How to determine the value of a coin?
It is believed that numismatics or collecting coins is a “hobby of kings.” Their people collect for pleasure, for short-term profit or as a long-term investment. Regardless of the reasons for hobbies with numismatics, the ability with which you can determine the value of coins will be a useful skill both for those who want to earn money, and in order to know everything about their collection. Proper assessment is a challenge. Each coin has its own value, and not every collector can quickly and accurately determine it. Experience decides a lot in this matter - the more it is, the faster and more accurately an assessment can be made. To understand how to determine the value of a coin, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the main nuances in this article.
to contents ↑Factors that determine the value of coins
Before answering the question of how to determine the value of a coin, consider the main factors that determine their value.
Coin dating
Basically, the older she is, the higher her cost:
- Not all dates are indicated. Since the beginning of the 17th century, there is modern dating.
- Not all dates are on the Gregorian calendar. Israel and India have their own calendars, and countries in the Arab world use the Islamic calendar.
Important! If the coin you have is made in a country where the Gregorian calendar is not used, then use the date converter to determine the year according to the Gregorian calendar, for example, CalendarHome.com.
- Not all of them were minted in the year that is indicated on them. For example, American silver dollars dating back to 1804 were actually minted in 1834-1835 as trial coins, and those minted in 1804 bear the date 1803, because minted coins were still suitable for use. stamp.
Country of issue
The country in which it was issued directly affects its price, depending on the role of the country in history or the ability to mint them. Most often, the country of issue is indicated on the front or back side - it can be minted in Latin, the country's own language, or an alphabet that differs from the Latin alphabet.
Important! To find out the English equivalent, you can look at the local name of the country of issue on the resource “Nations Online”.
Rarity
The estimated value is also affected by the number of coins of this type worldwide, most often this factor is more important than its age.
Rarity depends on such factors:
- How many of them were produced. For example, the Lincoln 1914D pennies are very scarce coins because only 1,193,000 were produced. Trial Australian pennies of 1930 were preserved in only 6 copies.
- The place of coinage. Some mints produce coins for general circulation, while others mint only commemorative coins.
- Change of design.
- Change in composition.
- The presence of defects in coinage.
- Retirement.
Important! If you just decided to search for valuable coins, then you will need a special tool for this. To clarify some important issues for yourself, check out our article. "How to choose a metal detector?".
Demand
Despite the rarity, a very large role on the value of a coin is affected by demand among collectors.
Demand may depend on the place where a particular numismatist resides, or it changes over time, as well as popularity among coin collectors.
condition
The better it is preserved, the more numismatists are willing to pay for it.
The condition is assessed using two methods:
- Sheldon scale. According to her condition is divided into 70 points. One point is the lowest, and seventy is the highest.
Important! This method is used most often.
- Standard descriptive characteristics range from low “poor” to high “excellent”, and intermediate ones go on increasing “permissible”, “almost weak”, “weak”, “satisfactory”, “good”, “very good”, “excellent”, “Almost excellent.”
How to find out the value?
The question of how to determine the value of a coin sooner or later begins to interest every collector. Let us consider in more detail the main ways with which you can find out how much it costs.
Search system
You just need to score the sentence “How much does a coin cost?” In a search engine convenient for you. This is the most common and easiest way, but not always true. Most often, a huge number of different links are issued, and the correct price will only be on a couple of them. On the Internet, free bulletin boards are full of different offers for sale for big money for some reason.
Coin catalog
This catalog gives the opportunity to both identify ancient coins and report the value of all samples listed in it.
Important! Use the latest editions because the value of coins changes annually.
Main sources:
- The book "Guide to the coins of the United States" R.S. Yemen, it is also called the "Red Book" because of the cover.
- Source for coins of the whole world “Standard catalog of coins of the world Krause”.
- Directory “Konros” Coins of the RSFSR, USSR, RF.
- A.I. Fedorin “Coins of the country of the Soviets. Catalog".
Appraisers
Many collectors undergo formal appraisal training to determine the value and condition of the coins. This service is not free, but they will tell you the value of the coin.
Important! If you already have a certain number of coins from different metals, and maybe other valuable antiquities, and you want to bring them into the appropriate form for sale or storage, use our selection of safe methods:
Completed Auctions
Their advantage is that they can be used to determine the value of a coin in any state. The error is not more than 10%. To find out the value, you must:
- Go to the auction page.
- Open the archive and enter the keywords in the search bar.
- After - a description appears, most often this is a photo with a small description. Look at the final bid at which the sale was made, it is next to the description.
- Examine a few of these auctions to see how much your coin is worth.
Important! Do not forget that auctions take a commission from the transaction if you want to sell your rarity.
Tips & Warnings:
- Damaged or poor quality coins also have their value. It is determined by the content of metals in it. Multiply the weight of the product by the percentage of expensive metal at current metal prices and find out the cost.
Important! It is necessary to convert weight to troy ounces.
- Some coins are counterfeited.
- Often the cost is a "book" and, most likely, you will not be able to sell it for such an amount, because many buyers earn money from their resale.
Stock footage
We examined in our article the main factors and ways to determine the value of a coin. It is best to turn to numismatist professionals who have been collecting them for many years. The choice is yours!
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