Should I have coins rated or go by DIY?

[Dguerr]

Hello, I'm very new here so I hope this question makes sense. I have some US coins that had been around my home for decades. Hardly a "collection" since so-far I've only sorted out some Indian Head pennies, four US gold coins and four silver dollars. Also, some coins purchased from the mint.

I've tried to find their values by looking at the price lists here on NGC and eBay. It looks like they are all of moderate value and only the price of the gold pieces are interesting. I still have to research the Indian Head pennies and a few others.

Unfortunately, I did not see any worth a half million dollars

So my question is, should I do enough research to at least have what I believe are the values for the coins and then go to coin dealers, or even eBay, to sell them, accepting the fact that I might not get full value?

I though the NGC grading would be helpful, but the fees would probably be too high to justify sending them in for grading and packaging.

 

If you can help me out on the question, I would appreciate that help.

[ldhair]

Welcome it the fun Dguerr.

You have the right idea. You need to have some idea of value before you do anything with them. You may know this but don't do anything to the coins. No cleaning or wiping. Leave them just the way they are.

You may get a bit more for the coins on Ebay but it takes a lot of work and some risk if you go that way. You are correct about grading fees. Some coins are not worth the cost of being graded.

If you can post good clear images of your coins, the folks here can help you pick out anything that you should take a strong look at. Hope you have fun with learning what you have.

[supertooth]

Dguerr---- Definitely do as much research as you can. Afterall, you might get interested in the coin hobby.

 

But, over many years, I've found that if you post decent pictures on Ebay----and list the coins fairly---the buyers will determine the current fair market value for you.

 

I've seen it happen that folks don't know a blessed thing about the coins that they list---but receive more than they ever thought that they would get. Dealers, on the other hand, will many times undercut a coin's value---once they find out that the seller doesn't know what they have.

 

Getting an old Red Book---or virtually any price list---will give you at least a "retail price" that will give you a starting point. Also, posting pictures here on this chat board would be helpful---as all of us just like to guess grades and values. Good luck to you in any event. Bob [supertooth]

[Dguerr]

Thanks to all for your advice on how to go about selling some joins.

I will try out taking pictures of them with my iPhone.