Selling old coins

[fredtoast]

I found some coins my father had saved. They are worth more than face value, but not much.

150 to 200 wheat pennies.

50-75 silver Mercury dimes.

50-75 silver Liberty quarters/Washington quarters.

20-30 silver half dollars.

I looked up lists of the top 10 most valuable in each denomination and didn't have any of those.

So what is the best way to sell these? anyone have any experience with this kind of stuff?

[bjf123]

I’ve got a coin collection from when I was a kid. I’d be interested in this, too.


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[Tiger Teeth]

I collect coins, but only silver. eBay would be a good place to start fred. It also would depend if you have any key dates, and the condition of the coins.

[XenoMorph]

(04-22-2018, 10:50 AM)fredtoast Wrote: I found some coins my father had saved.  They are worth more than face value, but not much.

150 to 200 wheat pennies.

50-75 silver Mercury dimes.

50-75 silver Liberty quarters/Washington quarters.

20-30 silver half dollars.

I looked up lists of the top 10 most valuable in each denomination and didn't have any of those.  

So what is the best way to sell these?  anyone have any experience with this kind of stuff?

you can take and get them appraised at a coin store

[grampahol]

Take to a reputable coin dealer and ask what they would offer you then compare their prices to others before deciding . I once sold some old coins to a dealer only to learn later just how badly I was burned so shop them around a bit before deciding. Don't trust the first schmoe with a picture of Lincoln on the door.. 

[Tiger Teeth]

Did you look them up in the "Official Red Book"? It's the bible of coin collecting.

[SunsetBengal]

Since most collectable coins are already in captivity, the market for collectable coins is a bit of a fishbowl. Unless any of them are in "mint" or close to uncirculated condition, the value isn't going to be that high. You might consider just holding them, until you find a young person with a genuine interest in collecting. The value of providing an educational boon to an aspiring novice might be worth much more than the meager financial gain you would attain by simply selling them.

[Tiger Teeth]

(04-23-2018, 08:08 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Since most collectable coins are already in captivity, the market for collectable coins is a bit of a fishbowl.  Unless any of them are in "mint" or close to uncirculated condition, the value isn't going to be that high.  You might consider just holding them, until you find a young person with a genuine interest in collecting.  The value of providing an educational boon to an aspiring novice might be worth much more than the meager financial gain you would attain by simply selling them.

This is a very good point!

[XenoMorph]

(04-23-2018, 09:57 PM)Tiger Teeth Wrote: This is a very good point!

Or bury all the silver in a small chest somewhere in the backyard.

[fredtoast]

Time for me to confess to being a complete dumbass here. I have never noticed a single "coin shop" anywhere around here so I did not think there were any. But I guess I had never noticed one because I had never looked for one. So I googled and found three in Knoxville.

I don't believe any of these coins are real rare. And they are not in new condition. So they won't be worth much. But I know the silver coins are worth a lot more than face value. So this weekend I am going to take them around nd get offers. it makes me feel god to know there multiple shops nearby. If there was only one I would not trust them.

[fredtoast]

(04-23-2018, 08:08 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Since most collectable coins are already in captivity, the market for collectable coins is a bit of a fishbowl.  Unless any of them are in "mint" or close to uncirculated condition, the value isn't going to be that high.  You might consider just holding them, until you find a young person with a genuine interest in collecting.  The value of providing an educational boon to an aspiring novice might be worth much more than the meager financial gain you would attain by simply selling them.

Funny you should mention this.

I have two daughters a niece and two nephews.  They are all between 11 and 14.  I am going to take the oldest of the coins and give each one of them a set of a wheat penny, a mercury dime, a liberty quarter, and a silver half dollar.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(04-24-2018, 05:59 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Funny you should mention this.

I have two daughters a niece and two nephews.  They are all between 11 and 14.  I am going to take the oldest of the coins and give each one of them a set of a wheat penny, a mercury dime, a liberty quarter, and a silver half dollar.

There yah go.

I collect coins but mostly silver or i use the cheap quarters with the states on them and make rings out of them.

Wheat pennies and mercury dimes are too small to make rings out of. But i have done this with a silver half dollar before.

Ring making is fun hobby on the side.

[*PhilHos*]

When I worked for The Salvation Army, someone put an old silver dollar in one of the red buckets. I looked it up online and saw that one in mint condition would have been worth $40. I took it to a coin shop and they gave me $20 for it (it was not in mint condition). Still better than the one dollar face value.

[samhain]

My brother is into memorabilia/coins. When our dad died he sent his coins away to some entity to be evaluated and rated. You will probably get screwed by a brick and mortar coin shop. They'll just try to take them from you after giving you some shitty arbitrary cash amount.

Having them evaluated that way is kind of pricey, but if you think you have something of real value, it's a necessity. The most reputable entity for grading is PCGS. According to him, coins graded by them may sell for slightly more. There's another grading company called NGC which he says is legit, but not quite as reputable as PCGS.

[Beaker]