Kimm

I can’t thank everyone enough for the quick, detailed replies.  All of them help to provide insight and make a lot of sense.  I have purchased the latest Red Book.  I’m studying that and reputable internet information but not 100% confident I’ll ever fully understand the ins and outs. Before this, I did not realize how much intricacy coins involved.  It’s very interesting but completely over my head (just for now hopefully).  If I find anything that I think may be of value I’d like to share.  Do you recommend I do that in this thread or is there a specific thread already in place where people do that? 

I apologize in advance for the size of the screen shot. I’m hoping someone can help clarify my confusion. I am very new to coins so please don’t be mean if my question seems unreasonable. I signed up to receive emails from Heritage. The photo is a screen shot of a recent auction.  To me, the coins that  sell for so much money seem like any old average coin, especially considering I have a lot of them in my recently inherited collection.  While I somewhat understand the value depends on grading and everything else value it entails, how would a person like me know if any of my coins are as valuable or valuable at all?  What would be the most standout things to look for when going through my collection? I’m still trying to figure out where to start in getting a better grasp on what I’ve inherited. 

6 minutes ago, Coinbuf said:

Welcome to the forum, it sounds like your dad was a very organized guy so maybe he has a record of what he had and even what he might have payed for each coin.  Many collectors (myself included) use a spreadsheet like excel or a simple handwritten ledger to keep track of this info.  You might want to do some looking for something like this which might help you with a starting point.  We will be happy to help as much as we can if you can post a list of dates and grades with some photos so we have something to go on, you already mentioned it but be prepared for the simple truth that not all old coins are worth high values.  Another great reference is the Red Book which you might be able to find at your local library, the pricing in this reference (keep in mind the prices are just a guide) will help assist you in determining which coins have more value than others as you sort thru things.  Another possibility is to find a local coin store and see if they are willing to review and offer an assessment of your inheritance.  One warning, coin shops buy at steep discounts from retail prices so if possible I suggest you do your homework first before you attempt to visit a shop or accept an offer.

Best of luck with your new coin collection.

Hi Coinbuf.  Thanks so much for the detailed reply.  Unfortunately there wasn’t a spreadsheet or anything specific to reference with the coin collection but he did put some in binders and labeled them as well so that will definitely help.  My dad actually had an older Red Book within his collection. I’m going to seek out the most recent one and do some studying.  I did locate a local coin dealer that said they’d be happy to take a look but I’m trying to study up prior to heading there.  I’d like to be equipped with as much knowledge as possible.  I figured it was a good idea to pay for this website membership and talk to some well educated coin experts prior to doing anything else.

Hi Greenstang.  Thank you so much for the quick reply.  They’re mostly all US coins, pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, 1/2 and $1, 1900 and on. There’s a couple older ones but the quality isn’t good. I have some silver proof sets and random silver coins. In all honesty I have no idea what’s considered special. I started reading up on coins but I have a long way to go.  I’m sorry I can’t be more descriptive but I am very new. 

Hi all. I inherited my dad’s coin collection which he pretty much did for fun. He collected a lot of our coins.  He took a lot of time into organizing them but for all I know they could be worthless.  Where would you suggest I start in finding out if the time and effort is even worth having these looked at and if so, who/where/how would I go about doing that?