I need some advice...
 

Last Tuesday, my 90 year old father finally passed away after a long illness. One of the items that I inherit is his coin collection - pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters probably dating from 1900 or so up to the 1920s. I'm not certain what the contents are, other than he did show me a 1909 S-VDB penny some 25 years ago when he was packing his collection. The collection should come to me in the next 30 days or so.

I have zilch interest in numismatics. In fact, considering the situation today, I'd be more than happy to trade the whole collection for a fair price, payable to me in bullion coins (gold or silver). My question is simply, how do I go about this. The nearest coin dealer is some 80 miles away, and I have never done business with them at all. I buy mostly 90% silver at under spot on eBay. Do I send the whole collection off to PCGS and have them grade each coin? Do I sell the whole thing as a complete collection? How do I get the most "bang" for my father's buck?

If anybody has any suggestions as to the best way to do this, please let me know.

JP

Re: I need some advice...
 

I would not get them graded. Also, take your time with selling. Do some research and maybe even try to sell on here or another forum like Kitco.

Re: I need some advice...
 

Some here think Im an idiot.
and they could be right:confused_ma:

But; I'll put in my 2 cents

If it were me;
I would "part it out" on ebay (10 or 20 like coins, a few or one coin at a time)

The buyers on ebay know what stuff is worth and you will get what its worth

Re: I need some advice...
 

You need to do your homework before you liquidate anything.
Top coins are breaking records at auction. There are trillions of fiats out there looking for a place to preserve wealth and the very best, rarest coins are one of those places.

Go through PCGS coin prices to get you started.
http://www.pcgs.com/prices/PriceGuideDetail.aspx?c=45

http://www.bakercoins.net/learn/arti...1909s.vdb.html

Re: I need some advice...
 

I would wait. We're in the early stages of the massive bull in metals. Numismatics are the last to the party. When you start seeing commercials non stop on Teevee about buying "collectable" coins that will be your nod that the top is near.

Re: I need some advice...
 

sorry about the loss of your father.

sell the enitre collection, piece by piece if it is of any value, sell the less valuable ones in groups, buy bullion for the money.

Re: I need some advice...
 

Hey, Jonas:

Sorry about your father. PM out.

The Great Ag

Re: I need some advice...
 

My condolences to you and those that knew your father.

I don't think it'd be a good idea to send them out to get graded and slabbed. That's just gonna cost $$$.

I like what the other members suggested. Hold onto them. Do some Ebay research to see what others are selling the same stuff for and then try and sell them yourself.

Re: I need some advice...
 

Call me sentimental. But I would not part with my fathers collection unless it was worth big bucks and I needed the money.

But if you want to reinvest the money.

Most of these types of collections have only a few valuable coins. Just look for key dates. Sell them and keep the junk. A remembrance of your father, You can pass them down to the next generation of Parkers.

The 1909 S-VDB is a key date. If the condition is not excellent you will be lucky to get 300 to 500 dollars. Ya never know that may be the best coin in the collection. The rest could be worth melt value.


It is up to you. Take your time. no reason to be in a hurry to get rid of theses coins. Hell they might grow on you.

Sorry about your Dad.

Re: I need some advice...
 

Agree. Totally.

Re: I need some advice...
 

I sorry for your loss also

Re: I need some advice...
 

Get the annual Red Book coin collectors guide. 2009 should be out soon. This will give you an idea of reasonable prices. Then piece them out on eBay. Don't be in a hurry.

Also, see if any of them appeal to you personally, and keep those as a memory of your father. Sorry about your loss.

Re: I need some advice...
 

Sorry for your loss, sometimes after long illnesses it's time for the soul to move on out of that vessel we call a body.

Maybe it's time for another chapter in your life and appeciate numismatics .. at least there is a rea$on for you now.
Get yourself a bluebook and a redbook and look at some values of the coins.
Assessing the grade of the coin is the real tricky part, is it a G,F,VF .... there is a skill tot hat .. google can help some what and so can the books mentioned.

Since you are familiar with EBay .. this link http://coins.listings.ebay.com/_W0QQ...tegoryOverview
can be used to type in a coin and see what is has sold for in the past ... or google it.
You see people on EBAy selling like 20-50+ coins in a bunch with some good coins and some not so good coins, that is one way to sell at collection but I wouldn't do that, I'd sell the coins separately.
Since you're not sure of the dealer then that is a tough call to make.
I'd hang on to the coins for awhile unless you need the money and do some research .. I like old coins though .. bullion too, but old coins are a bit of history and art.

Re: I need some advice...
 

I agree........ if you are not hard pressed........ keep them. ....you will have a story to tell the younger ones.


My Respects on your loss.

Re: I need some advice...
 

Re: I need some advice...
 

:applause_That Does make alot of sence.^

Re: I need some advice...
 

I'm so sorry about your father, Jonas. Ninety years is quite an accomplishment.

Re: I need some advice...
 

I agree with keeping them. Recently I was asked to advise a friend of a friend on the coin collection she inherited. I am only a novice numismatist, but she knew no one she could trust to tell her the truth. She wanted me to suggest a total price to sell the whole bunch for.
I found the collection to be more of a conglomeration than a collection. I had her help me sort them by coin type, pennies, nickels, dimes, etc. Then I sorted them into silver and not. I saw nothing in them that I knew to be above junk status, but there were way too many pennies and I know little about pennies.
I had her get a red book, and taught her to sort them by year and mint mark. She enlisted her teenage son in on the project and they have become hooked. I haven't heard if there was a great find in the bunch, but now her son can talk the talk and spends more time with his mother.
She wanted to dump the whole bunch, but instead has a hobby that she shares with her son. She is glad she kept them.

Re: I need some advice...
 

There it is.........

Widow Robber has spoken!!!

:adore::adore::adore::adore::adore::adore::adore:

Best explanation of the whole thread.


T

Re: I need some advice...
 

I want to thank you all for your help. I knew I could get good advice here, and I believe I have. The next two generations of Parkers are well provided for with trust funds, and I have much memorabilia from my parents, (as do our children) so this coin collection has zip in sentimental value. It's not a hobby that my father and I shared, and in fact he quit collecting coins when he headed to High School in the early 1930s.

As far as the dimes and quarters are concerned, I may hold onto them because of their silver content. The pennies and nickels however are worth far more as numismatic coins than as scrap so I'll sell them, and convert the proceeds to gold and silver fractional bullion coins.

I truly believe that the US economy is on the verge of a new "great depression". The trust funds that my children and grandchildren inherited may possibly be worthless in a few years. My wife and I are "digging in" for the long haul, and if things go as I see them going (I have a major in History), I want to be able to offer shelter and safety to those children and grand children who need it. This is one of the reasons my wife and I moved to Texas.

Once again, thank you all for your input and sharing your knowledge. You have made things much easier for me.

JP

Re: I need some advice...
 

This is the best option...you need to know nothing....Ebay is big enough that the market price will be found...or damn close to it.

I would ebay it all a little bit at a time.....even with the fees, you will beat the local dealer....and he can cheat you as you know nothing about these things....let ebay (large market) set the price...

You will be happy and no fears of being cheated.

Re: I need some advice...
 

JP - you and I have the exact same view......numis coins will be a joke going forward...sell anything numis.....put profit into gold/silver and preps...hunker down for the next greater depression....it is coming fast! Get prepared yesterday!

Sell this stuff on ebay ASAP.

Re: I need some advice...
 

You're right to sell them. As Americans get poorer the premium of numismatics to intrinsic value will shrink (both because more will find their way on the market by desperate sellers and potential buyers becoming more conservative due to harder times).

Re: I need some advice...
 

Jonas your gonna be sitting on Hot Money-- so leave them be for minimum 6 months and then move--

Re: I need some advice...
 

???
But FRN's could be worthless in 6 months.

Or No one will have any $$ for "collector" items

Re: I need some advice...
 

AMEN!

Richard Maybury thinks the NUMISMATICS (read coins) may go up 1,000% at the top.

Good luck - if you sell never sell in large bulk - only one to five coins at a time. Ebay "ain't" so bad as the post above mentioned.

Re: I need some advice...
 

Mynman is right. You'll probably regret it latter down the road if you sell them. I know I would.

My condolences.

Re: I need some advice...
 

My condolences, as well. My wife just lost her Mother and she now regrets selling off the items she did. We didn't really need the money, and what we got for her possessions was a pittance. She wishes she had it all back now because the memories they provided were worth more than the small amount of $ she took in. I say keep them, if for no other reason than they remind you of him.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

Re: I need some advice...
 

Quote:

mtnman: Do not sell. This is a family heirloom. You will have kids one day and they will appreciate that you kept their grandfathers collection. Sell his car, sell the real estate, sell the household items but the collection is something he put time and care into. Keep it.

+1

I could never sell any of my fathers coins (if he decides to leave me any). They are really not mine to sell. Those coins belong to my son and if I do any kind of job raising him, he won't sell them either when I pass them down to him.

I am sorry to hear about your dad. It will likely take me months just to get myself back together when my father dies ... it is a day I have convinced my mind never to consider.

Re: I need some advice...
 

OK You answered my question why the collection ended with the 20's. So it seems it was probably composed of coins removed from circulation - like most kids start collecting. But they should be in rather good condition tho for those years and probably have more numistmatic value than silver value. You still need to check each coin out and put it/them on eBay - the great equalizer.
And thank you Wookie for that great eBay site. I will be using it a lot instead of the tedious "advance search" method. There is a lot I still don't know that's available on eBay.
Like: I've seen posts where someone (not the seller) will write to other bidders for say their reaction to a seller. How are they doing that? I know in the old, old days of eBay we could access bidders all the time to offer them similar items off eBay. I thought they had eliminated that ability.

Re: I need some advice...
 

Sorry to hear about your loss...

But another thing: do not sell his collection! He put love and life into assembling the collection. I think he'd raise from the dead to tell you NO if he could.