Re: New Collector Needs Help
Well you have plenty of options. For one thing, those sets are good $$, and can probably be traded for some really nice specimens, especially that many. Some of those sets could be worth good $$, especially the proof sets.
Yes, you should go through all the merc dimes. There are a few key dates you should look for, like the 42/1. It could be worth thousands if in good shape. Same with the wheaties, there are a lot that could be worth some good $$. It would be worth your effort to sort through the coins.
BUT FIRST!! First thing you need to do is get a red book. Brisk through the red book, looking at the prices of the merc dimes and wheaties, note which dates are key dates, or bring high values for F or better condition, and write those years/mint marks down. Read in the book how to define the errors, mint marks, etc and take note. Then go through your coins, keeping aside the key dates to check over more thoroughly later with a magnifine glass. Take out the high value coins and get ahold of PCGS to see about bulk grading services. It will have you $$ if you grade a bunch of coins at once. After getting the key dates out, you can just toss aside most of the mercs, unless they're in really good shape. Check the bands on the back, if all of the bands are there on most of the coins, then you'll be able to fetch a decent price for them, selling them as a whole lot. Same with the wheaties.
Then after you get done with that (3 weeks later!), you can see about trading some of the coins for good coins, or selling them and buying coins you like. If you decide to sell the coins you might see about finding someone to buy the whole set at once. Get a good price for all the graded coins and sets, then figure out a decent price for the rest of the "junk" coins. The mercs will fetch something like 2x face value because of their silver content. Weaties will be around the same I guess, depends on who your selling to.
If you want to get coins that are investment coins look into Morgan $$'s, anything from CC, or any gold coins. They usually retain their value over time. A good idea is to hit pawn shops and flea markets looking for key dates that are being sold for cheap because the seller doesn't know coins.
You'll learn really fast reading through that red book what is good and what isn't. Especially going through all your coins. It's a really easy way to get a good feel for the industry. Also, error coins are a great investment. Learn as much as you can about errors, and keep an eye out for them when going through the collection.
If you want, you can get an idea of what some of these coins can be worth browsing through this site:
http://www.pcgs.com/prices/
Best of luck with things, this is the same exact way I got into all of this. Selling off a large collection for someone. The good news is that it's pretty easy to establish prices for coins, unlike the baseball card industry. Always use PCGS for grading, they're the best, and most trusted company in the industry. They'll fetch the highest prices. Hope this helps you some. If you live in Central AZ I'd love to help you sort this out.
