Is it worth having it graded??

[john-maggie]

I am handling the estate of my great aunt.  She had an assortment of gold and silver coins and currency, primarily US, none graded.  I know that for both coins and paper currency, the condition is very important. Other than that, I know nothing about coin collecting.

How do I determine which items are worth the expense of grading?  Is there some sort of "rule of thumb" about the increase in value based on a known grading agency?  I have taken some of the coins to two reputable coin dealers in town (authorized member/dealers of NGC, ANA & PCGS) to get offers.  How much more are they likely to offer if a coin has been graded?  Is one grading agency better than another?

Thanks for any input!!

[daveroo]

"Is one grading agency better than another?"

The most respected TPG's are NGC and PCGS. Some people will add ANACS to that list.

Use your search engine to locate them online.

"How do I determine which items are worth the expense of grading?

Is there some sort of "rule of thumb" about the increase in value based on a known grading agency?"

My method is to:

1) Do my best to grade the coins (search for coin grading online).

2) Look for damage or cleaning; damage is generally obvious, cleaning not so easy (DON'T CLEAN YOUR COINS).

3) Look at the cost to grade your coins AFTER you've graded them AND pushed aside the damaged or cleaned ones.

4) Look up the value of the coins based on your estimate of their grades; Numismedia is one online place or search for coin values.

5) If the cost to get a coin graded is 10% or more of your estimated value then forget it.

"I have taken some of the coins to two reputable coin dealers in town (authorized member/dealers of NGC, ANA & PCGS) to get offers."

How much more are they likely to offer if a coin has been graded?"

They probably would have a good estimate of the coins' worth.

And they know how much it costs to get them graded.

Therefore you will get less for an ungraded coin than a graded one.

[daveroo]

A GOOD set of images (size and focus) posted here would let us render opinions.

[too_toot]

You're handling an estate so you need to obtain a legitimate appraisal of the "assortment" from a numismatic professional on a letterhead for use by all partys involved in the estate. Your goal is to determine the current market value of the holdings. A dealer registered as a member of the Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG) in your state would be a good place to start.

Expect to pay an appraisal fee. Do not negotiate a fee with a selling clause with the appaiser as this will obfuscate the true assessment of the numismatic item's market value. Expect to pay an hourly fee of $ 125.00 minimum for the appraisal.

Usually US coins valued at more than $ 200 are worth certifying, however there are a lot of caveats to go with this. Damaged or cleaned coins are less likely to sell for more if certified, it is best to leave them "raw". Coins valued under $ 500 are best certified using ANACS (the least expensive). Over $ 500 best to use NGC or PCGS, but you must become a member first to submit.

Amongst these top three third party grading services, there is no such thing as a "better" grading company. Each graded coin is judged based its individual merits - technical and asthetic. As such, the eye appeal of a coin is uniquely dependent upon the viewer and the extent that person has in wanting to own the item. Market experience shows that PCGS graded coins generally obtain slightly higher prices due to perceived stricter grading.

Good luck.

[oz_in_ohio]

Dont have your items professionally graded as you will waste your money

in spending additional fees if all you want to do in the final step is to sell them.

Just remember if you get the items graded, you have to pay the grading company

and that will eat into your profit you will make when selling them.

Buyers of present days will not want to buy any sort of numismatic item at their

proper value...They all want it for nothing so that is why the 99c start mark is

continuous in ebay....The grade from these companies means nothing as when

you go to sell them, you will only recover dealers buying price if not just scrap

metal price of that particular item. I can only go by the experience i got in my

youth....I used to invest in high end graded items and scarce dates

only to find out that with experience and getting my fingers burnt. On the other side

i experienced the person i wished to sell them to,  will  downgrade time after time

after time simply to sell at more profit. If you know how to do mathematics, ask

yourself what is better??

1. To buy an item at $50.00 and later on sell it for $80.00 and earning  60%

2. Buying items at a maximum of $10.00 and later on in years selling for $35.00

or similar earning a minimum of 350%...I know which way i would lean towards.

The money earnt may be smaller but profit margin is greater and nobody went

broke making a higheer profit, did they. 

You will now find not many good items,  top ended and key items such as dates

etc listed up in ebay due to the lack of intrest in the hobby as the younger

generations of today are not interested. Ebay will possibly take offense to this

message as it is not what they want to hear or read but i am only saying the truth with

37 years in the numismatic and philatelic fields. Just remember that when i started

collecting in 1965 ( when i was 8 years old ) it was only marbles and comic books...

Later on in 1970, i then delved into better items.

Plus the lack of  elderly people nowadays ( 50 years of age and over ) wanting to carry the

hobbies on in any way is declining.  This term leaving for the kids or grandchildren is

absulutely silly or simply rediculous....I left my kids nothing and sold it all to buy

a comfortable car and new home to finally retire in when i moved to Ohio from Austalia.

Hense my username oz_in_ohio. ( my wife thought of that name ) 

The kids will only sell off the items so why not  i have the benefit of the money instead

and enjoy it in my twighlight years...

The kids of younger generation ( 30 years of age and under ) of present day dont

 want our items or what we invested in unless it is the newest iphone or compurer gadget.

It is a shame it has come to this but i guess that is the way kids want it now ..I am

60 years of age and have been investing into coins , stamps, banknotes, precious metals,

postcards, comic books , military memorabillia and so on since the age  of 13 when i

left elementary ( or primary ) school and went into secondary  school. Most of my

collections bought me 2 houses before i migrated. One to live in and one to sell off

after being done up ... Sort of like a fixer upper.

Do not judge your items by what someone is selling a similar item for as it they have it up

for sale, that means it has not been sold and it is worth nothing, hense no buyer.

I know i have stood by my learnings like this way for all these years and i have retired

from my hobbies and collectibles. If a buyer wants a valuation, then deep down they are not interested to begin to sell . Please remember before they even speak to you about an

item, they have already done their homework on any item and the last sale it brought

in an auction.

never and i mean never say it is for someone else as it is largely known that person is

a time waster. Think about it carefully....Would a person give you thousands of dollars

( so to speak ) of items to find out what the market brings??? I DONT THINK SO.

When i had my shop, i would love just 50c for everytime a person came in saying a

friend of mine wants to know what this is worth...lol..... I could have retired earlier...lol

If you are doing it for some enjoyment, then by all means continue...However if you are

doing it for capital gain only, i feel those days are long time gone. The 70's was the best

time for the capital gain as prices of precious metals went up daily. That is when i played

the market back in 1973 - 75 and i was only 16 when i started ...

I personally only pay 80% of scap silver or gold for any item made of those metals and

sell them off at 90% so the buyer earns 10% on his/ her money and i earn 10% on mine.

As you see you have to make it appealing to everyone... This also includes broken jewellry.

One cannot earn 10% on their money in the bank nowadays so i feel splirring the 20%

difference is good for both parties. 

THE VERY LAST THING I MUST SAY TO ALL OUT THERE  LOOKING TO VALUE ANY

PARTICULAR ITEM IS THE VALUE IS SIMPLY WHAT THE BUYER IS WILLING TO

PAY FOR IT. NO MORE AND NO LESS!!!!

Hope i have shed some light here...OIO