Expert: Joe Hylas - 6/12/2006

Question
I have taken on the challenge of doing something with my great-uncles coin collection.  He was recently moved into an assisted living center and has no children.  He has an incredibly large coin collection, but none of them have been stored properly.  The loose coins are in boxes and tin cans.  There are also many proof sets.  I haven't gotten far with any of it.  Where do I start?  He tells me many of these coins are worth hundreds of dollars, but I don't know.  What is my best chance of getting a fair market value for these?  I have begun dabbling on ebay, but don't know if that is my best route.  What suggestions do you have?  Thanks, Julie

Answer
Hi Julie,

Wow, you have a big job ahead of you!  To the inexperienced, this could take you many months and even then, you may not be done or have the correct information.

What I suggest is this:
Start with items like proof sets that are easily recognizable and create an inventory.  From there, sort the coins into denominations and begin inventorying them starting with the highest denomination as that is where the bulk of the value probably will be.

I will help you.  If you email me the inventory to OMEGAPM@aol.com, I will review it and give you a range of value.  Without actually inspecting the coins, I can't give you an exact value.  But if it is something that my company is interested in, we can take it from there.  If the collection warrants, I will fly in to review it.

Regards,
Joe Hylas