In a swap I want to trade value for value, but how do I know what mine are worth? what if the other person thinks their coins are worth the high end and I am saying that mine are worth the lower end (just to be fair and safe) I am ripping myself off. I am new to coin swapping so please let me know?
Quote: redsmithstudiosI still need help on this, what is the accepted valuation of coins?
What a coin is worth will vary. One collector, desperate to own a particular coin will value it very highly, another indifferent collector (like me <g>) will value the same coin far lower.
Coin catalogues may quote market prices for coins, but these are just a guide, and not hard and fast values. At the end of the day a coin is worth what someone is prepared to pay for it, and at an auction where there are two or more collectors both keen to own a single coin that coin will be worth far more than at an auction where no one is bothered about it.
Some (most) people may consider the scrap value, so gold and silver coins will be valued higher than aluminium, steel, copper or bronze coins, rarity may also be considered.
Matt thanks for your input, I know that a coin is only worth what someone will pay, I guess I am just wondering what is fair from a trading/swaping stand point? what do you guys on numista go by?
Taking a break from swapping for a while, but still interested in pre 1799 Spanish coins, I will make time for that!
Quote: redsmithstudiosMatt thanks for your input, I know that a coin is only worth what someone will pay, I guess I am just wondering what is fair from a trading/swaping stand point? what do you guys on numista go by?
Again speaking personally, I review the mintage of coins. If the quantity minted is typically large, then I consider that coin to be common and "worthless", however a very small quantity minted and I consider it a more sought after coin and I don't offer it in an exchange.
I guess a more scientific approach would be to be guided by the "book value" in one of the world coin guides, at least that will give you an idea of a ball-park relative value of two coins if you were to consider exchanging, and that should allow you to be fair to both yourself and the other party, in good faith at least.
Worldcoingallery.com uses an average value, all the years for a given coin are merged together and then they reckon an average price. You better look in the books, because an average might not be appropriate. If there's a year that is quite scarcer than every other year, it won't be representative, and if you happen to have that scarcer coin, you might miss something and not get what it's really worth for it. Might only be used for coins that are all worth aproximatively the same, but you might not know which ones are like that.
Si tu cognes ta tête contre une cruche et que ça sonne creux, ce n'est pas forcément la cruche... lollll mon proverbe préféré !
Wow, thanks Ginger, this is a lot more complicated than I thought. Is there a web site, or is it only the books, and where do I get a book?
Thanks so much.
Taking a break from swapping for a while, but still interested in pre 1799 Spanish coins, I will make time for that!
What I suggest you to do in a swap is to see how many people have the coin you want. The less people have it, the more valuable the coins probably is. And to the coins you have, do the same think.
Hope it helped.
Yes Augusto, that is what I originally thought, and I have had 5 or 6 people interested in the same coins but they never want to commit to a trade, I have some very unique coins, and I just want to trade for silver. It seems very hard to make a trade?
I think Ginger is correct, one needs a book.
Taking a break from swapping for a while, but still interested in pre 1799 Spanish coins, I will make time for that!
These books are sold in numismatics stores, I don't think general librabries hold them in stock. Or, you may find them at your public library, if you're lucky (here in Quebec City, they are hard to find in public libraries, they have very little in stock, not to mention that they don't have all WC books and that we cannot borrow them, even if we have a lot of public libraries in the city).
Si tu cognes ta tête contre une cruche et que ça sonne creux, ce n'est pas forcément la cruche... lollll mon proverbe préféré !
I would not rely on Worldcoingallery.com at all. The website references E bay and does not take into account your specific coin. If you have a coin of low mintage or that is particularly valuable that site will generalize it with other couns and not take into consideration its value.
For united states coins I would use this web site http://www.coinstudy.com/ to determine a coins value. If the coin is made of silver it is worth its weight in that silver bare minimum regardless of condition or rarity.
For example if you have a US 1922 silver peace dollar this is a common and not very collectible coin. It would be worth exactly the silver it contains even in great condition.
If you weigh the coin it should weigh around 26.73g depending on condition. If silver content is 90% then you have roughly 24.05 grams of silver. silver value is currently at incredible high right now at 39.50/troy oz so if you figure.. 31.1 grams is equal to 1 troy oz you can determine the rough value of the coin at
31.1 ÷ 24.05 = 0.773 (your percent of a troy oz silver)
0.773 x 39.50 = 30.53 USD (market value of silver)
So the silver value of a 90% silver dollar is 30.50 USD.
This math can be applied to any silver or gold coinage of any country as long as you know what percent of precious metal it contains and its weight.
If you want to know the quick estimate of melt value for Canadian or US coins then I would use this website http://www.coinflation.com/silver_coin_values.html. This however would not take into consideration how rare these coins are but will give you a minimum value for damaged or common coins.
Now for uncommon or collectible coins you need to do the research. the value of the coin depends on the supply and demand and is not based on the metal content. If coin has a low mintage or is very old then the likelihood of finding it is less common and increases the value.
For example I have a US 1896 S barber quarter that would only be worth 7 USD in silver but since this coin has a low mintage (supply) and many people need it to complete their collections (Demand) then this coin can be valued at anywhere between 600USD to 3000USD depending on condition. (personally my coin is worth about 700 because of its condition)
If you don't have a strong knowledge of a particular coin then a quick reference at getting a numismatic value would be to search e bay's completed listing for that exact type,mint and date for your coin and see what people are actually paying for it. be sure that the coin that sold is the exact same coin as yours and is fairly the same condition.
Y es, US coins are much easier to look up, there is way more info on them, but many of my world coins are not on line any where but worldcoingallery some coins I cant find anywhere else at all. I have a lot of world coins that would be very hard to get, or many people on numista are interested some that show a very low value (demand).
I will use that coinstudy site from now on, thanks!
Taking a break from swapping for a while, but still interested in pre 1799 Spanish coins, I will make time for that!
