William
Ok i am totally new to coins and collecting. I am in need of some serious guidance I have 100 or so US Indian 1 & 2 cent 1883 to 1909. a few lincoln cents 1909 to 1932.Some Nickles 1943 to 1975. Dimes from .1899 to 1971..plus the quarters halves and dollars. I have not yet inventoried . All the coins are in a cardboard with a plastic window .. How do i go abouts getting the coins graded.THANK YOU SincerelyWm. Shephard
Comments
CentSearcher
Level 5
Welcome to the ANA! I wouldn't recommend getting them professionally graded. I think you should start by getting a binder, 2x2 coin flips, pages for the flips, and a 2021 Redbook. That should help you get started. Stay safe!
Kurisu
Level 4
You'll find that you won't want them all graded since it's time and money and it's often better spent elsewhere. Do another post with some photos and introduce us to some of your coins...you might just get some advice on taking coin photos as well as your coins, actually I know you will! :-)
Kepi
Level 6
Welcome William! Hope you have a good time here on the ANA web-site! Lots of great people and information for sure! ; )
"SUN"
Level 6
Reading is the key to learning about coins. Welcome
Longstrider
Level 6
Hi William. I hope you enjoy yourself here. Everyone will try there best to help you. No dumb questions here. Looks like your question has been well and truly answered so good luck.
TheNumisMaster
Level 5
Morning William! Welcome to the ANA! I am 17, and have been collecting for a bit over 7 years. I "Specialize" in US cents, and would love to help you out any way I can. I feel like I cannot add further to the advice given, but I will say this. Before sending in any coin for TPG (Third Party Grading) you must do the following. Add up how much you got the coin for, and how much it would cost to send it in. (I personally recommend NGC as opposed to PCGS, but many collectors would disagree). You can easily find out their rates on their respective websites. As a member of the ANA, you get a free account with NGC, allowing you to submit directly to them without paying for a monthly membership. Anyway, I digress. Once you have added up the total cost of submission plus the price you acquired the coins, look at a grading guide, and try to assign a grade to the coin yourself. My go to book is the ANA Grading Standards book. Once that has been done, use the NGC Price Guide (Which assigns value to the coin in a graded slab, as opposed to the Red Book which only evaluates "raw" coins that have not been professionally graded). At that point, do some math to figure out a rough profit expectation. Keep a couple of things in mind. NGC has been known to slightly overprice coins, and your grading, since you are new to all this, might be a bit off. In general, my advice would be to take your best shot at grading the piece, tick it down a notch (If you see an MS 65, bump it to a 64), and subtract $7 from NGC. Just my advice. If you want to send in your coin after all this, send me a private message and I will walk you through it. Again, welcome to the site, and I would love to help out any way I can. I am very active on the site, and you may contact me any time. Have a good one! Cheers, NM aka Preston (:
I. R. Bama
Level 5
Glad to have you here! Well, this would be a great time to inventory your coins before it gets so big it becomes a tedious production to inventory them. There are several ways. I use coin inventory software. Some people do excel sheets and others here just write it all down. Keep track of the value too for both insurance purposes and buying/selling
It's Mokie
Level 6
Greetings William, thanks for joining our merry little band. First of all I am assuming that most of your coins are of modest value and are not worth being formally graded (slabbed). Before you attempt to submit anything for grading, you need to take some preliminary steps. you need to obtain a copy of the ANA grading guide and a copy of the Red Book (A Guide Book of United States Coins). These can be obtained at any coin dealer or through Whitman Publishing (Whitman.com). Once you've received your books, study them both carefully to determine what your coins are graded and how much they're worth. I would not even consider having a coin slabbed unless it was worth at least $50. Your best path forward to find a local coin club and a local dealer. Those are both invaluable sources for free information about your collection. You can find both dealers and clubs in your area by clicking the RESOURCES tab at the top of this page. Good Luck and fire us any question you might have as you go forward in this greatest of all hobbies. (:
slybluenote
Level 5
Hi Wm. Shephard, Ditto what Golfer posted. Although I have never sent coins off to be graded, I have sought advice from my local coin dealer. He feels the same as I do about that. It's also important to me to inventory at a minimum once a year. I just completed mine in Dec. 2020. Now that you're a member of the ANA, you get a discount at ANACS on grading. Let us know how things turn out and good luck!
Mike
Level 7
I had posted a comment and forgot to send it. If you get a coin worth more than 50 or 60 dollars I might consider it. Here's why. First contact the ANA. They have a deal for kids with NGC. I don't think you have to pay an annual fee. Coins are $17 dollars $5 for scratch proof slab. Then $10 handling fee. $ 26 dollars return postage. And other fees based on what you want. That's why Mokie and myself recommend a coin in great shape. P.C.G. S is about the same and ANA.C S. Is the cheepest. N.G.C. Is the best for kids under 18!! Welcome to the ANA. In would follow allot of what Mokie said. You want to learn about coins your in the right place.The value of the coin is what it brings to you.
Golfer
Level 5
You can find plenty of grading guides and grade them yourself. You will be surprised how well you can grade. If they are valuable coins then send them off to a grading service for a more accurate grade and preservation. Lincoln cents and Indian cents, you should be able to get a good idea of grade yourself. I wouldn't worry about being exact on inexpensive coins. Good luck. Let us know how you do and what you did. Thanks