Any coin collectors? Crash course? (esp for silver quarters)

[debthaven]

I'm (nearly) off for the summer, money is still tight, so I've decided to try to make some extra money by selling things.

I sold some old/ugly jewelry on Sat for 227e ($259) for the gold. I may decide to sell more but for now I've only sold items I didn't care about.

I also have a bunch of silver quarters from when I was little. DH and I sorted them today by date. I'm planning to call or visit one (ideally two) coin dealers who supposedly buy and sell these coins this week.

I do realize it's an art, and a hobby, and that there's a reason some coins sell for hundreds while others sell for 5 euros. I freely admit that I'm not willing to put enough time into this endeavor to become an expert at it, otherwise I'd do like certain people who sell them individually on ebay or on specialized websites.

But are there any basic things I should know? Any advice for me not to get totally hosed?

ETA: I also have a few Kennedy half-dollars and silver dimes, and one gold coin. The gold coin was mounted in a hideous necklace I inherited. I sold the mounting and chain years ago, but I still have the coin.

Thanks!

[plugginaway22]

coinstudy.com

We are not collectors but did inherit a bunch of old coins from DH's family.  This site is very informative and like you, we are holding onto them until someday when we need to supplement our income.  It is amazing that the silver content is mostly what is now of value, but check this site for certain dates and mint marks.  This makes me want to get it all out and do an inventory, we have had the collection for about 20 years now.

[debthaven]

Thanks Pluggin! I have been reading that site over the weekend. But it seems more for avid collectors than people who just want to sell "in bulk", if that makes sense. And I can't seem to find any mint marks lol.

[debthaven]

ETA: I also think that like stamps (but less so) the number of coin collectors will diminish over time rather than increase. 

[simser]

A lot of people want silver quarters for prepping purposes, so make sure to not forget about that market.

At least you're not my dad who has saved every coin from the last 30 years in many large jars and we need to go through them!

[debthaven]

A lot of people want silver quarters for prepping purposes, so make sure to not forget about that market.

Thanks! But I don't understand what you mean by that, "for prepping purposes" ...

[hoops902]

Jul 9, 2017 17:04:47 GMT -5 debthaven said:

A lot of people want silver quarters for prepping purposes, so make sure to not forget about that market.

Thanks! But I don't understand what you mean by that, "for prepping purposes" ...

Because silver is a precious metal.  Preppers typically want to "hoard" something they think will retain value, and precious metals typically end up somewhere on that list (along with other things like ammunition, etc).  If the government goes under, then paper money becomes worthless since the value is predicated on the backing of the government.

[simser]

Jul 9, 2017 17:55:30 GMT -5 hoops902 said:

Jul 9, 2017 17:04:47 GMT -5 debthaven said:

A lot of people want silver quarters for prepping purposes, so make sure to not forget about that market.

Thanks! But I don't understand what you mean by that, "for prepping purposes" ...

Because silver is a precious metal.  Preppers typically want to "hoard" something they think will retain value, and precious metals typically end up somewhere on that list (along with other things like ammunition, etc).  If the government goes under, then paper money becomes worthless since the value is predicated on the backing of the government.

Yes, that.

I live in an area with a lot of survivalist preppers. Silver is one of their holy grails with ammunition, diesel and food. It's driven the price up on silver coins (what they talk about) to sometimes be more than regular silver would be.

Doomsday prepper is a show that talks about these crazy people Around here everyone thinks about it to some extent, those are the more extreme cases. I've talked to people from outside the US and most have no idea what I'm talking about, so I figured France hasn't gotten that crazy yet.

Speaking of France, I'm heading to Paris in October. If you have any ideas for me, could you pm me?

[debthaven]

Thanks for the explanation!

Sure Simser! PM me with your dates and how long you're staying and I'll write back with some suggestions.

[toomuchreality]

Jul 9, 2017 14:15:47 GMT -5 debthaven said:

I'm (nearly) off for the summer, money is still tight, so I've decided to try to make some extra money by selling things.

I sold some old/ugly jewelry on Sat for 227e ($259) for the gold. I may decide to sell more but for now I've only sold items I didn't care about.

I also have a bunch of silver quarters from when I was little. DH and I sorted them today by date. I'm planning to call or visit one (ideally two) coin dealers who supposedly buy and sell these coins this week.

I do realize it's an art, and a hobby, and that there's a reason some coins sell for hundreds while others sell for 5 euros. I freely admit that I'm not willing to put enough time into this endeavor to become an expert at it, otherwise I'd do like certain people who sell them individually on ebay or on specialized websites.

But are there any basic things I should know? Any advice for me not to get totally hosed?

ETA: I also have a few Kennedy half-dollars and silver dimes, and one gold coin. The gold coin was mounted in a hideous necklace I inherited. I sold the mounting and chain years ago, but I still have the coin.

Thanks!

I'm not a collector either.  But I also have some coins that were left to me and have wondered the same thing.  
I've looked at a few websites, but haven't come up with much info that is likely to help a person in my situation.
Of course, I'd like to make millions, but since I know that isn't going to happen, I'd like to feel like I didn't get totally screwed.



Good luck to you!