Oakton Coins & Collectibles is one of the highest rated coin shops near Lincolnshire.
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 & Collectibles can simplify the process.
Understanding how to sell coins around Lincolnshire.
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 Lincolnshire.
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 Lincolnshire.
- 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 – Lincolnshire.
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, D;
G – An abbreviation for Good.
Galvano – The large metal relief used in the portrait lathe from which a hub is made.
Garrett, T. Harrison – A scion of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad fortune, Garrett developed an interest in numismatics while a student at Princeton circa 1864. By the time of his death (due to a boating accident in Chesapeake Bay) in 1888, he had the largest collection in private hands in America. This passed eventually to his son Robert then to another son John Work Garrett, who added to it. In 1942 it was gifted to The Johns Hopkins University. Selections from the Garrett Collection were sold by us in 1976 and 1979 through 1981, creating a sensation at the time, the total prices realized exceeded $25,000,000.
Garrett, John Work – Son of T. Harrison Garrett, he entered the ambassadorial service and served in a number of posts over a long period of years. In the late 1910s he acquired the family collection from his brother Robert, and added to it with auction and regular purchase. After his passing it was bequeathed to The Johns Hopkins University. Selections from the Garrett Collection were sold by us in 1976 and 1979 through 1981, creating a sensation at the time.
Garrett, Robert – Son of T. Harrison Garrett, Robert was a medalist in the first modern Olympics held in Athens in 1896. He was heir to the Garrett coin collection, which he kept through the 1910s, then passed it along to his brother John Work Garrett. In 1942 it was gifted to The Johns Hopkins University. Selections from the Garrett Collection were sold by us in 1976 and 1979 through 1981, creating a sensation at the time.
Gem – A descriptive term applied to coins of exceptionally high quality, typically considered Mint State-65 or Proof-65 or better.
Gem BU – An abbreviation for Gem Brilliant Uncirculated.
Gem Unc – An abbreviation for Gem Uncirculated.
Gem Uncirculated – A grading term reserved for coins of exceptional quality, grading Mint State 65 or 66.
Generic Coin – A typical or common coin of its type, in average or below average grade. The type of coin for which sight-unseen bid prices are often given.
German Silver – No one has ever been able to define “German silver,” although the term is widely used in numismatics. Variations have been called argentan, packfong, Feuchtwanger’s Composition, and American silver. This alloy found its main use in providing a cheap substitute for silver in tableware, ornamental articles, etc., and in several proposals for coinage. Generally, German silver contained large proportions of nickel and copper, but also sometimes zinc, lead, and tin. Elemental analysis of certain “German silver” tokens has reveals that some actually contained a small amount of silver. There were no standards.
Gobrecht – An shortened term for “Gobrecht dollar.”
Gobrecht Dollar – Silver dollars designed by Christian Gobrecht, at the time “second engraver” at the United States Mint. In 1840 he became chief engraver at that facility and remained in that position until his death in 1844. These were struck in 1836, 1838 and 1839 and were later restruck from the late 1850s to the 1870s.
Gold – Basic elemental metal. Gold coins were first minted for circulation in 1795 and last struck for circulation in 1933. From their inception copper was added for strength, standardized by the Act of January 18, 1837, as 90% gold and 10% copper. The copper added a warm rosy orange hue to the gold. Sometimes, silver was present as an “impurity,” particularly for metal brought from California after the Gold Rush, and such pieces have a generally lighter color. The specification of 10% allowed for copper allowed amounts of other metals as well, so long as the gold content remained at 90%.
Gold Certificate – Notes redeemable in gold coins including the denominations $10 to $10,000 in both large-size and small-size formats. The backs of the large size notes were printed in a gold color and the backs of the small-size notes were printed in a green color.
Gold Commem – A shortened term for gold commemorative.
Gold Commemorative – Two groups of coins are considered gold commemoratives. The first group is comprised of the 11 gold coins from the classic commemorative series, struck from 1903 to 1926 to honor a person, event or place. The second group is any of the modern United States commemorative gold issues, sometimes called modern gold commemoratives.
Gold Dollar – Small gold coins with a denomination of $1 struck from 1849 until 1889.
Gold Dust – Technically, raw or native gold in powdered or granular form, as mined or processed. Sometimes used in newspaper accounts to refer to gold bullion in general.
Good – A grading term that describes a coin with little detail but outlined major devices. On some coins the rims may be worn to the tops of some letters. This is also abbreviated as G. The numerical equivalents associated with Good are G-4 and G-6.
Grade – The condition or amount of wear that a coin or piece of paper money has received. Generally, the less wear a coin has received, the more valuable it is.
Grader – An expert who evaluates the condition of coins or paper money.
Grading – The method of numerically quantifying the condition of a coin or paper money.
Grading Service – A commercial enterprise that, for a fee, will encase a coin or piece of paper money in a holder or capsule and affix a notation as to an opinion of grade. Synonym: Certification service.
Gram – A metric unit of weight representing 1/1000 kilograms. There are 31.1033 grams per Troy ounce.
Grand Watermelon Note – A common term for the $1,000 Series of 1890 Treasury Notes. So-called for the three zeros on the back that resemble watermelons.
Green Bean – A nickname for the CAC acceptance sticker.
Greenback – A term for a piece of paper money that is printed in green on the back with a face value of $1 or higher. This is also an unofficial popular term for paper money from the United States in general, popularized by the Legal Tender Notes of the 1860s with green backs (but not the first to be printed in this color), and widely used since.
Greysheet – A common name for Coin Dealer Newsletter.
Guide Book – The Guide Book of United States Coins, a favorite single-volume source for combined historical and price information of a general nature. This volume made its first appearance in 1946, bearing a cover date of 1947, with Richard S. Yeoman listed as author. Yeoman was an executive of the Whitman Publishing Company, Racine, Wisconsin, which since 1941 had enjoyed success with the annual Handbook of United States Coins, a slim volume listing dealer buying prices.