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Hi everyone! It's been awhile! I want to sell most of my childhood collection. How would you perso
TheLiberator
Posts: 1,028 ✭✭✭
Hello all! Long time no see! (I've been busy with not much time for coins in awhile, though I have put together a really cool toned pr Merc set with Mark Feld's help over the last few years. One day I'll photograph them properly and post them when I get around to it.)
Anyway, I wet back home to my folks' house in Tampa and realized I have a bunch of non-slabbed coins siting around in 2x2's gathering dust, doing nothing. These are essentially the coins I picked up when I was 14-15 years old, so you can imagine their numismatic value is quite low. I want to liquidate them, but I'm not sure the best way to go about it given the "lower end" nature of the offerings.
It is the standard stuff a 14 year old could collect:
A few circulated Franklins
A few circulated Kennedys
A few merc dimes (BU or so from the 40's of course)
Some "junk silver" dimes
A few worn down barber halfs
Some Lincoln's (some in pretty decent shape though I'd need to look closer to see what I reall have)
Whitman folders of Washingtons, Roosevelts, Lincolns etc. Mostly complete, some holes. (Some of the modern coins like the roosevelt have developed nasty verdigris where the coin touches the paper on the rim)
Anyway, as you can see, this is typical kid stuff collected here and there.
I'm 36 now and pretty much collect slabbed type these days. I have put aside a few sentimental pieces, but for the most part, I am ready to let a lot of this go. I know some of the 90 percent silver halves are easy to liquidate, but I can't decide the best way to really get rid of everything:
1. All at once on ebay as one big lot?
2. Piecemeal on ebay? (Seems like the most time consuming but most profitable way?)
2. A local coin shop? (I feel embarrassed by this..almost like I would be bothering a dealer with stuff of such little value...but maybe I am projecting!)
What would you guys do in this situation? Thanks in advance!!!
Anyway, I wet back home to my folks' house in Tampa and realized I have a bunch of non-slabbed coins siting around in 2x2's gathering dust, doing nothing. These are essentially the coins I picked up when I was 14-15 years old, so you can imagine their numismatic value is quite low. I want to liquidate them, but I'm not sure the best way to go about it given the "lower end" nature of the offerings.
It is the standard stuff a 14 year old could collect:
A few circulated Franklins
A few circulated Kennedys
A few merc dimes (BU or so from the 40's of course)
Some "junk silver" dimes
A few worn down barber halfs
Some Lincoln's (some in pretty decent shape though I'd need to look closer to see what I reall have)
Whitman folders of Washingtons, Roosevelts, Lincolns etc. Mostly complete, some holes. (Some of the modern coins like the roosevelt have developed nasty verdigris where the coin touches the paper on the rim)
Anyway, as you can see, this is typical kid stuff collected here and there.
I'm 36 now and pretty much collect slabbed type these days. I have put aside a few sentimental pieces, but for the most part, I am ready to let a lot of this go. I know some of the 90 percent silver halves are easy to liquidate, but I can't decide the best way to really get rid of everything:1. All at once on ebay as one big lot?
2. Piecemeal on ebay? (Seems like the most time consuming but most profitable way?)
2. A local coin shop? (I feel embarrassed by this..almost like I would be bothering a dealer with stuff of such little value...but maybe I am projecting!)
What would you guys do in this situation? Thanks in advance!!!
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Comments
<< <i>Most of it will be considered common 90% which makes no sense to sell on eBay after fees. Better to ship to APMEX or to some trusted dealer and sell it like that. I have found that for item worth less than $10 it is better to group them on eBay but do not expect to get anything near Greysheet. >>
+1
make a few calls and see what some people are paying for 90%.
OR
find a local/semi-local coin show and set up at a table! $30-60 cost, worth the fun.
.
<< <i>That sounds like a good plan. What do you think about the local coin shop route? >>
No!!!
BST with decent pics and fair prices and you'll do fine.
Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else. - Bastiat
<< <i>If you're not in a hurry for the money, hold them until silver moves back up. >>
This is what I was just going to say...what is that interesting video in your sig line ?
<< <i>
<< <i>If you're not in a hurry for the money, hold them until silver moves back up. >>
This is what I was just going to say...what is that interesting video in your sig line ? >>
See, I have not even checked silver...is it way down right now? I don't even know the historical price recently....
Oh, the shattering shield nickel has been my sig image for almost 10 years now...hahaha! I'm an animator and I made it one day and it has been there ever since!
You have had it a long time already don't get in a rush now.
<< <i>Summer is not a truely good time to sell. Silver is way down from even a month ago hold and do it in small groups on the BST as time permits.
You have had it a long time already don't get in a rush now. >>
Yeah. Makes sense. I just looked at the 5 year silver price...GULP!!!!!!! Should'a done this 2 years ago! HAHAH.
A lot of good suggestions here. I have owned and worked for coin shops (still do) and selling to a dealer is a viable option. Really the issue is the amount of time and effort that you are willing to spend. Selling to a dealer is fast and easy, and as others have stated, you may come out ahead of the game by doing so.
You could also take a hybrid approach. Get an offer-to-buy from a local shop (tied to a spot silver basis), then list the collection as one large lot on eBay, the BST, and even Craigslist at a slightly higher price to cover time, risk, and shipping (if applicable). When you get the offer-to-buy from the dealer, let them know that you are shopping around. You will have a fixed price on eBay, the BST and Craigslist. When the collection is sold, then be sure to quickly remove the listing from all sites.
With the hybrid method, at least you will know in the end that you got the best price for your collection, and you will have peace of mind.
Good luck!
buyers for 90%.
You could put everything on eBay as already discussed. If you are willing to do a lot of
packing and shipping, break the coins into logical lots. Pop the 90% out of the Washington
and Roosevelt albums and add them to the 90%. Then, sell those stripped albums as a single
lot with the Lincolns. Any coins in 2x2's leave them, that shows sellers that they are better than
junk, even if a kid saved them.
Silver is down, but the retail premium on 90% is strong. I still see XF/AU Franklins getting
$10 on eBay.
Good luck.
Don't waste your time with a lot of small sales in an attempt to get just a bit more.
(I recently sold my medal collection and did exactly this with a local dealer who specializes in tokens and medals. I didn't get much but am glad I don't have to bother with trying to sell hundreds of interesting but low value items individually.)
<< <i>Don't do it. Don't you dare sell those coins. My Dad did that, and goodness what I wouldn't give to have those coins today. It makes me sick just thinking about it. Not because of the value of the collection, which wasn't and still wouldn't be much, but because of what those coins represent--the starting point of my enjoyment of collecting. If you have kids, or may have kids someday, you would be making a horrible mistake selling those coins. >>
That may be true! I'm gay though..kids may not be in my future.
Put the Barber 50c in flips - (makes each look special[/b). Look them up in any reference source. Some of the mint-marked coins sell for multiples of CDN bid but might not have had such premiums when you collected.
Forget flea markets.
Most of your stuff is bullion. Call 3 local dealers and ask what multiple of face they're paying for 90% silver. If they'll buy at 85% of spot (on what seems the small amount you have), then let yourself get beat up by the dealer for more than most Forum members would tolerate, and you'll break even after saving on gas
You know the old saying: "Six in one, a half dozen in the other". And that other old saying : "have fun with your coins".
``https://ebay.us/m/KxolR5
<< <i>
<< <i>That sounds like a good plan. What do you think about the local coin shop route? >>
No!!!
BST with decent pics and fair prices and you'll do fine.