Oakton Coins and Collectibles is one of the highest rated coin shops near Elmhurst.
If you are considering selling your coins, you have come to the right place. Oakton Coins and Collectibles understands that selling a single coin or a whole coin collection can be an extremely daunting task. Whether you are a lifetime coin collector or have recently inherited a coin collection, when it comes time to sell your coins, you have many options. Oakton Coins and Collectibles can simplify the process.
Understanding how to sell coins around Elmhurst.
When it comes to selling coins, you need to take a lot of factors into account. For instance, your coins could simply be worth face value, or they could be worth a significant amount of money. People do not always collect only valuable coins; often, they collect low-value or face-value coins for other reasons. But no matter the size or value of your collection, we are here to help.
Sometimes people sell their whole collection. Other times, they sell the valuable parts and split up the rest between siblings. Maybe you have a small collection without a lot of monetary value and someone young in your family would appreciate it.
Often, people bring us their coins carefully arranged by date and decade, usually placed in separate Ziploc bags or paper envelopes/coin tubes. You might be tempted to do this, but it’s not worth the effort.
When we appraise a collection, the first thing we do is separate coins by their composition (e.g. copper, nickel, silver, or gold). If you must organize your collection, put it into these groups:
- Gold coins
- 9o% silver dollars (1878 through 1935)
- 9o% silver dimes, quarters, and half dollars (1892 through 1964)
- 40% silver JFK half dollars (1965 through 1970)
- Lincoln Wheat Cents (1909 through 1958)
- Buffalo Nickels (1913 through 1938)
- Jefferson Nickels (1938 and later)
- All other obsolete U.S. type coins
- U.S. Mint proof and uncirculated sets
- U.S. Mint commemorative sets
- Currency and paper money
- Foreign coins/tokens
Interesting coins are available for purchase in every budget range, so ask yourself the following questions to help determine the value of the collection you want to sell:
Can you determine how much money the collector spent or how regularly the owner bought? Can you find any bills of sale, invoices, or canceled checks from dealers or auction firms? Do you have an insurance policy or a will with instructions?
This information may be helpful, but you can’t completely depend on any of it. The value of coins (and collectible paper money), like the value of anything else, is what a willing buyer will pay a willing seller. This amount is never a fixed figure, as the market fluctuates in varying degrees and at unpredictable rates.
Pricing your collection to sell around Elmhurst.
Ninety-nine percent of the time, you will not receive the value listed in any of the pricing guides that you may reference when you sell coins. The guides are just that: a guide to help you establish the price range you can reasonably expect for a coin. Most consumer guides show extremely inflated values.
Some coin selling terms to keep in mind; Clickbait Pricing, Real-World Pricing, Melt Value Pricing, Numismatics Pricing.
Clickbait Pricing: Wikipedia defines “clickbait” as web content that is aimed at generating online advertising revenue, especially at the expense of quality or accuracy. This pricing relies on sensationalist headlines to attract click-throughs. Click-throughs refer to when the reader clicks a link to go through to the next stage of the bait. Clickbait makers love to post about how common coins could be worth big money, but in reality their claims are almost never valid.
Real-World Pricing: This refers to actual money changing hands. This pricing reflects amounts that have actually been paid, not just advertised, so it’s true market value. Everything else is just a bunch of words and ideas about the worth. Any coin is only worth what someone will pay for it, and collectors usually focus on rarity and condition to determine monetary value.
Melt Value Pricing: Prior to 1965, the majority of United States coins contained either gold or silver (with a few exceptions). Any selling premium on top of the melt value comes from the Numismatic Value.
Numismatics: Numismatics is the study of coins, paper currency, and metals. Coin rarity and condition drive the prices that collectors will pay. Regardless of the metal composition of the coin, some coins have a very high numismatic value.
Places NOT to sell coins around Elmhurst.
- Jewelry Stores and Pawn Shops – They usually only understand the precious metal part of the gold/silver coins, and they pay only a small percentage of that price.
- Ebay – Many coins are sold on EBay every day, But it can be very risky, time consuming, and costly. Click here for more information.
Sell coins near me – sell coins locally – Elmhurst.
Oakton Coins is conveniently located right near 94 West (Kennedy) near downtown Skokie (very close to Chicago), and less than two blocks from the Oakton stop on the Yellow Line CTA (Skokie Swift). It is within minutes of downtown Chicago, Rogers Park, Evanston, Lincolnwood, Niles, Park Ridge, Deerfield, Morton Grove, Des Plaines, Glencoe, Highland Park, Glenview, Northbrook, Elk Grove Village, Naperville, Northfield, Northbrook, Palatine, Arlington Heights, Barrington, Brookfield, Elmhurst, Franklin Park, Glencoe, Highland Park, Hoffman Estates, La Grange, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Lincolnshire, Lombard, Oak Brook, Oak Park, Prospect Heights, Wheaton, Wheeling, Winnetka, Portage Park, Forest Glen and Schaumburg.
Glossary of numismatic terms, P 1/2;
P – A mintmark used to indicate coins struck at the primary mint in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Panama-Pacific Exhibition – An exhibition held in San Francisco, California, in 1915 to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal.
Pan-Pac – A shortened term for Panama-Pacific Exhibition.
Pan-Pac Slug – A common name for either the octagonal or the round 1915-dated Panama-Pacific $50 commemorative coins.
Paper Money – Another term for currency.
Paper Money Guaranty – A third-party paper money grading service located in Sarasota, Florida.
Patina – A green or brown surface film found on ancient copper and bronze coins caused by oxidation over a long period of time. Sometimes used to refer to toning of any hue.
Pattern – A trial or experimental coin, typically a new design, denomination, size, or metal. Patterns were also often struck in metals other than that originally proposed.
PCDA – An abbreviation for the Professional Currency Dealers Association.
PCGS – An abbreviation for Professional Coin Grading Service, a third party grading service located in Newport Beach, CA.
PCGS Doily Holder – A PCGS Slab with PCGS printed in an interlocking pattern resembling a doily.
PCGS Population Report – A quarterly reference published by PCGS listing the number of coins graded by PCGS and their grades.
PCGS Regency Holder – A large holder that was used by PCGS for special collections.
Peace Dollar – The common name used for the silver dollar designed by Anthony De Francisci. These were struck from 1921 to 1935 to commemorate the peace that followed World War 1. The 1921 coins featured a High Relief design; in 1922 the relief was lowered to a Regular Relief which was used until the end of the design in 1935.
Pedigree – The listing of a coin’s current owner plus all known previous owners.
Penny – A common term for a 1-cent United States coin.
Peripheral Toning – Coloring around the edge of a coin, which can range from light to dark.
PF – An alternate abbreviation for Proof.
Philadelphia Mint – The primary United States mint, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, established in 1792.
Pinhole – On a piece of paper money, a tiny hole made by a metal pin. In the 19th century in particular, before the paper clip came into use, a metal pin was used to attach a bill to a letter or document, or to fasten several notes together for storage or transit. In in other instances, travelers sometimes stitched bills to the lining of a coat by a thread, for security, this creating pinholes.
Pioneer Gold – A term for privately issued gold coins struck prior to 1861 . Generally associated with the private issues from California and other post-1848 ore finds in Nevada, Oregon, and Colorado.
PL – An abbreviation for prooflike.
Plain Edge – A flat, smooth edge seen mainly on small-denomination coinage, such as the nickel.
Planchet – The blank piece of metal on which a coin design is stamped. Also called a blank.
Planchet Defect – Any defects on a coin caused by an imperfect planchet being struck.
Planchet Flaw – An irregular hole in a coin blank, usually the result of a lamination that has broken away.
Planchet Striations – Fine, incuse lines usually resulting from polishing blanks, typically found on some Proof coins.
Plated – A coin that has been coated with a thin layer of metal. For example, gold-plated copper strikings of certain U.S. pattern coins.
Platinum – A precious metal infrequently used for coinage. The only United States issues struck in platinum are the pattern half dollars of 1814 and the modern platinum Eagles.
Plugged – A coin that has had a hole filled. Typically they are so expertly done that it can only be discerned under magnification.
PMG – An abbreviation for Paper Money Guaranty.
P-Mint – A term for coins struck at the main mint in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
PNG – Abbreviation for Professional Numismatists Guild.
PNG Certificate – A document that guarantees authenticity and is issued to a coin owner, a duplicate of which is kept on file at PNG. This certificate is completed by a PNG dealer prior to third-party grading services.
PO – Abbreviation for Poor.
Polished Coin – A coin that has been buffed or subjected to some other treatment to give it a mirrorlike surface, after it was struck. A polished coin is a damaged coin.
Polished Die – The term for a die that has been basined to remove clash marks or other die injury. Proof dies were basined to impart mirrorlike surfaces, resulting in coins with reflective fields.
Political Token – A metallic (usually) token issued in connection with a local, state, national, or other political candidate or in connection with a political movement or situation. Example: tokens dated 1837 satirizing President Andrew Jackson.
Polyvinyl Chloride – A chemical used to make coin flips pliable, but which also causes some coins to turn green.
Poor – A grading term that describes a coin with a readable date and mintmark, but little more. Barely identifiable as to type but not horribly damaged (such as holes). This is also abbreviated as PO. The numerical equivalent associated with Poor is PO-1.
Pop Report – A slang term for a roster published by a commercial grading service, showing how many coins have been graded and at what levels. Also known as a population report.
Population – The total number of coins that have been certified within a particular grade by a given grading service.
Porous – A descriptive term for a rough or granular surface, typically seen on pre-1816 copper coins.
Porthole Note – A common name for the $5 Series of 1923 Silver Certificates. The face depicts a portrait of Lincoln surrounded by a heavy frame which resembles a ship’s porthole.
PQ – An abbreviation for premium quality.
PR – An abbreviation for Proof.