Hi all, I know nothing about collectible coins and recently on my grandfathers passing inherited a biscuit tin full of old coins. I didn't even know that he collected coins so it was a bit of a surprise. About half of it is made up of pre decimal Australian (mostly Pennys and Half Pennys, nothing gold), and the other half OS coins, many of which are also pre decimal, Fiji, New Zealand, PNG etc. As well as what appear to be some Asian coins, Japanese and Chinese mostly I think. So my question is, can someone recommend a reputable coin dealer in the Brisbane area where I could get an appraisal. I'm reluctant to leave a tin full with a stranger for a week or so and come back to collect it and be told they're not worth much (which could very well be the case) but what;s to stop a dealers slipping out one or two rarer gems and handing back the rest for a pittance. Not knowing much about the industry is this sort of thing likely. There are way too many for me to sit, photograph and catalogue to make sure I get back what I hand over, but to be honest I really can't be arsed putting in that sort of effort. Any experiencd people here have any suggesitions? Cheers, Brett
If you dont feel you can entrust them to someone then I suggest you "be arsed" If you dont want to put any effort in just throw the old tin back in behind your undies pile and forget it
Suggestions Don't handle the coins except with gloves. Try to find a coin catalogue from your local library to see if you have any coins of value. Perhaps take an image of the coins that may have value which you could show to a coin dealer or... place on this forum so that we could give you some idea of their valuue. Cheers
Stoic, thank you for your sage advice. Duly noted. It's not so much a matter of can't be arsed (thought there's a bit of that) it's more simply I just don't have the time to do that and I really don't know what the state of the industry is. I certainly know that unscrupulous behaviour in some collectible industries can be rife and profits are made on ignorance. Holdfast, thanks for the extra practical advice. I've pretty much handled every single one of them without gloves. Also, the fact that they're in an old biscuit container that's started rusting on the inside can't be doing much good either? I've pretty much sorted out all the pennies, half pennies, 6p and 3p and bagged them in clip seal bags according to date or denomination. (none of the key dates - my small amount of research has got me that far) and I notice some dealers sell these by the kilo so they are obviously not that valuable. There are quite a few that don't seem to have a country name on them but everything else about them would appear to be British, but now I'm just guessing. Some say India which I'm guessing is Colonial British India? Do you guys know of a website for laymen such as myself where I can slowly kick off the process? Thanks again for your suggestions. Very much appreciated.
https://www.australian-coins.net/index.php You may have to register. Lots of knowledgeable members there will assist you.
Some handy links for grading which is an important factor - http://www.anda.com.au/resources.asp http://www.tdkapdc.com.au/australian-pre-decimal-coins---coin-grading-index.html http://www.numismatics.com.au/Blog/Coin_Grading_Guide http://www.thepurplepenny.com/the-importance-of-grading-a-coin-yourself,47.html
Thanks guys. Yeah, I realise the grading is a huge factor. Some of these appear so worn you can barely make out the image/writing. Anyway, guess that gives me something to do when I get a spare year or two up my sleeve.. Cheers, Brett
I would just spread them out and take a picture and post it here. Someone should be able to look at and give an idea if there's anything of value. Not me though I'm not a knowledgeable Aussie fellow lol.
BulkCoins15 is right, it would take any good dealer only around a minute to pick through them. They should be able to do it in front of you, the mat comes out and they just flick over them and will tell you if there is anything of value. 99% of the time there is nothing of interest to the dealer, just the way it goes, valuable coins are not usually stored in bulk with common coins so chances are you won't have anything valuable but you never know. I helped a person once go though an old tin of common coins to then find a pair of UNC florins in there, asked them why their grandparents would have just those two coins in such good condition and they worked out they just kept them as it was someones birth year, still looked Mint from the bank.
The lads are right about the coins probably worth diddley but remember, it only takes one. I have sifted through thousands of coins before because people couldn't be assed doing it and I made four figures so if you are willing to do research it is definitely worth pursuing.
