Coin Values

[leftyfrizzell1963]

As a kid and as an adult, my parents and grandparents gave me coins. I don't think any of them were extraordinary at the time. I think it's a depression era thing. I've kept them all in a shoe box and never done anything with them.

I'm not one to collect and marvel at things. It might time to see what it's worth. What's a good web site to get coin values?

 

[coveredbridge]

Coinstudy.com

 

[DrRoy]

The value of old coins is very specific to the condition, or grade. It really takes an expert to judge it properly, but you can get a grading book that will give you some guidance.

 

[ncbill]

Sending a coin off to be professionally graded is an expense you'll need to incur.

E.g. I sent one small gold coin off via coin shop...the shop's offer for the coin more than doubled after it was slabbed/graded.

 

[Sunset]

I have some old coins as well, if I remember correctly without looking at it, my oldest is a 1792 penny.

But now as an adult, I know I should have wrapped each coin in cotton, so they wouldn't scratch/rub against each other over the decades. This thread may make me look but I think they will turn out worthless.

 

[ziggy29]

Sending a coin off to be professionally graded is an expense you'll need to incur.

E.g. I sent one small gold coin off via coin shop...the shop's offer for the coin more than doubled after it was slabbed/graded.

If the coins are valuable enough, yes. Depending on the value of the coin and the service tier selected, it may cost $15-20 (at least) per coin to have the coin professionally graded and encapsulated (known as "slabbed" in the hobby). If a coin is likely to be worth $100 or more, the increased resale value -- at least from the most respected services like PCGS or NGC -- will likely exceed the grading cost. Coins that are only worth a few bucks aren't worth slabbing.

Can the OP give a brief overview of the kind of coins you have? Are they mostly well worn or are some of them still uncirculated or close to it? Rough date ranges? There's no way to know for sure whether some should be "slabbed" without a detailed inventory, but a high level description of the kind of stuff you have might be helpful to see if it might be worth it in some cases.

 

[Car-Guy]

There are several sites that will give you an idea of what any particularly accurately graded coin will "cost you" to buy at most coins shows or from coin dealers. As a general starting point, subtract at least ~25% from the price guides for what you might be able to sell it for to the same dealers. There are some exceptions but that's a good rule of thumb. IMO.

Coin dealers are a lot like user car salesmen. Buyers and sellers, beware!

Note, most coins aren't worth the time and trouble. Most silver coins (pre 64) are worth more for their silver content than they are for their numismatist value.

BUT, it's worth checking for the rare exceptions. examples: 1909s vdb Lincoln Penney, 1916d Mercury dime, or a 1893s Morgan dollar to name a few.

Here's a couple links to free on-line price guides.



https://www.greysheet.com/coin-prices
https://www.pcgs.com/prices

 

[ziggy29]

As a starting point, subtract at least 25% from the price guides for what you might be able to sell it for to the same dealers.

Agreed. And that 25% haircut is for more desirable collector coins, coins that are rarer and are professionally "slabbed" by the most respected services. Anything else is likely to take a bigger haircut.

Other coins, loose ungraded coins (called "raw") that aren't particularly valuable will likely garner a laughable offer from a dealer, like 25-50 cents on the dollar.

 

[Car-Guy]

Agreed. And that 25% haircut is for more desirable collector coins, coins that are rarer and are professionally "slabbed" by the most respected services.

And there are only "two" respectable grading services in the industry today, IMO. That would be PCGS and NGC... And even then, if you hope to get top value for rare coins, you'll need "another" opinion. Specifically from CAC.


ALL the others are a waste of time and money, IMO.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

Is it possible to get a single coin graded without paying for membership in either PCGS or NGC? Looking at their websites it looks like you have to join to even submit a coin for grading, which raises the cost significantly.

I sold off my late DF's collection a couple of years ago to a local shop, but he wouldn't touch the 1909S VDB penny with a ten foot pole if it wasn't graded. I still have it, but looking at various web sites that discuss this coin, it looks to my eye to be suspect based on the shape of the "B" in VDB. If it were genuine it would pay for grading, but if fake then not so much.

 

[ziggy29]

Is it possible to get a single coin graded without paying for membership in either PCGS or NGC? Looking at their websites it looks like you have to join to even submit a coin for grading, which raises the cost significantly.

I sold off my late DF's collection a couple of years ago to a local shop, but he wouldn't touch the 1909S VDB penny with a ten foot pole if it wasn't graded. I still have it, but looking at various web sites that discuss this coin, it looks to my eye to be suspect based on the shape of the "B" in VDB. If it were genuine it would pay for grading, but if fake then not so much.

Yes, if you have a dealer nearby who is in their network. PCGS, for example, has a network of dealers who will take your coins and submit them on your behalf (you pay them the grading fees and shipping).

A list of PCGS authorized dealers is here:

https://www.pcgs.com/dealers

I was an active numismatist in my Megacorp days when I had the income for it. I still have most of the coins now. I have no plans to sell or need to sell, but I got many of them "slabbed" because my wife knows nothing about coins and if she wanted to sell them after I was hit by a truck, she'll need that to avoid getting ripped off. I have a PCGS graded 1877 Indian head cent which I would really hate to see her try to sell "raw".

As far as the '09-S VDB cent goes, the most common fakes are the addition of the mintmark to a cheap 1909 VDB cent, or to add the VDB to the 1909-S cent (not as common because the 1909-S is valuable even without the VDB but they are very much out there). For the former fake, the location and shape of the "S" mintmark are the telling details, as can be a look under magnification that suggests the mintmark is "floating" over the surface of the coin rather than flowing into it.

 

[braumeister]

I'm certainly no expert, but I can follow guidelines and evaluate my coins (inherited a bunch of them) to some extent.

I got this book a few years ago and it's pretty easy to judge what you have to at least a rough idea of price. It's full of photos and detailed information that you can compare to your coins.

If this approach turns out to be nonsense, I'm sure one of the experts here can say so, but I found it very useful. I had (I think) a good idea what my coins might be worth, so when I showed something with a $50 value to a local dealer and got offered maybe $10, I knew enough to go elsewhere.

Official ANA Grading Standards for United States Coins

 

[Car-Guy]

Is it possible to get a single coin graded without paying for membership in either PCGS or NGC? Looking at their websites it looks like you have to join to even submit a coin for grading, which raises the cost significantly.

If you are only getting one coin graded then yes, but several coins, then not really. If you buy their (PCGS) annual Gold membership ($149) you get 4 free submissions with your membership, Platinum membership ($249) a year, you get 8 free submissions with that membership. You can cancel anytime. Note, plan on waiting 6 to 8 weeks (at least) to get the coins graded.


Note some dealers will handle it for you, for a price.

 

[ziggy29]

If you are only getting one coin graded then yes, but several coins, then not really. If you buy their annual Gold membership ($149) you get 4 free submissions with your membership, Platinum membership ($249) a year, you get 8 free submissions with that membership. You can cancel anytime. Note, plan on waiting 6 to 8 weeks (at least) to get the coins graded.

I did the platinum for one year when I had a few coins to submit about a decade ago, then didn't renew the next year since I didn't have more coins to submit. When it's done they will let you know and you can look at the results online. As an example, here was my submission from 2009. They were just in the process of capturing digital images for all the submissions at the time, so strangely, some were not imaged and some were -- I think they all do now, routinely:

https://www.pcgs.com/shared-orders/order-details/20343462

 

[Car-Guy]

Yes, i

As far as the '09-S VDB cent goes, the most common fakes are the addition of the mintmark to a cheap 1909 VDB cent, or to add the VDB to the 1909-S cent (not as common because the 1909-S is valuable even without the VDB but they are very much out there). For the former fake, the location and shape of the "S" mintmark are the telling details, as can be a look under magnification that suggests the mintmark is "floating" over the surface of the coin rather than flowing into it.

I've seen them. Most are easy to identify with a 10x loop if you know what to look for. Anyone buying raw coins worth $1000's should learn the diagnostics of each coin. Even then a knowledgeable and experienced collector can be fooled. (Ask me about a raw 16d dime I once bought ) Fortunately I knew the dealer and I got my money back "after" I had sent it in for grading and it came back in "body bag" as counterfeit.

Also, just a tip (1 of 1000's) for any novice collector that may be reading this thread. NEVER attempt to clean a coin with anything. Cleaned coins value will be reduced. The more they are cleaned, the more the value will be affected.

 

[Car-Guy]

I did the platinum for one year when I had a few coins to submit about a decade ago, then didn't renew the next year since I didn't have more coins to submit. When it's done they will let you know and you can look at the results online. As an example, here was my submission from 2009. They were just in the process of capturing digital images for all the submissions at the time, so strangely, some were not imaged and some were -- I think they all do now, routinely:

https://www.pcgs.com/shared-orders/order-details/20343462

PCGS calls their imaging service Tureview. Depending on the submission type it may be included (Gold Shield) or you can request the imaging of any coin for a small additional fee. This area (imaging) seems to still be evolving so that info is subject to change at anytime.

 

[Car-Guy]

I have some old coins as well, if I remember correctly without looking at it, my oldest is a 1792 penny.

You might want to check that date. If it's a US penny it's probably 1793 or later, but not a 1792.

But now as an adult, I know I should have wrapped each coin in cotton, so they wouldn't scratch/rub against each other over the decades. This thread may make me look but I think they will turn out worthless.

They make many different type of coin slips/sleeves to protect raw coins.You can buy a handful for a dollar or two.

 

[ziggy29]

You might want to check that date. If it's a US penny it's probably 1793 or later, but not a 1792.

I was thinking the same thing, though I was also thinking it might be an English penny.

If someone had a 1792 "one cent" US coin, it would potentially be a Birch cent which should definitely be authenticated regardless of condition (but it's ***extremely*** unlikely, at least not to be authentic, since there are LOT of reproductions of that one -- there would probably be a 99.9% chance it was not authentic). The first regular issue US coinage did not begin until 1793, as you pointed out, and 1794 would be more likely. A US cent would almost certainly not be dated 1792, as it would be a major numismatic find if so (and it was authenticated).

 

[Car-Guy]

I was thinking the same thing, though I was also thinking it might be an English penny.

If someone has a 1792 "one cent" US coin, it would potentially be a Birch cent which should definitely be authenticated regardless of condition (but it's ***extremely*** unlikely, at least not to be authentic). The first regular issue US coinage did not begin until 1793, as you pointed out.

I'm not an expert on the old US cent series but I seem to recall reading that there were a few made in 1792 as prototypes with only a few still known to exist today.



EDIT: I just looked on the PCGS price guide and it's not even listed so it would be extremely rare, if it's genuine. I think a 10% finders fee for me would be okay.