What is the perfect time to sell coins?
Is there a right time or a wrong time to sell a coin? That may sound like a naïve question to an experienced collector. There have been times when collectors just wake up one day and decide to sell out. At time this may be because of personal financial matters, and at such times the collectors find it hard to let go of their prized possessions. Whatever the reasons may be, the point is that coin collections are up for sale at any given time.
The collectors that sell: Some collectors begin their collections with the intention of making some money out of them, and that is coin dealers we are talking about. Some people go on journeys; looking for a particular coin. Even if they do not find what they had been looking for, they buy other coins just to make the trip worth it. They sell these to make up for the expenses they have incurred. Some collectors make a living from buying and selling coins.
Like any business their main motive is to buy low and sell high. They may not have a love for the hobby of collecting coins, but they are collectors nevertheless. Sooner or later any collector gets a sentimental attachment to his or her coins simply because of the effort put in and the places visited to get the coins. It is a shame when such a collection needs to be sold against one's will, simply for monetary reasons like a bad financial situation arising out of the blue - but this does happen.
The right way: In any case, if you have decided you want to sell out for whatever reason, you need to think of the right timing. Like any business market, you need to see if the coins that you are selling are at a high right now. Maybe waiting a few months could fetch you more for them. If you do not want to waste time but do want the maximum possible returns, you could always auction your coins - you never know how much you could get as maximum and your minimum would be reached as the reserve value, or the coin remains yours.
Most rare coins are sold this way, to give every collector a chance to buy them if they can afford them, while the seller gets the best possible price at the same time. Selling your coins on a web portal such as e-bay is also a great idea. You could sell from the comfort of your home, and enjoy a worldwide clientele. Finally you could take the old fashioned route and visit a dealer who would offer you a price on the spot. However you decide to sell your coins, make sure you do not clean them because this reduces the value!
A coin is worth more than a coin
Anyone who has a coin collection loves to know exactly how valuable the pieces are, even if they have no intention of selling them. Here we have put down three tips on how you can get an estimate on the value of your coins.
How rare is the coin?
We all believe that a coin gets more valuable when it gets rare to find. This is true in most cases, but there are a few exceptions to the rule like everything else. People also believe that the older the coin the more valuable it is, which is also not always true. At one instance a 1000 year old coin from China was finally sold only for a few American dollars, because there were many such coins that had been well preserved. Then we have the 1931 nickel that has been called the Liberty Head, and that one sold for over a million US dollars! This is because only 5 of these still remain.
The wear and tear that the coin has experienced
It is well known that the better that the conditions of the coins in your collection is, the more would they fetch you in terms of money, were you to sell them. Any coin that has been preserved in 'mint' condition, that is, hasn't ever been circulated is well worth a hundred times another of its time in average condition. However, remember not to try and overdo the cleaning on your circulated coins, in the hope of making them look 'near-mint', you may end up scratching the surfaces even more.
Supply and Demand
When there is a greater demand for anything in this world, the price tends to go up. If a coin is high in demand its value would go up regardless of the fact that there may be many available around the world, that is - it is not a rare coin. For example let us consider the 1916 dimes to coins from 1798. The 1916 coins are far more valuable simply because more people tend to collect them as compared to 1798 coins.
In fact there are only about thirty thousand dime coins available from 1798, and well over four hundred thousand 1916 ones. But that seems to have little effect on the values of these coins. That is supply and demand in a nutshell for you. You may want to seek the help of a professional collector or dealer if you wish to put an accurate value to a certain coin or coins in your collection.
Maybe you are planning to sell some of your rare coins if you have 'doubles', or maybe you plan to have your own coin auction. I any case, it is wise to have an idea of how much each coin in your collection is worth. Remember if you are planning to sell a series it is valued more than the sum of the individual coins.
Excerpted from the book Understanding And Mastering The Art Of Coin Collecting by Wings Of Success.
This excerpt has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Download this book on Boostlane:
https://boostlane.com/p/boostlane/334/understanding-and-mastering-the-art-of-coin-collecting/
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