Coin Value Guides and Tips For Buying and Selling Coins
By Susan Headley, About.com Guide to Coins
Most people don't think about the fact that there are two sets of coin valuation numbers. Coin prices are the Red Book, or coin catalog retail prices, whereas coin values are the actual value your coin is worth if you had to sell it to a dealer today. Although nearly all coin price guides give high-end retail prices, my coin value guides will give you a realistic, honest value that you could get today if you sold your coin collection to a dealer. Avoid nasty surprises when it comes time to sell your coins by using realistic coin value guides like the ones here.
U.S. Cent Values
U.S. Cents are some of the most popular and widely collected coins in America. Part of the appeal of pennies is that most collectors started with them as youngsters. Pennies are also cheaper to collect than any other coin type, especially if you start collecting them from circulation. Do you have pennies lying around the house that you'd like to know the values for? Look them up in my U.S. Cent coin value guides and find out how much you could sell them for today.
- How Much Are My Wheat Pennies Worth?
- What Are My Indian Head Pennies Worth?
- Lincoln Memorial Penny Values
- What Kind of Penny Do I Have and What Is it Worth?
- Is My 1943 Penny Rare?
U.S. Nickel Values
Nickels are one of the most under-rated coin series in U.S. coin collecting. The Jefferson Nickel has been in circulation for so long that most people don't realize that nickels from the 1940's and 1950's still circulate right beside the current date nickels. The Buffalo Nickel series is one of the most beloved coin series in all of U.S. coin collecting, while Liberty Head V-Nickels are often overlooked altogether. Find out what your old nickels are worth by looking them up in the U.S. Nickel coin value guides.
- What Are My Nickels Worth?
- How Much Are My Buffalo Nickels Worth?
- Are My Jefferson Nickels Worth Anything?
- Liberty Head V-Nickel Values
U.S. Dime Values
The U.S. Dime holds an interesting place in coin collectors' hearts. As the smallest of the U.S. silver coins to circulate in the twentieth century, it has its loyal adherents, but most collectors who can afford to do so would rather collect the larger silver coins. The Mercury Dime is considered to be one of the nicest U.S. coin designs of the twentieth century, and values for these dimes are strong. Find out how much you could sell your old dimes for today by checking their values in the dime value guides.
U.S. Quarter Values
Statehood Quarters are the most widely collected coin series in the history of coin collecting. The U.S. Treasury Department estimates that 140 million Americans are collecting State Quarters. Although skeptics claim that State Quarters will never be worth much because of their high mintages, the average State Quarter from each U.S. Mint (Philadelphia and Denver) has a mintage of 270 million coins. If 140 million people each want to collect these, that's less than two specimens per collector for most Statehood Quarters! Find out what your State Quarters are worth in the quarter value guides.
- Are My State Quarters Worth Anything?
- How Much Are My Rolls of State Quarters Worth?
- Brief Analysis of the State Quarters Collecting Market
U.S. Morgan Dollars
Morgan Dollars are the second most popular U.S. coin type with most coin collectors (pennies being first.) The large, thick, and heavy 90% silver coins of America's yesteryear seem magnificent to us today, although in their day they weren't always so popular. Learn what your Morgan Dollars are worth if you had to sell them today, and find out why you shouldn't pay real high prices for many Morgan Dollars, even Uncirculated ones!
Coin Buying and Selling Tips
Knowing how much coins are worth is only the first step to smart buying and selling. In order to maximize your profits when you sell, and get the best deal possible when you buy, learn more about how the coin market works and how to avoid some of the common coin market scams. You should also develop a relationship with a coin dealer; these coin market insiders can make or save you a lot of cash!
