Coin Appraisals in Wilmington
We are happy to offer coin appraisals by appointment in the Greater Wilmington area.
What is a Coin Appraisal?
A coin appraisal is an opinion of a coin’s or a coin collection’s value by an individual. Unlike real estate appraisers, there are no classes or certifications that one must take in order to appraise a coin collection. An appraisal is essentially one person’s estimation of value of a coin or coin collection.
As you can imagine, coin appraisals can vary by appraiser depending on the coin appraiser’s experience and understanding of the current coin market. An appraisal is a snapshot in time of a coin or coin collection’s value and the appraisal can change over time along with the coin market – similar to the way that rare art can change value over time – either up or down. At the end of the day, it is important to understand that a coin is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.
Coin Appraisal Process
Before taking your coins to an appraiser, you should try to get an understanding of what you have. There are many available resources here on this website including a list of the most collected coins (Sell Coins Wilmington). Try to create a list of what you have (or what you think you have) and have it ready when you take your coins to an appraiser. This will allow the appraiser to quickly look through the list for any coins that may be of particular value.
When supplied by an appraisal client, I generally like to go through the list of coins first and pick out the coins that may be worth the most. Once identified, I will physically inspect the coins to make sure they are what was described. Some of the key factors in establishing value are the (1) coins condition; (2) year the coin was minted; (3) mint where the coin was produced; (4) number of coins produced for that year and mint; and (5) past sales of similar coins.
Once the more valuable coins are identified, I work my way through the rest of the coins and establish a fair market value for each.
Things NOT to do Before a Coin Appraisal
Unlike when you take your car to the lot for an appraisal, you never want to clean any coins before having them appraised. Believe it or not, a “dirty” coin is OK. The vast majority of the time, cleaning coins before an appraisal will only lower their value. An expert can usually tell when a coin has been cleaned even if it was done very gently and carefully. I made a post about cleaning coins HERE.
When handling your coins, it is OK to use your bare hands. Others might say that they use white gloves, but, the majority of the coin collecting community use well washed, dry, bare hands. Using gloves can hinder your grip on the coins and a dropped coin is often a damaged coin! Never pick up your coins by the flat surfaces (think areas where you may leave fingerprints), instead, pick up your coins gently by holding the rim (outer edge).
Where NOT to get a Coin Appraisal 
You will see many advertisements for “We Buy Gold” or “We Buy Silver” from bullion dealers or gold and silver refiners. These are the worst place to have a coin or coin collection appraised. As they state in their advertisements, they focus on the precious metals in the coins. Sometimes, coins are only worth the value of their precious metal content. MANY other times, the coins have a greater numismatic (collector) value above and beyond the precious metal content in them. Take a 1911-D $2.50 Indian Gold Quarter Eagle for instance, at the time of this post, the gold value in one of these coins is about $160 whereas the numismatic value can be in the thousands of dollars depending on the coin’s condition.
What to do After a Coin Appraisal
Once you have an accurate coin appraisal, it is up to you what you do next! If the coin or collection has sentimental value, it may be worth holding onto for future generations in your family to enjoy. Depending on the overall value, you may consider having the coin or collection properly insured in case of theft, fire, etc. For long term storage, you may want to invest in a fire and waterproof safe or a safe deposit box at your bank. If you decide to store your coins long-term, be sure to read my post HERE.
If you decide to sell the coin or collection after receiving an appraisal, you have many options. I have discussed Estate Coins HERE. Feel free to call us anytime to discuss coin appraisals or selling coins at 910-805-9616 or you can fill out the form on our Contact Page. If you are not in the Greater Wilmington area and would like a coin appraisal or would like an offer for the coins that you have please visit our Sell Coins Online page.