How to sell a collection

[Alan Glasser]

Hello, everyone.

 

At age 65, I'm thinking it's time to start reducing the size of my collection (I stared when I was 7) and my thinking is that the U.S. type coins should be offered first. All are certified by NGC, PCGS, ANACS, a few ICG pieces and some SEGS...but only 6. I am wondering if in your opinion, it is wiser to consign the whole thing, perhaps to Heritage or to try the E-Bay route. Needless to say, the best return on the sale would be great for my grandson's 529 College plan and maybe a couple more cruises to Europe for my wife and me, but I don't know the best way to go. Are there any thoughts on this? Oh, regarding auction,1 other company that I spoke to said that they don't do SEGS coins in their auctions. That kind of makes me wonder about the old saying; "buy the coin, not the holder" so I will try E-Bay for these. All of this is pending though I did sell a nice 1806 1/2 cent and 1797/1 half cent on E-Bay (the later still open but I have had 8 bids on day 1) both in SEGS holders.

 

May I ask your thoughts, please...and thanks!!

 

Alan in MA Music coins

[BillJones]

It all depends upon the condition of the coins and how many of the better type coins you have. If you your collection is not "significant," and I don't mean that as an insult, it will get lost at a place like Heritage.

 

Ebay is a place to consider, but it's also a lot of work. I learned that when I was a dealer. You have to take pictures, do a write-up, post the offering, answer any questions that might come to you, package the material and go to the post office. One time I had a guy hang me up for a week trying to decide if he was going to return a coin, which was a fairly nice 1795 half dime. He kept it, but it was one more hassle I didn't need, especially when I was going to the Winter FUN show and would be out of town for a almost a week.

 

Another time the winning bidder refused to pay for insurance to ship the coin. Great! If it got lost in the mail, guess who was going to be the loser. If I paid the insurace, it was like a $50 item, and that would have killed most of the mark-up.

 

I found that it was a lot easier to put coins out at a show and sell them.

[RWB]

Selling is difficult - as much from the financial as the emotional side.

 

Financially, you have to be hard-nosed and realistic about what your coins are worth. As Bill mentioned, unless you have some exceptional pieces, your coins will get lost (or simply rejected) by a major auction company. Anything worth less than $500 wholesale is probably not auction material.

 

Emotionally, it is tough to let go of your "friends" of so many years. But consider that over time you have derived a lot of personal pleasure and gratification from the collection and its individual coins. You have gained much and will always have that. The rest is just noise.

 

Bill knows what he is talking about....

[Raisethis2]

There's nothing to stop you from cracking out coins in undesirable holders, sending them here or across the street for regrading then selling them in their new holders. People see coins in oddball holders and assume the worse. Economy tier wherever possible.

 

The higher profile stuff should go to Heritage (or equivalent).

 

If you have many, many coins you may want to sell some on E-Bay (excellent pictures and descriptions are a huge plus) starting about 10% under bid. Don't just give them away with .99 starting prices. They will not achieve their best value.

 

Additionally, try selling some through a high profile local auction with internet participation. Some offer reserves, most will negotiate a Seller's fee, 10 -15% is where they start. You can get 7 1/2 % if they want the easy sale. Some things should be sold in bulk, but not much. $100 to $250 lots are ideal.

 

If you need some auction house recommendations, PM me.

[leeg]

All good advice so far.

 

Your better coins may be worth sending to CAC.

 

Wish you much luck on the sale.

 

[bochiman]

Don't crack them out first off. If you want to move them from one holder type to another, send in as a crossover.

Since I don't believe that NGC does some of those holder types, you would need to send to PCGS first. At that point, add to your costs and crossover to NGC if that is what you wanted.

 

Another option would be Ian @ Greatcollections.com

You could call him, have a list of what you are talking about (maybe email that to him first to set up the call and have things listed first).

GC can send them to crossover for you, so that is a potential option...but talk to Ian first.

 

Doing ebay would be SLOW and hit or miss (as are all auctions). Still, it is an option. Maybe ultimately give you higher returns (if right people see it, etc etc etc) but may not be what you want to deal with (returns, feedback, individually mailings, etc).

 

Depending on what you have, Heritage may be an option, if the collection/coins are high enough (if they are, call Heritage and get more info. There is a Heritage employee who reads threads here, so that may get you more info, but you would want coins with a higher value, I believe, for HA)

[bstrauss3]

Make a list.

 

coin, grade, holder, cert#, special info

 

Send it to GC, HA, SB, etc. and see what they will offer you

 

Some companies will buy them outright and sell them themselves, others only do auctions, etc.

[James_OldeTowne]

Hello, everyone.

 

At age 65, I'm thinking it's time to start reducing the size of my collection (I stared when I was 7) and my thinking is that the U.S. type coins should be offered first. All are certified by NGC, PCGS, ANACS, a few ICG pieces and some SEGS...but only 6. I am wondering if in your opinion, it is wiser to consign the whole thing, perhaps to Heritage or to try the E-Bay route. Needless to say, the best return on the sale would be great for my grandson's 529 College plan and maybe a couple more cruises to Europe for my wife and me, but I don't know the best way to go. Are there any thoughts on this? Oh, regarding auction,1 other company that I spoke to said that they don't do SEGS coins in their auctions. That kind of makes me wonder about the old saying; "buy the coin, not the holder" so I will try E-Bay for these. All of this is pending though I did sell a nice 1806 1/2 cent and 1797/1 half cent on E-Bay (the later still open but I have had 8 bids on day 1) both in SEGS holders.

 

May I ask your thoughts, please...and thanks!!

 

Alan in MA Music coins

Can you list perhaps your 10 best pieces (in your opinion)? Auction is PROBABLY the best route, but the best choice in auction venue depends almost entirely upon what you have. You didn't mention a "farmer's auction", and even that can be the "best venue" for certain kinds of coins.

[Houston Investor]

I would suggest you get familiar with selling on ebay. This will give your a feel for what your able to sell them for there. Perhaps an ebay store where you can list coins at your fixed price with the option of BIN / Make Offer then send to online auction at some point in time if desired. The monthly fee for an ebay store where you can list 150 items free of charge in your store is $19.95. There are much larger size options for more items. Beyond 150 it can be a real chore, I would like to get mine downsized to around 60 blowing out many small ticket items to consolidate in future purchases of larger ticket material making it easier to manage it all.

 

Coins for sale can be uploaded via the iphone 6 to your ebay store or auction via the ebay app. The iphone 6 takes excellent pics and these can be used in you inventory uploads. It takes some practice to get really good at it.

 

You can research prices of what various coins sold for on ebay via the advanced search option. A Search (PCGS, NGC, PMG) will bring up certified material for these TPG's. You can then refine this like 1934D Oregon MS65 for example in whatever ebay search your running. I bookmark all of my various searches I like to run in a folder on my bookmarks bar. For example (PCGS, NGC, PMG) Mexico = Mexcian coins and banknotes.which are graded by the above.

 

Having an ebay store puts you in the drivers seat in selling your material. Big ticket material may need to be sent off to an auction house, however there are many which sell big ticket material on ebay. I have a dollar limit due to risk management as to the most expensive material I will sell on ebay. Bigger ticket material I take to shows which I occasionaly set up at and this for security reasons is limited to only a certain number of pieces I intend to sell. The reality of ebay is if you want to move it quick auction is the route. If your really brave, start items at 99c and let the market decide. I just recorded a sales for 6 items I wanted to move / downsize I did this with (starting bid at 9.95) which brought sround $250 vs cost of $300 not good results.

 

 

[CSdot]

 

Can you list perhaps your 10 best pieces (in your opinion)? .

 

Great suggestions so far. If you can list generally your 10 best, the members can tailor their suggestions to your specific collection.

 

For example, a date set of Mint State $3 gold pieces might call for a different sales method than a date set of Silver American Eagles. Both are nice sets for a coin collector/purchaser, but one of those sets is for a more discerning (ie. Wealthy) clientele.

 

[Alan Glasser]

As always, the advice I have received from my original post is priceless! Thanks so much. I have some work ahead of me but I will post my best 10 pieces here as suggested. I am on "My Collection" on the Heritage site will try to print out my inventory and out the 10 best pieces here. Please bear with me. A bit of a medical setback hit yesterday...more surgery in August (3rd time is the charm) and there's a bit of stuff to take care if.

 

Off the top of my head, 1803 $ VF 30 PCGS, Chain Cent PCGS F-2, 1898 s $20 PCGS 64, 1911 S $20 PCGS 64, 1797 12 star dollar VF details ANACS, (I have been advised to resubmit to PCGS as the coin looks really decent), 1847 $ PCGS XF 45, ...several more better pieces in the multi hundreds and then a bunch in the several hundred dollar category. I don't have my coins here of course so I'll check my inventory sheet for more. I am selling the contemporary proofs (or trying to) on E-Bay. I took a slight trip into varieties like Type 2 Sacajawea $, 1955 bugs Bunny Half, complete set of " new design" Jeffersons NGC U Cameo 70 and that is the stuff I am unloading on E-Bay. Don't know why I decided to include that stuff. Anyway, just sold on E-Bay an 1806 1/2 cent VF SEGS, and currently on E-Bay is a 1795 1/2 cent with minting issues...SEGS...

 

SO with the help that I have received from all of you kind gentlemen, I have some soul searching to do. I had considered CAC for the better type stuff (many not listed here) but I don't know with whom I should leave the material for submission. I was told I couldn't do it myself even though there is a CAC rep office not far from me. Anyway, I have to run. Time for meds....

 

Thanks SO much! I'll be back.

 

Alan in MA

[Barndog]

if you are in Massachusetts, I suggest contacting Liz at JJ Teaparty. She can buy the whole thing and will treat you fairly on price, in my experience.

 

http://www.jjteaparty.com/buy.asp

[James_OldeTowne]

Off the top of my head, 1803 $ VF 30 PCGS, Chain Cent PCGS F-2, 1898 s $20 PCGS 64, 1911 S $20 PCGS 64, 1797 12 star dollar VF details ANACS, (I have been advised to resubmit to PCGS as the coin looks really decent), 1847 $ PCGS XF 45, ...several more better pieces in the multi hundreds and then a bunch in the several hundred dollar category.

That sounds like some very nice material, provided the grading is reasonable (it most likely is). You probably need a mid-range auction venue, or possibly could move up to a larger auction to sell those most successfully if time is of the essence. Alternatively, you might want to find a suitable reputable dealer to take the coins on consignment. There are many outstanding dealers here on the NGC Boards who would be glad to help you. If you post your approximate location, that might help get some good dealer references. Yet another option would be to take the coins to a show and try to sell them off yourself, but that can be a risky venture if you're not careful.

[david3142]

It wouldn't hurt to list the pieces (and prices) on the Money Marketplace here and the Buy/Sell/Trade forum on the PCGS collector's forum.

[leeg]

I had considered CAC for the better type stuff (many not listed here) but I don't know with whom I should leave the material for submission. I was told I couldn't do it myself even though there is a CAC rep office not far from me. Anyway, I have to run. Time for meds....

 

Thanks SO much! I'll be back.

 

Alan in MA

Many folks here have collector accounts with CAC. If you ask, I'm sure someone here will submit your coins with their order.

[Raisethis2]

I know of a Dealer who just gives his customers the form for CAC with his Dealer member number, they fill out the form with their own address, mail and then it's out of his hands.

 

That may be an easier solution in this type of case.

[Raisethis2]

That list sounds like Scotsman Auction material.

 

Look it up.

[Alan Glasser]

Hello, James.

 

First, please allow me to thank EVERYONE for their replies to my initial inquiry about selling my collection. I have much to consider and am SO grateful to everyone.

 

You asked for my 10 top holdings...well. I made a rough list at the bank with my trusty I-Pad and here are the 16 best pieces (thouh I love every one of my coins)...I realize that the collector value is what matters for my purposes at this point. These pieces are in the high hundreds and crossing into the $1000 or more category:

 

1787 Fugio Kessler 9-P Brown VF 20 ICG

1793 Chain cent F-2 PCGS

1794 1 cent F-12 ANACS S-65 (don't know if that is a scarce variety or not)

1800 1/2 dime VG-10 PCGS

1800 Dime F-15 PCGS

1806 25 cents F-15 PCGS

1818 25 cents VF 30 ANACS

1795 1/2 dollar F-12 NGC O-108 R-4

1797 Dollar 10x6 VF Details Net F-12 (cleaned but deeply retoned) ANACS B-2

1803 Dollar VF 30 PCGS B-4

1837 $5 XF 40 PCGS

1903 $10 MS 62 PCGS

1932 $10 MS 63 NGC

1898 S $20 64 PCGS

1911 S $20 64 PCGS

2006 $50 "First Strikes" MS 70 NGC (I never understood what the big deal was about first strikes.)

So there it is. I have many additional coins in the collection from $100 on up to mid-upper hundreds so now I need to decide which means of sale would possibly produce the best results. CAC is something I would consider for some or all of the above but not quite sure how to proceed. I don't have a 1 to 1 with any dealers any more.

 

Once again, Thanks!!! Alan