How do you get a fair price for your coin collection? This article gives tips on how to value your coins and find the right buyer for them.
If you’re looking to make some cash by selling gold or silver coins, you’ll want to make sure you investigate your options and only do business with a legitimate coin dealer. When selling coins, it happens all too often that a pawn shop or scam artist will take advantage of an uninformed private seller, if the seller is unaware of how much the coin is worth. For this reason, it is well worth the time and effort to educate yourself on best practices when selling coins. When you are informed about the value of your coin before heading in to sell to a dealer, you will be more likely to walk away happy with the transaction. Here you will find a comprehensive guide to getting the best price for your coins.
Understanding Coin Values
Never put your coins up for sale until you have a solid understanding of their value. Keep in mind that price and value are two different things. Price is a measure of what you would pay a dealer for that coin, while value is the amount that you would get if you were selling it yourself. So how do you know what your coin’s value is? There may be no absolute number, but the date, mintmark, and condition of your coins will provide valuable clues. You can also weigh your gold coins to determine their AGW, or Actual Gold Weight, then multiply that number by the current value of gold per ounce to obtain their melt or scrap value, which will help you determine the lowest price you should accept—don’t accept anything dramatically below the melt value! And be sure to consider all the other factors, like rarity or desirability of the coin, when determining your base price. You can then separate your collection according to low, medium, and high coin values.
Where to Sell Gold and Silver Coins
Once you have an idea of the value of your coins, you can tackle the question of how to sell gold coins and other items, and to whom. The question of where to sell silver and gold coins actually leads to several answers:
- Local dealers – Skip the junk dealers and pawnshops and look for local reputable dealers that actually advertise themselves as coin specialists. Your best choice will be members of NGC or PCGS.
- Coin shows – Local coin shows are a great place to find knowledgeable dealers who recognize value when they see it. Ask your community’s coin club for information of future coin shows in your area.
- Rare coin auctions – If you have rare coins to sell, auctions that attract serious collectors can be right up your alley. Competition can be fierce, which drives prices up; some rare coins sell for thousands or millions of dollars apiece at these events.
- Direct sales to collectors – Collectors know the value of coins inside and out, with a special eye for rare or particularly desirable items. If you know you have something special, a collector will likely pay top dollar for it.
- eBay- eBay may seem like a convenient way to sell coins online, but beware of an uninformed pool of buyers who may make it impossible for you to command a decent price. This coupled with high sellers fees usually makes this an undesirable outlet. You may want to reserve this option for coins of relatively modest value.
- Online coin dealers – These companies are experts at valuing coins and performing fair, efficient transactions. If you’re selling gold and silver coins, pick an online dealer who specializes in those precious metals.
As you can see, you have plenty of venues for selling your gold and silver coins. The next trick, then, is to make sure you select the perfect dealer.
Finding a Coin Dealer
What qualities should you seek in local or online coin dealers, apart from basic honesty? Here are some things to check:
- Reputation- Ask for testimonials from satisfied sellers. If you’re eyeing an online seller, do some Internet research on coin forums.
- Knowledge- Do the dealers make a clear effort to educate their clientele? Do they offer guides and other helpful, authoritative documentation?
- Selling guarantees – What kind of selling guarantee, if any, can you obtain from a dealer?
- Type of value offered – Choose a dealer who considers the fair value of your coins instead of one who will only give you the melt value (or some completely made-up value).
- Ability to value rare gold coins – Not all dealers possess the necessary equipment and expertise for evaluating the value of rare gold coins. Choose a company that specializes in buying gold and silver coins like Scottsdale Bullion and Coin.
Best Practices to Sell Coins Online
If you plan to sell gold and silver coins online, here a few best practices for getting the best possible price:
- Take a good picture – The clearer the image you post, the more appealing and easy to evaluate your coin will be to prospective buyers.
- Determine coin weight and value – Take the steps mentioned above to determine AGW if you plan to sell gold coins, to determine a minimum base price.
- Shop around – Don’t take any one dealer’s offer until you have collected several different offers to choose from.
Once you understand coin values and align yourself with the best coin dealers who will pay the highest prices, you can sell gold and silver coins with confidence. Give yourself a head start on a successful sale contact Scottsdale Bullion and Coin today!