Trying to find a venue for selling coins

[dak403]

I recently inherited a large collection of coins and paper money from my father.  The collection consists of both foreign and domestic currency as well as commemorative and memorial sets.  I am in the process of trying to inventory and catalogue everything and determine an approximate value.  Finding the estimated value for the PCGS and NGC graded items is easier, but a large portion of the collection is neither mounted, or graded.  I first tried Heritage Auctions, assuming they would be interested and I would have my best chance of getting a fair value for the coins.  Heritage "respectfully declined", without giving a reason and suggested I try a local coin dealer.  I reached out to one coin dealer so far, but have not received a response.  Does anybody have any suggestions?

[JKK]

If you have multiple coin dealers near you, read up on them, then call to see if they are interested in buying the lot. If they are, they will tell you yes, but we first have to see it and it will take a while. Fair enough. Some charge you an appraisal fee unless you actually end up selling to them; they should be very up front about that. Look for signs on the walls.

Expect that a fair number of coin dealers have minimal social skills or are even borderline autistic. Some of those are actually really good folks, just do a *spoon* job at public relations. Women in particular, who come in expecting to be treated as though their business matters, can be put off by some old guy who has the social grace of a tree trunk. But if someone shows nearly no interest in looking at your stuff, fine, take it to someone who does. As someone who has worked for a dealer and seen what passes for competitive offers to buy, if they don't want to make a major profit--if they are too busy drowning in profit--then great, someone else will. Always be polite, but don't be bullied.

If you are concerned about leaving it with a dealer for a few hours (we get that question from time to time), for the most part I wouldn't be. However, if you are, draw up a full inventory of the collection beforehand so you can check. Sellers are the lifeblood of the coin shop. If they stopped, most dealers would be SOL. Any dealer who actively stole from the people who enabled him to make a living would be a grade A insufficiently_thoughtful_person and not in business long, though, so I wouldn't stress about the possibility. In my view, the dealer is actually more frightened that you will accuse him of stealing (or that you will lose your marbles and make a big scene when he tells you his offer) than you are that he will steal. I always made sure that I went through sellers' coins with my hands clearly visible and always well in sight of the cameras, because I knew that some people were very concerned and I wanted my every action on video.

Hope that at least helps with a start.

[dak403]

JKK,

Thank you for your thoughtful response.  I am new to this site, but did find a dealer locator in the Resources tab.  I typed in my zip code and found a bunch of dealers in my area.  I'm going to pick a few and take the same small sample of coins to each to see what they say.  I have hundreds, maybe thousands of foreign and domestic coins and bills that I want to catalogue and inventory, before attempting to sell.  And, like I said in my earlier post, some of the coins are mounted, some have been graded by NGC, PCGS, or ANACS, and some are commemorative coins and sets, but many are just loose coins, or coins in tubes and wrappers.

Thanks again for your assistance.

Dan

[JKK]

That's a very good idea: take the same small batch to multiple dealers, and see what they offer--and how you are treated. Best of luck and success. Often the best offer will come from the most autistic dealer.

[dak403]

Thank you both for your responses.  I am going to try both angles: coin dealers and auction houses.  Do you think I might get my best result (e.g. higher return) selling through an auctioneer, or selling to a dealer?

Dan

[JKK]

Lancek is better qualified than I am to inquire about auctioning, since the only thing I know about auctioning is that people bid for things and the highest bid wins. But you should remember that the auctioneer will be paid a percentage of final price, so the seller does not realize the final price.

Your best way to assess this might be to take some of the highest value slabbed pieces and look them up on WorthPoint or auctions sites to see what they've hammered for. Not sure what auctioneers charge, but I'd guess 10% or more. Then see if dealers offer you more or less. Offhand I'd guess they will offer less, even when you factor in the auctioneer's cut. But I truly do not know, so please take my speculations for what they are worth.