Have you ever wondered how to go about appraising your coin collection?
Whether you just have one old coin or several, someday there will come a time when you want (or need) to find the true value of your coins.
Appraising a coin collection, especially if it contains rare and valuable coins, generally requires you to do a few things:
- Grade your coins
- Don’t clean your coins – that will lower a coin’s value
- Slabbing your coins will provide you a chance of getting the same price for them no matter to what dealer you sell
- Get an idea as to the value of your coins beforehand so you don’t get ripped off
- Get more than one appraisal so you have an “average” estimate — and take the better offer
I cannot overstress the idea of getting a general idea as to the value of your coins before actually getting an appraisal. If you don’t know what your coins are worth — roughly — then you risk getting an appraisal from an unscrupulous coin dealer who will snag away that $1,000 coin for $50.
Check out a current edition of a coin pricing magazine at your local news stand or bookstore to find out more about your coins’ values. Most of these price guides also have a basic guide to grading which will help give you a better idea as to what your coins may be worth.
I’m the Coin Editor here at TheFunTimesGuide. My love for coins began when I was 11 years old. I primarily collect and study U.S. coins produced during the 20th century.
I’m a member of the American Numismatic Association (ANA) and the Numismatic Literary Guild (NLG) and have won multiple awards from the NLG for my work as a coin journalist. I’m also the editor at the Florida United Numismatists Club (FUN Topics magazine), and author of Images of America: The United States Mint in Philadelphia (a book that explores the colorful history of the Philadelphia Mint). I’ve contributed hundreds of articles for various coin publications including COINage, The Numismatist, Numismatic News, Coin Dealer Newsletter, Coin Values, and CoinWeek.
I’ve authored nearly 1,000 articles here at The Fun Times Guide to Coins (many of them with over 50K shares), and I welcome your coin questions in the comments below!