Newbie needs help
SloMo
Posts: 8
I've have recently taken on the overwhelming task of documenting and organizing a coin collection that is housed in cans, jars and folders for over a hundred years (it was started three generations ago and none of the great grandchildren want to carry it on). I have no experience in the area, however I can read (amazing eh?), I'm a little obsessive compulsive and I feel like I'm on a big old treasure hunt as I go through the coins. So, I'm currently separating the coins, writing down the dates, mints etc. I"m not good enough to check for minting errors etc. Now what? The collection is to be sold. There is a lot of junk (remember, this family just emptied their pockets every day), however, there are proof sets, tons of Morgan dollars, Peace dollars, Barbars, etc that appear to be at least VF-12 and thousands of wheaties. The owners of the collection (my inlaws) are very concerned about getting taken advantage of. The collection has been hidden and never examined by an expert because they were afraid to take it out of the house for fear the neighbors would see and that they'd be robbed. Please help me. I don't know how to sell the collection, who to turn to to examine some of the better coins, how to get rid of the junk and basically who to trust. Suggestions? P.S. I already have the Red Book.
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Comments
Given the fact that you are afraid to show the coins to anyone, there not much anyone can do to help you. Learning to grade coins takes study, probably a love for the hobby, a period of time for almost everyone and some raw talent. There are some people out there who will be good graders no matter how hard they try.
Until you can open up to someone, there is not much anyone can do to help you.
And PS. chances are there no more than a couple coins in the hoard that amount to much. That's why it's called "rare coins." Chances are the silver coins you have are worth the junk silver value and that's it, even if they seem to be old.
..Take your time to familiarize and have some organization in what your recording.
...Try to have a basic grading skill and work from there.
...Talk to others and learn more about the hobby of Numismatics
lastly......Take your time..........................
I am not a dealer or major collector, but I have helped a few friends out so they would not be taken advantage of when they sold their uncertified collections.
Before anything else DO NOT CLEAN YOUR COINS!
1). Price guides are only a listing of (Sometimes vert optimistic) retail values. Use them to identify the key dates, but don't get hung up on the prices.
2). Dealers will need to make a profit on you coins to offset the cash expenditure and time it will take to sell them. So Don't be surprized if a guide book says $70 and you get offered $20 ( So the dealer can resell it for $25) "The Flip"
3). Raw circulated coins are very slow movers, and many dealers will lowball even more because of these "opertunity costs" If they tie up their money on your coins, they can't buy coins that they can Flip more rapidly.
4). You can get a set of the Greeysheets from CDN- These are the sheets dealers will use as a guide in buying (And selling) The general rule is that for common coins, they buy at 10-15% back of BID and sell anywhere between BID and ASK.
The CDN will also list the prices for Mint sets and proof sets.
5).. With out acurate pictures, it will be difficult to access values, but for sets that are still in original Govt. packaging, you can generaly sell them sight unseen at a slight discount, You might want to try listing some of the proof/mint sets on the Buy Sell Trade forum. (While you research what other go for on there and E-bay you can say "accepting offers".
A witty saying proves nothing- Voltaire (1694 - 1778)
An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor
does the truth become error because nobody will see it. -Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948)
The trouble is the bid on a Fine, which is a much nicer coin is $72. That makes the Good hard to sell. Given that if a dealer offered you $35 or $40, assuming it's genunine, he would not be at all out of line. In fact that would be a pretty generous offer because he probably can't get $55. Low grade coins are not fast sellers.
Second, if you did have a really desirable coin, a dealer would need to get it slabbed to sell it. That costs money for the slab and postage, which must be figured into what he can pay for it.
I once found an 1877 Indian in a pile of common date Indian cents. It had the sharpness of a VG, but it had been lightly cleaned. I paid somewhere around the Good price for, but then had to spend more money to send it to ANACS. In the end I made $75 over cost on it, but I had to put in an effort beyond just buying from the owner to do that.
While it's not fair for someone to rip you off, you have to remember that a dealer has to make a living too.
3 "DAMMIT BOYS"
4 "YOU SUCKS"
Numerous POTD (But NONE officially recognized)
Seated Halves are my specialty !
Seated Half set by date/mm COMPLETE !
Seated Half set by WB# - 289 down / 31 to go !!!!!
(1) "Smoebody smack him" from CornCobWipe !
IN MEMORY OF THE CUOF
know to have little or no value. Spend them or take them to the bank. Be very careful with this
though since there are numerous varieties and high grade coins which list for nothing in the
guides but are scarce and/ or valuable. Most of the cents and nickels have very nominal value
and unless you have huge quantities are probably not worth the trouble of ebaying. Late date
dimes and quarters in typical grade will yield some varieties but are otherwise of little interest.
Again, there are some of these in unusual grades that are of great interest and possibly high
value.
Pack up the better coins and shop them around a little.
Of course you already know not to clean anything. Don't even wipe the dirt off of unc coins but
you can gently take it off with your thumb on the worn ones. Coins in storage a long time can
look pretty bad but this usually isn't a problem and professional can restore the bulk of them
if necessary.
It sounds like you are off to a good start. You are figuring out what you have. You are reaching out so you can learn more about coins and the market.
There is likely to be a trustworthy forum member near you. For example if you lived in San Jose, CA I would be happy to help you learn more about your coins. I can't speak for Bill Jones, but I would trust him completely.
<< <i>BillJones, If you are trying to insult me you are doing a good job. I fully recognize the concepts of turning a profit and supply and demand. PLEASE give me a break. I have thousands of coins and don't know what the heck is the best way to get rid of them. >>
lookie at charlie brown......
"Senorita HepKitty"
"I want a real cool Kitty from Hepcat City, to stay in step with me" - Bill Carter
A lot of the communication around here takes place privately, and more importantly,
it can help the direction of a thread.
Next you might want to sort out the coins that are worth silver melt value only in dimes, quarters and halves.....
Proof and mint sets I would treat as a seperate thing and if old and original should be easy to get rid of.....
The 1909-S cent should go into a good pile to be determined later..... pictures would be helpful in helping you out further.....
<< <i>BillJones, If you are trying to insult me you are doing a good job. I fully recognize the concepts of turning a profit and supply and demand. PLEASE give me a break. I have thousands of coins and don't know what the heck is the best way to get rid of them. >>
I do not get it !!
If you are what you say you are Bill is only trying to help you. Possibly just take a breather and re-read what Bill has said.
Ken
So some of the advice you'll get might be unnecessary, but no harm done.
New collectors, please educate yourself before spending money on coins; there are people who believe that using numismatic knowledge to rip the naïve is what this hobby is all about.
<< <i>Ok sorry BillJone and the others that I have stirred the pot. I'm just a little frustrated because I'm a newbie and Bill Jones' response origninally came off elitest, however after re-reading the posts as suggested, I recognize that his responses are based on years of experience and a love of coins. Once again I appologize enraging the masses and possible insulting BillJones. Thanks to everyone for your suggestions and taking the time to help me. >>
Heh, wait till Russel shows up.....!
"Senorita HepKitty"
"I want a real cool Kitty from Hepcat City, to stay in step with me" - Bill Carter
Russ, NCNE
on cue.....
smooooch!
"Senorita HepKitty"
"I want a real cool Kitty from Hepcat City, to stay in step with me" - Bill Carter
<< <i>Heh, wait till Russel shows up.....! >>
Bite me. I'm one of the sweetest people here.
Russ, NCNE
"Senorita HepKitty"
"I want a real cool Kitty from Hepcat City, to stay in step with me" - Bill Carter
It's kind of a tradition ( I say kinda, cuz I'm new) here.... but Usually with an entry as you made with the thread title, the truth of the matter is: Russ would normally quip:
FRESH MEAT !
However, you have eloquence in your writing and that may have kept Russ at bay. Welcome here, it's quite entertaining, too
But in all honesty, Bill is a very keen guy. Heywood gave you simple layman's terms on how to approach this.
I do hope you enjoy your stay and it becomes a lifelong passion with these coins as it has for many of us.
I assure you of this.... many of us get sweaty palms and heart palpitations when we read of "unsearched" hoards.
``https://ebay.us/m/KxolR5
Bet the first ones trying to talk to you privately are drooling over the opportunity to rip.... i mean CherryPick the newbie.
hi, i'm tom.
i do not doctor coins like some who post in here.
wheeties if their in good shape and on and on and on.......***
The Newbie didn't state his age......Maybe 20 or 21 or so......I don't know do you ?????????
Would you encourage to learn more of what you have instead of lumping it as "junk silver"...??
I'm not a professional and I would be turned off too.............................JMO............
Coins like well circualted common date Mercury dimes, early Washington quarters and Walking Liberty half dollars all fall in the junk silver category. The mintage was so high on the 1964 JFK half dollar and so many were saved that even that coin in "average" Mint State (MS-64 or less) is usually handled as junk silver. And yes even the Barber coins in Good and AG find their way into lots of junk silver.
I offer this as guide so that non-collectors will not waste a lot time trying to get more than the going silver price for these pieces. Selling junk silver is one of easier numismatic transactions that the novice can make. It's a metter of getting the current price and making a deal.
AND it's best to sell what you have all at once because the more you have, usually the better the offer.
are sold extensively in the Sunday supplements and the like which has devastated dealers' stocks.
They are also avidly pursued by large numbers of newbies and even more advanced collectors.
Even culls are sometimes seen wholesaling at a 20 or 30% premium to melt and G's at up to 300%.
I didn't know that Cladking.
Down here in Florida I see them in junk silver lots and used to see them quite a bit when I lived up North. When I've put them out at a show, marked at Gray Sheet they usually just sit.
I keep hearing about how many collectors there are who are building type sets in Good, but I've never run into them. Low grade type of any sort, except early coins, have been very slow sellers for me.
However, if you spent the time to really go through some of those coins you may want to just keep in contact with these board members and also visit the buy and sell forum.
My advice on finding a good dealer to help you is...
There are many people here that, IMHO, are exceptional people that would be helpful, but they gotta make something out of their work too... (some of which have already posted).
The real question is... how much time do you want to spend on this task?
Steve
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