pricing non US coins

[MikeKing]

I have a collection of non US coins I collected as a child that I would like to put up for auction on ebay. I've been so out of touch with non US coins for so many years, I have no idea what source I would use to both identify and estimate the value of these coins. Can anyone help?

[gmarguli]

Go to your local library and find the Krause guides. They have one book for each century (17th-21st). This will give you an estimate of their value.

[Tbirde56]

Collector value of a coin depends on date, mint mark (if any), number minted and condition of a coin, including amount of wear, any dents, scratches or cleaning. You might try a library for a copy of the Standard Catalog of World Coins for pictures, values and lots more interesting info. Actual values will usually be an average of 40-60% of catalog values depending on the coins condition and the demand for it. You can also compare prices on similar pieces on Ebay.

[JamminJ]

The standard references for world coins are the catalogs by Krause, for instance this one for 20th &21st centruy coins. These catalogs offer a guide but can have some serious errors, high on very common stuff, low on British, etc. However, they do provide at least a starting point. If you post a few of the better coins here I'll look them up for you.

 

If you really want to know their true vaue throw them up on e-bay starting at one cent with no reserve.

 

-JamminJ

[JamminJ]

Wow, three replies with the same information within six minutes of one another! Great minds think alike.

 

-JamminJ

[TJ]

The standard references for world coins are the catalogs by Krause, for instance this one for 20th &21st centruy coins. These catalogs offer a guide but can have some serious errors, high on very common stuff, low on British, etc. However, they do provide at least a starting point. If you post a few of the better coins here I'll look them up for you.

 

If you really want to know their true vaue throw them up on e-bay starting at one cent with no reserve.

 

-JamminJ

For a minute I thought your link was going to be to a Krause on-line. Damn!

[MikeKing]

thanks a lot everyone for your help.

 

If you really want to know their true vaue throw them up on e-bay starting at one cent with no reserve.

 

you're probably right, kind of scary to do that, but maybe I should.

 

They're all pretty common coins, I'm sure, and I don't have any pics of them, but when I photograph them I'll send some of the pics to you.

 

Mike

[MikeKing]

JamminJ, I don't know what the better coins would be. I'm assuming they are all not worth much since I bought them with my allowance when I was a kid. Anyway, here are two, in their old holders (and I'd kind of like to sell them in their old grungy holders because taking them out is going to be a pain in the neck...there are about 60 or so coins I think...)

 

 

[spiny]

The Sri Lanka 1951 10 cents? 2 cents? is probably worth in the fifty cents to a dollar range, if you find someone that wants one. The Kutch (India) coin is a little better. My 2001 Krause has $5 for VF and $8 for EF for VS1985 (1928).

[0john0-migration]

My worry would be that those old holders have PVC in the plastic. Although the holders add a nice touch of history to the coins, they may worry some bidders. By now, though, I'd imagine the damage would be done.

-john

[Conder101]

The plastic in the old 2X2's are either cellophane or mylar. Neither of those has PVC or a plasticizer in them so that is not something you need to worry about.

 

As for how to remove them from the holders easily, take a mechanicl pencil or a round toothpick and push it through the plastic between the coin and the cardboard then simply run it around the edge of the hole. The plastic will be torn all the way around and the coin will drop out. you can remove all sixty coins in under two minutes with no damage to the coins.

[gmarguli]

The plastic in the old 2X2's are either cellophane or mylar. Neither of those has PVC or a plasticizer in them so that is not something you need to worry about.

 

The plastic still degrades. I've purchased many coins in these old 2x2 and frequently there is an oil on the surface of the coins. As far as I have seen, the oil doesn't seem to hurt the coin. Sometimes it will become hard and plastic-like, but that still hasn't appeared to hurt the coin's surface. A little MS70 cleans the oil/plastic off easily. Jeweluster doesn't seem to work nearly as well.

[JamminJ]

JamminJ, I don't know what the better coins would be. I'm assuming they are all not worth much since I bought them with my allowance when I was a kid. Anyway, here are two, in their old holders (and I'd kind of like to sell them in their old grungy holders because taking them out is going to be a pain in the neck...there are about 60 or so coins I think...)

 

British Empires stuff can be a double edged sword, as it benefits from a large collector base but the sheer quantities of coins made in the post WW2 era prevent high prices.

 

As the previous posters have mentioned the Sri Lanka coin is quite common, with a catalog value of $1.00 in uncirculated. Unfortunately, very common stuff sells at a (sometimes large) discount to the Krause. In fact I've received coins of that type in bulk lots sold by the pound. The Kutch coin would probably bring a few bucks.

 

If you're intent on selling I would suggest making a list of all the pre WW2 coins and either posting it or PMing it to me and I'll look up the catalog values to identify any coins worth more than a couple of bucks. These can be offered individually in the BST forum here or on e-bay. As for the rest, you can try to group them by common themes like "Six Great Britian coins," "Four coins with birds" or "20 different world coins" and offering them on e-bay. You'll have to keep opeingin bids and shipping to an absolute minimum as it can be difficult to sell very common stuff.

 

Good luck!

 

-JamminJ