Introduction - Appraising Your Coin Collection
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Next: One of the most frequently asked questions by coin collectors is "How much is it worth?" The author has met many people over the last twenty years who had inherited coins, been given coins by someone else, collected coins when they were younger, and even found coins. The majority wanted to know what the value of the coins were. Some wanted their coins appraised for insurance reasons, others were contemplating selling their collection and wanted to know how much money they could receive.
Many of the inherited coins were from grandparents who had collected casually from pocket change during the time when silver was used for dimes, quarters, and half dollar. Most of these collections have quantities of silver coins including Roosevelt dimes, Washington quarters, Kennedy half dollars, Franklin half dollars, and Walking Liberty half dollars. Most also include a few Morgan and Peace dollars, Buffalo nickels, and Indian cents. The more serious collectors during this period bought proof sets, some people, especially those who tended to hoard would purchase 15 to 20 proof sets a year. The majority of the coins in these collections have no value beyond their melt value for silver and a slight premium for other coins. But there are sometimes the "What If" type coins. Coins that are worth a large premium because of factors such as rarity, high demand and interest level, high grade, type of variety, or rare date.
The majority of people who had inherited or were given coins did not bother to research their coins. They did not know the rare date or mint marks of the series or know how to grade their coins. Some people collected themselves, but do not know about die varieties and how some could make a coin that was normally worth $50 be actually worth several thousand dollars, or how a small difference in grade can be worth a lot of money. Once they were given examples of how much the rare dates or rarities were worth, their interest piqued immediately. It is the same instinct as searching for treasures, seeking the elusive and valuable. Part of the hunt is for profit, seeking something that will make you rich, the other part is the adventure, the thrill, the possibility. Not knowing if you will be the one to discover it, but worth the effort for the chance.
By taking no action in learning what your coins are worth, you could be throwing away thousands of dollars. As an example, an individual had several original 1969-S Lincoln cent rolls in their original wrappers. He sold them to two different stores for $2 per roll. A collector who purchased the rolls was surprised when they found a rare 1969-S doubled die obverse in uncirculated condition, worth over $100,000. A second specimen was discovered in another of the rolls. With these two cents, you could purchase a new house or put your kids through college. In a rare example of extreme luck and timing, a unique 1870-S Liberty Seated half-dime was claimed to have been found in 1978 and purchased as a common type coin. This coin brought 1.4 million the last time it sold in 2009. With the possibility of extra money for your coins, isn’t it worth knowing what to look for?
In 1943, in order to save copper for the war effort, the U.S. Mint struck cents on steel planchets. In 1944, they switched to a bronze planchet. Rumors started almost immediately of 1943 dated copper cents and millions of Americans were drawn into the frenzy of searching their pocket change in hopes of finding one of these elusive coins. There were rumors that Ford Motor Company would give a car if one was found. There were many adds offering high reward for this fantasy coin. The first specimen was found in 1956 by Marvin Beyer, who found it is his receipts from his paper route. About 20 of these coins have been found to date, including a unique 1943-D specimen that sold for over 1 million dollars.
Other coins that command a premium include die varieties. These are variations created during the process in creating the working dies. There are also literally thousands of die varieties, including doubled dies, repunched dates, over dates, over mint marks, misplaced dates, and clashed dies. The more dramatic of these usually command a much higher premium. There are also other types of varieties, for example, in 1999, the Mint struck some Lincoln cents at the Philadelphia Mint with a wide space between the bottom of the AM in AMERICA, and the majority of them closer together. The Wider AM can bring $500 or more. For several different years, proof coins were struck without the ‘S’ mint mark to designate they were struck at the San Francisco Mint. These are worth a significant premium. The problem here is that for many of these, it takes some experience and knowledge to know what to look for.
It is imperative that you learn whether you have any of these valuable coins. The primary question is whether you should pay someone to appraise your collection, or spend the time to understand how to grade, identify those coins that are valuable. When you have your collection appraised, you are paying someone with the experience and knowledge to examine your collection and ascertain its value, and hopefully identify those coins that are worth a premium. They should also be able to suggest how to optimize selling your coins, such as having some coins certified by third party grading services and where best to sell to obtain the best value. For example, Heritage Auctions might be best to sell more valuable coins as your coins can be seen by more collectors. There are certain simple precautions you should take when having your collection appraised, such as making a basic list or your coins and staying with your collection. If appraising your coins yourself, it is important to obtain the right tools and resources in order to learn about your coins. This includes a loupe to view your coins, proper lighting, and reference books to learn what to look for. You also need to understand the basics on how to view, handle, store, and grade coins. The more coins you examine, the better your skill will become. There are many options in where and how to sell your coins that are covered in this book.
It is always better to organized your collection and separate out those coins which are worth a much greater premium. Collections have been appraised where silver coins of different denomination were mixed in with non-silver pocket change. When silver was used for dimes, quarters, and half dollars before 1965, it was not uncommon for people to simply store all of their pocket change in jars and cans. Some series are in greater demand and worth more money than others, even though they contain the same amount of silver. Walking Liberty half dollars normally command a greater premium than Franklin half dollars and the 1964 Kennedy half dollars. Mercury dimes command a higher premium that Roosevelt dimes through 1964. It is better to first separate out your coins into series and for those series that were struck in both silver and other alloys, it is important to separate them to get an accurate count and maximize your potential profit. In addition, with the coins organized by series, it makes it much easier to remember what date and mint marks are rare and what dates have valuable die varieties to search for.
Whether you should have your coins appraised depends on a number of factors, such as how many coins there are, do you have the patience to look through them, do you enjoy looking at small details to name a few. It is always better to gain firsthand knowledge of your coins, even if you are getting them appraised for several reasons. But on the other side of the coin so to speak, what if you miss a valuable coin.
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