Any Coin Collectors

[street]

I'm not a coin collector but my dad gave me a lot of coins before he passed away. That has been 8 years ago now and I finally started looking at them closely. I haven't been through all of them I find it hard to look at them because he was most likely the last person to touch them. I know that sounds strange. LOL

Any way I'm looking for someone that I might share a few of the dates and mint locations to see if any are worth anything or not. I have done some research but I'm still not sure if I'm looking at the same coin or not. It is something I'm not an expert on and don't care to be.

Most everything I believe is silver related. There is about 60 silver dollars, 1/2dollars, dimes and nickels. I also see there in Kennedy 1/2 dollars or dollars what ever they came in.

I did see silver dollars from 1881 and 1889 and then to about 1924 I believe.

 

[Onward]

I don't collect, but I'm interested in rare coins a possible investment.

 

[braumeister]

We do have some experts here, and a couple of them gave me a lot of information when I asked a similar question a couple of years ago. I still have a bunch left by my father. Most are only worth their melt value, but a few are interesting.

If you want to research them yourself, I found this to be quite useful:

Official ANA Grading Standards for United States Coins

There are also price lists (Red Book and Black Book), but since prices change all the time, only a coin dealer can really tell you what they are worth.

You can also try visiting a couple of coin shows if there are any near you, showing the exhibitors some of what you have. Talking to a few dealers can be very enlightening.

 

[DFA]

The NGC site has a lot of information on coins grading pictures and price guides. I use it a lot.

 

[street]

Thanks for the help and information. I will check that site out thanks.

 

[VanWinkle]

Thanks for the help and information. I will check that site out thanks.

Ask around in your area for a trusted coin shop that will give you fair appraisals of the value of your coins. The grading system is very difficult to learn and can be massaged by those wishing to buy your coins for less than they are worth. I have a collection from 35 years ago and at one time was a buyer and seller of rare coins, gold, and silver. It is difficult to value coins without close inspection of condition.

 

[easysurfer]

Doesn't sound strange at all. A late friend of mine gave me several rolls of old feather penny's on back. I've left them in the roll.

 

[Car-Guy]

If they are raw (not graded) then most likely (but it's not impossible) they will have very little value over the silver content. All US sliver dollars from 1878 to 1904 are all Morgan Dollars. They stopped making silver dollars after 1904 in the US. (great history story about that if you are interested.) They started making silver dollars again in 1921 until 1936. In 1921 they made both Morgan and Peace dollars. After 1921 they only made Peace dollars until 1936. They all contained .77 troy ounces of silver regardless of the year or type.

Any dimes, quarters, half dollars made until 1964 were made with 90% silver. After that, with a few exceptions, clad coins came out except for some special collector coins not intended for general circulation. But that's another story. For the most part these older raw silver coins are not worth much more than the worth of their silver content. There are exceptions. However pretty uncommon to find one.

There are many others but some of the more valuable Morgan Dollars would be the 1893-S and any with a CC mint mark. Also, look for 1916-D Mercury dimes, 1909-S VDB pennies, 1913-D or S and 1937-D Buffalo nickels, 1932-D and 1932-S Washington quarters for a start. As I said, there are many others that have collectors value but off the top of my head I'd look for those first. Good luck!

You can post your coins here on the board or PM me and I can give you a ballpark estimate and/or let you know if you might have any with significant value. If you have the right dates/mint marks, then condition becomes VERY important. I'd need the type of coin (e.g. dollar, dime, etc), dates, and mint marks to start with. If we find you have any really rare coins then we would need to consider condition.

For those wondering about how coins values can vary with condition, let me give you an example. (albeit, an extreme example) Coins are graded on a scale of 1 to 70. If you had two 1893-S Morgan silver dollars and let's say, one was graded as a "10" and the other as a "65" then the prices would be about $2,500 for the "10" and $500,000 for the "65".

Don't get your hopes up too high. I've run across a lot of folks that have inherited older raw coins like this (including myself) and so far, I haven't found any single coin with any (significant >$500) value in their small boxes/bag of coins. Buy hey, you never know.

 

[erkevin]

I have been a collector for about 45 years. Specialize in US half dollars, US small cents, proof sets, liberty nickels, and US type coins. I am familiar with most US issues from the mid/early 1800s.
If I can be of any assistance, please ask.

 

[Car-Guy]

I have been a collector for about 45 years. Specialize in US half dollars, US small cents, proof sets, liberty nickels, and US type coins. I am familiar with most US issues from the mid/early 1800s.
If I can be of any assistance, please ask.

Liberty Nickles? How many 1913 Liberty Nickels do you have?

Actually saw one at a big coin show in Houston once upon a time. It was encased in a large plexiglass display case with an armed guard keeping his eye on it. At the time, I think it was valued at $1m. I'm sure it's a lot more now.

 

[braumeister]

I also think this site is a pretty good source of information:

Where to sell your coins

 

[timo2]

Not to distract from the OP, but In a similar vein, I've been an amateur coin collector. As I wind down everything, where would be a good place to sell the collection? There used to be mom & pop coin and gold dealers around, but apparently they have now been replaced by the internet.

 

[street]

Thank you so much for the help and offer to give your thoughts on a few coins once I look through them again. I live very rural area and I would have no idea if there is anyone close that would know much about coins.

I do have one for sure that is CC 1889 silver dollar coin. I did look that up and was minted in Carson City Nevada. I also have one dated 1881 silver dollar might have a D or O for the mint location.

 

[erkevin]

Liberty Nickles? How many 1913 Liberty Nickels do you have?

Actually saw one at a big coin show in Houston once upon a time. It was encased in a large plexiglass display case with an armed guard keeping his eye on it. At the time, I think it was valued at $1m. I'm sure it's a lot more now.

Probably the McDermott specimen- it was donated to the ANA museum in the 80's

The Walton specimen is one of the most fascinating numismatic stories- quite the saga

 

[erkevin]

Thank you so much for the help and offer to give your thoughts on a few coins once I look through them again. I live very rural area and I would have no idea if there is anyone close that would know much about coins.

I do have one for sure that is CC 1889 silver dollar coin. I did look that up and was minted in Carson City Nevada. I also have one dated 1881 silver dollar might have a D or O for the mint location.

The 1899cc is a keeper. Very few of the original mintage are believed to have survived (melted down). Depending on condition, $500 to several thousand dollars

 

[Car-Guy]

Thank you so much for the help and offer to give your thoughts on a few coins once I look through them again. I live very rural area and I would have no idea if there is anyone close that would know much about coins.

I do have one for sure that is CC 1889 silver dollar coin. I did look that up and was minted in Carson City Nevada. I also have one dated 1881 silver dollar might have a D or O for the mint location.

The 81 is likely an O (since they didn't make a D in 81) Matter of fact the only Morgans minted in Denver (D) were in 1921. In a circulated grade it's only worth 30 to 35 bucks.

The 89 CC is worth about $500 in VG10 and $6500 in AU50. If it's really worn a lot <10, it could be well under $500, if it's in a Mint State (MS 60 or better) it could be worth a lot of money.

Example, a MS 65 89CC (probably only 2 or 3 89CC's ever graded that high by PCGS) is valued at $265,000 according to the latest grey sheet. To have a chance to get that kind of money you'd need it graded by PCGS or NGC and validated by CAC as a MS65 or better. Beware, there are fakes/counterfeits in the world of coin collecting.

If you could post a picture I could probably give you a good idea of the grade. Or you can compare yours to the many on line examples for an idea.

 

[street]

I for some reason couldn't figyre out how to send a picture in a PM. Any way here is the 1889 CC and 1921 D. Thanks
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=27723&stc=1&d=1517449151
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=27724&stc=1&d=1517449151
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=27725&stc=1&d=1517449239
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=27726&stc=1&d=1517449239

 

[Car-Guy]

OK, I couldn't really see the reverse MM's very well on either coin. Matter of fact I couldn't see the D on the 1921 at all. Looks like a Philadelphia minted coin to me. (no mint marks on Morgan Philly coins) The CC was hard to make out on the 89 too, but it seemed to be there. However, I could see enough to give you my rough assessments. Note, they both look like they may have been cleaned, which is not a good thing for rare coins.

The 89CC is probably somewhere between a VG10 and VF20. I'd give it a F12 or 15. The current Greysheet says that's about $700. If it's a 20, it would be about $900. Cleaned coins would be less.

The 1921 is probably between a XF45 and AU55. Regardless, if it is a P or D minted coin, it would be in the $25 to $30 range for those grades and date.

So, IMO it would not be worth sending the 1921 in for grading. (Grading fees and shipping cost would be more than the coin is worth). However, you may want to consider having the 89CC graded. Personally I only use PCGS grading services but NGC is ok too. Both would not only grade the coin but could tell you if it's authentic or not. Note, if the coin has been cleaned they usually will not give you a grade. I do not recommend using any other grading services. You can either work directly with one of the grading services or have a coin dealer handle it for you. Many will for a small additional fee. Or, just keep it as is.

Hope that helps.

 

[street]

Thanks Car-Guy for that information. I appreciate it very much. As far as cleaning I haven't did any cleaning they may have been but I just pulled them from a bag he had them in.

So when you talk cleaning you mean soup and water or some chemical that cleans them?

Now I found some Japan paper and coin money my dad had also. He was in Air Force and stationed in Japan and Philippines. Is this money worth anything now or can it be exchanged. If so where would I start to find a place that would exchange this money.

 

[RobbieB]

Pops was into coins, I got 2 strong boxes full of them. Silver, proofs, a couple gold. Save 'em for a rainy day.

 

[Car-Guy]

You are welcome.

Getting a coin wet is not a problem, but any intentional cleaning is not good and things like dipping in cleaning agents is very bad.

Can't help you on the foreign money. If it's just current circulating money, most big airports have foreign money exchanges. (for a small fee)

 

[street]

^ I appreciate all your time SIR.

 

[street]

Pops was into coins, I got 2 strong boxes full of them. Silver, proofs, a couple gold. Save 'em for a rainy day.

I most likely will put these back in his old bag where he kept them and let them grow older. LOL

Thanks RobbieB

 

[grasshopper]

Doesn't sound strange at all. A late friend of mine gave me several rolls of old feather penny's on back. I've left them in the roll.

I still find a "wheat ear" in change, I use a CC so often that I never get much change anymore.

 

[DrRoy]

I've collected for about 20 years. Do not chemically clean the coins. It reduces their value. Even soap and water risks scratching. Better to leave them alone. Getting an offer from a coin dealer is pot luck. You will likely see a big range in what is offered. If you can get a reliable opinion of the grades, you can then get a retail value from various coin price guides. I used to buy and sell coins over Ebay. That is still worth thinking about although the sellers fees are higher now.