Expert: Brad Swain - 12/5/2009

Question
I have just become the receiver of a large coin collection that belonged to my grand father and I need to identify, and find the value of the coins. I have never collected coins and know very little about how to go about organizing and determining their value. I would greatly appreciate any advice you could give me in order to get me started in this endeavor. Thank you so much

Answer
Hi Jerry, Collector value of a coin depends on denomination (face value), date, mint mark (if any), number minted and condition of a coin, including amount of wear, any dents, scratches or cleaning as well as collector demand for it.
If you start by listing them by Country, Denomination, and Date, you can visit the following sites to get a range of value estimates.
U.S. coin prices for professionally graded coins: http://www.pcgs.com/prices/
and ungraded coins: http://www.bestcoin.com/united-states-coin-pricing-guide.htm .
Ungraded coins (raw) are worth less depending on amount of wear and collector demand.
World coin pictures may be found here: http://worldcoingallery.com/index.htm ,
http://www.coinarchives.com/ , and http://www.numismaster.com/ta/numis.jsp .
You might also try a library for a copy of the Guidebook of United States Coins and Standard Catalog of World Coins for pictures, values and lots more interesting info.
Brad