Inherited Coins 0

[James Boat]

Hi - I inherited a literal suitcase full of coins when my dad passed away 8 years ago.  My dad and grandfather collected for a short period of time as a nice father-son activity. The overwhelming majority of the coins are US...Buffalo nickels, Indian head pennies, etc.

Some of the coins are in books, others in plastic containers, some in little envelopes, some in rolls from the bank, etc.  I bought the Red Book guide off of Amazon, but aside from getting a little insight on a random coin I look up, it's simply too much.

Ultimately, I'd like to value them and sell them (maybe keep a small few to give to my kids).  I'm sure many of these coins aren't worth much...with the exception of some proofs, they appear to have been in circulation (at least to my untrained eye).  Does anyone have a recommendation on how best to value and then sell these coins?  Is it best to load them back in a suitcase and take them into an NGC affiliated coin shop (in Colorado)?

 

Any guidance is appreciated.

James

 

[JKK]

I see a number of album books, many rolls and tubes, and some assortments which I reckon are non-US stuff or tokens. It will take some time to go through. I think it would take an experienced collector probably about 4-8 hours to make a rough estimate of value and come up with an offer. Most private collectors who are ethical would probably offer you more than most dealers, since the latter have to make a profit. However, bear in mind that you're probably getting face or slightly above face for a fair percentage of it, much of which neither the collector nor a dealer really wants, but will buy in order to get to the good stuff. A lot depends on how full the silver albums are, and what's in the flips.

I think your safest path to finding good value is to connect with a local coin club and attend a virtual meeting, see if anyone is interested in giving the stuff a look. The logic there is that if you just put it out on CL, not only do you have some security risk, but you don't know who you are dealing with. Someone who is in the local coin club, though, has a reputation; plus you know them by face in advance. The collector is very unlikely to want to be thought of as someone who did an innocent seller dirty (reputation matters a lot in this hobby, enough that someone from Portland can be shopping halfway down the coast and they'll take his check thanks to common acquaintances of known integrity), and is likely to know what s/he is looking at. And if he gets a look at it but doesn't really want it, he can at least give you a rough idea of what is fair to expect.

[dollarfan]

if you could take a couple pics of the liberty half dollar, franklin half and lincoln cent first page of the albums im sure some of the more seasoned members will be able to provide sound information.

[James Boat]

JKK - thank you for getting back to me such a nice response.  I live in a small and pretty remote community in the mountains, so not sure if they have a coin club...but will certainly check.

Dollarfan - there are a lot missing in those books, but here are a few pictures.

[JKK]

Wouldn't be Poudre Park, would it? My parents were Rams.

[James Boat]

Not too far...as the crow flies anyway!

[James Boat]

A few more pictures of front pages

[James Boat]

More

[James Boat]

Few more - 

[James Boat]

Bunch of these too and more.

[JKK]

Just the fact that you have any idea where Poudre is tells me you've got to be pretty close.

Glancing over the collection, I see a lot of $2 and $5 coins. They add up. Coinflation.com is a good resource for knowing the value of metal content. Best to begin with looking through each type to see if you have any of the spendy rarities shown in your Red Book; that's a good start.

[James Boat]

Thank you for the advice.  Will continue to look for local resources here.  In one tube of coins, I found this.  Any thoughts?  How should I be handling these coins?  Ok to just touch the edges, or should I be wearing gloves?

Edited February 26, 2021 by James Boat

[JKK]

Reverse pic looks a little muddy, could be a 94-S (probably). Looks maybe VF, obverse suggests some cleaning. If a 94-S, it's not a huge rarity but definitely gets a premium. I don't see reasons to doubt authenticity. Don't sell it for melt.

[James Boat]

I have a few stacks of these - should I be taking them out and reviewing against Redbook assuming they're all VF-20?

[Henri Charriere]

I don't believe I have ever seen a private Hoard like this.  My best advice to you is organize the inventory with the help of your Red Book -- that's how many of us old-timers started, and familiarize with the grading terms used in the hobby.  And above all else, proceed slowly.  Make inquiries, seek advice -- don't be too quick to commit to a deal that sounds like a lot of money until you are confident you know what you have and its approximate worth.  It is very possible that buried in the inventory are a few coins deserving of special attention. All of your pre-1964 silver coins including those halves with the walking lady and Franklin's bust, as well as your "war-time" nickels, easy to spot with the darkened shoulders, irrespective of wear are worth many more times than face value. It may not have made much of an impression on you growing up, but your father and grandfather left you something valuable -- and who knows, maybe even a surprise.  I wish you all the best and don't be afraid to consult this site and cyberland for further advice and guidance.

[Henri Charriere]

Just now, Quintus Arrius said:

I don't believe I have ever seen a private Hoard like this.  My best advice to you is organize the inventory with the help of your Red Book -- that's how many of us old-timers started, and familiarize yourself with the grading terms used in the hobby.  And above all else, proceed slowly.  Make inquiries, seek advice -- don't be too quick to commit to a deal that sounds like a lot of money until you are confident you know what you have and its approximate worth.  It is very possible that buried in the inventory are a few coins deserving of special attention. All of your pre-1964 silver coins including those halves with the walking lady and Franklin's bust, as well as your "war-time" nickels, easy to spot with the darkened shoulders, 1943-1945, irrespective of wear are worth many more times than face value. It may not have made much of an impression on you growing up, but your father and grandfather left you something valuable -- and who knows, maybe even a big surprise.  I wish you all the best and don't be afraid to consult this site and cyberland for further advice and guidance.

[Edited for clarity]

[Henri Charriere]

3 minutes ago, Quintus Arrius said:

Edited for clarity above.

 

[James Boat]

QA - thanks so much for the thoughtful response!  Unfortunately, by the time I was of age, my dad and grandfather had already stopped collecting and had moved on to other hobbies.  Unfortunately, I opted to collect baseball cards (bummer!).  I will certainly take it slow - I'm in no rush.  And will certainly research and post online.  It's a bit difficult to read the grade descriptions in Red Book and apply them, but hopefully with some study, I'll be able to better ballpark.  And having read JKK's sticky rules/guidelines, I've realized I've committed a number of no-nos...will be better with future posts!

[GoldFinger1969]

2 hours ago, James Boat said:

QA - thanks so much for the thoughtful response!  Unfortunately, by the time I was of age, my dad and grandfather had already stopped collecting and had moved on to other hobbies.  Unfortunately, I opted to collect baseball cards (bummer!).  I will certainly take it slow - I'm in no rush.  And will certainly research and post online.  It's a bit difficult to read the grade descriptions in Red Book and apply them, but hopefully with some study, I'll be able to better ballpark.  And having read JKK's sticky rules/guidelines, I've realized I've committed a number of no-nos...will be better with future posts!

James, go slow pricing and inventorying the coins.  Assign conservative grades -- for most in worn condition it won't matter if you are off by 1 or 2 grades, I think -- and that should give you a bottom-line value for the coins and the entire set.

Are you going to liquidate it all or keep some coins ?  Will you sell to buy other coins ?

 

[JKK]

2 hours ago, James Boat said:

And having read JKK's sticky rules/guidelines, I've realized I've committed a number of no-nos...will be better with future posts!

One of my rules is never follow any rule off a cliff. You did fine for what you were asking about. You took an overview of the whole thing, amplified some of it, and all of that was completely pertinent to your basic question: what's all this stuff worth? Yeah, if you post individual coins, probably should give them their own threads in most cases, so we can keep track of which coin is in play. But you done no harm and committed no foul.

[RWB]

The collections seem typical for pieces acquired from circulation in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Assuming most were pulled from circulation or local banks at face value, you should have a good return just on bullion value. You really should run the dimes, quarters and halves by experienced collectors in your area and see if some have additional collector interest. Nice VG and F to VF WLH and Early Mercury dimes have a substantial following.