcal dealers close to you, they should know if there is, or check the club listings on the ANA website www.money.org ) Attend one or more of the club meetings and talk to the club president. Explain to him that you are very new to coins and that you would like him to recommend a very knowledgeable member who would be willing to help you understand what you have. Be sure to mention that you do NOT plan to sell anything at this time. (That helps to remove any bias to lowball or underdescribe the coins in order to get a GOOD deal.)
As for the dealers offering you $5 for coins that your list said were worth $10, you have to uderstand the price guide is giving you retail prices or what you would expect to pay a dealer for the coin. The $5 for a common circulated (anything less than MS-60) is a bit low but not unusual. It sounds like a big markup but there usually isn't a lot of demand for those coins and the dealer may have to hold them for some time before he gets him money back out of them. In general a 40% of list offer for common material is not unusual. Now better material should get better offers because the dealer will be able to turn them quicker.
but then their listing will be bunched up with the other 1,000,000 written like that.
don't forget they should say "NO RESERVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and then set the start price at 150% of retail.
2 Cam-Slams!
1 Russ POTD!
swissmiss45
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