Selling Coin collection

[GL1977 0]

Hi

I'm looking for some advice and found your website.  We are looking to sell my late father-in-laws coin collection he amassed over many years.  Being novices, we know little about the collection, apart from details he has in the ledgers and where he bought them from (ebay, John Welsh etc), so it has been difficult deciding where to sell them.  The problem we have is that there seems to be less places to do so up here in Scotland and that it would be preferred to sell them as a whole or a few groups rather than individually.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated on how to go about choosing the right method.

[1887jubilee 36]

I am sure there will be many helpful answers to this post. For myself if there is anything of 1887 I would be interested

Edited March 8, 2016 by 1887jubilee

[Nordle11 564]

If the grades are good then you will probably be able to sell a lot through here anyway, but first thing you'll need is pictures of the majority of the coins. Without seeing them it becomes almost impossible to price them.

You can sell via ebay or also can submit the whole collection to an auction house, some will collect the coins from you FOC, then leave them to sell them off on your behalf. It all depends on the quality of the collection really. It's good that you have some details on where they were bought and/or prices too.

Can you post a few example pictures of some of the better coins?

[copper123 1,352]

I really dont think you could do much worse than ebay myself - its ideal because of you location .

First of all I would try to find out the coins you father in law paid the most for and SELL THEM FIRST on ebay , you are very lucky to have a record of all the prices paid so you can have a reasonable idea of what they will fetch .

As for listing in groups always list four or five coins together and try and make them a date run and list in TWO catogories on ebay , its worth it for the extra views .

If you have a full whitman folder list it with the coins and make sure you get a GOOD picture of both .

DONT RUSH the sale and try to enjoy doing it - if you look on it as work it will become work.

Set senseable minmum bids on coins your father in law paid a lot for or rare varieties.

 

[Colin G. 147]

I would suggest it really does depend on the value, size and make up of the collection. How is the collection presented, is it in cabinets and albums or coins grouped in boxes. Knowing the size of the collection and the type of material included within could make a big difference in the approach I would recommend.

What types of coins are in it?

[GL1977 0]

The collection is made up of Crowns, half crowns, florins, half penny tokens, shillings, threepennys, foreign coins and notes.  My late father in law bought alot of them individually from eBay or from John Welsh. The crowns and possibly half crowns are in folders, each individually displayed. Most of the others are in numbered paper wrappers within boxes.

Unfortunately due to time restraints, selling these individually wouldn't be possible, so we were looking for somewhere that would sell them in one or a few groups.

[Nordle11 564]

Take them to a coin dealer or auction house. If they are good enough or not they will tell you. You might get less for selling them in bulk, but if you are unable to do the work to list them individually then this is probably your best chance to offload them all at once.

[GL1977 0]

I can have a look on google, but can anyone recommend any coin dealers in Scotland?

[Prax 80]

Yorkshire, which is not too far off where you are is a good place to find dealers. Take your collection to more than one dealer before selling anything. Google Wakefield Coin Fair, you will fine many dealers and representatives from auction-houses in the fair. If I am not mistaken then there is one at the end of this month. Take pictures of some of the older coins in the collection and post them on this forum for the blokes here to give you a finger in the air figure. There is also a coin shop in Edinburgh (very close to the uni www.edinburghcoinshop.co.uk) and if I am not mistaken the dealers there are Hiram and Jerry.

Argyll Coins & Antiques
73 Robertson Street, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, G2 8QD
Tel: 0141 221 4123

Campbell, A.K.
277 High Street, Kirkcaldy, Fife, KY1 1JH
Tel: 01592 264305

Edinburgh Coin Shop
11, West Crosscauseway, Edinburgh, EH8 9JW
Tel: 0131 668 2928 & 0131 667 9095 Fax: 0131 668 2926

A.D. Hamilton & Co.
7 St. Vincent Place, Glasgow G1 2DW
Tel: 0141-221-5423 Fax: 0141-248-6019
e-mail: jleeant@msn.com

All the very best.

Edited March 8, 2016 by Prax

[TomGoodheart 373]

Whereabouts in Scotland are you GL?  Just that I know one of the members here who is also a dealer is based near Newcastle if you aren't too far North.

If a collection is decent dealers will sometimes travel to take a look.  Might be worth contacting him for a chat?

John Stevenson (Argentum & Coins)   You can send a message via this forum from his profile:   http://www.predecimal.com/forum/profile/4546-argentumandcoins/

I've also bought from Scotmint in Ayr if you want another Scottish based dealer.. though I've not sold to him.

Though I'd just restate that photos would help us establish whether we are talking auction house material or ebay..

 

[secret santa 2,013]

Lots of hopefully helpful advice here. My inclination would be to sell them through London Coins - they take the lowest seller's commission (10% all inclusive) and will do everything for you. They will not rip you off and you need not worry about your own lack of knowledge of the collection. It sounds as if it is a serious collection, given your mention of John Welsh and the level of documentation that your father-in-law maintained.

Putting them on Ebay will require you to take good photographs, enter everything individually over the internet and then pay 10% to Ebay plus Paypal fees which makes it potentially more expensive and a lot more labour-intensive than going through an auction house. You will almost certainly get a better price via auction house than selling to a dealer who will be looking to maximise his profit.

These are my personal views only.

[VickySilver 775]

Hmmm, a couple of those sources have been questionable on occasion....

Best of luck.

 

Post any pictures?

[GL1977 0]

Many thanks for the replies, I'll upload some photos tomorrow.

[copper123 1,352]

Another tip is if you bought many of the coins off j welsh dont take the grades for granted , this dealer very often persistantly overgrades coins as many others know so if a coin was sold by him as EF its probably more like VF in fact - this will lead you to over valueing the collection

[Peter 615]

1 hour ago, VickySilver said:

Hmmm, a couple of those sources have been questionable on occasion....

Best of luck.

 

Post any pictures?

I think that is one Vickey was referring to.

But I wasn't going to tell anyone....get it?  Ebay purchases could also be a can of worms.

[VickySilver 775]

Ah, Peter, I am but a grasshopper...You are right, just not here to speak [too] badly of anyone.

[GL1977 0]

Good morning.  I've tried to uploaded some photos to show how the coins are presented, but my browser isn't liking it.  From doing some research last night and the very much appreciated advice from yourselves, we've decided to take our time and look into the best way to sell the coins, which looks like separating them rather than selling in one go.  The above advice has been invaluable, thanks to everyone who has helped.

[GL1977 0]

[GL1977 0]

[mrbadexample 985]

13 minutes ago, GL1977 said:

That's a good start. I'd give you £300 for it, although it would probably fetch more on fleabay. 

[Colin G. 147]

Okay now that we have established the collection is well presented and has some pieces in it that have some decent value to them, I would suggest dealers or auction houses may be your best bet. Most of the crowns in the folder photo look to be modern which will be worth relatively little, but the single pieces you have highlighted do have value.

Actually I should caveat the comment about the modern crowns just in case any of those are silver or matte proof as well 

Edited March 9, 2016 by Colin G.

[secret santa 2,013]

If you could put up a list of the contents (date, denomination, condition) some of the forum members will be able to give you an honest estimate of its worth in advance of your dealing with dealer or auction house. I realise that it may not be practical.

[azda 973]

On 8. März 2016 at 3:24 PM, GL1977 said:

I can have a look on google, but can anyone recommend any coin dealers in Scotland?

Where Are You in Scotland GL? I can maybe help if You can Tell me where You are. The 1905 halfcrown. Is a rare one Even in The grade shown and could fetch £300-£400 on eBay The 1902 Crown if in UNC maybe around £150-£180

[copper123 1,352]

And the 1953 crowns? LOL