AndyDD Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 Hi. I recently inherited some U.S. quarters from my father dating between 1964 and 1942. I had them looked at and was told they are only worth the silver, but I see the same items selling online for upwards of $3,000. Is there something I am missing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandon Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 Welcome to the NGC chat board. The NGC Registry forum is for topics pertaining to the NGC certified coin registry. Topics such as yours should be posted on and would receive better attention on the "Newbie Coin Collecting Questions" forum. (The Administrator will likely move it there after the holiday.) There is a great deal that you are missing. The value of many coins, such as the silver Washington quarters to which you refer, is largely based not on their date or mint but on their condition. Most pieces dated 1942-64 with any appreciable amount of circulation wear are only worth their silver value (currently around $5), and typical uncirculated pieces of most of these dates (MS 60-63) retail for only $8 to $15 or so. On the other hand, pieces of certain dates in high Gem Uncirculated grades (MS 67-68) can sell for thousands of dollars at major auctions. Such pieces are few and far between. The pieces that you inherited were likely taken from circulation and as such worth their silver value. Please read the following recent article by a well-known coin dealer, part of which deals with confusing auction sale prices for extremely high-grade common date coins with the values of more typical pieces of the same issues: Jeff Garrett: Fake News and Misinformation in Numismatics | NGC (ngccoin.com). Coinbuf 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coinbuf Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 On 9/1/2024 at 9:42 PM, AndyDD said: Is there something I am missing? Yes, coin values depend on a variety of factors but one of those is the condition or grade of a coin. Unless a coin is legitimately rare, the condition needs to be near perfect to be worth the highest prices. Without seeing photos of your coins we cannot really opine about their condition, rarity, or value; however, as a general rule the vast majority of coin collections that are received via inheritance are not comprised of exceptional quality coins. Most are just average circulated coins where the majority of the value is in the metal used to make the coins. powermad5000 and Henri Charriere 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powermad5000 Posted September 6 Share Posted September 6 (edited) Hello and welcome to the forum! You most likely have typical circulated issues or what we in the hobby would call "album fillers". When you see very high prices for coins being sold, it is typically for those of the highest grade examples as noted by Coinbuf, or those of key dates if they are worn. The 1932 D Washington Quarter is one of the key dates in the series and can still fetch a couple hundred dollars for even a worn example. The other thing to note about high dollar coins being sold at prices in the thousands, most of those (not all but most) were probably already graded and certified by a third party grader and the buyer knows exactly what the grade is relating to why it is worth premium to bidders/buyers. As you are new to this, and if you wish to learn a little more about what you have, I recommend that you purchase a copy of a book titled Red Book of United States Coins - 2025. In it, there is descriptions of what the coins look like in each grade as well as a basic price guide. That book will help you become mmore familiar with what you currently have and may also answer why those people told you yours are worth their silver content. Edited September 6 by powermad5000 Henri Charriere 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
