Tips for an appraisal/evaluation of a coin collection
air4mdc
Posts: 936 ✭✭✭✭✭
A friend of mine's father had passed recently and they are wanting to sell his collection. It appears to be a good amount of coins, mostly silver. They are going to pay me hourly to evaluate the value of this collection. I have not seen it yet, but from what is being said is that is fairly large and mostly silver. I'm not a certified appraiser, just a lifetime collector with a fair amount of knowledge with the proper tools available to come up with fair market value, wholesale and retail. Could I get some advice or tips on to help give these folks a fair evaluation of what they hold. I have no interest in purchasing this collection,or do I believe they want to sell it to the same person appraising it. Just looking for a little help. Thanks in advance.
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Check out the Southern Gold Society
2. Grade/condition is everything - know how to accurately evaluate this
3. Once accurate grade is determined (for ungraded items) I usually see what buyers are paying on ebay and at major auction houses.
4. Most appraisers over value, this is a dis-serivce to the customer. With the info you have collected on the coin, value it at what you would pay if you were in the market for the particular coin.
Reckless faith in the dollar's strength is reckless. Tariff proposals have demonstrated this.
If raw, my first cut would be between stuff that deserves a trip to our hosts and the stuff that should be kept raw. I'd set the bar here between the $100 and $200 point, realizing that some would likely come back with disappointing or details grades. On my first pass, I'd be hesitant to assign a precise value to coins in this stack...... let the pros do that for you.
I'd then divide what's left into bulk "melt value" stuff and coins with real numismatic value. Junk silver is easy enough to place a value on. It's the stuff in the middle that will represent the biggest challenge. Use the Redbook as a starting point and be conservative in your estimates. It's OK if they end up getting more than you guessed. If they get less, it will potentially cause issues.
I'd stick with wholesale numbers unless they plan on trying to retail it themselves. 99% of people would do a poor job of this and giving them retail values will only give them unrealistic expectations.
I'd also encourage each of them to select a coin to keep as a memento.
If they want to chat, tell them you would be happy to after you are done. Otherwise
someone will think you were charging them for BSing.
bob
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Edit to add, instead of "increasing my post count".
Buy the book is good advice, and you're welcome. Thanks for the "shout out".
Plus, I think it's safe to say almost everyone who posts here does have a
Enjoy … it's a most fun endeavor.
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE -----> they are not likely to get more than several percentage points back of the silver bullion value
-All coins are all raw
-They do want to sell it, how and to whom I do not know
-I do plan on separating junk/common from the start from the collects less.
-I do plan on suggesting another opinion/appraisal before they sell
-I am not sure they are interested in TPG. They would like to obtain the value in raw form. However, if a rarity or gem was inventoried I would highly suggest it.
-I do feel a wholesale value is realistic number to give them. However, I do understand that is not what they would receive if they we're take it to a dealer. I'm not quite sure as to be sure as what percentage under wholesale they could expect to receive.
--From what I've been told, they are not interested in the collection. They want to disperse of it as soon as practice.
- I do plan on grading to the best of my ability with all coins deemed collectible.
Thank you again for your advice.
Reckless faith in the dollar's strength is reckless. Tariff proposals have demonstrated this.
I do receive the greysheet and suggesting Heritage for oddities is a great idea. Thank you for offering advice in the form of a PM. I will suggest help if it too much or overwhelming. I do plan on being fair, I think that is why they have sought me out to do it, because of a trust factor and knowing me as the person whom I am.
If you do the evaluation, use values they can actually expect to receive. Forget about getting "retail".
This could end up being a big issue. (Yes - voice of experience, here.)
If they're coming to you because they know and trust you, your best bet might be to do a quick scan of the collection and then identify where they can get the best price(s).
For example, you might separate the "junk silver" and then find the best place for them to sell it; or, you identify any rarities they have and suggest getting the coin slabbed, etc.
If you don't really know how much they can sell the coins for, then you might not be the right person to appraise their collection.
Above all, be careful of ruining your relationship with the seller.
Check out the Southern Gold Society
price guides, online and/or in print, a loupe to analyze the coins up-close, and
to NOT try and clean them in any way if they had the notion. Make sure the
junk silver is truly junk and not some worn, but still valuable variety/errors.
And that a coin shop would probably low-ball them into disgust of the whole thing
if they choose that route. Just be honest and friendly with what you know and
impart that on them. Common sense stuff I guess. Good luck
2) Give them a price on the junk silver which is realistic i.e. a point or two below the 15.3 x face melt is currently worth.
3) Conservatively grade the rest and quote them 20% back of greysheet bid (which is what most dealers pay).
<< <i>sounds like the heirs are wanting to cash out. Somebody's gonna buy them on the cheap. >>
this. and you could consider going with them when they do get another opinion. btw, what do you know about the possible places that they could sell to in your area?
Above all, be careful of ruining your relationship with the seller."
This. Refer the owners to the book Dentuck mentioned, and caution them that they are not likely to get more than several percentage points back of the silver bullion value unless they have a $1000 face or more. Unless there is something in the way of better coins, the owners may not get more than low wholesale, especially if raw.
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Joseph J. Singleton - First Superintendent of the U.S. Branch Mint in Dahlonega Georgia
Findley Ridge Collection
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Maybe I came across as not knowing what I'm doing and not very knowledgeable, but this is not the case.
I just want advise on pricing a large collection in a timely manner, in a fair manner and whereabouts an offer will come in around wholesale (such as 10-30% below the wholesale price).
And to reiterate, if their are rarities, gems, or high end coins, I will recommend a TPG or a reputable dealer. If this is what they want to do. It is my assumption from what they have told me is that they do care about the coins. They want to sell them. They have no interest in coins.
Appreciate all of the input I have received from you all. This is what is all about, turning to folks for help and them being there. Thank you.
I guess we all have opinions. Here's my advice. I've bought many large hoards of raw coins. IMHO, don't count the coins that have a value less than $50 in the price guide. A waste of time for liquidation purposes considering you'll be selling wholesale. You'll spend more time trying to sell them idividually than they are worth. You can't liquidate volumes of raw coins and not leave money on the table.
<< <i>A friend of mine's father had passed recently and they are wanting to sell his collection. It appears to be a good amount of coins, mostly silver. They are going to pay me hourly to evaluate the value of this collection. I have not seen it yet, but from what is being said is that is fairly large and mostly silver. I'm not a certified appraiser, just a lifetime collector with a fair amount of knowledge with the proper tools available to come up with fair market value, wholesale and retail. Could I get some advice or tips on to help give these folks a fair evaluation of what they hold. I have no interest in purchasing this collection,or do I believe they want to sell it to the same person appraising it. Just looking for a little help. Thanks in advance. >>
You've just mentioned all of the key steps to give a fair appraisal. Good for you in helping out.
Appraisals by many "experts" or "certified appraisers" are hardly worth the paper they are printed on.
Lots of good advice above. Simply put, give them the same advice you would give yourself if it were your collection. You'd want to maximize the dollars for it over a 30-90 day window to sell it all. Tell them what they should
expect to get for the coins. If you can't do that, steer them to another source. More than likely it will be simple stuff that you can readily value. From what you've stated you seem capable of getting the job done properly.
You also might want to leave yourself the option of buying the collection for say 5% above the highest offer. Once you appraise it, let them go out for offers. Odds are, you can probably beat most or all of the locals who will
want to make 30-50% on the collection, bullion included. Your primary job is to ensure these people don't get fleeced. If there's really top notch stuff in there (not likely) then your job will be a lot harder to research grading and
pricing.
You also might want to leave yourself the option of buying the collection for say 5% above the highest offer.
I would (maybe) agree with this, if the collection were small, and the other dealers could make an offer in less than 30 minutes. For example, one box of 20 PCGS certified coins. However, to provide a proper offer the other dealers would likely spend many hours going through the collection. In my opinion it would be unethical to knowingly asked other dealers to provide an offer when the family knows that the OP will be allowed to simply add 5% to the highest bidder.
The biggest deal I have made so far in buying an estate was back in 2003 or so. It took me over 2 weeks to go through the massive collection, and the total was well into the six-figures. We were bidding against 4 other dealers from various areas, and the dealers did not know each other. Fortunately, the heirs of the estate were ethical and did not let greed interfere with their final decision. I literally looked at every single coin and note, knowing that if I did, I would not have to low-ball the offer, and I had a better chance of getting the collection. In the end, the underbidder offered to landscape their yard as a bonus if they sold the collection to him (he also owned a landscaping company). I remember the family telling me that he offered to match my bid and then tried to sweeten the deal by bribing them with shrubs. Kind of funny. The heirs were firm in holding to the original agreement that it was a sealed bid process, and there would be no variance. The highest offer wins--period. In the end, the family knew that they got the best price and they would not have to wonder years down the road if they were fleeced or not. It was a win-win situation.
<< <i>An hourly rate is a bad idea, in my opinion. Also, if they are friends and you want to keep it that way then you are best off not doing the first appraisal unless you truly know what you are doing, which I am not certain is the case. It may be a better strategy to have them receive multiple appraisals and then have you go through the appraisals to tell them if they are realistic. >>
I like this answer, but they will sell the coins to how ever gives them the appraisal. People are lazy and on the other side the guy doing the appraisal is going to push to buy most likely.
I would think you could do a pretty quick look thru and give them a ball park number. It does not take long to figure out what dealers generally offer on buying.
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