[firl21]

MY grandmother wanting some extra cash decided to sell her collection of silver coins dating from the mid 1800's

She went to a so called "coin dealer" who refused to look at the coins and offerd to pay 20x face value of the coins.

the cash she recived was 5k

She had 3 full sandwich bags of silver dimes
1 bag of morgans
and other various coinage

What leads me to be suspicious is the fact this "Dealer" didnt want her paper money or her non silver dollars

Should she get her money back

[bcelos]

Most coin dealers nowadays are only interested in coins with monetary value, for the most part that only means silver/gold coins.

Due to the economy, collectors are not paying top prices for 'rare' coins that they used to be paying, thats why he was not interested in non silver, or paper money. Some people will buy paper money or non silver coins but they sit around for a lot in shops, dealers are looking for quick guaranteed money which is in silver.

The current melt value of silver is about $33, but literally changes daily. Keep in mind that is what the silver is worth and the dealer might be trying to buy it at a lower price in order to make a profit.

silver dimes are 90% silver, so paying 20x face value is about $2 a coin. On ebay they range anywhere from $1.50-4

Morgans are 90% silver. Face value is $1 so 20x is $20. depending on the condition they range anywhere from $30-45 a coin.

Depending on the condition of the coins, you probably could've got alot more money if you took the time to single out each coin, and list them on ebay. But keep in mind that would take a lot of time to take pictures and list each individual coin, and you would have to wait months until you sell them all.

The dealer bought them all at once, so obviously he undervalues them because hes going to take the time and the risk to list them online on a per coin basis.

If you need the money, don't feel bad about the deal, theyre are people out there getting ripped off alot more than you. Ive seen people sell ounces of gold for hundreds less than what its worth for the quick cash.

Next time you should try educating yourself on the value of what you have and that will help you on deciding how much to sell them for and where to sell them.

[firl21]

Originally Posted by bcelos

Most coin dealers nowadays are only interested in coins with monetary value, for the most part that only means silver/gold coins.

Due to the economy, collectors are not paying top prices for 'rare' coins that they used to be paying, thats why he was not interested in non silver, or paper money. Some people will buy paper money or non silver coins but they sit around for a lot in shops, dealers are looking for quick guaranteed money which is in silver.

The current melt value of silver is about $33, but literally changes daily. Keep in mind that is what the silver is worth and the dealer might be trying to buy it at a lower price in order to make a profit.

silver dimes are 90% silver, so paying 20x face value is about $2 a coin. On ebay they range anywhere from $1.50-4

Morgans are 90% silver. Face value is $1 so 20x is $20. depending on the condition they range anywhere from $30-45 a coin.

Depending on the condition of the coins, you probably could've got alot more money if you took the time to single out each coin, and list them on ebay. But keep in mind that would take a lot of time to take pictures and list each individual coin, and you would have to wait months until you sell them all.

The dealer bought them all at once, so obviously he undervalues them because hes going to take the time and the risk to list them online on a per coin basis.

If you need the money, don't feel bad about the deal, theyre are people out there getting ripped off alot more than you. Ive seen people sell ounces of gold for hundreds less than what its worth for the quick cash.

Next time you should try educating yourself on the value of what you have and that will help you on deciding how much to sell them for and where to sell them.

MY grandmother gave them to my dad to sell.
I was out playing paintball when it happened. when i got back he told me he sold them.
Im also pissed because i collect coins and she didnt even give me a dime or a morgan

[lilfry111]

An auction house would have been OK. as long as she didnt go to a bank which would only give face value or a pawn shop who would rip her off.

[ilikecats]

American 90percent silver coins melt for around 25x face right now. The coin dealers I deal with would pay any where between 20x to 24x. 20x is not horrible, your dad could have went somewhere where they pay 12-15x face. I didn't see the date you started this thread, but if it was several days ago silver was a lot lower and 90percent coins could have melted for around 23-24x in that case you dad got a decent deal. As far as if there were coins with a lot of value in the lot, it's hard to tell. My friend owns a coin shop and I sit and watch him buy many coins, 99 percent of the time when someone brings a bag of silver coins in they are mostly common dates worth only what silver is in them. Coininfo.com is where I get my current coin melt values. If your grand mother had some Carson city morgans or 2 over 1 mercury dimes, then your dad may have gotten the short end of the stick, but if the dealer was a crook he would have paid a lot less than 20x.

[ili76]

Originally Posted by bcelos

Next time you should try educating yourself on the value of what you have and that will help you on deciding how much to sell them for and where to sell them.

Never have truer words been spoken

[GivenRandy]

Unless you had some really rare ones in there, sounds like you did OK. Even for rare ones, coin dealers take a huge percentage of the profit (i.e., you'll likely get screwed). With eBay, things are much better. However, like bcelos said, it takes a lot of work and grading skills. If you're a first time eBay seller, it would be even harder to sell because people won't know if they can trust you, yet.

Overall, you're probably sitting pretty.

[PbN_AutoTrader]

I think Morgan's are worth more than that depending upon the age, condition etc..
Tough to call "bag" doesn't really give much info either :/
Sounds like someone might be looking to illegally melt the coins and sell them as scrap?

I'd imagine that to be foolish though considering the potential value in the coins as they are(?) I'm not an expert though.