Where to Sell Your Coins
OK you've spent years possibly decades creating a collection. Or maybe you've just inherited a few coins from Grandma, Grandpa, or your Aunt Mildred.
Whatever the case may be you are interested in trading them in for for cash. Let me first tell you what not to do. Don't take them to a pawn shop, don't take them to a "Cash 4 Gold" type of store (unless they are Cull), and for heavens sake..don't spend them at face value.
First things first you need to find out how much your coins are worth. After you read this article use our site to manage your coin collection. Other options include picking up the Red Book (link fixed).
Do Not Clean Your Coins! Cleaing them automatically makes them worth less. A coin with a few small dings that has not been cleaned is worth more than a coin that has no dings, but has been cleaned.
Once you've gone through and figured out what your coins are valued at in a healthy market you will need to find a place to sell them. Rather than posting them on craigslist we suggest you sell them on a coin marketplace, or take them by your local coin dealer.
Let's look at the 3 main ways to sell your coins.
- 1.) Sell to a Coin Shop - Now the coin dealer is going to buy them for less than they are worth, and this is normal. If the guy/gal running the coin shop bought them for fair value then he couldn't sell them and make a profit. They are running a business, not a charity right? So how much less is the guy going to offer you? Well between 20%-40% less to give a fair range. Please allow the owner to explain why he is offering what he is offering, and if you think something stinks just leave. No big deal. Most shop owners however tend to be fair assuming you go there expecting to receive slightly less than the coins true value. If you are looking to get rid of lots of coins, really fast, then a coin shop may be a good solution. Don't be afraid to let the owners know (politely) that you are shopping the coins around to various shops.
- 2.) Physical Auction - You may want to find an auction and see if the auction house is interested in listing your collection. They will of course charge a fee either flat or a percentage of the sale value usually.
- 3.) Online Auction or Marketplace - This may be the best option in general for those who wish to get the most for their coins, and are not limited by time constraints. Selling your coins one at a time, over months and possibly years is the best way to get the most for your coin or coin collection. But where? We highly advise against using eBay or feeBay as many people call it. The fees to list and sell a coin on eBay are on the verge of outrageous. Just trust us on this one. Unless you are an expereinced eBay user skip them. So where do you sell online? We've listed a few sites below that are trustworthy fair alternatives to feeBay.
Fair Coin Markets
Great Collections
Found online at GreatCollections.com this site allows you to sell your coins with low fees. 0% for coins over $1,000 or 5% for coins under $1,000. They also offer grading, storage, and a healthy marketplace as of early 2013.
Teletrade
Found online at Teletrade.com this site also allows you to sell your coins with low fees, and offers a nice consignment option. They also offer cash advances, but we are not sure how this works, and so we suggest against it.
Heritage Auctions
Found online at Coins.Ha.com Heritage sells is the largest in terms of overall sales. They sell nearly 1 billion dollars worth of items (not just coins) each year. They are the 600lb koala in the room.
In Closing...
We hope that we have been able help point you in the right direction in terms of giving you a better ability to properly sell your coins, and hopefully get as much money as possible for them. Again be sure use our site to manage your coin collection. It's totally free, and very easy to use. It also has a nice feature that tells you how much the your total collection is valued at. Thanks for reading.
-