Hi all,
I need some help, and thought this would be a good place to start.
I have inherited a collection of gold coins, and would like to sell
them. Would any of the Orchid members be able to point me in the
right direction? Any pointers would be great, what do I
need to have on hand about the coins, etc… basically, how does this
work??
Apologies if this is too far off topic. Mods - feel free to delete.
Thanks,
Lynn
There are 2 things to consider when valuing a gold coin, its
intrinsic value (gold content) and it collector value (rarity and
condition). the second one will determine its collector value-
basically gold coins with any wear on them are only valuable if they
are rare otherwise they are sold for a small premium on their gold
value. Look up the coins in a copy of KRAUSE (standard catalogue of
world coins, this will list the coins by country, year, mintage etc.
It also has details of the size, gold content and weight of each coin
type. The value given is what a coin dealer would sell you the coin
in that grade for.
If your coin shows anything other than slight wear you need to
consider the weight and fineness of the gold as this is basically
what you would get from a dealer of bullion. If buying a coin you
would probably pay a premium on the gold value of about 10% or less
and selling you will get close to the gold value. Buying and selling
bullion coins to jewelry stores will give wider margins on the
buy/sell. So selling to a refiner/jewelry store will give you
slightly under the gold value which leaves them a small profit
margin on the melt. If you are offered considerably less than the
gold value go elsewhere
Nick Royall
I recently sold some gold coins also. I called Hauser & Miller in
Saint Louis and they told me that the numismatic value of the coins
was greater than the gold. They advised me to contact some coin
dealers in St. Louis. Took them in to a couple of them to get some
idea of the value. Scotsman in St. Louis has a good reputation, so I
went by their evaluation. First did some searching on Google on my
own through so I had some knowledge of what I doing.
RW
First of all, keep each coin separate, so that the surfaces are not
further damaged. There are coin books, and a lot of on-line
on pricing. Some coins have only bullion value, many are
more rare and can be worth more than the gold content. A collection
can be more valuable than the individual coins as well.
I highly recommend Rebecca Clay at the Coin Broker in Palo Alto at
650-323-8101
Carina