Just got possession of a bunch of stuff, need help!!!

NismoVT

I am new to this forum, in fact this is my first post. I recently obtained a bunch of old coins from my grandfather and Im wondering if anything of this stuff is in demand. I've looked on the price guide and it says that they are worth money, but I didnt know if anything of this stuff is undervalued, overvalued, or even something that people are looking for. Also what would be the best way to go about selling these things. As I said I am very new to the whole coin collecting thing.

Here is a few things that I have found so far:

-1855- $2.50 gold coin
-1853- $1.00 gold coin
-1858- eagle penney
-1826- 1/2 dollar
-1837-1838 large cent (two)
-1876cc - dime
-1908 - nickle
-1877cc - quarter
-(42) indian head penneys
-(50-60) liberty dimes
-(100 or more) rosevelt dimes
-(20-30) quarters 1926-1964
-(40-50) buffalo nickles
-(20-30) liberty dollars
-(2000+) wheat penneys


If anyone can give me any information, tips, or is interested in any of this please let me know.

Cody

rsdoug81

Welcome! We'll need to see some pictures before any of us can give you some solid opinions. It looks like you might have some goodies in there.

claychaser

By all means, avoid the "motel buyers"!. They will give you a fraction of what your coins are really worth.

And, don't clean or polish anything. That will only lower the value. An honest coin buyer "sees through" any color or crud, and knows how to clean anything off that should go - and that's very seldom.

eyoung429

Welcome to the Forums!!!

coinguy1

Welcome NismoVT. Are there any notes or indications of the supposed condition/quality/grade for the individual items you listed?

Russ

Welcome to the forums. May your participation be pleasant, enlightening, and fulfilling.

Russ, NCNE

NismoVT

Thanks guys, I tried to take pictures but my camera is not the greatest and it keeps coming out blurry. The two gold coins look as if they have never been circulated. No dirt or scratches. My grandmother has had them since the 30's in a glass encasement made into her coffee table and didnt even think they were real coins. Im going to try and borrow a better camera so I can get some better pictures.

ledzep87

Welcome aboard!

messydesk

There are people here who are interested in just about everything you have. Pictures are a must, though. Don't sell to a "motel buyer" and don't just dump the whole collection at a dealer you don't know from Adam. Learn a little about what you have and what you might want to keep. This is a good place for that. If you ever decide to sell stuff, there's a Buy 'n' Sell forum for this purpose.

Oh, and welcome to the fray.

rsdoug81

<< <i>Thanks guys, I tried to take pictures but my camera is not the greatest and it keeps coming out blurry. The two gold coins look as if they have never been circulated. No dirt or scratches. My grandmother has had them since the 30's in a glass encasement made into her coffee table and didnt even think they were real coins. Im going to try and borrow a better camera so I can get some better pictures. >>


Are there any small hairlines that cross the surfaces of the gold coins that would indicate that they have been wiped or cleaned in the past.

VTCoins

NismoVT,

If you are located in VT, let me know if you would like me to look at your coins and give you some advice. I am in Rutland.

coinguy1

<< <i>The two gold coins look as if they have never been circulated. No dirt or scratches. My grandmother has had them since the 30's in a glass encasement made into her coffee table and didnt even think they were real coins. >>

It's quite possible that your grandmother was correct - there are many counterfeit gold coins. Images might allow us to tell you if they are genuine or not, however.

NismoVT

I have compared them to the pics on this website in the pricing guide section and they look identical, but you guys would know more about that than I would. Oh and sorry about the VT, it can be misleading.....I go to Virginia Tech, but my roomate lives in Barre, VT.

kryptonitecomics

Might you consider keeping them? I mean if my grandfather left me some coins I might consider keeping them and passing them down through the family instead of jumping into selling them? Does your grandfather want you to sell them for him or were they given to you with no strings attached?

BigTom

Don't "shine 'em up" to make them look better either.

Finding and cataloging an old time collection is what most collectors dream of. You shouldn't have any problem getting help here. Although you'll still need to learn how to grade them. You're best avenue to selling them is either here on the BST board or ebay. In that order. If by chance you needed to get cash NOW, know that you would loose 25-50% by selling the lot to a dealer over what you could get by selling the pieces individually.

Good luck. Have fun. And I hope you will consider setting aside a piece or two for yourself in rememberance of your grandparents.

NismoVT

Im not in a rush to sell anything, but some of these coins seam to worth a decent amount of money that I could definately use to help pay for college, so Im willing to part with them. I do have to admit, looking at all these things that are this old and thinking about their possible history of the years is pretty interesting, I could see interest in collecting and researching these coins.

I should have another camera that hopefully will be able to take a better quality picture in a couple of hours, so I will try to post up some pictures later this afternoon.

mhammerman

If you will spend a little time with the coins, you will be well rewarded either financially or through the legacy of those coins. First, go to a coin shop and buy some "flips", a box of 100 ought to do for starters. The coin dealer may sell you some labels (inserts) too but they are plenty easy to make by cutting some 3x5 cards up into squares. Once you have done that, go buy a "Red Book":
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This book will have all the coins listed in it with color pictures too. Do not go by the price guides...they are for retail sell prices and are probably already out of date. Use the book to catalogue your collection. So, that's the next step, catalogue your collection.

So now for the fun. Remove the coins from their holders or flips. When removing them from the holders, completely remove the staples first with a real staple remover (don't just open them up and pull the coin out)...do this, then remove the coin holding it by the edge, thumb and middle finger. Do not touch the surface of the coin or lay it on anything that might scratch it because the value of the coin is very dependent on the surface preservation. Do not wipe the surface if it has dirt on it, do not wash it, do not do anything to the surface...leave it alone, even if it has bubble gum stuck on it. If the coins are not in flips and are just laying in a box...same deal, don't touch the surfaces, put them in the flip. Immediately after you remove the coin from the holder, put it in one of your new flips. Now make a label (with date and mint mark) for it and insert it in the other flap of the flip (use a pencil, the graphite is inert) and that coin is ready to go for now. After you have done this with all the coins, then it's time for the book. If the coins are in original containers/boxes, wrappers from the US Mint, leave them there (mint sets, proof sets, commemorative coins) because they are worth the most this way. If they are pennies in rolls, leave them that way, same for dimes, nickels, etc., you can search them for rare dates later. If the boxes have goo on them, you can wipe that off with a damp (not wet) tissue or wash cloth...lightly now, don't rub and do not mess with the actual coin surfaces.

Catalogue your coins by using the redbook to separate them by denomination. Then sort the denominations by dates. It is easier to work one denomination at a time so you get a feel for the range of the coins. Don't worry about grading the coins just yet...it is very difficult for a novice to accruately grade coins in the exact sense but you can get an idea if it's well worn, almost new, or very new. Now, use the box that the flips came in to hold your coins (if you can smooth the dealer guy out of an extra box or two, that would be good. And, you're done for now. No need to talk to him about the coins just yet, eventhough he may try to chat you up.

Next, you can decide what to do. At this point you can take them to a couple or three dealers to get an idea of value. Do not take all of them at once, just take a few of each type, maybe 20 coins in all...and don't say anything about the rest of them. Shop them around, see what they will offer and be on your way, you can always come back later if you want to sell some of them. Another, though more time consuming method, is to go to this site:
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and look around. This will give you an idea of the value, some interesting things about the coins, and stuff you may want to know. Ok, now you can do one of the following (there are other choices but this is a start):

1. Sell the coins to a dealer (20 at a time...the more you give them, the less money they will offer).
2. Keep the coins and share with your family members.
3. Become a GASP!!!! coin collector.
4. Any combination of the above.
5. Ask a board member from here to come visit with you or meet half way and let them advise you on the value of your set, the pieces to keep, the best way to sell them (depends on value/rarity), and other fun things you probably want to know. (We like to do that stuff)


Enjoy the legacy you have been given


Coin On!

Shamika

Welcome to the Forum.

NismoVT

What are you guys using for get the pictures, I have no tried a 2.0 mega pix toshiba and a 3.2 mega pix polaroid and neither would focus on the coin enough to even tell what it is. Do you think a scanner would work better to get a picture of these?

I have some of those flips as you were talking about Mhammerman, but I had been just keeping them in zip lock bags, first seperating by denomination and then i pulled out a couple that looked to be more rare and have those in individual bags. The gold pieces and the eagle penney definately got their own bags and I locked them in the safe.

DorkGirl

A scanner will work to give us an idea of the quality of the coins. You might want to go to Photobucket.com to get an account to host the pics for you.....

Bruceswar

welcome aboard! Hope you figure out the picture deal. It seems like you have some very nice coins.

GaCoinGuy

Welcome to the boards. FOr the pics, you want to be sure to use macro mode. This is usually indicated by a "spade"type device inside a box.

mepot

The first thing you need to do is get the coins out of those zip-lock bags.I think they have PVC in them to make

them soft.Do a search for PVC and you will see thats not good. Mhammerman made some great points,just don't

get in a hurry and sell them too cheap.A little investigation on your part can maximize your return on these coins

either monetarily or for the enjoyment of what they are and where they came from.Good luck

NismoVT

Well these arent the greatest pictures in the world, but they are better than before. It was funny, I actually took a magnifying glass and used that in combination with my camera to get these pictures, Im still going to try and get a scanner, I think it would work a lot better and be easier too.

This is the 1855 2.50 Gold Coin




And this is the 1858 Eagle Penney




I will get some more/better pictures hopefully soon, but let me know what you think of these two for now, if you can tell anything from them.

lkenefic

It looks like your 1858 FE Cent is fairly corroded but the pictures are blury so I can't ascertain a well defined grade. But judging from the lack of definition in the eagles' tail and wing feathers, I'd say VG8 or F12 at best. Also, it's difficult to see if it's the Small Letter (SL) or Large Letter (LL) variety. Do the "A" and the "M" in "America" touch each other or is there a small gap?

Leo

eyore

NismoVT

There is a small gap between the A and the M. The coin is kinda dirty but all lettering is raised and visable, you can see the eye and the mouth of the eagle, and can see the where the definition of the feathers should be, but they are worn off. You can see the different shading where the definition of the feathers would be. Being in that condition is it worth anything or just a penney?

lkenefic

<< <i>There is a small gap between the A and the M. The coin is kinda dirty but all lettering is raised and visable, you can see the eye and the mouth of the eagle, and can see the where the definition of the feathers should be, but they are worn off. You can see the different shading where the definition of the feathers would be. Being in that condition is it worth anything or just a penney? >>



It sounds like you have an 1858 SL variety. It's definitely worth more than just one cent! But... it's hard to determine an exact amount based upon what your photo depicts. Typically, ANACS will ding a coin hard for corrosion... 5-15 points in some cases. So even if you're starting off with a coin that has F12 or VF20 details, you could end up with an AG3 or G4 coin after it has been net graded down (taking the corrosion into account). In any case, it looks like from the PCGS website for Flying Eagles and Indian Head Cents, you would expect to pay significantly more than a penny for your coin if you walked into a store to purchase it. Remember...this is full retail...NOT what a dealer would pay you for it if you were to take it into the same shop. If you got other Indian Head Cents from your grandfather, you might want to take a look and see how close you are to complete set...cull through the dates and see if anything obvious stands out

...1877
...1909-S
...1908-S
...1864-L

...and any IHC in decent condition from about 1866 to 1875 date range...

Good Luck...

Leo

NismoVT

One is a 1908, no mintmark. One is 1864, and is worn pretty bad, so I doubt its worth anything, the rest (40) are between 1884 & 1906, a lot of them are in very good condition.

Elcontador

Bemvindo a nosso forum! You have some excellent advice. Once you've done the above, another thing you can do, after getting a few quotes from dealers, is to take some of the more valuable coins to a show in your area, the larger the better. You could then offer them to a number of people who are all in the same place.

You could mention the show you're thinking of attending, and people on the forum could probably suggest several dealers to whom you can show your coins.

lkenefic

<< <i>One is a 1908, no mintmark. One is 1864, and is worn pretty bad, so I doubt its worth anything, the rest (40) are between 1884 & 1906, a lot of them are in very good condition. >>



Even if it's worn down you can still determine if it's the 1864 "L" variety if it has a pointed bust instead of a round bust. The CoinFacts website from the link above has pretty good pictures of it.

Hope this helps...Good Luck

Leo

NismoVT

good idea elcontador, how often do these shows come around?

majorbigtime

Condition is King--assuming the coins are run of the mill circulated, you have some value in the gold and the rest is mostly junk.

richbeat

Welcome aboard! I grew up very close to Virginia Tech (Dublin, Pulaski County High School Class of '76). I'm in Texas now. Go Hokies!

Can't add much to what has already been said; the advice is good. Good luck!

stiffy

Welcome to umm.... here.

Enjoy your new hobby.

Whitby

Scan everything and ask about a reputable shop in your area to get the coins appraised. Otherwise, you have quite legacy there as I am now looking over a friends collection who is in your position as well. This collection has alot of CC silver. Impressive.

Wolf359

Welcome! Keep up the info and photos, the forum members here will help you do the
right thing.

IndianHeadMan

Here is a photo tip.

zoom your camera all the way out. Move the camera closer to the coins, do not zoom in, this will kill your focal length and cause out of focus image. You may also have to take a pic that is alot larger than your coin and crop the image.