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n/a
deleted
8 Posts |
 Posted - 05/28/2009 : 10:26:08
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I've been lurking here for over a year now, trying to pick up some information on what to do with my late father's coin collection. I live in a town of 2,500 in East Texas, and the nearest coin dealer is 3+ hours away in Houston. Since I'm handicapped and in a wheelchair, the trip to Houston would be difficult at best.
I really don't want the collection, and right now it's sitting in my desk. It belongs in the hands of someone who would appreciate it. So here are my problems:
1. How would I find a reputable dealer? I don't want to make money here, but I don't want to be played for a sucker, and my knowledge is sadly lacking.
2. Would a dealer be likely to swap 90% "junk silver" coins for my father's collection?
3. I have inventoried the entire collection, and priced it out using my 2008 Red Book, using the lowest price listed for each coin. How far off are the Red Book prices from reality?
4. Would I be better off listing the collection on Ebay?
5. Would I be better off selling the collection to a private collector? If so, how do I find one.
Please, any and all advice will be greatly appreciated!
JP
Stirring up hate and discontent among the masses...
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CoinHunter53562
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1805 Posts |
Posted - 05/28/2009 : 10:31:18
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First, sorry to hear about your father passing.
Red Book is supposed to be "retail pricing" but I dont know how many collectors or dealers use that as a guide anymore, especially now that the 2010 edition is out, and yours is the 2008 edition. So your prices may be a bit lower than current retail.
You're probably better off using the greysheet (You must be logged in to see this link.) or numismedia fair market value guide (You must be logged in to see this link.) to get an idea of what your coins are worth. From there, it depends on exactly what you have as to what you can expect to get for them. A dealer will not pay full greysheet unless he has a buyer lined up, so expect maybe 20-30% off of greysheet. If your coins are common ones in average grades, then you can expect even less. A dealer is good in the sense that you can probably sell the entire collection at once, but you wont get as much by selling to a private individual.
EBay has the advantage of a worldwide audience, but the disadvantage of high fees (expect to lose 12-15% off the final prices from listing, final value, and Paypal fees). Also, there is always the chance of fraud with EBay, so be careful there.
You might want to try listing what you have here in the buy/sell section to gauge the interest. There are plenty of members who are both investors and collectors plus you dont have to worry about listing or final value fees. You can also try listing it on Craigslist which is free of fees, but you will have the best luck including pictures and a specific list of what you have.
Good luck!
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My hobby: collecting real money 1 copper cent or nickel at a time.
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Edited by - CoinHunter53562 on 05/28/2009 10:34:05 |
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Country
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
3121 Posts |
Posted - 05/28/2009 : 10:45:14
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Jonas,
Selling your father's collection requires some thinking. I would start by looking at the collection and see if there are some coins that have sentimental value to you. These coins, I would not sell because they mean something more to you than the actual value of the coins.
Important factors in liquidating the rest are:
(1) Are there are any valuable, high grade like-new, coins in the collection that can be singled out; coins worth $1000+. These may be best put up for auction at a major dealer with other rare coins.
(2) What is total value of the collection? If it's a hefty sum ($50K or more), you might get more $ if you broke it up and sold it by coin type. The value of the collection will guide you to a filtered reputable dealer list that can accomodate your needs.
RedBook prices are used as a dealer sell price guide; collectors usually buy coins at a discount to the RedBook values.
Perhaps others here on Realcent and elsewhere could offer you more advice if they knew more details about the coins in your father's collection.
Silver is "real money" and has been for thousands of years.
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My CRH Totals '09: Franklin 5; 40% JFK 221; 90% JFK 20; JFK NIFC 144; JFK Proof 8
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RealCent Totals: You must be logged in to see this link. |
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pennybullion
Penny Pincher Member
243 Posts |
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Lemon Thrower
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1588 Posts |
Posted - 05/28/2009 : 11:39:34
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red book is good for a rough guide and to identify key dates.
you'll get better prices on this board.
group them in lots and post pictures and you'll sell them via this board. there is an active group of buyers here and you'll get a very good price. you can also do ebay but you'll get a better price here net of fees with less hassle and less risk. |
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NDFARMER
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1197 Posts |
Posted - 05/28/2009 : 15:13:46
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| Hello Jonas, welcome aboard and I also am sorry for your loss. I agree with Lemon Thrower if you list them here you will get treated fairly. I wouldn't sell them unless you really had to I am sure the collection will continue to go up in value especially if the coins have good numismatic value. But if you must sell them if you take them to a dealer you will get a low ball price. At least that is the way it is with dealers around me. Just list a small lot or two here and see how it goes. But I also agree with Country don't be in a hurry to sell the collection. And don't sell every coin, at least keep back a few special ones to remember him and his coin collecting hobby by. Another thing that works real well in my part of the country is to have a coin auction. Get a hold of a well established auctioneer that is familiar with doing coin auctions. I have seen a lot of $20.00 coins sell for $40.00 at a coin auction. People get all wrapped up in the excitement of the auction and bid too much. Yes the auctioneer will get his cut but usually the additional amount the coins bring will make up for that and if you have a few very expensive coins you can put a reserve on them in case they don't bring as much as you would like. |
COPPER - the "poormans" precious metal!!!
SELLING - $100.00 face copper shipped to you for $189.00 machine rolled or bagged - PM me if your interested. |
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highroller4321
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2648 Posts |
Posted - 05/28/2009 : 15:29:10
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quote:
Originally posted by CoinHunter53562
First, sorry to hear about your father passing.
Red Book is supposed to be "retail pricing" but I dont know how many collectors or dealers use that as a guide anymore, especially now that the 2010 edition is out, and yours is the 2008 edition. So your prices may be a bit lower than current retail.
You're probably better off using the greysheet (You must be logged in to see this link.) or numismedia fair market value guide (You must be logged in to see this link.) to get an idea of what your coins are worth. From there, it depends on exactly what you have as to what you can expect to get for them. A dealer will not pay full greysheet unless he has a buyer lined up, so expect maybe 20-30% off of greysheet. If your coins are common ones in average grades, then you can expect even less. A dealer is good in the sense that you can probably sell the entire collection at once, but you wont get as much by selling to a private individual.
EBay has the advantage of a worldwide audience, but the disadvantage of high fees (expect to lose 12-15% off the final prices from listing, final value, and Paypal fees). Also, there is always the chance of fraud with EBay, so be careful there.
You might want to try listing what you have here in the buy/sell section to gauge the interest. There are plenty of members who are both investors and collectors plus you dont have to worry about listing or final value fees. You can also try listing it on Craigslist which is free of fees, but you will have the best luck including pictures and a specific list of what you have.
Good luck!
========================================================================
My hobby: collecting real money 1 copper cent or nickel at a time.
Pretty much what coinhunter said, but I will add a few more notes.
The redbook usually is about 25-35% high, but that is not always the case.
You can use the two sites that coinhunter listed, but if you have no idea about grading than both those sites arent very helpful.
I agree what he said about ebay. Sometimes things go really high, and sometimes things go for 1/2 their value. Plus the fees really eat you alive!
You can try to post a few items here if you want. Like everyone else has said, this is a great friendly active community that im sure someone might be interested in your items.
However, if you are looking to get rid of everything at once I most likely am interested. I have many many refrences on here and have bought and sold and traded many coins on here. If you want to send me the list of the coins I can make you an offer and/or give you an idea how much they are worth. However, without seeing pictures or the coins in person its impossible to tell you how they grade, which directly affects the value.
PM me if your interested or if I can help in any way. |
Copper Penny Investing
www.portlandmint.com |
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ScottyTX
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
508 Posts |
Posted - 05/30/2009 : 17:16:25
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I wouldn't mind taking a drive and coming to see you if you lived in the right direction from houston. I have/ can get a current copy of the greysheet and look over some prices with you. Wouldn't mind doing it at all. If you wanted to trade them for 90% I might be able to swing that as well. I am pretty fair with prices. I sent you a pm so let me know something.
Scotty |
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jadedragon
Administrator
Canada
3788 Posts |
Posted - 05/31/2009 : 14:51:33
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ScottyTX is known to be an upstanding guy here.
I would also suggest calling AMPEX. They are a large online dealer and could give you some advice.
If there is junk silver in there, list it here first. |
“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” – George Bernard Shaw.
Why Copper Bullion ~~~ Interview with Silver Bullion Producer Market Harmony
Passive Income blog |
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L1011
Penny Collector Member
310 Posts |
Posted - 06/02/2009 : 10:09:43
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| Jonas,.....does your Father's collection have any Gold in it? |
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n/a
deleted
8 Posts |
Posted - 06/02/2009 : 14:28:28
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quote:
Originally posted by L1011
Jonas,.....does your Father's collection have any Gold in it?
No, I'd keep the gold if there was some, but Pop put this together from the time he was a teen through his college years.
The collection has been sold to a person on the board who called me and made what I determined was a fair offer. Thank you all for your help!
JP
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"If at first you don't secede, try, try again!" |
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buyingsilvers
Penny Collector Member
441 Posts |
Posted - 06/02/2009 : 18:20:25
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| mind letting us know what was in the set? i've been curious to know. |
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ScottyTX
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
508 Posts |
Posted - 06/04/2009 : 22:08:55
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wow, didn't even give me a chance, who sniped me out of the picture, lol. I'm with buying silvers just interested to know what was in the collection!! It's good to see you recieved a fair price as well, we have quite a bit of honest members on this forum, IMO.
Scotty |
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highroller4321
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2648 Posts |
Posted - 06/05/2009 : 00:07:59
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quote:
Originally posted by Jonas Parker
quote:
Originally posted by L1011
Jonas,.....does your Father's collection have any Gold in it?
No, I'd keep the gold if there was some, but Pop put this together from the time he was a teen through his college years.
The collection has been sold to a person on the board who called me and made what I determined was a fair offer. Thank you all for your help!
JP
Jonas can you please PM me what you got for the coins. I want to see if it was around what I offered you.
Dont feel bad scotty. I got sniped too! |
Copper Penny Investing
www.portlandmint.com |
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n/a
deleted
8 Posts |
Posted - 06/05/2009 : 10:21:54
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Scotty, other that about 50 dimes, there was no silver in the collection. It was mostly a "kid's collection" - pennies and nickels. As far as what I was paid for the coins, it was more that the collections appraised value.
Actually, nobody got "sniped". I spent 30+ years in the printing business and I can't count the number of times that I got the contract because my company was prompt with a bid while my competitors took their sweet time. In fact, I landed a big account, even though I wasn't the low bidder, with the remark to the customer "if XYZ Co. took so long to give you a price, why do you think that they will deliver your job on time?"
I thank you all for your help and advice. JP |
"If at first you don't secede, try, try again!" |
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ScottyTX
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
508 Posts |
Posted - 06/05/2009 : 11:40:38
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quote:
Originally posted by Jonas Parker
Scotty, other that about 50 dimes, there was no silver in the collection. It was mostly a "kid's collection" - pennies and nickels. As far as what I was paid for the coins, it was more that the collections appraised value.
Actually, nobody got "sniped". I spent 30+ years in the printing business and I can't count the number of times that I got the contract because my company was prompt with a bid while my competitors took their sweet time. In fact, I landed a big account, even though I wasn't the low bidder, with the remark to the customer "if XYZ Co. took so long to give you a price, why do you think that they will deliver your job on time?"
I thank you all for your help and advice. JP
That is very good news that you recieved a very fair offer. My main concern was simply that you recieved a fair deal for the coins. With the members we have on here, it was likely that you would recieve an honest and fair offer for the collection. Good to have you here and hope you can continue to contribute!!!
Scotty |
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buyingsilvers
Penny Collector Member
441 Posts |
Posted - 06/05/2009 : 19:01:03
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| its quite a nice collection IMO. Glad to hear a fair price was negotiated for both parties. |
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just carl
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
601 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2009 : 18:43:46
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| Being a very old person with a collection myself, I would hope my son wouldn't just sell off what I spent so much time on developing. Of course everyone is different, and knowing my son he will probably just take the entire collection to a bank's counting machine. Still when you spend time with any type of collection, it is sort of conforting to think that someone would just keep it for a momento of the person that collected it all. Then too if money is important, such a collection is just something to sell for the monitary value. |
Carl |
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My late father's collection.
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