Help!!! Found Old Coins, How Much Are They Worth??? **Added Some Pics**

CoinValue

Hi,
I was cleaning out some draws and i found a bunch of old coins from my grandfather's collection There are some from the 1800's and early 1900's. Most of them are US Coins but i have some Mexican and Australian and Canadian and maybe a few other. Where can i go to see how much they are worth and how would i go about selling them. I dont want to go just anywhere because im sure people will take advantage of me since i dont know much about these coins. I did a little research last night but didnt find as much as i wanted. I will probably end up buying one of those books that tell you the value but im sure i can get more information from here from real and true collectors. One of the coins i have is a quater from 1875 with the seated libery. Anyone know how much its worth? Well any information would be greatly appricicated. Any site i can look at and any other information. Thanks!

Russ

With most coins, it's all about condition. Even very old coins can be of little value if they are cleaned, damaged, or too worn. Do an inventory of what you have and if you have the ability to shoot some images of the more interesting ones, post them here.

Russ, NCNE

nwcs

Welcome to the board! The first step I recommend is buying a Red Book and an ANA Grading guide from a bookstore. It can give you an idea of how to evaluate the quality of your coins and from there you can begin to establish a value.

Sphinx357

I would go out and buy the "red book" or as it's fully titled: The Official Red Book A Guide Book of United States Coins.

airplanenut

Hi and welcome! First things first, I'll tell you to go out and buy a Red Book (R.S. Yeoman, edited by Ken Bressett)--it will have tons of info on all the US series'. As for the value of the quarter you mentioned, it could be worth from a few dollars to thousands of dollars--the condition is what counts (ie, the state of preservation and how much wear the coin has). If you can, post some pictures and we can help you out--the Red Book also has a very basic guide to grading coins from each series.

Now, whatever you do--DO NOT CLEAN ANY OF YOUR COINS!!! A tarnished coin, no matter how ugly you think it may be, is almost always worth more than a cleaned one--and if a coin is cleaned abraisively, it's value will immediately drop.

Jeremy

Cam40

Welcome to the best coin site on the net. You,ve come to the right place in my honest opinion.

About that 1875 quarter, Look for a mint mark on the back. They,ll either be a tiny s or a cc or no mint mark at all.
That just tells were the coin was made.
No mint mark is a coin made in Philidelphia
S mint mark, made in San Francisco
CC mint mark ,made in Carson City.

Knowing that will help to determine value also as well as overall condition.
CC coin is more valuable than an S, and an S is more valuable than a `no-mint mark`coin of that year.

without seeing the coin and guestimating its condition, i,d say the coin is valued at maybe $10- $500.

Conder101

Forgive me for asking but where is Grandfather?

tmot99

<< <i>Forgive me for asking but where is Grandfather? >>



CoinValue:

The reason people like Condor101 might ask these type of questions is there are a lot of people who come to these boards claiming "Old Grampa Willie died and I have these great coins I know nothing about..." when they are actually trying to scam the young and untrained collector on here. These stories are sometimes true and sometimes not. Until we know more about you and the coins, people will be leary. Pictures certainly help calm fears, so if you can post pictures of some of the coins, you will get a much warmer reception in the forum. I have seen other forum members really getting snotty to new members looking for help. There are a lot of wise people on the boards and are willing to help.

Again, pictures, pictures, and pictures. Also, open your profile and turn on Private Message function. That way, the people in your area that are willing to help can contact you directly through PM rather than generally to the whole forum.

Good Luck and welcome.

Conder101

Also because sometimes people come around who have found grampas coins, but grampa is still around but doesn't know his coins have been found.

bohica268

CoinValue,
Welcome! The Mexican, Australian and Canadian coins as well as U.S. stuff can be found listed in The Standard Catalog of World Coins published by Krause. At $50+ each retail you should try finding them at your local library. The pricing info may be a little out of date but you should be able to ID most everything you have. For dates in the 1800's you'll need the 19th Century book. If you need help don't hesitate; post a description and the people here will most certainly help. The World & Ancient Coins forum is a good place to ask questions as well.

Bob Kruczynski / bohica268

CoinValue

Well my grandfather has been deceased for over 18 years but the coins were always in my grandmothers house and since she just passed away at the end of may we are going through everything and my mom found the coins. She told me that her father, my grandfather said they would be worth something one day. I will be posting many pictures later on tonight or tomorrow. I am currently at work and the coins are at home. Please look back at this post later on. I will put the word PICS in the title of the post if i am able to edit it. Thanks for all the information so far. I appriciate it.

fountainheadgold

and I look forward to seeing your coin pictures

100proof1957

Hidee Ho !
we want pix,we want pix !
fresh meat always welcome !

Proof

bestbino

CoinValue
You came to the right place. When you try to put those pics up, you may run into problems. This is not a user Friendly site for transfering photos and links.
The boys and girls here will surely be able to value your coins for you.
If you have a PhD in IT then you should be fine loading those photos. However, if you have any problems , just email me and I will be happy to post them for you.
Jeff

ps: Bohica - Is that a picture of you.
I will be giving you a rating soon.

JrGMan2004

Welcome to the forums!!

<< <i>ps: Bohica - Is that a picture of you.
I will be giving you a rating soon. >>

I hope not! Unless Bohica is a cross-dresser!

Russ

<< <i>This is not a user Friendly site for transfering photos and links. >>



Huh? It's point, click and paste.

Russ, NCNE

mirabela

Oh, hey, another thing -- only handle your coins by the rims. Don't put your fingers on either flat side of the coin, as the oils & acids will make marks which eventually become visible & detract from appeal & value.

good luck w/ pics.

cladking

Welcome aboard.

There's another reason to handle the coins with care; you can get overly attached and become a collector.

Cam40

There's another reason to handle the coins with care; you can get overly attached and become a collector.

yaa, and we wouldnt want that now would we. lol

merz2

Most public Libraries have the red book.You don't need to buy it.In it there are brief descriptions of condition,as well as values.These values aren't necessarily the whole story.There are error coins and Key dates.Even some of the 1900 coins can be worth a lot.Don't be hasty in wanting to sell.Find out what you have,as Russ said post pics here.We will try to help you determine condition.

fcloud

Welcome to the boards! Becareful how you handle the coins. If they look new they could be of high quality, or hopefully not cleaned. Good luck with the find.

CoinValue

While taking pictures of coins what color background should they be behind to see the details the best? or does it not matter? I am about to take pictures but i would like to take the best pictures possible. Thanks!

fishcooker

While taking pictures of coins what color background should they be behind to see the details the best?


Clear.

CoinValue

Here is a list of the coins my grandfather had. More pictures to follow...

DorkGirl

Looks like you have some coins for the darksiders too.(World coin people!!) Can't wait to see the pictures.

granddad

Welcome to the boards. I would call all of the coin shops in your city and ask them what they are paying for 90% silver coins. It will be a number times face value. The one who pays the most is likely the fairest. Then take your coins to them and get an offer. Dont sell them, you can always go back later. This will give you a starting point. Then follow the great advice that you have already been given here by the other members. (post photos, handle with care, dont clean, get red book and so on)

Have a Great Day!
Louis

CoinValue

Here are some pics of what i have. I have to take a few more that i will post tomorrow. Im too tired to finish them all tonight. Please let me know what you think and if you would like to see something specific in a picture. Also, if you know what any of them might be worth please post it. Thank you!
PS - they might take a little time to load depending on your internet connection...

JrGMan2004

Besides the seated lib, the only thing I recognize is the coin all the way on the right in the first two pictures. That's a Columbian Exposition Commemorative Coin. Don't think they're worth too much though... but I'm not sure on their pricing...

Russ

The Columbian is about a $10 coin. Don't know about the Seated, but the condition it's in would indicate that, unless it's a rare issue, it has little value.

Russ, NCNE

mirabela

Nice original color on some of those... the quarter, if it doesn't have a mintmark, will sell for about $12, or anyway that's what I recently got for a, 1875 just like it. Learn how to identify mint luster under toning (use magnification) before you decide what to do with the Columbian half dollar; that's a very common coin in circulated condition, worth 7-12 bucks, but fairly hard to come by -- and quite a bit pricier -- in mint state. From your picture, with the depth of toning on the coin, I can't rule out that it might be in better grade. Worth investigating, anyway.

Sequitur

What's up with the digital watermark? It's obscuring the coins and no one is going to "steal" those images.

oldcameoproofsguy

The Columbian Expo looks pretty nice.

adamgold

I'll buy the whole bunch for $20, including S&H + insurance

Do we have a deal?

relayer

$28.49

Sequitur

What was that first $3,000+ number you threw out there?

relayer

That was before I looked at the pictures.

Sequitur

That was before I looked at the pictures.

Oh man.

CoinValue

I guess they aren't worth as much as i was hoping. I still have more pics that i will hopefully post tonight. Thanks for all your help....

TheLiberator

<< <i>I guess they aren't worth as much as I was hoping. I still have more pics that i will hopefully post tonight. Thanks for all your help.... >>



Ah yes. I think many of us have had coins that were left for us that weren't worth as much money as we thought. However, remember one thing. They were your grandfather's and they certainly were worth something to him. If you find they are only worth a few bucks it might be better for you to just hang on to them. I have several DOG UGLY mercury dimes left from my grandfather's collection...and I wouldn't trade them for anything. I actually put them in holders with my grandpa's name next to them and everytime I see them it makes me smile. Just something to think about!

Betta285

I love that Columbian

GaCoinGuy

I like that Columbian too

majorbigtime

I wouldn't plan to retire on this largesse!!