Coin collection inspection and grading advice

[riptides]

....

I need to find out how to tell the difference, steel is easy. Bronze and Copper, look the same to me. LOL.

Use a magnet!

 

[Shenandoah MF1760]

... I will need a better magnifying glass and lighting.

My eyes have never been particularly good and now that I'm old... well, they're worse.

I frequently use my phones camera function to zoom in on small details. Mine will do 16x, the wife's will do 40x (it's much newer).

If I'm working on something that requires extended time or two hands I set up my digital camera to feed through a monitor.

This stuff works amazingly well. As a kid I had a microscope that I could barely use on the highest setting due to the light requirements. Nowadays your typical cell phone far outperforms what I had back then.

And, they take pictures & video!

 

[Shenandoah MF1760]

Their standard response is: If it shows any wear at all from having been in circulation, it's worth it's weight in "whatever material it's made from".

I'd say that is the least that it's worth.

This sounds like that group is comprised of specialized collector/dealers that only want/deal in uncirculated coinage.

If there was only value in uncirculated coins there would be no reason for the NGC Coin Grading Scale.

Some coins are so rare that they have value in any condition. For example, the 1909 S V.D.B. Lincoln penny can sell for a lot of money even if the condition of the coin is horrible. Certainly more than the $0.02 of copper therein.

 

[square1]

I'd say that is the least that it's worth.

This sounds like that group is comprised of specialized collector/dealers that only want/deal in uncirculated coinage.

If there was only value in uncirculated coins there would be no reason for the NGC Coin Grading Scale.

Some coins are so rare that they have value in any condition. For example, the 1909 S V.D.B. Lincoln penny can sell for a lot of money even if the condition of the coin is horrible. Certainly more than the $0.02 of copper therein.

It has more to do with the value of their time. Handling piles of worn coins doesn't usually return any big payouts.
On a smaller scale I'm the same way. My time is worith $$$ / hour. If the venture doesn't cover that figure on average, I'm taking the (melt) money & moving on.
I already have enough hobbies that don't pass muster in that regard

 

[ericm979]

When my mom passed I had to deal with her coin collection. I found there's a coin value book that's printed annually. There's probably an on line equivalent. I used the book to get a rough idea of the worth so the dealer didn't completely take advantage of me.

BTW she had records of the purchase price on many of the coins. They were not a good investment.

 

[Quaffer]

Based on the grading, anywhere from $1 to $35,000 dollars.

eBay averaging $100.00 this year.

Also of interest, that year some struck as bronze.

I need to find out how to tell the difference, steel is easy. Bronze and Copper, look the same to me. LOL.

That is amazing, $100 average? wow!

 

[Shenandoah MF1760]

When my mom passed I had to deal with her coin collection. I found there's a coin value book that's printed annually. There's probably an on line equivalent. I used the book to get a rough idea of the worth so the dealer didn't completely take advantage of me.

BTW she had records of the purchase price on many of the coins. They were not a good investment.

Collections are more for the enjoyment of the collector.

The only folks that make money off them are typically the reseller who buys cheap at estate sales or auctions and understands the market.

My brother always claimed his book collection was his retirement fund. He died at 71 without ever selling a book, although he continued to collect. My sister and I were confronted with over 18 bookcases, several closets and other places full of books.

Two years on my sister still has a storage locker full of books and is trying to get a decent bulk price from resellers. Some of the signed limited editions we kept.

 

[ericm979]

Collections are more for the enjoyment of the collector.

That's how it ought to be, but Mom was sold the coins as investments. She wasn't a collector. She thought she was buying "gold". It was a long time before I realized she wasn't trading futures or buying bars.

 

[ultrarunner]

Use a magnet!

Some coin shops run auction boards…

As a kid I took $50 I earned and exchanged it for $50 sacks of pennies and go through a sack each week… I was 8 when I started.

The bags probably sat at the BofA vault in Oakland for decades and yielded lots of wartime steel and even some Indian Head plus S mint mark for San Francisco mint fairly common…

Dad said it kept me out of trouble…

4 years in High School I was cafeteria cashier and picked up silver dimes and quarters regularly.

Most just bullion value and all circulated but it was fun filling the coin books.

I started saving the 40% 1965-70 half dollars but it was a lot to put away for a kid earning $50 a week.

I found selling it’s the exception to get anything over bullion…

My one $20 gold coin was worth $400 when I gave it to my uncle who would not take anything helping me build the cabin… I gave him the coin and he was really impressed at the gesture…

Picked up some Carson City Dollars and Silver and Gold certificates plus wartime Hawaii Bills over the years.

The bank teller thought it cute I was collecting and would set aside special notes that came in.

The Branch President always called me Mr. and said one day I would own the bank starting so young… that BofA now a church with outreach ministries..

For years I gave US $5 gold coins to the nephew and nieces until their parents told me to stop saying it was too much of a burden on the parents… go figure… I was buying at $37 when I started and just couldn’t see the value of another Barbie Dream House or Ken Corvette…

 

[ultrarunner]

Collections are more for the enjoyment of the collector.

The only folks that make money off them are typically the reseller who buys cheap at estate sales or auctions and understands the market.

My brother always claimed his book collection was his retirement fund. He died at 71 without ever selling a book, although he continued to collect. My sister and I were confronted with over 18 bookcases, several closets and other places full of books.

Two years on my sister still has a storage locker full of books and is trying to get a decent bulk price from resellers. Some of the signed limited editions we kept.

A friend’s mom collected dolls… all kinds saying it was for the grandkids…

When she passed the family was overwhelmed but contacted an eBay seller and split 50/50 the proceeds… the kids realized 12k from the grandmas dolls… who knows how much grandma spent and the girls teens then wished they would have kept a few for their kids.