Large collection

[Mackaydon]

You asked what makes certain (Mercury) dimes so special. The initial answer is their rarity. For example, the 1916-D dime had a mintage of 264,000. Compare that to the mintage of the other extreme in the series--the 1944 (plain) dime-- at over 231 million. Demand, condition and existing population (current known supply) are additional factors.
Don...

 

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[Diver_Down]

go to my feedback page and look it isnt posted 30 or so times. further more ive only posted ONE pic of the collection and it wasn't of any mason jars

BMan- Diggin-N-Dumps wasn't referring to you. He was referring to the BS stories of "Grandpa's Collection" that so many eBay resellers use as a ploy to make ordinary coins seem more desirable.

 

[sagittarius98]

You can PM me on any foreign coins. I have great resources for them.

 

[Generic_Lad]

I'd sort your collection into a few categories.

1) Junk silver (90%). This is where the non-key, non-high grade coins go, along with common coins (1964 Kennedy halves) that are only worth their silver melt value. At current prices of silver a good rule of thumb is 22-24 times face value. So, for example 4 worn silver quarters would sell for ~$22. However, when in doubt don't sell it for junk, you don't want to sell a "key date" for scrap silver! Use the Red Book as a guide (and learn how to grade decently) and see what the prices are, if you've got something with more silver value than collector value, you'd sell it for scrap silver. This is going to be the easiest to sell, you can call around and see what prices they are paying per $1 face and they should tell you even without seeing the coins. You can usually get close to spot on Craigslist if you want to go that route too.

2) Junk silver (40%) Kennedy half dollars dated 1965-1970 are 40% silver and worth about $4.50-$5 depending on the spot price of silver. Unless these coins are in mint packaging, they really don't bring a premium over junk silver. You can sell these in the same avenue as other junk silver.

3) Junk silver (35%) 1942-1945 nickels WITH a large P, D or S over the Monticello are worth about $1.80 in scrap silver regardless of the condition. However, higher grade pieces do command a (substantial) premium over junk silver. Keep in mind though that there are 1942 nickels without the large mintmark, these are not silver.

4) Spendable junk. This includes things like common-variety Susan B. Anthony dollars that are NOT in mint packaging (if your coin is in mint packaging it, generally, is worth more than face) and Kennedy half dollars dated 1971-present that are NOT in mint packaging. If you've got circulated Bicentennial quarters and halves, those are only worth face value. Keep in mind though that even though a coin is not silver it still may have collector value if it is in mint state.

5) Circulated, non-key pieces worth more than face and either not silver, or worth more than melt. This includes things like no-date or partial-date non-key Buffalo nickels, most Barber coins and silver dollars (even worn silver dollars will often fetch higher prices than Junk silver will on eBay), also wheat pennies that aren't key dates and Indian head pennies would fall into this category. These are harder to sell.

6) Better-grade, non-key pieces worth more than face/melt. This includes things like full-date buffalo nickels, Standing Liberty Quarters dated 1917-1924 with a readable date, uncirculated wheats/Indian heads, etc. These are easier to sell than circulated ones, but still harder to sell than junk silver.

7) Stuff in mint packaging. You're going to have to go though these pieces individually, but in general things in mint packaging go higher than just plain junk, and usually higher than face.

8) Key dates. Key dates are the cream of the crop and are highly desirable coins because of their rarity. Examples of key dates include (but certainly aren't limited to)

1916-D Mercury dime
1942/1 (D) Mercury dime
1916 Standing Liberty Quarter
1928 (no mintmark) Peace Dollar
1909-S VDB Wheat penny
1914-D wheat penny

These you should handle VERY carefully because their value does not come from any intrinsic silver or gold but from collectors. Whatever you do DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CLEAN A KEY DATE COIN (or any coin for that matter) you can easily turn a $500 coin into a $50 coin with a cleaning.

If you discover you've got a key date coin, post a picture and we can help you grade it and determine a value for it. Many collectors choose to "slab" high-grade key dates and have them professionally graded and encapsulated by NGC or PCGS, this can often boost their value if you have a high grade coin (the difference between an MS-63 and a MS-64 can be hundreds of dollars!)

 

[bman3725]

Oh thanks Diver Down.
Lad that's some good info thanks

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

go to my feedback page and look it isnt posted 30 or so times. further more ive only posted ONE pic of the collection and it wasn't of any mason jars

Hey BMan...I wasnt talking about you personally..lol...I was talkgin about a woman i used to see on ebay like 5 years ago that always had some crazy bizzare stories about the coins she was selling...I stated that in my orginal thread

 

[bman3725]

No problem D-N-D
I think diver down cleared it up already. I laughed when I realized what you meant. Its all good my friend

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

No problem D-N-D
I think diver down cleared it up already. I laughed when I realized what you meant. Its all good my friend

oh cool, I know how emails/post get tricky ...Good luck !!!

 

[skeeterd]

I use pcgc's website photo grade to help grade coins. It will at least give you a general idea of what your coins grade at.

 

[SilverForBrains]

man if you've got five safety deposit boxes full of mercs, you've already made your fortune even if you don't have a single above spot coin!

 

[bman3725]

Skeeterd thanks for the web site lead its coming in handy.
SilverForBrains thanks