Oakton Coins & Collectibles is one of the highest rated coin shops near Prospect Heights.
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 Prospect Heights.
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 Prospect Heights.
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 Prospect Heights.
- 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 – Prospect Heights.
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;
D – A mintmark used to indicate coins struck at the Dahlonega, Georgia branch mint from 1838-1861 or the Denver, Colorado branch mint from 1906 to the present.
Dahlonega Mint – A branch of the United States Mint, located in Dahlonega, Georgia, that produced gold coins from 1838-1861 and was closed due to the Civil War. This mint uses the “D” mintmark.
Damaged Coin – A coin that has been impaired apart from normal wear, by scraping, drilling, polishing, or other abuse. Generally, a damaged coin will not be given a stand-alone grading designation but will be described adjectivally. Example: 1822 cent, holed at the top, otherwise VF-30. Such a coin must not be simply described as VF-30 without further comment.
Date – The numerals on a coin that represent the year the coin was struck . Restrikes are made in years subsequent to the date that appears on them.
Date Size Descriptions – Terms are used to differentiate the size of the numerals on the date of a given coin, comparative in relation to other varieties of the same issue. Such terms as Small Date, Large Date, and Medium Date are often used. Often capitalized in numismatic usage.
Date Spacing (Width) Descriptions – Terms such as Wide Date, Compact Date, Narrow Date, etc., are sometimes employed to describe the spacing of numerals within a date or the overall width of a date, comparative in relation to other varieties of the same issue.
DCAM – An abbreviation for Deep Cameo contrast.
DDO – An abbreviation for doubled die obverse.
Dealer – One who buys, sells, and trades numismatic material.
Deep Cameo – A term that applies typically to a Proof or prooflike coin with deeply frosted central devices and lettering in high contrast to the mirror like fields. Sometimes these are called “black and white” cameos.
Deep Cameo Contrast – Describes the portrait or devices on a Proof coin being especially frosted or satiny, or cameo, in contrast with mirrorlike fields. Abbreviated DCAM. Seemingly more contrasted than Cameo (CAM). Certain of this is semantics, with actual differences being slight between various cameo designations.
Deep Mirror Prooflike – An Uncirculated coin with the fields struck from highly polished or mirrored dies, and closely resembling a Proof.
Demand Note – Notes issued in 1861 and early 1862 redeemable in gold coins, with denominations $5 to $20.
Denomination – The value assigned to a specific coin or piece of currency by the government.
Denticles – Small, toothlike projections around the inner rim of some coins, most often seen on coins from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Dentils – A shortened term for denticles.
Denver Mint – A branch of the United States Mint, located in Denver, Colorado that manufactures coins of all denominations for general circulation, stores gold and silver bullion, medals, coin dies, and manufactures Uncirculated coin sets and commemorative coins. The Denver Mint was established in 1906 and uses the “D” mintmark.
Design – A coin or other numismatic item’s motif. Peace dollars, Buffalo nickels, and Liberty double eagles are examples of designs.
Design Type – A distinct motif that is on a coin or other numismatic item and used for multiple denominations or subtypes. An example would be the Barber design type that was used on silver dimes, quarters and half dollars.
Designation – A characteristic added to a coin’s grade that specifies a certain attribute or quality such as color, strike or appearance not covered by the numerical grade. Not all series and denominations have designations, but for those that do, the associated designation will affect the coin’s value. Copper coins have color designations of Red, Red-Brown, and Brown. Standing Liberty quarters can have the designation of Full Head, where Miss Liberty’s head is fully struck. Some other designations include: Prooflike, Deep Cameo, Deep Mirror Prooflike.
Designer – The artist who creates a coin’s design.
Details – Small features and fine lines in a coin design, particularly those seen in hair, leaves, wreaths, and feathers.
Deuce – A slang term for a $2 bill.
Device – Any element of design, often referring to the main design element, on either the obverse or reverse of a coin or numismatic item. An example would be the head of Miss Liberty.
Device Punch – A steel rod with raised devices on the end that would be used to punch the elements into a working die, a technique used prior to hubbed dies.
Die – A shank or rod of steel engraved on its face with a design for use in stamping coins.
Die Alignment – A term that indicates that the obverse and reverse dies are in their proper position and will strike a coin evenly.
Die Break – A raised area on a coin caused by metal filling the space caused from a small chip or piece falling out of a die. Those at the rim of a coin are called cuds or cud breaks. Die breaks can be interesting and have no effect on grade or market value of older coins but for a modern issue can command a great premium.
Die Crack – A raised ridge, often irregular, on the surface of a coin, caused by a crack in the die, and metal from the planchet filling the crack. Die cracks can be interesting and have no effect on grade or market value of older coins but for a modern issue can command a great premium.
Die Line – Appearing as raised lines on a coin, these are caused by polish lines on the die.
Die Polish – Refers to a “bright” or mirrorlike spot or area, not the entire surface, of a coin, where a working die was polished slightly to remove an imperfection, rust, etc. Heavy die polishing is a different matter, and refers to the entire field of a coin being resurfaced, also called relapping. Heavy die polishing sometimes resulted in the removal of low-relief details in a coin, while at the same time giving a prooflike surface.
Die Rust – Raised grainy patches on a coin caused by rust on the die, often the result of improper storage.
Die State – An easily identified point in the life span of a coinage die. Dies can clash, rust, crack, break, etc., and evidence of such represents a different state of the die. Certain coins have barely distinguishable die states, while others show multiple distinctive die states.
Die Striations – Raised lines on coins caused by having been struck with polished dies, similar to die lines.
Die Trial – A term for testing the strike of a particular die in a different metal.
Die Variety – Any minor alteration to the basic design of a coin that has already been attributed by denomination, date, mintmark and major variety. Some examples of die varieties are variances in the size, shape, and positioning of the date and mintmark.
Die Wear – A term for the loss of detail on a coin caused by striking the coin with worn dies.
Dime – A denomination valued at one-tenth of the standard monetary unit, issued by the United States starting in 1796.
Ding – A common term for a small to medium sized mark on a coin.
Dipped – A coin that has been placed in a chemical solution, often resulting in the removal of toning from most coins. When a coin is dipped, the first few layers of metal are removed and will eventually lose luster. We do not advise dipping your coins.
Dipping Solution – A commercial chemical solution available on the market and used to dip coins.
Disme – One tenth of a dollar. The early spelling of the word “dime.”
D-Mint – An abbreviation for coins struck at the Dahlonega, Georgia mint from 1838-1861 or the Denver, Colorado mint 1906-present.
DMPL – An abbreviation for Deep Mirror Prooflike. Sometimes pronounced “dimple.”
Doctored – A descriptive term for a numismatic item that has been enhanced by chemical or other means, usually considered a derogatory expression.
Dollar – A denomination valued at one hundred cents and considered to be the U.S. standard monetary unit. Authorized by the United States government via the Mint Act of 1792. The word “dollar” is the anglicized spelling of the European thaler and was chosen due to the world-wide acceptance of the thaler and the Spanish Milled dollar.
Double Die Obverse – A doubled die error that results in the doubling of design elements on the obverse only.
Double Eagle – A United States $20 gold coin.
Doubled Die – A die that has been struck more than once by a hub that is in imperfect alignment, resulting in the doubling of design elements; the coin is called a doubled-die error. The most famous is the 1955 Doubled Die Lincoln cent.
Double-Struck – A term for a coin that is not ejected from the dies and is struck again. To sharpen their details, Proof coins are generally double struck intentionally and this is sometimes visible under magnification. Coins can also be triple-struck or more.
Doubloon – Spanish-American 8-escudos gold coin equal to about $16 U.S. Such coins were legal tender in the United States until the implementation of the Act of February 21, 1857, but were mainly used in large commercial transactions, not in everyday change. Fractional pieces of 8-escudo doubloons were called pieces of eight (as were fractional pieces of 8-real silver “dollars”).
Draped Bust – A design of Miss Liberty with a drape across her bust line attributed to Mint Engraver Robert Scot who is thought to have copied a portrait by Gilbert Stuart.
Drift Mark – A streaky or discolored area on a coin, typically long, caused by foreign matter or impurities on the die.
Dull – A lackluster numismatic item, possibly the result of natural environmental conditions or cleaning.