Oakton Coins and Collectibles is one of the highest rated coin shops near Northbrook.
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 Northbrook.
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 Northbrook.
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 Northbrook.
- 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 – Northbrook.
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, S 1/2;
Spot Price – The market price of precious metals in bullion form at the moment a transaction is finalized.
Spread – The difference in price between bid and ask.
St. Gaudens – A shortened term for Augustus Saint-Gaudens or for the Standing Liberty double eagle he designed.
Standard Dollar – Regular silver dollar, as the Morgan type. Term used to differentiate the 412.5 grain silver dollar from the 420 grain trade dollar.
Standard Silver – The Mint Act of 1792 established the official composition of U.S. silver coinage at approximately 89% silver and 11% copper. It was later changed to 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper, which is the composition seen in most U.S. silver coins.
Standing Liberty – A design motif with Miss Liberty in an upright front-facing position.
Standing Liberty Quarter – The common name used for the Liberty Standing silver quarter that was designed by Hermon MacNeil. These were struck from 1917 until 1930.
Staple Scratch – A line on a coin caused by removing it improperly from a stapled cardboard holder.
Star – A design element on many U.S. coins depicting a five-pointed or six-pointed motif.
Star Note – A note with a start next to the serial number to indicate that it is a replacement note, which means it was printed as a substitute for a defective note that was immediately destroyed. This process began with Silver Certificates of 1910. The serial number of the star note does not match that of the note being replaced.
State Quarter – Washington quarters struck with unique reverse designs for each state. First issued in 1999, subsequent issues followed in the order of a state’s admittance to the United States. The order for the original 13 colonies was determined by the date each state ratified the Constitution.
Steam-Powered Press – A coining press powered by a steam engine.
Steel Cent – A name for the 1943 cents, struck in steel and plated with zinc. Certain 1944 cents were struck in steel with the left over blanks.
Steelies – A common name for 1943 steel cents.
Stella – A common name for the experimental $4 gold coins struck by the U.S. Mint from 1879-1880. The name is derived from the large star on the coin’s reverse.
Stock Edge – A counterfeit edge collar used to produce counterfeit coins.
Store Card – A metallic (usually) token issued by a merchant or other commercial entity to advertise goods or services. Same as merchant’s token. Example: the tokens issued in 1837 by Smith’s Clock Establishment, New York City.
Store Cards – During the nineteenth century there was a shortage of small change. Merchant tokens were created to help alleviate this shortage. These were typically composed of copper and were widely accepted in their immediate areas.
Stress Lines – Another term for “flow lines.”
Striations – Raised lines on coins that are caused by the incuse polish lines on a die. These tend to be fine, parallel lines, although they can be swirling or even criss-crossed. Planchet striations are burnishing lines that are not struck away by the minting process and appear as incuse lines on the coins.
Strike – The act of minting a coin. Also the intended sharpness of detail for a particular coin.
Striking – Refers to the process by which a coin is minted. Also refers to the sharpness of design details. A sharp strike or strong strike is one with all of the details struck very sharply; a weak strike has the details lightly impressed at the time of coining.
Strip – A flat piece of metal, rolled to proper thickness, from which coin planchets are cut.
Struck – A term used to describe a coin or numismatic object, produced from dies and a coining press.
Struck Copy – A replica of a coin made from dies, but not necessarily intended to deceive.
Struck Counterfeit – A counterfeit coin produced from false dies.
Surface Preservation – The condition of a numismatic item’s surface.
Surfaces – The entire obverse and reverse of a coin.
Sweating – A process whereby coins are placed in a bag and shaken vigorously to knock off small pieces of metal. The bits of metal are gathered and sold, producing a profit as the coins are returned to circulation at face value. Done primarily with gold coins, leaving their surfaces peppered with tiny nicks.