Tactful ways of telling a non-collector that a family heirloom is not very valuable?

dan1ecu

Have you ever had anyone show you a coin that was passed down from a relative?

What if they asked you how much it was worth (in hopes of hearing that it was worth lots), and you knew it to be worth only a few dollars?

Are there any tactful ways of telling the truth? Is there anything that you don't want to say in a situation like that?

Dan

kranky

What I say is something like "Although this is not a rare coin, it's over 100 years old and was being used around the time of [insert event: the Civil War, War of 1812, when the telephone was invented, etc.]. You can tell this coin was actually used - it might have been used by [famous person of appropriate era]."

Frequently it works to take their mind off the value thing.

ChangeInHistory

Start by saying it's very valuable to them and a great momento. Just tell the truth in a gentle way: "These had a high mintage, there are lots of these in this grade", etc... and explain why they are common, not terribly valuable.

dpoole

People are on the right track here.

Just because a coin is not worth a lot of somebody else's money does not remotely mean that the coin is not "valuable."

If it was a family heirloom passed down by a loved one, it is ipso facto of great value. To implicitly acknowledge that fact is all the "tact" you need. I think most people would find the money factor less important in that context.

And if they did find the money factor more important, you can assume the sentimental factor was less so. In that case, they probably just want the hard-nosed facts, and tact isn't such an issue.

majorbigtime

When I was a youngster in the 50s, my Dad (RIP) had a sign in his dry cleaners in Los Angeles "We buy old coins".
One day a man came in, and asked if I was the kid who collected coins--I said "yes".

He told me that he had a special coin, but it was not for sale. He said it would bury him. He then cermoniously pulled up a gold chain around his neck, opened a pouch attached to it, and unfolded tissue paper to reveal his treasure.

It was a circulated 1857 flying eagle cent, then worth about $2. I admired it, said "wow" that's quite a coin, I understand why you don't want to part with it.' I said "If I were you, I wouldn't show it to too many people (lest someone thee him it was a common coin w/little value)"

He may have had a pauper's funeral, but I wouldn't burst his bubble.

MBT

northcoin

"As an heirlooom, that item has too much sentimental valuable to put a monetary price on it. To you it is priceless and will continue to be so for those to whom it is passsed on." Another alternative to "selling" is to suggest donating the item if it is such that t may be of interest to a local museum, library, or school where it will be appreciated."

construct

Here is a "coin-shop" approach. This won't work with one coin over dinner at your house.

This is a good transition sentence from the soft intro to the hard facts, one I've heard a local dealer use several times. It always worked. First you have to get a sincere and serious look on your face. Then you say, "You may want to keep this coin. I think this coin may be worth more to you than it is to me."

If there are a bunch of coins, you can pick out the best ones and talk about what's special about them. Then you use your transition. "The rest of these are fairly common dates in circulated condition and will not bring a whole lot. You might would rather keep them because they are, no doubt, worth more to you than they are to me." Then if they persist, make an offer, or tell them you'll need a few minutes to look at them more closely and come up with an offer.

As for the family heirlooms over dinner, it's best to ooh and aah as long as reasonable. "Remarkable to have such a tangible connection to your families history." Etc. "Are you really wanting to put a price tag on this?" That sort of thing.

dorkkarl

the problem is, you only understand "value" as being measured in $$$. it can be measured so many other ways though.

in this kind of case, measure the "value" in terms of sentimental value. something like "i don't think the $$$ value of the coin really matters much. since your grampa gave it to you, it's worth much more in sentimental terms than it ever could be in terms of $$$. so i honestly couldn't tell you what it's "worth".

K S

sumnom

I have an 1801 cent my grandfather gave me. It is worn almost completely smooth but the design and date are still discernable. I think the redbook prices it around $15.00 or so but my grandfather actually did give it to me when I was 8 and it was the first coin in my collection. It was the coin that gave me my addiction. It is worth far more than 15 bucks to me.