Expert: Bruce Goldstein - 2/19/2008

Question
I have a lot of misc old coins.Morgan dollars,silver,halfs
quarters dimes nickles.I want to sell these.I asked one coin dealer in my area about value,he said he purchases coins by the ounce.Is this the best way to get a good price on my coins.Thanks,Greg

Answer
First off, you probably want to get a list of dates and mint marks for all these coins.  Buy a Redbook (Guide to United States Coins by Yeoman - 2009) and get an idea as far as relative retail.  You will likely get nothing too close to those values when you sell, however, you might discover that you have something that commands a much higher premium than it's simple bullion value.

Morgan dollars in general, unless they're very worn or dated 1921, should sell for a bit above bullion.  It's quite possible that all of your other silver material is generic enough to not mandate any value above bullion.

Your best bet to get the highest amount you can for your coins is to go to a local coin show and shop them around for the best offer.  Dealers will usually offer something like 9-times, 10-times, or whatever-times face meaning if it's a silver quarter and 10X face, they'll give you $2.50 for it.

I hope this helps.