No matter how you look at it, selling coins evokes feelings. Perhaps you are ending your interest in the hobby and will have to find other ways to spend your free time. Perhaps you inherited a collection and now must dispose of it for heirs. Or maybe because you just need the money.
Experienced hobbyists know the basics of how to sell coins. But newer or “never” hobbyists may have a difficult time because the process requires a modicum of numismatic knowledge, which this article provides. And, of course, money is at stake in the form of precious metals and intrinsic values.
Here are seven steps that I have used in selling my coins. They worked for me. You may experience different results.
Step 1: Read the Red Book and consult the Blue Book
The Red Book, otherwise known as A Guide Book of United States Coins, is required reading. You have to know what you actually have. Google, eBay, Etsy, YouTube and other online listings are unreliable and often erroneous.
The Red Book shares retail values and the Blue Book, wholesale, or what a coin dealer is apt to pay you–important later.
The Red Book has updated pricing and auction data with detailed expert commentary and photos–more than 2000 images, 7,600 listings and 32,500 coin values. You’ll learn about each denomination, type, mint error and varieties as well as read articles about investing, grading and holdering coins, and detecting counterfeits.
Click here or the photo below and scroll down to “HOW TO USE THE RED BOOK” to view a Proxiblog video on the book’s utility.
Step 2: Separate coins according to denomination
To view the various denominations, again consult your Red Book or PCGS CoinFacts, a free encyclopedia of U.S. Coins.
You will find at PCGS CoinFacts detailed photos and retail/auction values of coins from half cents to gold issues as well as commemorative coins, bullion, territorial issues and patterns.
But the utility now is using the Red Book or CoinFacts to separate your coins into categories.
Step 3: Divide collection again by precious metals
These will mostly be silver and gold coins but also platinum, palladium and rhodium.
Familiarize yourself with spot price values. A fine resource is provided by the coin company APMEX, which gives updated values of all precious metals. Click the photos below for gold and silver values to view what your coins are worth apart from collector premium.
Step 4: Create an inventory of your collection
Create your inventory by denomination. You can do this manually via pencil and paper but eventually you want to have this in digital format. You can use Word for this. It’s a hassle, but you also should photograph obverse and reverse of each coin and include that in your inventory. You can do this with any mobile phone with a decent camera. Photos also will help your appraiser later in the process.
You also have to remember what you paid for your coins. Note that in your inventory, along with the date of sale, if you can remember it. Bookkeeping is important, as you will learn in Step 7.
Once you have a draft of what you own, consider downloading an application for a formal inventory of your coins.
There are many low-cost and free coin collection applications. Coin Week has recommended the low-cost Coin Book Pro.
I prefer Coin World’s Portfolio Application, which is free; but you have more options with a subscription.
You will immediately have a sense of relief once you have completed your inventory. That sense comes from due diligence.
Step 5: Learn grading basics
Start with the Sheldon scale
The Sheldon Grading Scale describes the condition of a coin without damage or other flaws, earning a number between 1 (lowest) and 70 (highest). The scale is used by PCGS, NGC, ANACS and other grading companies. The grade is an indication of value.
Know key dates of the series
Here is a nifty chart that many coin shops use on their sites. It’s not comprehensive and doesn’t include what we call “condition rarities,” or coins that are common in lower grades on the Sheldon scale but rare in about uncirculated or uncirculated condition. But it will give you an idea about dates and rarities.
Compare your coin with images provided by PCGS PhotoGrade.
Do not use digital applications to identify your coin and grade it. Programs like CoinSnap powered by AI are notoriously inaccurate. Instead, train your eye by comparing your coin to the denomination and condition as found on PhotoGrade. You may have a tendency to overgrade and overlook flaws. That’s okay. You’re not expected to be an expert grader. But a little knowledge goes a long way.
You can find a list of numismatic terms on the Proxiblog site. Click here.
Step 6: Get an appraisal
Before you sell your coins, you need to have an expert give you a fair evaluation of their worth. The best way is to contact a friend, colleague or acquaintance who knows coins. There is trust there. Keep in mind it is not enough merely to send to your appraiser the denomination, date and mint mark of your coins. Condition is everything. If your hobbyist friend lives out of town and cannot eyeball your collection, you will have to send photos of obverse and reverse of each coin or set.
You can also go to a nearby coin shop. Make sure the owner is a PNG member as they are committed to honesty and professionalism. You can find a directory here.
There also are online appraisal sites. One of the most popular is Coinappraiser.com. Visit the site. It also has useful articles about selling, auctioning and grading coins.
Step 6: Sell or consign
The coin buying world is full of scammers. DO NOT sell on social media like Facebook, Etsy or YouTube or accept payment via Venmo or other non-traceable monetary venues. You will want payment by money order, bank wire or cash (if local).
Read this article about Venmo scams and how to avoid them.
If you have valuable coins, the best place to sell them is at Heritage and GreatCollections. The problem here is that major auction houses only accept coins holdered by PCGS, NGC, ANACS, ICG and CAC. It is beyond this article to explain the cost and procedures of getting coin graded. GreatCollections has a form to submit raw coins for you at discount prices. In other words, you won’t have to pay extra for grading and also can avoid membership, handling and postal fees.
You can consign your raw and holdered coins to an online auctioneer. This requires you to (a) contact the auction house, (b) ask if they will consign your coins and (c) request a contract and terms of service (usually a 10-20% selling fee).
You can find menu tabs of online sellers at Proxiblog’s home page. We are not endorsing these auctions as places to sell coins. Suffice to say that we have either bought or consigned coins to a few of these and find them reputable. Your experience may differ.
Step 7: Accept Reality
Unless you are a skilled hobbyist, chances are you bought or purchased coins with flaws or have dozens or even hundreds of raw coins that have little value, despite what the Blue and Red books state. Sellers have to earn a profit, too, and may not want to photograph, list and pay fees for your coins on their sites unless they are fairly confident that they will sell.
Even coin shops, loaded with junk coins and low value mint sets, typically will only be looking at the precious metal or rarity of your coins. You can sell part of your collection or hold out for a price for everything, even coins of little value or ones holdered by bottom-tier companies that exaggerate condition.
In other words, anticipate low-ball offers and seller’s remorse.
Sometimes it is worth taking a loss and focusing on what you can get for inexpensive coins or sets, just to dispense with them. A typical coin dealer will usually pay about 70-75% of current market value.
Now for the ultimate reality check: taxes. Refer back to your inventory. You will need to know what you paid and what you received for your coins. You should have these data in your inventory.
The Internal Revenue Service classifies gold and silver as collectibles. Capital gains are taxed at a maximum rate of 28% of any profit. Go to this IRS site for more information.
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You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.
XLNT article. It should be a college course in its total.