On Dec 14, 6:49*am, oly wrote:
On Thursday, December 13, 2012 10:17:13 PM UTC-6, bremick wrote:
"oly" wrote in ... On Thursday, December 13, 2012 6:49:59 PM UTC-6, bremick wrote: "ps56k" wrote in ... "Jud" wrote in message ... Silver coins (1964 and earlier) are worth 23.5 X face value, just for the silver in them. Silver dollars a little more. Best bet is to find someone who knows about coins rather than trying to take a crash course in numismatics. Yes, certain dates/mintmarks are worth more. I suggest getting a copy of the 'Red Book' to get a basic idea, but when going to sell, get 2 or 3 offers before taking anyone up on it. --- tnx for the reply - So.... I'm guessing the basic steps in sorting the bags fulls of coins would be by year...or maybe a "break date". Not sure if the 1964 date is true for all 4 coins ? Is 1964 a break date between when the metal or "type" was worth more vs current coinage ? Are there different styles or design changes or metal content - by date for each ? For all I know at this point, they could be all from the 1950's or the 1970's ---------------------- Year-wise, U.S. dimes, quarters, and half dollars dated 1964 and earlier are of 90% silver content. Also, be aware that normal Eisenhower dollar coins saved from circulation and the more recent small dollar coins are not "silver". As for certain dates and mint marks that might command a premium, if those baggies contain circulated 1950's and later coins the odds are against finding any that would justify buying a "Redbook" price guide. But then you might just get the coin bug while examining them. I don't want to disagree with Mr. R in a major way, but I gotta say that not paying for a Red Book is the proverbial penny-wise and pound-foolish. The most you gotta pay is $14.95 plus sales tax (for a spiral bound edition, perhaps the old hard cover edition may be cheaper) and it isn't difficult to get one cheaper when booksellers offer discounts via membership cards or coupons. Buy a Red Book for "peace of mind", it will reassure you that you didn't let a valuable coin go for one-tenth or one-one hundreth (or maybe worse) of its numismatic value. I have spent a whole lot of money on numismatic books and they have never cost me a single red cent. Sometimes they help me make good decisions when selling coins, sometimes they help me make better decisions when buying coins and most often they help me with the "negative decision" to avoid a coin that is likely overpriced or not as scarce as my (now) defective memory makes me think. The cumulative profit and loss avoidance affect of all these decisions is rather greater than the price of the books themselves. And I am not in this for commercial reasons; I want to collect coins, lots of them, and not get taken by the sharpies. oly --------------------- Most would agree with you, Oly, but in this case all this poster seems to care about is putting a rough value on a few baggies of found coins that most likely were saved from the past 50 years or so. In that case, he might be misled (knowing nothing about grading) by the prices he will see in the book. He may be better off with a Blue Book. If does find a few older coins in the baggies, a search on eBay might serve him better than a Red Book, assuming he will have no interest in coins as a hobby once he cashes in his find.

Mr. Remick, a single common, late date Franklin half dollar goes for $12 to $20 (maybe more if its really nice) nowadays; get a Red Book!!! *It's cheap!!!

The Red Book (admitedly a retail, not wholesale price guide) is a neophyte's best defense against the many "dealers" who would offer you three times face value for your silver coins. *The number of undercapitalized bums in the gold and silver business, living hand-to-mouth, has never ever ever been greater than today.

If you can find a coin book in a Public Library (and I think that that will be much much more difficult than older timers realize), well the broken-out cost of the gasoline for two round trips to the Library (pickup and return) would be most of the cost of the Red Book.

Finally, I defy you to go out in your community or to the nearest big retail center and to find a Blue Book. *You won't find it on the first day you go looking.

One could get a copy of the monthly "slick" magazine edition of Coin World - their price listings are O.K. (but mostly lack photographs) but even there you spend $6.

Best Christmas wishes to you, Mr. R-

oly

Luckily I live near Books_a_Million and they carry plenty of the red
and blue guide books and plus many other titles I would never use.