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.
