old coin collection

[buddybear]

hi I have an old coin collection given to me by an old relative which I want to sell, I don't have a lot of interest in them and have no idea of the values. Could somebody here please suggest the best way for me to do this, woul I be better to sell on internet as a job lot, single or go to local dealer maybe. Hope you can advise, many thanks.

[TomGoodheart]

I think without knowing a bit more it's difficult to give good advice, I'm afraid. Firstly, we need to know whether this is a 'collection' (which will usually have been stored carefully, possibly with records or notes of what's there and possibly consisting of coins that have been bought to be part of the collection) or the more frequently encountered 'accumulation' (which is a load of coins someone has picked out of change and put aside over time in things like jars, boxes and tins).

While there may be coins of interest to collectors in an accumulation, it will take time to sort through and the number of coins will decide whether it's worth the work. On the other hand if someone has spent time and effort to track down their coins, there's a better chance it will be of interest. But even then it's not guaranteed, because the value of coins (both financial and interest) usually depends on the condition of the things (with those that have circulated less and so are less worn, generally worth more), how they have been stored, whether they have been cleaned (best not) and so on.

Do you have a camera? If you could post a few photos of the (maybe 3 best?) nicer looking coins that might give people an idea of grade (condition/wear) or if you can identify the coins a short list ("half crowns, all pre-1920 - 15 of them" sort of thing) ...

Then it'll be easier to decide whether a dealer (who are generally interested only in collections of things with metal value, such as silver (remember, pre-1920 silver coins are silver, 50% silver between 1920 and 1946 and after that they are just cupro-nickel), ebay (you can make better money by splitting into smaller amounts or individual coins, but it takes time) or a local auction house (though often these things can be listed as "biscuit tin filled with coins, various" and just go for a few quid) might be best.

Alternatives are also, car boot sales, donate to a school for 'historical' interest or an elderly people's home (nostalgia) or find a youngster that might want to use as the basis of a collection (though not as popular a hobby as it used to be I'm afraid!).

Edited January 14, 2013 by TomGoodheart

[buddybear]

wow that's great advice thankyou very much. I will take a couple of pics to give you an idea. the coins are just in a tub stored in my cupboard it is such a waste and none of them have been cleaned as I was told not to clean them, is that correct? there are a lot of pre 1920 coins some better condition than others. there is a mixture of coins with holes in, old pennys, cents, hong kong, and various other currencys. Ill post a couple of pics if that's ok. thanks again.

[declanwmagee]

Personally I like nothing more than looking through peoples accumulations. The thrill of the chase. Nine times out of ten it's a load of old junk, but just the other day, I spent an evening helping someone do exactly what you're trying to do, BuddyBear.

Even if it is a load of old junk, what people generally appreciate is advice on how to group the coins to sell on eBay, how to do decent photos, and so on. I tend to fish out interesting dates for them and keep them separate too. For instance, this chap the other night had a couple of hundred silver threepences fished out of circulation in, I imagine, the '40s, so I separated them into three piles for him:

pre-1920

half a dozen 1928 and 1930

all the rest

there we are... three lots for eBay. Basic stuff for most of us, I know, but good barterable knowledge to most non-coinies.

I did find something useful in the accumulation, which made the couple of hours worth my while...

1864 upper serif in a healthy enough VF

[buddybear]

heres a few pics, ive put a few out on the paper so you get the idea.

[buddybear]

Thanks for the reply Declan, that's what I need some advice lol. That's a nice looking coin by the way.

[declanwmagee]

Well it's all about condition, BB, and that picture I put up is more or less the minimum grade likely to appeal to any serious collector, even for a tricky date like 1864. I can't see anything in your pictures that comes close, I'm afraid!

Best bet is to start making piles:

There may be some expertise here on foreign or decimal stuff, but it's not me, so this is for British predecimal only:

1) Bronze 1937-1967

2) Nickel-brass threepences 1937-1967

3) Cupronickel (silver colour but not silver) 1947-1967

4) Bronze 1902-1936

5) Silver 1920-1946

6) Silver pre-1920

7) Bronze 1860-1901

I did notice a copper farthing in there, so...

8) Copper pre-1860

That's stage one.

Stage two is fishing out some scarcer dates, if there are any.

[Peckris]

heres a few pics, ive put a few out on the paper so you get the idea.

Your pictures aren't there for me, buddy, just a small blue square with a ? in.

And now I've replied, suddenly they are there!!

Edited January 14, 2013 by Peckris

[buddybear]

Well it's all about condition, BB, and that picture I put up is more or less the minimum grade likely to appeal to any serious collector, even for a tricky date like 1864. I can't see anything in your pictures that comes close, I'm afraid!

Best bet is to start making piles:

There may be some expertise here on foreign or decimal stuff, but it's not me, so this is for British predecimal only:

1) Bronze 1937-1967

2) Nickel-brass threepences 1937-1967

3) Cupronickel (silver colour but not silver) 1947-1967

4) Bronze 1902-1936

5) Silver 1920-1946

6) Silver pre-1920

7) Bronze 1860-1901

I did notice a copper farthing in there, so...

8) Copper pre-1860

That's stage one.

Stage two is fishing out some scarcer dates, if there are any.

Thank you very much I will do that, thanks for the advice. I was just flicking through some and picked out one of the early ones, it is an 1850 half crown according to google but this one has brittania on the reverse instead of the coats of arms, do you know anything about that?

[Peckris]

Well it's all about condition, BB, and that picture I put up is more or less the minimum grade likely to appeal to any serious collector, even for a tricky date like 1864. I can't see anything in your pictures that comes close, I'm afraid!

Best bet is to start making piles:

There may be some expertise here on foreign or decimal stuff, but it's not me, so this is for British predecimal only:

1) Bronze 1937-1967

2) Nickel-brass threepences 1937-1967

3) Cupronickel (silver colour but not silver) 1947-1967

4) Bronze 1902-1936

5) Silver 1920-1946

6) Silver pre-1920

7) Bronze 1860-1901

I did notice a copper farthing in there, so...

8) Copper pre-1860

That's stage one.

Stage two is fishing out some scarcer dates, if there are any.

Thank you very much I will do that, thanks for the advice. I was just flicking through some and picked out one of the early ones, it is an 1850 half crown according to google but this one has brittania on the reverse instead of the coats of arms, do you know anything about that?

The copper penny (pre-bronze) was approximately the size of a halfcrown, had Britannia on the reverse, and could have been artificially silvered. Unfortunately, there were none minted in 1850, nor even copper halfpennies. Can you upload a picture of it?

[buddybear]

yes certainly, here you go.

[Rob]

Farthing

[scott]

most of that is foriegn, some interesting looking things there but cant see much

[declanwmagee]

Farthing

Yes! A halfcrown is a big half-ounce lump of silver - it'd stand out a mile amongst your others!

[buddybear]

ok cool, thanks guys. think im goin to take them to the local coin shop tomorrow see what they will give me for them all.

[Peter]

I think you maybe disappointed

[declanwmagee]

I think you maybe disappointed

Very.

[Peckris]

ok cool, thanks guys. think im goin to take them to the local coin shop tomorrow see what they will give me for them all.

I was just about to get really excited when someone pointed out it was a farthing! (I hadn't realised you didn't know the difference between the size of a farthing and a halfcrown - just for the record, a halfcrown easily beats the size of today's tiddly 50p, but is probably about the same size as one of the older larger 50p's)

[buddybear]

I know I am no expert lol, although I have just been offered £100 for just one of the coins so not a bad start I think...

[Sword]

I know I am no expert lol, although I have just been offered £100 for just one of the coins so not a bad start I think...

Did you take the offer? Which one (if you still have got it)?

[buddybear]

no not yet it was a local dealer in ludlow im going to see him tomorrow, he spotted one he wanted on a pic, a chinese coin has kirin province wrote on it.

[declanwmagee]

Crikey.

[1949threepence]

hi I have an old coin collection given to me by an old relative which I want to sell, I don't have a lot of interest in them and have no idea of the values. Could somebody here please suggest the best way for me to do this, woul I be better to sell on internet as a job lot, single or go to local dealer maybe. Hope you can advise, many thanks.

Well done on the £100 offer. That's great news.

We often see collections similar to yours, on here, and they are mainly, if not exclusively, junk status items. Interesting to sort through, as Declan said, but worthless for the most part. Sometimes though, you do turn up a rare item or something in a relatively unworn state.

Most of us on here aren't experts on foreign coins.

[1949threepence]

Personally I like nothing more than looking through peoples accumulations. The thrill of the chase. Nine times out of ten it's a load of old junk, but just the other day, I spent an evening helping someone do exactly what you're trying to do, BuddyBear.

Even if it is a load of old junk, what people generally appreciate is advice on how to group the coins to sell on eBay, how to do decent photos, and so on. I tend to fish out interesting dates for them and keep them separate too. For instance, this chap the other night had a couple of hundred silver threepences fished out of circulation in, I imagine, the '40s, so I separated them into three piles for him:

pre-1920

half a dozen 1928 and 1930

all the rest

there we are... three lots for eBay. Basic stuff for most of us, I know, but good barterable knowledge to most non-coinies.

I did find something useful in the accumulation, which made the couple of hours worth my while...

1864 upper serif in a healthy enough VF

That looks to be not far off EF, Declan, with shield virtually intact and good hair detail. Neat find.

[declanwmagee]

That looks to be not far off EF, Declan, with shield virtually intact and good hair detail. Neat find.

Really? Now this is important. I've got it booked in as a VF, but even if I only bump it up to VF+ it becomes my most valuable coin. At VF it's only No. 18!

Votes on grade would be very welcome!