Appraising and Selling Coin Collection?

[lexde]

My father was an avid numismatist in his spare time and always dreamed of opening a coin shop. When he passed, we found that he had boxes upon boxes of coins - all neatly labeled (albeit unorganized, as far as I can tell).

We put his collection in storage for years, and are just now taking a second look, and I would venture to guess that the collection is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. There are boxes of solid gold and silver coins (which may or may not have value beyond the metal), along with ancient coins, misprints, etc.

I have no idea where to start with this. Common sense tells me to split them into small batches and not let any one appraiser/shop know that I have a large collection.

I'd like to keep a few of them, but ultimately I would rather find someone who may appreciate them.

How do I get started on this process? It's overwhelming, which is why we put them away for so long, but I would like to get started since this will likely take a while.

[GilesMM]

Take a box to each of several local coin dealers. Decide which one you like the best, then sell them the rest of the coins. Tell them you need their best price as you are shopping around. This is the easiest way to liquidate the collection.

[secondcor521]

@Car-Guy over on early-retirement.org is very knowledgeable.

Here's a thread that might be of interest:  https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f44/what-to-do-with-gold-coins-116143.html

Let me know if you would like me to do anything to connect the two of you.

[seattlecyclone]

Prices for bullion coins (the ones where the value is primarily in the metal) are fairly standardized based on the current spot prices for precious metals. Many of the coins may have numismatic value above and beyond that, and the prices can be much more variable there depending on the condition and rarity of the coin. Knowing which are which will require some reading, or leaning on the expertise of a nearby coin dealer.

Are any of them graded (encased in plastic slabs like this)? That's a good sign the coin is worth more than the metal value, and the grading will help get the best price if and when you sell.

A local coin shop or one of the bigger online dealers will be the quickest and easiest way to dispose of the coins. Definitely do a bit of homework beforehand to make sure you're being offered a fair price, and shop around a few places to see who feels trustworthy. You won't get as much selling to a dealer as in a private party transaction since the coin dealer needs to be paid. Also consider using this Reddit community to find buyers yourself. It will be more time-consuming but you'll get a better price since there's no dealer premium involved.

[lexde]

Thank you all for the insight! I really appreciate it. :-)

[lhamo]

Random thought:  could following up with this potentially be a good use of time/energy for your SO while he is getting his business up to speed?  Going through middle men is going to be costly.  If he could manage to sell the most valuable 50% or more of the coins for market prices he could potentially be earning a decent hourly wage turning something that is otherwise a problem for you/your family into an asset.

[trollwithamustache]

Collectables can have a huge value range. I came into the possessions of a modest comic book collection. If you talk to a couple dealers you will probably get a range of prices, but they need to buy from you at say 50% to  70% of what they can retail it at.

If you have time, you can get much closer to the full value selling things individually or in small lots to collectors. But it takes a lot of time and you have to learn the marketplace. For example I know know that consecutively numbered sets of comic books sell really well.  The Extra time is ore time than it's likely strictly speaking worth from an economic perspective.. But if you think it would be fun (and your dad put al this time into the collection, does that make learning about it interesting?) it's worth it.

Also do your tax research, I believe if you sell over 10k worth in a transaction there is tax reporting. My understanding several years ago was that you could sell less than 10k in bullion and it wasn't a taxable event.  Worth a chat with a tax advisor.