Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Selling Your Coins To Coin Dealers

A coin dealer could be a single person running the show or it could be a big company. Before selling a coin try to first research on the Internet about the coin value, coin condition, etc, and then contact at least 2-3 coin dealers and discuss the rates.
The first thing you should do while selling your coins, is create a list of the coins and get quotes from different coin dealers. One more source where you can sell your coins is through the Internet. Websites like ebay would come in handy if you would like to sell your coins. You can list the coins in an online auction or set a fixed price and sell. There are many coin sellers and dealers who buy old/rare coins online, so listing your coins online for sale is not a bad idea at all.
If you are thinking of selling your coins through a dealer then make sure the dealer is a reputable and honest person. Find out for how many years the dealer has been in the coin collection business. Always remember, that it does not mean the dealer is an honest and sincere person if he advertises in a leading newspaper. So make sure you ask for testimonials from the dealer.
You can contact the dealer in many ways, through email, phone etc. Make a list of the coin rates the dealer is willing to pay you. The more dealers you contact the better rates you will get. Some dealers collect only a certain type of coin and won’t buy other types of coins. So, you can sell some coins to such a dealer and some to other dealers. Collecting silver dollars and gold coins is a very good investment.
Make sure you bargain and get a good quote and once the negotiation is completed sell and get your money immediately. Selling your coins on eBay is a very good alternative to selling to dealers locally. I have done this successfully for years and have made decent profits. 

How Can I Sell My Coins?

If you want to sell your coins, the following FAQs may be of some help to you. However, to get the best price for your coins, coin values can really only be determined by establishing the condition – or grade – of your coin(s). There are several professional coin grading services that will grade your coins for a fee. Or, you can have the coin dealers at Midwest Mint appraise your coins for free! Here are instructions on how you can send your coins in for a free evaluation and a fair, professional offer if you want to sell them.

Cleaning coins is usually the worst thing you can do to them. Coins are valued for their original condition and cleaning immediately takes that away. Tarnish (or toning) is normal on silver and copper coins and happens naturally over time. Most attempts to remove toning usually end up harming the coin and reduces their value significantly. Coin dealers and collectors are eager to purchase rare coins in their natural state of preservation.

There are many reasons why coin collectors sell their coins. There are coin collectors who are dealers as well. Selling coins is their option and they may use it to generate income so that they can acquire other coins that they like.

When selling collectible coins to a dealer, potential sellers often have to adjust their expectations, whether they are trying to find out gold coin values or silver coin values. In those cases the current market or "spot" price of precious metals may make a big difference in determining your collectible coin values.

To get the value of your coins, check a local coin dealer first. Another idea would be to check online for the next coin show in your area. Shows are good because you can get opinions from several different dealers while you are there.

Antiques shops and consignment shops may accept coins; pawnshops will almost always accept them. Almost every town has at least one out of three. Antiques shops will usually just buy the coin outright from you; with pawn and consignment shops, you won't receive any money until the item actually sells. In the case of all three, you may not get the best price for your coins since they don't specialize in coins.

There are also coin collectors who gather coins not just as their hobbies; these coin collectors use the coins as their source of income. They make a living from selling the coins that they collect. Sometimes they sell the coins to other collectors and price them higher than the usual price of the coins and this is appropriate if the collector owns limited edition or rare coins.

As a general matter, the more rare a coin, the higher the coin value. Note that rarity has little to do with the age of a coin. Many one thousand year old Chinese coins often sell for no more than a few dollars because there are a lot of them around, whereas a 1913 Liberty Head Nickel may sell for over $1,000,000 because there are only five known specimens in existence.

On the other hand, some collectors sell their coins because of other factors. They may sell coins because of personal reasons. This is the most difficult situation for coin collectors as they often value their coins and as much as possible and would not want to give them away - the coins may be memorabilia or may have sentimental value to the collector.

Cleaning coins reduces their value and in some cases the coin has no value at all. The ones you polished are considered damaged coins by the coin collecting community. A google or Yahoo check will show a few more.

Once a collector has decided to sell his coins, he must consider if it is really the right time to sell the coins. Is the collector ready to give away his coins? Is the coin price higher now? Will it do well and will he benefit from selling his coins? These factors should always be considered.

Gold Coin Values, Silver Coin Values: Many coins have a bullion value determined by the value of the precious metals it contains. A gold coins, silver coins or platinum coin does not generally sell for much less than its melt value.

There are other options available to determine where a coin collector could sell his coins. He may want to sell the coins at auctions. Many people now prefer the option of putting their belongings up for auction and this is not limited to coin collections.

Rarity and grade do not tell the whole story in a coin's value. The "quality" of coins is a huge factor in determining coin value and coin price when you decide to sell. But it is also the most difficult to determine properly, and requires a practiced eye.

Obviously, all coins are not all the same aesthetically. Some coin designs -- the high relief Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle, for example -- are widely considered to be more beautiful than others. The public's taste for these designs has a significant influence on the value of the coins that bear them.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Investing In Coins Tips

If you would like to risk money you can afford to lose and invest in coins but are new to the game you need to know how to limit your risk. When you can find it, the most valuable pricing data tends to be advertised dealer buy prices. If you study, collect or invest in coins then you are a numismatist. This definition worked for years and thus was used by the American Numismatic Association. Therefore, a lot of people have chosen to invest in coins. How is that helpful?

Although a hot precious metal market may focus attention on Krugerrands but it is your coin’s rarity, condition and eye appeal that will create the value behind your portfolio, not the metal content. Criteria include luster; the number, size and location of contact marks; the number, size and location of any hairlines, and the quality of the strike and overall eye appeal. Do you want to invest significant money in coins hoping that they will go up in price? Investment guides want you to buy the very highest grades of uncirculated coins, but sometimes regular old circulated coins appreciate significantly in price as well (circulated means the coin has some signs of wear ? and sometimes a lot of wear).

Most of us try to see with your eyes and do what would make US happy, but what about you? And if your dealer doesn’t know or is too busy to help provide you with the tools to help yourself, then maybe you should seek out another dealer. Hence we tried to go a different route than usual and chose to build up a system via the Internet that gives private investors of all kinds the opportunity to invest already small amounts of money. This increases the available funds and enables us to work with more independent traders and thus achieve a wider diversification which leads to a greater stability in our plans. With general shakiness in the economy, some investors are bullish on coins because they are tangible assets that are not as susceptible to the same market pressures as stocks and bonds. The value of precious metals is up, an indication that the value of coins is on the rise.

Although a "hot" precious metal market may focus attention on coins in a generic sense, it is your coin's rarity, condition and eye-appeal that create the value behind your portfolio, not the coin's metal content. The rarity factor is by far of the utmost importance when investing in U.S. Our Buying Trust carefully handpicks each coin we offer for great eye appeal and avoids coins with unsightly toning or rust spots. Ugly, unattractive coins that we refuse to buy are often dumped on an unsuspecting public at Internet auctions. Thousands of individuals across America are convinced to "invest" in rare coins, only to find out the coins are worth less than they paid and will never appreciate as an investment. To find out more about Coin Fraud Facts and what legal remedies are available to you, contact us today.

They often buy in a panic and pay higher prices during sudden market peaks. Smart collectors exercise more common sense. We strive to select only quality coins with outstanding eye appeal for our customers. Since not every coin is truly rare, we select coins with a fundamental reason to rise in value based upon supply and demand factors. There are many other well recognized brands such as Johnson Mathey, Sunshine Mining, and some issued by coin and silver dealers. The premium over the silver price is always relatively small.

As no additional coins from the era of those you purchase are being minted and they become increasingly harder to find as years go by, the value of many coins continues to rise among private collectors. Complete sets of coins tend to bring more as a group than the individual coins that the set is made of, though some coins of exceptional rarity may surpass even that price. Some East European countries are showing very fast growth in coin's prices as economy is stabilizing, more people understand the potential value of these coins and trying to buy them while they are still cheap. At least then, if you decide that coin collecting isn’t for you, you can simply spend the money and suffer no losses!

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Fantastic Hobby of Coin Collecting

Coin collecting is a wonderful hobby. Now imagine if you could make money with this wonderful hobby of yours. Coin collecting is one of the oldest of all hobbies. Hoards of ancient coins found in excavations indicate that coins were one of the first collectibles. Coin collecting is one of those hobbies that for most collectors, started by accident. Usually the coin that sparked the interest was a coin found in circulation.

Coin collecting is probably one to the easiest hobbies to get started in. All you really need to get started is to use the change in your own pocket. Coin collecting is not really about investment, it should be a fun and thrilling hobby. Coin collecting is a fun hobby to start and the thrill of hunting for old coins is enough for many people to continue doing it. Coin collecting is the most popular expression of numismatics. Coins-To-Sell.com is a source for graded and ungraded coins to add to your collection.

Coin collecting is known as the hobby of the kings. Coin collecting is a hobby that many collectors got into by chance or inherited a coin collection from their parents and ancestors. The most common thing that sparked an interest in coin collecting amongst collectors is the attention that the coin draws.

Grades from MS-61 to MS-64 cover intermediate parts of this range. Truly exceptional coins may be graded MS-66, MS-67 or, if absolutely flawless, as high as the theoretical maximum of MS-70. Grades from MS-61 to MS-64 cover intermediate parts of this range. Truly exceptional coins may be graded MS-66, MS-67 or, if absolutely flawless, as high as the theoretical maximum of MS-70.

Cleaned coins are always valued lower than ones that have not been ‘enhanced’ or ‘doctored’, which usually means cleaned! Some cleaning is done so well that it is nearly undetectable by all but experienced collectors or dealers. Cleaning coins is a risky and skilled operation and normally should never be considered.

Collectors of world coins are often interested in geography. They can "travel the world" vicariously through their collecting. Collectors have created systems to describe the overall condition of coins. One older system describes a coin as falling within a range from "poor" to "uncirculated". How many excavation reports come out each year, and of these how many mention coins?

Dealers acknowledge that state quarters coins for Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey are now in short supply - thus in high value - however the higher value is simply due to the fact that so many incidental collectors are hoarding. Dealers publish prices regarding various coins in these periodicals, which are used as a guide to prices but are not the actual price. The literature collected will depend on the investor's special interest.

Ancient coins were also struck in silver and "base" metals like bronze and copper. Because of its intrinsic value, however, gold coins have historically been the most popular medium for exchange. Ancient coin collecting is an unbelievable hobby. These ancient handmade coins are masterpieces from antiquity.

Gold coins were one of the oldest forms of money. This was later followed by silver coins. Gold coin collecting actually is a legal way to defer taxation on your investment. What this means is that as your return on this investment increases, your investment is not subject to taxes until those coins are liquidated or sold. Gold coin collecting is one such activity, which would not only provide good investment value, but would also look great on the resume of the individual. Gold coin collecting is not an easy hobby to take up.

Mintmarks have been unprecedented in their success and popularity. Another strong and up-and-coming segment of coin collecting is the very popular collection of mint error coins. Mint has changed over the years. Most recently, the look and feel of paper currency has been changed to discourage counterfeiting. Mint didn't make the 1877 Indian Cent 127 times scarcer than the 1907 issue to create a "chase coin".

Mintmark rarity will always be helpful but condition and type rarity should really excel as the new generation comes on line. Stay clear of paying high premiums for VAMs and other trivial distinctions among coins.

Generally, older coins are better than new. Generally made of sturdy cardboard or pressboard, some of these are generic and designed to hold certain sizes of coins that you identify yourself. Others, including the Whitman series of coin folders, will help you focus on collecting a certain type of coin. Generally, their collection contains coins minted in years that are meaningful to them. These minted coins could reflect a special year such as an anniversary, graduation, or other significant event.

Anyone can start a coin collection - it's easy and fun to start collecting on your own. You can begin simply, with just the coins in your pocket. Anyone here will tell you that the values in the PCGS guide are on the high side. Without knowing what every coin in your collection is and their grades it'll be hard for anyone to tell you if you've gotten a good deal or not but at the same time if your coins have appreciated as much as you say they have by PCGS standards then I'd say you're pretty safe with any of the current price guides, just not to that extent.