she was very angry as she was convinced it was worth much more.

mrdq

this quote was taken from another post but it made me flashback to a few times i've delivered "The bad news". I'm sure some of the people have thought I was scamming them.

What have some of YOUR experiences been when dealing with coins of FRIENDS? Families? Strangers?










p.s. would you change anything about this?

this is the last page of an appraisel I did for a friend of my MOM who had a cool whip container of foreign stuff and I put my offer last on purpose to not sound like I think that's the best offer. I actually didn't want the coins but $40 means more to her than to me and I am a coin collecter

The options available to you the way I see it are as follows:

1. Keep the coins and pass them on to younger family members who may be inspired to become coin collectors.(there’s a lot worse things they can become )
2. Sell them in EBAY. EBAY has shown itself to be a great place to sell coins and get a good price IF they sell. Listing the coins individually in this case wouldn’t be prudent since the simple listing fee for EBAY is 30 cents MINIMUM and on a 50 cent coin that’s not worth it. If you listed the coins as a group (Called a LOT) you could set a minimum price of $40.00 and the listing fee would be a dollar or two for the whole bunch to sell. If it doesn’t sell then you can try again or go to one of my other suggestions. The CENTAVO Bracelet might sell this way as a coin novelty item rather than just a bunch of silver for melt value. I would be happy to list them on EBAY for you at no cost (other than the EBAY charge for listing the item).
3. Donate them to an organization like Cub Scouts/Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts. Some of those organizations have coin collecting for merit badges and a leader might be able to use them.
4. Donate them to a School teacher who might use them to teach in Geography or History or Social Studies.
5. Take them to an actual Coin Dealer. The nearest one to us is in Petosky and he’s a nice guy. This option is toward the bottom of the list because aside from giving them away this is the second worst option in my opinion. Nothing derogatory toward coin dealers but to remain in business they need to BUY LOW so they can sell and make a profit, and that’s not going to benefit you to sell low.
6. Explore options 1-5, get a second opinion, and if you want the simple way out I’ll offer you $40.20 for the coins. As a collector it would be the last stop for these coins as I don’t sell coins unless they’re duplicates. My plan is to pass all my coins on to my daughters when the time comes so all the coins that I acquire have a home for many years to come (I hope ).

Thanks for letting me paw through the coins. It’s a hobby for me and as a coin enthusiast it’s always exciting to look through a new batch of coins.

xbob

I am pretty new at this, but got interested in collecting when I took my "valuable" old silver dollars to a show and was instantly humbled.

It stinks to find out your coins aren't worth much, but I thought you handled it tactfully. You may want to let her know the estimated value right off and let the disappointment set in before she gets to your offer. Just tell her it's like Antique Road show, just because it's old doesn't mean it's valuable (if in fact they are are old coins).

I recently did the same for a friend who had to go through unclaimed property paperwork to retrieve a collection he had forgotten about in a safe deposit box. It took 3 months for him to get, and turned out it was common date circulated coins less than 100 years old. After looking them all over with my redbook and double checking them with Cherrypickers, I just said, "No national treasures here but still a neat collection to own and save for your children". He got cheap at a flea market so he didn't care.

Sometimes the truth hurts but I think most people will understand. It is what it is.

kieferscoins

It is the worst with wheat cents from the 1930's or before. People think they have a huge hoard worth a ton. After I tell them what they are worth and they don't believe me I just say here's a another roll you can have for face value plus as many rolls thereafter for a little over face.....that makes them think.

Cameron Kiefer

airplanenut

<< <i>It is the worst with wheat cents from the 1930's or before. People think they have a huge hoard worth a ton. >>

They just have a hoard that weighs a ton

pharmer

It depends on what the desires of the friend of Mom's were. If it was just the "You are into coins, I've always wanted you to look at my modest collection to see if anything valuable is in there" question that I get all the time, you may have gone into too much depth, and the offer to buy at a low amount may have been misconstrued.

I have been asked that many times, and I have done it zero times. There is no upside. The likeliest scenario is the one you point out, fraught with negative possibilities. Heaven forbid that there would be a 3-legger, or 16-d, even worse a 55/55. I would have to give them the good news, send them to a dealer or ebay if they want to cash out, because they did not ask me to look and buy, just look. I could not offer enough to feel good that they maxed out with ripping off another friend, me. And telling them they have nothing like your scenario is a bummer both ways. Definitely won't make what they would consider an insulting offer and rubbing salt in it. So, I don't go there.

ksteelheader

<< <i>People think they have a huge hoard worth a ton. >>



That's a saying I don't hear much anymore. It was used a lot when I was growing up and means that someone thinks they have something worth a lot of money!

dimples

WHAT!!! My early wheats are worth face value...Dam there goes my retirement..

Merc

I have a happier story. A professor where I worked knew I collected coin from another professor we both know. He told me he had some old US coins and silver dollars he had from his father. I told him I would look at them but warned him in advance that many old coins were worth $10 or less. Well, after a few weeks he brought in his collection. The coins were in picture slide holders! Some were AU Ike dollars which were just worth $1. I told him he could still spend them. Then he had VG to MS63 Morgan dollars. I was surprised to see a few nice but common date MS ones. He seemed happy they were worth more than face. Then I explained the use of mint marks to him. I filped over one sheet of Morgans and found one had a CC on the reverse. I explained that the Carson City Morgans were in demand and some are rare. Then I took out that coin to see the obverse. It was an 1889-CC in VG10. He was happy to see the greysheet value of $500 at the time.

thebeav

<< <i>

<< <i>It is the worst with wheat cents from the 1930's or before. People think they have a huge hoard worth a ton. >>

They just have a hoard that weighs a ton >>



I once accumulated 26 bags.....That's just shy of a half-ton......Wish I still had 'em. Got out at less than 2 cents per...

Paul

nwcs

You might be able to sell wheaties for 2 cents each. That's a 100% profit!

Usually whenever I give bad news to someone with coins, I don't even offer to buy. That way it won't look like I'm trying to rip them.

ScarsdaleCoin

FYI....what you have done is not an appraisal but rather a valuation.....if you did a true appraisal you could not make a offer to purchase....as this is a conflict of interest.....I know this is a minor point but I am a member of AAA and it irks me when people say they did a appraisal

mrdq

<< <i>irks me when people say they did a appraisal >>

BAJJERFAN

Unfortunately there are many folks who have albums full of every series but most of the coins are low grade junk as far as the market is concerned, BUT if they had enjoyment in assembling them then that is a plus.