Maybe you have found some old coin at home, or you have inherited a numismatic collection from a relative, and it turns out that you do not know what to do with it. You also don’t have much of an idea of numismatics or coin collecting, and really, it’s not that you are very interested in it. So you decide to see if you can sell those old coins that have fallen from the sky, and maybe you can buy a coffee or two with what you get. But now comes the big question: how and where do I sell those old coins?
In this article, I tell you certain things to keep in mind before looking for someone to sell them to, the steps you must take, and where you can go with those coins.
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND BEFORE SELLING AN OLD CURRENCY
Before looking for a place to sell your old coins, keep the following things in mind:
1- Make sure you want to sell it
If you need the money, you still have no other resource than to sell it. But if you don’t need it, maybe the coin has a high sentimental value for you. And who knows, maybe in a while you want to start collecting. So make sure you want to get rid of it.
2- You are probably not going to get rich selling it
For some reason, people believe that coins are a millionaire’s worth of treasures. This is not true. Yes, some coins are worth a lot of money, but they are a minority. Most likely, that coin you have at home will not give you more than a couple of coffees. Lower your expectations.
3- A coin is worth what people are willing to pay for it
Coins do not have a fixed price. The value of a currency fluctuates over time according to the law of supply and demand. If cash is scarce and many people want it, it will be worth more. If a widespread currency and almost all collectors already have it, it will hardly be worth anything.
4- Generally, there is a purchase price and a sale price
Imagine you want to sell your car. The price for which the second-hand car dealer will buy your car is not the same for which that same dealer will sell it to the next owner. The employees have to eat, and the business has expenses. The same thing happens with coins: the price that a numismatist puts on cash that he sells is not the one that he will pay you. It will be significantly lower. They also have to eat.
HOW TO SELL ANCIENT COINS
To sell old coins, the first thing you need to do is do a little googling. If you’ve gotten here from Google, it’s already a good first step. Now, there are two things you have to do:
1- Learn what exactly you have
Before you start asking on Facebook how much the coin you have is worth, do some google search and see what exactly you have. If it is a rare 2 euro coin, you can look at our 2 euro commemorative catalogue. If it’s another coin, google the text that appears on the cash and the word “coin.” Generally, you will see a result that tells you what exactly you have.
Also, see if any details make it unique. Is it badly minted? Is there something different in your currency compared to the photos you see online? It is infrequent for this to happen, and it is not a guarantee of anything, but sometimes they may pay you a little more for the coin when it has some error or difference.
Lastly, see if the coin is made of some precious metal (silver, gold, palladium) or not. I would be astonished if you had a gold coin thrown around the house without knowing it, but things are true, friend Sancho. If this is your case, don’t even think about taking it to the corner shop for gold. They are going to buy it from you well below its value, and you are going to deprive the world of a piece in which indeed someone is interested.
2- Make sure what you have is salable
Not all coins are salable. A euro coin that has been used is not salable. A Juan Carlos, I peseta coin as trademarks, is not salable. The coin with the face of Elizabeth II that they gave you in exchange on your last trip to London. You get the idea.
As soon as you know what you have, do a search for the coin on eBay, in todocolección, and in the archive of a specialised website called Six bid. But do not go to the coins that are now for sale. Go to the price history in the finished auctions. That will give you an idea of whether it is a currency for demand and how much the sale price may be. But remember that the sale price is not the price at which they will buy it from you.
Also read: how to delete WhatsApp group
