
While dealing in old coins is just a hobby for some people, for some it means pure business. If you happen to belong to the second category, and are having a tough time trying to figure out how you can sell the old silver coins from your collection, the following information on dealing in old coins will make this task considerably easy for you.
The trend of selling old coins for financial gains has become quite popular over the last decade or so, with the demand for these rare coins increasing by a significant extent. Basically, the value of any metal depends on its availability, with the simple rule of the thumb being – rarer the metal, more valuable the coin made from this metal is. At present, silver is considered to be one of the most precious metals in the world owing to its relatively rare nature. Mining of silver has decreased considerably of late, and most of what is available today is obtained as a by-product from mining of other metals.
While the rare nature of silver has been a driving factor when defining its value, the increasing use of this metal has also contributed to the same to a great extent. In such a situation, selling old coins made of silver is no doubt a perfect way to make some quick money. While the coins with numismatic value can fetch you a fortune, non-numismatic value coins can also earn you a decent sum of money. If you intend to sell silver coins for cash, there exist quite a few ways to do so – ranging from direct deal with a licensed dealer to auctioning on the Internet.
American Numismatic Association Coin Grading Scale |
Perfect Uncirculated (MS-70) |
Choice Uncirculated (MS-65) |
Uncirculated (MS-60) |
Choice About Uncirculated (AU-55) |
About Uncirculated (AU-50) |
Choice Extremely Fine (EF-45) |
Extremely Fine (EF-40) |
Choice Very Fine (VF-30) |
Very Fine (VF-20) |
Fine (F-12) |
Very Good (VG-8) |
Good (G-4) |
About Good (AG-3) |
Selling Old Silver Coins
When you plan to sell old coins made of silver, you need to take a few things into consideration. The foremost thing to do, is to carry out some research about the prevailing market condition, the price of silver, value of old coins, etc. Second step is to grade the coins that you intend to sell before putting them up for sale in order to get a fair estimate of the value of these coins. Grades range from About Good (AG-3) to Perfect Uncirculated (MS-70). If you plan to sell these coins to dealers who deal in old coins, they will themselves determine the grade of these coins before buying them. If you plan to sell them on some online auction website, you will have to either grade these coins yourself or get them graded from a professional.
Value of Old Silver Coins
In order to estimate the value of these coins, you can also refer to the U.S. Coins Red Book, at times simply referred to as the ‘Red Book’ for its cover color, which has the value of all the coins to have been ever minted in the United States of America enlisted in it. While the price of a non-numismatic old silver coin will be determined with respect to ‘old silver coin value’, a collectible old silver coin will be priced in accordance to its numismatic value – which, in turn, will be based on how rare it is.
Sell Old Coins to the Dealer
Yet another convenient way for selling old silver coins, and that too without having to compromise on returns, is to auction them. You can approach your nearest auction house or a coin show to sell your old silver coins. This method though, will only work when the coins you intend to sell are genuinely rare. For instance, if you try to sell some Colonial silver coin belonging to the 17th century, you will find many enthusiasts rallying after you to buy it. In such cases, professional auctioneers can help you to get the maximum returns after selling these coins. Deriving the maximum value from a given item is their job, and they are well-versed with it. So you can cash in on such an opportunity by taking the help of these professionals. You can also auction your coins on online auctioning websites, but this can be quite risky, and hence you have to be very careful when opting for this method.
The two main factors which play an important role in dealing with old silver coins are the scarcity of these coins and the rising price of silver. After doing some research on the prevailing market condition and taking into consideration these methods of selling silver coins, you will be able to decide which of these methods is ideal for you. Once you know which method of selling old coins is ideal for you, you can simply go ahead with the deal without further delay. You never know, the old coins you possess may fetch you a fortune you never imagined.