How to tackle cataloguing thousands and thousands of coins 0

[LaurenDabdoub]

So i recently inherited my uncle's very extensive coin collection. thousands and thousands of coins. Both US and international. Most of which are labeled or categorized in some way shape or form (either by year, country, currency type, special notes, or combination of the above) Not to mention all of the ones just thrown in the jars that he had yet to organize. I've hardly made a dent in documenting them, but this collection is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions. I  am wary to send them off any where or take them to someone i don't trust without knowing everything i 'm giving them. Someone who knows a lot more than i do could easily fool me into thinking an incredibly valuable coin is worth nothing. Any tips on approaching how to approach this collection in order to minimize the risk of getting ripped off? 

Thanks!

[Mr.Bill347]

Wow, what an incredible honor and task! Can you give us some photos of some coins, obverse and reverse? Are any of the coins graded by a third party grading service IE: NGC,PCGS, ANACS, etc, are they just loose, in albums, coin capsules, slabs? gold, Silver, platinum, CuNi?

I would start by separating by type and face value. A daunting task, but you will need to take good close up cropped photos of every coin. Safely store those images on a thumb drive. Make sure you have adequate insurance coverage on the collection. May be guess at first. Keep the collection in a safe. If you don’t have one, get one. You could obtain a professional ANA certified appraisal done by a licensed professional. At least try to list them in a spreadsheet for a list. I catalogued over 80,000 baseball cards for my son last year. It took me six months, but Excel had no problem with that number of lines.

good luck. Look up American Numismatic Association professionals and you might want to even hire an attorney to help you with the valuation and appraisal. My wife and I discussed this very issue a month or so ago, and it got us both thinking about it, however I don’t own but a dozen albums and around a hundred graded coins and several hundred loose coins in flips, slabs, and capsules.

 

[Fenntucky Mike]

First I would say temper your expectations, next it sounds like your uncle did a nice job of organizing his collection. You could post a few coins here to get a feel for what you have but if you have inherited a worthwhile collection you'll need to do a lot of studying if you're looking to keep it or sell yourself, or do a lot of research in finding a reputable numismatist/appraiser to help with the sale.  

[World Colonial]

There is no possibility of knowing the value from the OP.  From the description, it could be worth a lot or not much at all.  Large collection does not equal valuable, especially without even really knowing what's in it.

[VKurtB]

On 2/9/2023 at 7:24 PM, LaurenDabdoub said:

So i recently inherited my uncle's very extensive coin collection. thousands and thousands of coins. Both US and international. Most of which are labeled or categorized in some way shape or form (either by year, country, currency type, special notes, or combination of the above) Not to mention all of the ones just thrown in the jars that he had yet to organize. I've hardly made a dent in documenting them, but this collection is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions. I  am wary to send them off any where or take them to someone i don't trust without knowing everything i 'm giving them. Someone who knows a lot more than i do could easily fool me into thinking an incredibly valuable coin is worth nothing. Any tips on approaching how to approach this collection in order to minimize the risk of getting ripped off? 

Thanks!

Are you an executor or a beneficiary? Your task as an executor could be onerous. But the task as a new owner should be viewed as an adventure. A walk through history and a map of the world. I envy you. 

[GoldFinger1969]

On 2/9/2023 at 8:24 PM, LaurenDabdoub said:

So i recently inherited my uncle's very extensive coin collection. thousands and thousands of coins. Both US and international. Most of which are labeled or categorized in some way shape or form (either by year, country, currency type, special notes, or combination of the above) Not to mention all of the ones just thrown in the jars that he had yet to organize. I've hardly made a dent in documenting them, but this collection is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions. I  am wary to send them off any where or take them to someone i don't trust without knowing everything i 'm giving them. Someone who knows a lot more than i do could easily fool me into thinking an incredibly valuable coin is worth nothing. Any tips on approaching how to approach this collection in order to minimize the risk of getting ripped off? 

Thanks!

As with most collections, 80% of the value is probably in 20% of the coins.  Could be 90% of the value in 10% of the coins.

You need to find out if any of the coins are certified/graded -- if you've seen it, you'd know right away.  Beyond that, you should look for the most popular types of gold and/or silver coins, which would have most of the $$$ values.

Report back and/or send us some pics. 

[VKurtB]

On 2/9/2023 at 7:24 PM, LaurenDabdoub said:

but this collection is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions.

This is almost certainly NOT the case, but in the unlikely event that it is, you might want to contact either Heritage Auctions or Stacks Bowers Coin Auctions. 

[Sandon]

   Welcome to the NGC chat board.      

   In most if not all states, your uncle's estate, which would include his coin collection, would have to go through a probate proceeding before his collection could be legally distributed to you, whether or not your uncle had a will.  Typically, the probate proceeding would require that his property, including the collection, be appraised by qualified appraisers.  If this proceeding has occurred, you should ask the estate's lawyer whether there was an appraisal of the collection and obtain a copy.  Otherwise, you should consult with a lawyer in your state as to what may be required. 

  Many coin dealers do appraisals.  You may be able to find dealers in your area on the dealer directory on the ANA website (money.org) or, especially if you are convinced that the collection is of great value, the high-level dealer directory on the website of the Professional Numismatists Guild, pngdealers.org.

  If you want to obtain at least a rudimentary knowledge of the U.S. coins in the collection for organizational purposes and to get an idea which ones may be valuable, I recommend that you obtain a copy of the current (2023, with 2024 to be published in or about April) edition of A Guide Book of United States Coins, (a.k.a. the "Redbook"), which can be obtained from several sources, including its publisher at whitman.com. The NGC website (ngccoin.com) has U.S. and world price guides under the "Resources" tab at the top of the home page. Bear in mind that you would not be able to determine accurate values without knowledge and experience in coin grading.  If you want to become a collector yourself, I recommend the additional resources described in the following topic:

 

 

   

[EagleRJO]

First, my condolences on your uncle's passing, and welcome to the forum. I agree that if you are the executor it greatly complicates things and you will need to engage the services of multiple professionals starting with an attorney before even diving into the collection.

If you just outright inherited the coin collection it greatly simplifies things, and it sounds like you are very excited about the collection ... I WOULD BE!  The rest of my post assumes you outright inherited the collection.

First things first. It sounds like it would be very tempting for you to just jump in feet first, but take a step back and do a little preliminary work first. I assume you are not already a collector, and if you plan to pick it up as a hobby see the following topic on "Resources":

Also collectors tend to be pretty particular about what coins they own, what the condition or grade is, where they got them, etc. and  many keep logs and folders full of info on the coins. Finding those would save you countless hours cataloging the collection if that wasn't already done, and can provide some interesting tidbits of info as you go through it.

So it may be very worthwhile to first look for paperwork and logs your uncle may have kept before jumping into the coins, other than to start checking some of them out you find interesting. The executor would likely also have very useful information as it would have been valued before being disbursed.

Again welcome and if you tell us a little about you and your plans for the collection that would be helpful. Also posting pics of some of the coins you find interesting or have questions about is always encouraged.

Edited February 10, 2023 by EagleRJO

[RWB]

On 2/9/2023 at 8:24 PM, LaurenDabdoub said:

thousands and thousands of coins. Both US and international.

In reality, all but a minute part of a tiny percentage of collections with "thousands and thousands of coins. Both US and international," in it are of significant value. There are probably a lot of coins tossed back from circulation and of minimal value except for those in silver (or gold).

To start to satisfy your curiosity, separate all the coins into 3 piles (or shoe boxes): loose coins, coins in paper holders (2x2), and coins in plastic holders of some kind.

Next, divide the coins in plastic holders into ones in holders with labels saying "NGC" "PCGS," or "ANACS." that is probably where most of the value lies. You can look up these coins on line to get a rough idea of value.

Among all the other coins, pull out any in gold or silver in 2x2 or in labeled plastic holders, They have a minimum value based on their metal content.

I suggest you post a few of the coins in plastic holders here, so that members can provide a little more information. Sandon is entirely correct regarding Estate valuations  they must be made by qualified appraisers. However, now you. at the least, have a rough estimate of value.

Edited February 10, 2023 by RWB

[Coinbuf]

Welcome to the forum.   A spreadsheet program like Excel will be of great help to you as you sort and catalogue the group of coins.   My suggestion would be to sort by country, then by type, then by date and mintmark (the mint locations where the coin(s) were struck).   Once you have all the coins listed then you can begin the process of trying to figure out values, that will be a difficult task so worry about this after you have everything listed out on your spreadsheet.   Things to include for each item on your spreadsheet, (or what I would include) is the country of origin, type (cent, nickel, dollar, etc.), date, mintmark, date of purchase and purchase price (if your uncle has notes on this data), if the coin is in any type of holder or TPG slab and grade (again if info is available).

This alone will take quite some time from the sound of it, and it will help you to become more familiar with what is in the collection.   I would temper your expectations on value, it is possible you could have some valuable coins, but it is just as likely that the bulk of the coins will have minimal value.   Best to concentrate on the cataloging work and worry about the value later.

Welcome to the forum and condolences on your family's loss.   If you have the time we would love to see some of the coins you now have, we are kinda nosey that way  but we also enjoy seeing photos of coins. 

[World Colonial]

On 2/9/2023 at 9:47 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

As with most collections, 80% of the value is probably in 20% of the coins.  Could be 90% of the value in 10% of the coins.

You need to find out if any of the coins are certified/graded -- if you've seen it, you'd know right away.  Beyond that, you should look for the most popular types of gold and/or silver coins, which would have most of the $$$ values.

Report back and/or send us some pics. 

We've discussed the financial aspects of collecting most, so I'll reply to your post.

Heritage published a book covering collectibles generically.  I obtained (free?).sometime around 2006.  It discusses this topic quite extensively.

There is one anecdotal story included similar to this one.  If anyone has it, they can read the outcome.

[powermad5000]

Hello and welcome to the forum! My condolences on your loss. As it is, we are only the caretakers of these coins until we pass, and they are left for someone else to carry on the task.

I would ask for you to share more about yourself. Did you collect coins as well and now have inherited a ton of them? Your level of experience in the hobby would be helpful. Also, it would be helpful to know your intent on what you plan to do with them from here?  Hard sell the whole thing, keep part of it, have them professionally graded?

In the absence of even a couple photos, I would ask if there are any substantial amounts of silver dollars (Morgan, Seated Liberty, Draped Bust) and/or gold (Quarter Eagles, Eagles, Double Eagles), early half dollars, ancients, early copper cents, or colonial pieces?

As we know in this forum, condition is not exactly a measure of worth when it comes to value. Consider 1811 half cents, 1913 S Barber quarters, 1893 S Morgans, etc. may not be in perfect condition but still have substantial value based upon low mintage numbers.

My only reservation with taking the collection to a dealer for appraisal is in the case if you are selling the whole collection. A dealer is going to pay less than actual value as they have to make their money by reselling your coins. Third party graders like NGC are not allowed to buy/sell but only grade so you will get an accurate grade translating to an actual value, BUT with that extensive of a collection, the grading costs would be enormous so you will need to do some of your own research to try to determine if you have any extremely rare pieces in the collection before going that route.

It will take a lot of time (would be extremely enjoyable for some of us but maybe not for you), but I would get a basic coin value book unless you want to keep a laptop or tablet open for hours on end and either use the price guide on this site or PCGS coin price guide and attempt to get a base figure of the value of the collection and proceed from there.

I wish you the best of luck in this endeavor!

[VKurtB]

The foreign pieces will be the bigger challenge, not because there are not price guides, but because the U.S. market for them is thin, and most price guides are written for their own domestic markets. Most coins need to be marked down to sell in a foreign market. I am very into British material, and when I shop in Britain, I usually have to pay more. 

[World Colonial]

On 2/10/2023 at 8:30 PM, VKurtB said:

The foreign pieces will be the bigger challenge, not because there are not price guides, but because the U.S. market for them is thin, and most price guides are written for their own domestic markets. Most coins need to be marked down to sell in a foreign market. I am very into British material, and when I shop in Britain, I usually have to pay more. 

I wouldn't rely on any price guide, at least for any coin of "meaningful" value.

Krause list is just "made up".  It's not based on actual sales and the only reason it bears any relation to market value is because 1) dealers use it as "retail" and collectors not knowing otherwise, pay it.  2) some collectors also use it as a reference point when determining how much to pay, not knowing any better.

On eBay, in my limited sample, I consistently see coins sit unsold listed at discounts to Krause.  Most of these are listed by US sellers but hardly always.

The last edition of the local South African price guide I own (2008 or 2010) didn't bear any relation to either Krause or actual sales either, even at the time.  It's the only one not from the US I have ever owned.  Lower priced coins presumably sell at catalog list for the same reason I gave for Krause, but all better material is more often than not, sold graded.

My assumption is that the US is primary market for most more expensive TPG coins.  I don't look as widely as I used to, but I still don't see that many graded coins in foreign auctions.  More than previously but still a distinct minority.

Edited February 11, 2023 by World Colonial

[GoldFinger1969]

There's enough good information here that in the future....with any more "I inherited...." threads....we just link to here.

No sense in re-typing all this stuff time after time....

[JKK]

Odds are very good, as others have said, that a couple zeroes need to come off your overall value estimate. Four figures would be pretty normal. Five would be kind of special. Six probably is not happening. Seven, well...even less likely.

Start off sorting it out. Sort, sort, sort. First by US, modern international, and anything you think is medieval or ancient. See the magnitude of each grouping. Once you get the US coins segregated, subsort by denomination and then by type. Put all the mint/proof sets together for the moment. So you'd find all the pennies, say, and then sort out the Lincs into wheat and memorial reverses; Indian heads; then Flying Eagles if you have any. Large cents in their own group for now. You'll probably get the half cents mixed up with those, so sort those out too. Do this until all your US coins are sorted by type.

Set the ancients and medievals (that you believe, anyway) into their own group because they'll be intensive to attribute. With the world coins, if it is a large amount, try sorting them by country. If you can, subsort by the century you think they're in. Don't assume that rough ones not quite round, rimless, or not uniform diameter, must be ancient; they can definitely be from south Asia or 1600s-1700s Spain, among others. Make a pile for all the IHNFI (the first letters stand for "I have no") coins.

That'll keep you busy for some time. While you're getting an idea of the magnitude of what you have, you can start to think about how to record all this. I use spreadsheets.

As for unloading it, unless you have a bunch of big money stuff, your choices are private collector or dealer. Private collectors might pay more but have less deep pockets and are less likely to take it all. In any case, you can't have any idea what it will take until you have the collection quantified. For example, if you come back and tell us there are 500 Morgan dollars, we know for sure those are worth a minimum amount just for the Ag if genuine, and depending on issue and condition some might be worth much more, but we could at least give you the bottom range. Expect dealers to pay half what they expect the coins to sell for or about 95% of the metal value. Remember that you don't have to liquidate it all in one go. There is no rule against you selling part and keeping part.

[World Colonial]

On 2/11/2023 at 10:59 AM, JKK said:

Odds are very good, as others have said, that a couple zeroes need to come off your overall value estimate. Four figures would be pretty normal. Five would be kind of special. Six probably is not happening. Seven, well...even less likely.

I've mentioned my step-grandmother's (now deceased) collection which I viewed once, in 1975.  I went through one 10X10 SDB with her in one morning, flying through it really.  It was all in Whitman folders, boxes of 100 2X2 cardboard holders, and some of it loose.  I'd guess 5,000 to 10,000 coins, if a SDB of this size holds that many.

As a guess, I'd estimate it was worth about $50K at the time, but I didn't inventory it (she wouldn't let me and my estimate would have been wrong anyway) and she had most US series starting with capped bust (excluding dollars and gold) plus a lot of early copper, back to 1794.  Grades were from F-2 to XF, plus presumably many now "details" coins.

For the OP's reference if they are reading any responses, this is a proxy for a currently valued six figure collection.

On 2/11/2023 at 10:59 AM, JKK said:

As for unloading it, unless you have a bunch of big money stuff, your choices are private collector or dealer. Private collectors might pay more but have less deep pockets and are less likely to take it all. 

If there is a noticeable number of higher value (arbitrarily >$300), these are candidates for grading and are worth more effort to sell individually.

I don't sell much anymore but when I do, I group lower value coins into one lot.  Selling large volumes of low to very low value coins especially individually is mind-numbing tedious boredom to most people.  There is no way to avoid it though without large to massive discounting, and this assumes the quality is high enough where it's in demand.  Anything below that is basically dealer "junk bin" inventory, especially non-US.

[GoldFinger1969]

At this point, let's let Lauren get back to us.  We've given her MORE than enough information, let's see what she comes back with.  For all we know, it could be thousands of regular face-value pennies, nickels, and dimes, some silver, some not.

We'll see if the collection has any numismatic silver or gold or other rare stuff worth 3 figures, let alone 4 or 5. 

Edited February 11, 2023 by GoldFinger1969