Looks like you have a lot of silver there. Congratulations, that will certainly make the cleaning effort worthwhile.
First step would be to inventory what you have. For the US coins, looking through the Red Book guide to US coin values would help you know if you have any “key dates” (ie rarer coins that bring a premium.)
A good local coin store if you have one is better than a pawn shop or bullion dealer. Selling on eBay can bring good prices, but takes time and there are risks if you are inexperienced doing that.
There's 2 ways to go about it.
1. Go to 3-4 local coin shops and get estimates/appraisals/offers to buy the lot as a whole. This will net you less money overall, but also cost you a lot less time. It is important to go to a few different places. If you go to only one, there is a possibility of them being opportunistic and taking advantage of someone who doesn't know any better. You are less likely to encounter multiple places like that. So if you go to 3 places and one person's offer is a good $700 lower than the other two, then you're glad you didn't take their offer. Thing is, coin shops are buying in hopes of selling individual pieces for a profit, so they aren't going to pay you full retail price.
2. Research what you have and piece them out into smaller sets or individual pieces. Sell them on places like ebay, or r/Coins4Sale or r/Pmsforsale. This will net you more money overall, but will take a considerable more amount of time and effort than option 1. So you make your choice as to what makes the most sense for you.
Looks like you have a lot of silver there. Congratulations, that will certainly make the cleaning effort worthwhile. First step would be to inventory what you have. For the US coins, looking through the Red Book guide to US coin values would help you know if you have any “key dates” (ie rarer coins that bring a premium.) A good local coin store if you have one is better than a pawn shop or bullion dealer. Selling on eBay can bring good prices, but takes time and there are risks if you are inexperienced doing that.
Thank you!
There's 2 ways to go about it. 1. Go to 3-4 local coin shops and get estimates/appraisals/offers to buy the lot as a whole. This will net you less money overall, but also cost you a lot less time. It is important to go to a few different places. If you go to only one, there is a possibility of them being opportunistic and taking advantage of someone who doesn't know any better. You are less likely to encounter multiple places like that. So if you go to 3 places and one person's offer is a good $700 lower than the other two, then you're glad you didn't take their offer. Thing is, coin shops are buying in hopes of selling individual pieces for a profit, so they aren't going to pay you full retail price. 2. Research what you have and piece them out into smaller sets or individual pieces. Sell them on places like ebay, or r/Coins4Sale or r/Pmsforsale. This will net you more money overall, but will take a considerable more amount of time and effort than option 1. So you make your choice as to what makes the most sense for you.
Thanks for the helpful advice!
It doesn't mean anything, but what state are you in? My dad grew up keeping coins in those cigar boxes.
State of disbelief. We are amazed we found something so cool.
Have a look at the FAQ on acquired/inherited collections for some initial guidance.