According to Mark Salzberg, head of the Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC), a coin grading agency, there’s also been an unexpected twist in the form of folks who have made fortunes from cryptocurrency jumping on the coin bandwagon.
Prices of critical rare coins have grown 16 percent since a year ago, according to a popular industry index produced by Professional Coin Grading Services (PCGS). Perhaps more impressive is the fact that the index has climbed by 6,315 percent since 1970.
Is it the right moment to sell your valuable coins?
I’d like to give some selling tips/tricks/thoughts, specifically on selling your coins, as someone who sells a lot of coins.
Don’t Get Into a Forced Sale Situation
Most people (dealers and collectors) are sharks when it comes to buying coins. If they know you’re in a desperate situation, they’re more inclined to take advantage of you. Telling someoneeven someone with whom you have a “tight” relationshipthat you need to sell a coin and that you need a fair price is the worst thing you can do as a seller. Selling your coins in a forced sale, in my experience, can cost you 20-30% or more.
A sale of a single coin (or collection) should take at least 45-60 days, and probably more for a highly specialized collection. This will allow you enough time to prepare the coin for sale, market it, and give the buyer enough time to pay if this becomes an issue.
Pick the Right Time for Selling Your Coins
The two best times of the year for selling your coins are still around the FUN show in January and the summer ANA in July or August, despite the internet blurring traditional coin seasons.
This is true whether you’re selling a coin privately, on consignment, or at an auction. When individuals are in the mood to buy coins, rather than when they are distracted with summer vacation or holiday preparations, you are more likely to succeed.
Send Your Coins to CAC
I disagree with the notion that you “must” acquire CAC coins and nothing else. If you’re a clever, well-informed shopper, you should be able to tell what’s nice and what isn’t in your field.
However, I believe that having a CAC sticker makes a difference when selling your cons. The finest thing about CAC, in my opinion, is that it gives purchasers confidence and makes a coin more liquid. CAC coins appear to sell for higher money at auction than non-CAC coins, and they appear to sell to retail buyers/end-users more frequently than non-CAC coins.
Strike While the Iron is Hot
Let’s imagine you learn about an auction with some fantastic Liberty Head eagles selling for a lot of money. You have coins that are similar to mine. Should you make a U-turn and sell right away?
Both yes and no. You might strike it rich and find the underbidder who just lost out on a world-record-breaking coin. But, more often than not, he was an underbidder who might not be happy with his current level if he bid again. Replicating an all-time high price as a seller can be tough. But, hey, it might be worth a shot to at least try, right?
Clean Your Slabs
This may seem absurd, but unclean, scratchy slabs may be costly. Let me give you an illustration.
I spotted an intriguing gold at an auction about a year ago. Well, I kind of saw it; the holder was so scratched up that you couldn’t see the coin’s surfaces. I took a gamble and bought it, partly because it was so cheap, and then had it re-holdered by a grading agency. It turned out to be quite pleasant. It eventually received a CAC sticker, and I sold it for a profit, all because it looked so lovely in its new holder.
Leave Your Old Holder Coins in Old Holders (Sometimes)
Okay, I’ll be the first to say that I’m an Old Holder-aholic in front of the group. Coins with older PCGS and NGC slabs fascinate me, and I, like most dealers, tend to overpay for them. However, there is a catch for a seller, which is why I added “sometimes” after the sentence.
Leave a $2,000 old holder coin alone if it has the potential to upgrade to a $4,000 coin if it upgrades, and price it accordingly. Allow the customer to assume the risk. However, if you have a $2,000 old coin with a strong improvement that could be worth $10,000, you may need to regrade the coin yourself.
Attribute Your Coin(s)
It’s unlikely to happen to you, but what if the 1794 cent you just sold to a collector down the street turned out to be a $35,000 uncommon variety? Isn’t that going to make you feel fantastic?
Take a few moments to assign your coins. Send them to NGC’s attribution service or have a trusted collector buddy do it for you if you don’t know how.
Have an Emergency Plan
Unexpected twists and turns abound in life. Have you thought about what would happen to your coins if you died or became incapacitated unexpectedly? You certainly don’t want your wife getting taken advantage of at the local pawn shop. Make it simple for her or your heirs by leaving clear instructions on how to handle your coins.
True story: a nice client of mine died without a will and no instructions on how to dispose of his coins a few years ago. I’m presuming the invoices for his coins weren’t around because he pulled my inventory tags off the back of the slabs that stated what he paid because he was a secretive guy. His sister was given the coins, and she proceeded to sell them to a “road buyer” at a nearby hotel. If she had called me, I would have paid close to a million dollars for the coins. The road purchasers allegedly paid her less than $200,000, according to my sources.
Do Your Due Diligence When it Comes to Pricing
It should be possible to price your coins depending on the types of coins you’re selling. However, there are a few factors to keep in mind.
In some series, PCGS coins command a higher price than NGC coins. Is it possible to sell your coins for a higher price? Is your coin CAC-approved, and does it make a difference? Do you own a “hot” coin at the moment? Is your coin of exceptional quality for the grade?
It’s simple to price common problems and generics. Rare and extremely rare coins can be extremely difficult to get. Examine the results of recent auctions. Are they consistent or inconsistent? Is there a coin that has sold at auction in the recent year that is comparable?
If you have a very rare coin, you should probably put it up for auction. Specialist dealers, on the other hand, can be a terrific resource for selling rare items, and they may be able to assist you achieve the best price possible.
Leave a Little Bit on the Table for Everyone
They are well-known and disliked by all. When it comes to selling your coins, I’m talking about sellers that want to wring every last penny out of every transaction and make each sale a nightmare.
When I sell coins to other dealers, I purposefully leave some room so that they might profit from what they’ve just purchased. This makes them pleased, and it encourages them to purchase further coins from me in the future.
When I buy from collectors, I try to be extra fair and pay the highest price possible while still giving leeway to mark up the coin and resell it.
Do you have any advice on how to sell your coins? If so, I’d appreciate it if you could tell me what they are and share them with me. Please include them at the bottom of this blog or send them to me via email at
Is it wise to invest in collectible coins?
“My mother has spent around $500.00 on collecting coins she has seen advertised on television over the last few years. They aren’t minted by the United States Mint and appear to be base metal coins with a thin covering of gold or gold-toned metal on top. Because they were advertised as rare, she is confident that their value will rise. Should I inform her she made a horrible investment or should I wait till she attempts to sell them to find out?”
We can’t provide you advice on what you should say to your mother. If she is in possession of her “If she keeps her “collectible” coins in a display cabinet or tucked away for safekeeping and enjoys having them, there’s no need to upset her by pointing out that she made a foolish investment.
However, for the rest of our blog readers, we’d want to explain why the coins James is referring to aren’t a wise investment.
Not All “Mints Are the U.S. Mint!
A “mint” can be established by any company that wants to make coins. That isn’t to say that if you buy coins from them, you’re dealing with the United States Mint, which is the government agency in charge of issuing legal tender. The quality of the coins produced by these private mints is not always poor – but that isn’t the goal. Continue reading if you are interested.
Many Manufactured “Collectible Coins Contain Very Little Gold or Silver
Some advertisers prefer to claim that their coins are coated with “genuine 18K gold” or gold of a different karat rating. Claims like this can persuade those who aren’t familiar with precious metals to call those toll-free numbers and buy, but how much gold is actually included in those plated coins? There isn’t much. They may appear gleaming, but there is no use in investing in them.
“Rare Uncirculated Coins from the U.S. Mint Might Be Worth a Little Bit More
You’ve probably seen their commercials and advertisements. The pitch is that you have the opportunity to purchase a “A silver dollar, perhaps, or a “unique, uncirculated” coin. If you’re tempted to buy a coin like this, keep in mind that the vendor is merely trying to sell you something for a larger price than the coin is actually worth. (If they didn’t want to sell it, why would they?)
Sometimes, sellers may group a number of coins together and sell them as a set “uncirculated” set of coins, claiming that they were minted by the United States Mint. Remember that just because the US Mint issued a batch of coins in different denominations in the same year doesn’t mean they’re all the same “The United States Mint generated a “set” of coins. They’re most likely a batch of coins packed together and sold as a batch by a company that sells collectibles it’s a technique to receive $100.00 for a handful of coins that are worth considerably less.
Protect yourself. Before you invest money on any authentic US Mint coins, check with a local rare coin dealer or go online to see how much that coin is worth. Almost all of the time, the dealers who sell these “Sets” are merely attempting to raise the pricing of the items they have for sale.
How about “Genuine Coins that the U.S. Mint Did Not Make?
You’ve probably seen their advertising as well. They could be coins made to seem like genuine quarters, half dollars, or silver dollar coins, or they could be something else entirely. You’ll also see that they have the phrase “copy” stamped on them, suggesting that they are not authentic US cash. (It’s against the law to sell reproductions of US coins that aren’t stamped this way.)
How about Other Commemorative Coins?
You’ve undoubtedly seen advertisements for these as well. They might be “Companies have created “collectible” coins to celebrate Abraham Lincoln, JFK, the World Trade Center, or anyone else. Remember that not all mints are the US Mint, as we said previously in today’s post! The majority, if not all, of the commemorative coins produced by these private businesses are of very little value. So avoid them when it comes to investing.
This leads to a similar situation “The “collectible” coin is a real coin that has been replated or altered. You’ve probably seen advertisements for these as well. They are created when a private corporation purchases a batch of authentic coins from the United States Mint, thinly replates them with gold or silver, and then sells them as collectible coins. This is another type of collector coin to stay away from.
What Precious Metal Investment Will Make You Much More Money?
Coins, in our opinion and experience, are never the best precious metals investment you can make!
Even if you purchase a real gold coin intended for investment, its worth will always be determined by current market prices. As a result, if gold prices rise, so will the value of your investment and vice versa.
Gold scrap, silver scrap, and platinum scrap are the investments that offer the best return on investment for every dollar invested. Alert purchasers can acquire scrap for pennies on the dollar, have us extract the precious metals it contains, and then pay full market value for those metals.
And if you have a relative who is interested in generating money by purchasing items that have more genuine value than the coins sold on infomercials, showing them today’s post would be a good idea. We hope people will see the light and begin to invest in gold, silver, and platinum in more substantial forms.
Do silver prices rise during a downturn?
Investors in gold and silver choose to buy precious metals to protect their money during recessions and other financial crises. Is it, however, worthwhile? Is it beneficial to diversify your portfolio by investing 10% to 15% of your money in gold and silver bars and coins?
The stock market follows a cyclical pattern. They go through periods of expansion and recession on a regular basis, about every 10-15 years. Periods of recession or depression can be light or severe, depending on the conditions. The collapse of mortgage markets in 2008, combined with issues with European bank viability, triggered a global recession that required years of austerity to recover from, notably in Europe.
The S&P 500 is one of the greatest ways to track a market during a recession. This is an excellent indicator of how organizations are functioning across a variety of industries. The following are the outcomes of eight different recessions since the US Dollar was decoupled from the gold standard.
1. Keep in mind that the length of the crash makes no difference. The value of gold has climbed dramatically in 75% of all market downturns. As a result, it’s reasonable to conclude that storing gold during a downturn is a good choice.
Gold’s value has historically been dragged down at the onset of a recession; however, it is reasonable to predict that it will bounce back and gain in value during the recession. According to history, this may be a terrific time to buy.
2. Gold’s sole significant selloff (-46% in the early 1980s) occurred shortly after the world’s largest bull market. Between 1970 and 1980, gold prices increased by approximately 2,300 percent. As a result, it’s not surprising that it fell along with the rest of the stock market at the time.
3. During stock market breakdowns, silver did not fare well. Silver only rose during one of the S&P selloffs (and remained flat in a second one). This is most likely due to silver’s widespread industrial use (roughly 56 percent of total distribution). As a result, a drop in industrial production can lead to a drop in demand for silver, as well as a drop in price. It’s worth noting, though, that silver prices fell much less than the S&P averages. It’s also worth noting that silver’s biggest gain (+15 percent) occurred during its longest bull market ever in the 1970s.
When it comes to investing in silver bullion, the price response to a recession is determined by whether the precious metal is in a bull market at the time of the recession.
Negative correlation is the main reason gold is more resilient during stock market crises. When one rises, the other falls.
Fear is common when the stock market falls, and investors seek safety in gold.
Which coins are the most valuable in circulation?
Another coin you might find stashed away in a dresser is the 1943 Lincoln Head Copper Penny, which is interesting and valuable due to the circumstances surrounding its manufacturing.
While pennies were traditionally made of copper and nickel, the United States required the metals for war operations, so the mint began producing the coin in steel. However, it struck a batch of copper pennies by accident, possibly because blanks remained in the press when the mint began producing new steel coins. Experts think that there are roughly 40 of these pennies left, however some say there are just about 20.
Because it’s relatively easy to coat steel pennies with copper and change the date on coins issued in 1945, 1948, and 1949, the US Mint believes these coins are often counterfeited. However, if the coin sticks to a magnet, you can tell if it is steel.
A ordinary steel 1943 Lincoln penny might sell for 30 or 40 cents around 30 or 40 times its face value but the unique copper versions sold for $204,000 at a 2019 auction. This specimen of the currency had been in the possession of a man since he was a child, after he discovered it in his school cafeteria.
According to Coin Week, the highest sale price for a version of this coin was $1.75 million in a 2010 auction.
How can you figure out how much a coin is worth?
Investigate The Coin’s Demand A lot easier way to determine a coin’s value is to conduct research and locate coins that are comparable to yours and see what they are selling for in online magazines, websites, or auctions. The present market demand for a coin has a significant impact on its value.
How can I figure out how much old coins are worth?
The number (or “mintage”) of coins or bills that were originally created determines rarity. Rarity also refers to the amount of coins or bills that are still in circulation today.
- Demand may be higher or lower in different parts of the world or at different times of the year.
- Look at the prices on eBay’s coin and paper money page to see how demand works: when a lot of people want to buy something (strong demand), the price often rises.
- From “mint” or “uncirculated” (no evidence of wear) to “poor,” coins and bills are graded.
- A bill that is in mint condition is worth more than a bill that is in poor shape.
- The terms “mint,” “bad,” and other grades are defined by particular criteria:
- If you’re interested in coins, check out the Coin Grading pamphlet from the American Numismatic Association.
- Refer to the International Bank Note Society’s grading standards if you’re interested in paper money.
If a coin’s metal content (the quantity of gold or silver in the coin) is too damaged to be valuable as a collectable, it may have a “basal” value. According to Roderick Hughes’ Official Know-It-All Guide, Coins, the worth of the metal can be determined by:
- Multiply the coin’s weight by the coin’s “fineness” %. (the percentage of the coin that is gold or silver). This will determine the amount of precious metal you must sell.
- Multiply the first calculation’s result by the current price of the precious metal included in the coin.
Kitco provides real-time gold, silver, and other metals market quotes that can be used in this computation.
Is there any value in National Collectors Mint coins?
The price of a single Real Eagle Proof coin from the *******************) starts at $73.00. You’re being ripped off if you pay less than that. NCM issues have little numismatic value, have very little precious metal content, and are not investment pieces. Keep your distance. My father was caught up in the National Collector’s Mint’s web shortly before he died. He sent them THOUSANDS of dollars for “coins” that will lose their value in my and my children’s lifetime.