Opinions needed on buying someone's coins

This afternoon a co-worker approached me because he heard I collected coins.
He has a bunch he has accumulated throughout the years and wants to sell. He
wants me to give him an offer tomorrow and I'm trying to be fair to him
without getting burned in the process. My problem is that I am not by any
means an expert on pricing/grading yet, so I know I am trying to err in my
favor somewhat so I can get my money back out of the coins I don't want
without having too much in what I want to keep. Luckily none of the coins
are mint state so at least any error on my part won't mean big dollars in
either direction. Here is a list of what he's given me to look at:
1885 P Morgan - F
1921 D Morgan - F
1922 D Peace - F
1971 Ike - average circulated
2 - 1964 JFK - VG
1966 JFK - XF
3 - 1968 JFK - VG
1950 Franklin - VG with paint on it
1959 D Franklin - VG
1962 Franklin - VG
1963 Franklin - VG
3 - 1979 Susan B's - AU
1892 Barber quarter - AG
1894 Barber Quarter - AG
1931 S Mercury Dime - G
1941 Merc Dime - G
No Date IHC
1860 IHC - G
1862 IHC - G
1881 IHC AG
1888 IHC - VG
1892 IHC - G
1893 IHC - G
1903 IHC - G
1905 IHC - G
3 - 1865 Shield 2c - G
1866 Shield Nickel - VG
48 assorted wheat and memorial cents, no mintmarks, no special dates,
circulated.
1905 V Nickel - AG-G
1906 Barber dime - AG
1937 Buffalo - G
1981 P dime - AU
1967 Lincoln - AU
1968 S Jefferson - AU
1981 Washington Quarter - XF
1976 Quarter - AU
1929 SL Quarter - AG
1945 P War nickel - G
1910 Barber half - AG
1976 Kennedy - AU
1979 Susan B Dollar - AU
1945 WL half - G
1921 S Morgan - F
1976 D Ike - XF
1974 D Ike - XF
1923 S Peace Dollar - VG
2000 Silver Eagle - MS63
1999 Colorized Silver Eagle
2000 Colorizes Silver Eagle
1999 gold plated set of Susan B, quarter, dime, nickel, penny
2000 gold plated set of Sac, quarter, dime, nickel, penny

I looked through my price guides, took into account the ones my dealer
friend has said he can't give away (Sacs, Susan B's, Ike's, V nickels,
memorial cents, etc.), and I have arrived at a figure of $170.00 to offer
him. But before I do I wanted to get opinions from others. I do not want to
take advantage of the guy but I do want to be able to get rid of the things
I am not interested in without ending up with more into the stuff I'm
keeping than it's worth. So what say everyone? Am I too low? High? In the
ballpark?

Thanks,

Ken

"Ken Knapp" wrote in message
...
This afternoon a co-worker approached me because he heard I collected
coins.
He has a bunch he has accumulated throughout the years and wants to sell.
He
wants me to give him an offer tomorrow and I'm trying to be fair to him
without getting burned in the process. My problem is that I am not by any
means an expert on pricing/grading yet, so I know I am trying to err in my
favor somewhat so I can get my money back out of the coins I don't want
without having too much in what I want to keep. Luckily none of the coins
are mint state so at least any error on my part won't mean big dollars in
either direction. Here is a list of what he's given me to look at:
1885 P Morgan - F
1921 D Morgan - F
1922 D Peace - F
1971 Ike - average circulated
2 - 1964 JFK - VG
1966 JFK - XF
3 - 1968 JFK - VG
1950 Franklin - VG with paint on it
1959 D Franklin - VG
1962 Franklin - VG
1963 Franklin - VG
3 - 1979 Susan B's - AU
1892 Barber quarter - AG
1894 Barber Quarter - AG
1931 S Mercury Dime - G
1941 Merc Dime - G
No Date IHC
1860 IHC - G
1862 IHC - G
1881 IHC AG
1888 IHC - VG
1892 IHC - G
1893 IHC - G
1903 IHC - G
1905 IHC - G
3 - 1865 Shield 2c - G
1866 Shield Nickel - VG
48 assorted wheat and memorial cents, no mintmarks, no special dates,
circulated.
1905 V Nickel - AG-G
1906 Barber dime - AG
1937 Buffalo - G
1981 P dime - AU
1967 Lincoln - AU
1968 S Jefferson - AU
1981 Washington Quarter - XF
1976 Quarter - AU
1929 SL Quarter - AG
1945 P War nickel - G
1910 Barber half - AG
1976 Kennedy - AU
1979 Susan B Dollar - AU
1945 WL half - G
1921 S Morgan - F
1976 D Ike - XF
1974 D Ike - XF
1923 S Peace Dollar - VG
2000 Silver Eagle - MS63
1999 Colorized Silver Eagle
2000 Colorizes Silver Eagle
1999 gold plated set of Susan B, quarter, dime, nickel, penny
2000 gold plated set of Sac, quarter, dime, nickel, penny

I looked through my price guides, took into account the ones my dealer
friend has said he can't give away (Sacs, Susan B's, Ike's, V nickels,
memorial cents, etc.), and I have arrived at a figure of $170.00 to offer
him. But before I do I wanted to get opinions from others. I do not want
to
take advantage of the guy but I do want to be able to get rid of the
things
I am not interested in without ending up with more into the stuff I'm
keeping than it's worth. So what say everyone? Am I too low? High? In the
ballpark?

Thanks,

Ken

Pretending I was offered the coin lot, I came up with $130 for my offer. I
feel that a dealer wouldn't offer that much and I am fairly certain I could
unload everything at either break even or some marginal profit. Then,
looking back on the group of coins and realizing there is really nothing
there that I would be interested in keeping, and thinking about the time
factor in unloading, I would probably reduce my offer, probably to
$115-$120. But, if there were coins that interested me personally, that I
was wanting to keep, I would probably stick with my original calculation.
I figured face value for some coins, just under silver melt for others, and
what I have had to pay on eBay or have seen sell at the local coin club
auction for the rest. E.g., the Morgans would go for $8-$12 ($8 one month,
$12 the next, depending on who was there and other factors) at the local
coin club auction and I could sell them to my restaurant customers quickly
for $10, so I offered $7 when I calculated them. Melt on the Kennedys,
Franklins, mercs, etc. HTH, Bill

"Ken Knapp" wrote in message
...
This afternoon a co-worker approached me because he heard I collected
coins.
He has a bunch he has accumulated throughout the years and wants to sell.
He
wants me to give him an offer tomorrow and I'm trying to be fair to him
without getting burned in the process. My problem is that I am not by any
means an expert on pricing/grading yet, so I know I am trying to err in my
favor somewhat so I can get my money back out of the coins I don't want
without having too much in what I want to keep. Luckily none of the coins
are mint state so at least any error on my part won't mean big dollars in
either direction. Here is a list of what he's given me to look at:
1885 P Morgan - F
1921 D Morgan - F
1922 D Peace - F
1971 Ike - average circulated
2 - 1964 JFK - VG
1966 JFK - XF
3 - 1968 JFK - VG
1950 Franklin - VG with paint on it
1959 D Franklin - VG
1962 Franklin - VG
1963 Franklin - VG
3 - 1979 Susan B's - AU
1892 Barber quarter - AG
1894 Barber Quarter - AG
1931 S Mercury Dime - G
1941 Merc Dime - G
No Date IHC
1860 IHC - G
1862 IHC - G
1881 IHC AG
1888 IHC - VG
1892 IHC - G
1893 IHC - G
1903 IHC - G
1905 IHC - G
3 - 1865 Shield 2c - G
1866 Shield Nickel - VG
48 assorted wheat and memorial cents, no mintmarks, no special dates,
circulated.
1905 V Nickel - AG-G
1906 Barber dime - AG
1937 Buffalo - G
1981 P dime - AU
1967 Lincoln - AU
1968 S Jefferson - AU
1981 Washington Quarter - XF
1976 Quarter - AU
1929 SL Quarter - AG
1945 P War nickel - G
1910 Barber half - AG
1976 Kennedy - AU
1979 Susan B Dollar - AU
1945 WL half - G
1921 S Morgan - F
1976 D Ike - XF
1974 D Ike - XF
1923 S Peace Dollar - VG
2000 Silver Eagle - MS63
1999 Colorized Silver Eagle
2000 Colorizes Silver Eagle
1999 gold plated set of Susan B, quarter, dime, nickel, penny
2000 gold plated set of Sac, quarter, dime, nickel, penny

I looked through my price guides, took into account the ones my dealer
friend has said he can't give away (Sacs, Susan B's, Ike's, V nickels,
memorial cents, etc.), and I have arrived at a figure of $170.00 to offer
him. But before I do I wanted to get opinions from others. I do not want
to
take advantage of the guy but I do want to be able to get rid of the
things
I am not interested in without ending up with more into the stuff I'm
keeping than it's worth. So what say everyone? Am I too low? High? In the
ballpark?

Thanks,

Ken

Not much to cherrypick from that hoard.
I think veteran collectors would refer to that collection as "junk". (Not in
the definition of thorowing it out with the trash, but worth getting rid of
nonetheless.)
Certainly anything that is colorized or goldplated has absolutely no
numismatic value whatsoever, and I would guess that a number of those coins
may have been cleaned, making their potential value suffer.
I would offer the advice that former ANA president Anthony Swiatek often
gives: "Only purchase for the joy of collecting." In other words, if you
have the money to purchase them, expecting nothing back in the long run save
sharing them with young people in display or some such recreational
activity, then have fun! But you should see them as amenas to any financial
end, at all.
But if you are interested in pursuing coins as a hobby, I suggest reading
some books, joining a local coin club, reading informative posts here, etc.,
long before risking any significant cash on what you may have little idea
the actual value of.
And I advise against making any snap decisons about spending money overnight
anyway.
Just my .02.

My take is that most of this stuff is/was a type set. I would offer $140.00
max for the following. Value for most is the silver melt value. Some would be
keepers; others would be give-aways for potential YNs (young numismatists).

2000 Silver Eagle - MS63
1885 Morgan - F
1921 D Morgan - F
1921 S Morgan - F
1922 D Peace - F
1923 S Peace - VG
1910 Barber half - AG
1945 WL half - G
1950 Franklin - VG with paint on it
1959 D Franklin - VG
1962 Franklin - VG
1963 Franklin - VG
1964 JFK (2) - VG
1966 JFK - XF
1968 JFK (3)
1892 Barber quarter - AG
1894 Barber quarter - AG
1929 SL Quarter - AG
1906 Barber dime - AG
1931 S Mercury dime - G
1941 Mercury dime - G
1866 Shield Nickel - VG
1905 V Nickel - AG-G
1937 Buffalo - G
1945 P War nickel - G
1865 Shield 2¢ (3) - G
1860 IHC - G
1862 IHC - G
1881 IHC AG
1888 IHC - VG
1892 IHC - G
1893 IHC - G
1903 IHC - G
1905 IHC - G

I would suggest he just spend these as they're all worth face. Nothing really
significant:

1971 Ike - average circulated
1974 D Ike - XF
1976 D Ike - XF
1979 Susan B's (3) - AU
1979 Susan B Dollar - AU
1976 Kennedy - AU
1981 Washington Quarter - XF
1976 Quarter - AU
1981 P dime - AU
1968 S Jefferson - AU
No Date IHC
1967 Lincoln - AU
48 assorted wheat/memorial cents, circulated.

Unfortunately, he's going to be stuck with these, unless he can ebay them:

1999 Colorized Silver Eagle
2000 Colorized Silver Eagle
1999 gold plated set (less quarters)
2000 gold plated set (less quarters)

Just my thoughts on the subject.

Jerry

"Ken Knapp" writes:

This afternoon a co-worker approached me because he heard I collected coins.
He has a bunch he has accumulated throughout the years and wants to sell. He
wants me to give him an offer tomorrow and I'm trying to be fair to him
without getting burned in the process. My problem is that I am not by any
means an expert on pricing/grading yet, so I know I am trying to err in my
favor somewhat so I can get my money back out of the coins I don't want
without having too much in what I want to keep. Luckily none of the coins
are mint state so at least any error on my part won't mean big dollars in
either direction. Here is a list of what he's given me to look at:

List cleaned up and arranged in my reply above

I looked through my price guides, took into account the ones my dealer
friend has said he can't give away (Sacs, Susan B's, Ike's, V nickels,
memorial cents, etc.), and I have arrived at a figure of $170.00 to offer
him. But before I do I wanted to get opinions from others. I do not want to
take advantage of the guy but I do want to be able to get rid of the things
I am not interested in without ending up with more into the stuff I'm
keeping than it's worth. So what say everyone? Am I too low? High? In the
ballpark?

. So what say everyone? Am I too low? High? In the
ballpark?

I would say you are in the skybox seats in the ballpark.

To be completely at ease with your conscience, since you seem to regard the
seller as a friend/colleague as well, I would give him your best offer and also
recommend that he get a second opinion from a coin dealer or another collector.
Then sleep the sleep of the righteous whatever he decides!

Regards,
Tom

Thanks to all who have replied. After taking everyone's advice into account,
I've decided to offer him $140 for the whole lot. I have a feeling he thinks
it's all worth a lot more but at least I'll have a clean conscience. I
appreciate the time everyone has spent on this and I'll let you know how
this turns out.

Ken


"WinWinscenario" wrote in message
...
. So what say everyone? Am I too low? High? In the
ballpark?

I would say you are in the skybox seats in the ballpark.

To be completely at ease with your conscience, since you seem to regard
the
seller as a friend/colleague as well, I would give him your best offer and
also
recommend that he get a second opinion from a coin dealer or another
collector.
Then sleep the sleep of the righteous whatever he decides!

Regards,
Tom

Ken, since he is a friend of yours, if he seems upset with your offer, let him
know you had a few of us offer opinions. You provided a lot more info than a
lot of folks who pop in here with, "I have these silver dollars. How much are
they worth?"

Jerry
Denomination + date + mint mark + condition + desireability = value

"Ken Knapp" writes:

Thanks to all who have replied. After taking everyone's advice into account,
I've decided to offer him $140 for the whole lot. I have a feeling he thinks
it's all worth a lot more but at least I'll have a clean conscience. I
appreciate the time everyone has spent on this and I'll let you know how
this turns out.

Well I bought the whole shootin' match. I told him I was interested in some
of the coins and gave him a price for just those, then told him I'd give him
$140 for the whole works. He just said fine and that he needed the money and
when did I want to pay him. I worte him a check then and there. He was happy
and I'm happy - although I'm going to be going to the local coin shop and
hoping to unload what I don't want in the morning. I probably won't come out
too bad on the deal (I hope).

Wonder if an acetone bath would uncolorize those silver eagles?

Ken

From: "Ken Knapp"
I bought the whole shootin' match ... He was happy and I'm happy

Therein lies the answer. You done good.

8-]


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