Coin appraisals
Free coin appraisals on the counter for rare coins, old coins and coin collections, and written valuations for probate or insurance.
What qualifies
- Single coins, rare or common
- Inherited coin collections
- Slabbed and raw material
- Insurance valuations
- Probate valuations
- Paper currency and banknotes, including silver certificates
An appraisal answers a different question from an offer. It tells you what you have — whether a coin is genuine, what it is, what condition it is in, and whether it is worth more as a collectable than as metal.
Verbal appraisals on the counter are free and carry no obligation. If you need something formal for an executor, an attorney or an insurer, that is a written valuation: itemized, dated and prepared as a document you can file.
Plenty of people come in for an appraisal, learn what they have, and leave with it. That is a perfectly good outcome.
If you do want to sell coins, we are coin buyers as well as appraisers, and a coin collection is sorted the same way whether or not you sell: rare coins and anything else collectable are identified first, and common gold and silver coins are weighed only after that.
How an offer is reached
- 1We identify each piece — date, mint mark, variety, and whether it is genuine
- 2We assess condition against the Sheldon scale
- 3We verify any third-party slab against the grading service's own registry
- 4We explain what we found and what your options are
We do not publish our own prices, rates or percentages. They move with the metal markets through the day, and any figure printed here would be wrong by the time you read it.
Common questions
- Is an appraisal the same as an offer?
- No. A verbal appraisal tells you what something is. A purchase offer is what we would pay for it. They are different figures and we keep them clearly separate.
- Can I sell coins to you after an appraisal?
- Yes, with one exception — we do not buy error coins. There is no obligation to sell after an appraisal, but if you want to sell coins we will make a purchase offer and keep it clearly separate from the appraisal. Where a rare coin would do better graded and sold at auction, we will tell you that instead.
- Do you buy error coins?
- No. We do not buy error coins. If you think you have one, a dealer who specializes in errors or an auction house is the better place to take it.
- Do you charge for written valuations?
- Written valuations for probate or insurance are a formal document and are quoted separately. Verbal appraisals on the counter are free.
- Will you buy everything you appraise?
- Not necessarily. We regularly advise people to have a piece graded and sold at auction rather than sell it to us.
- Are my coins silver?
- Dimes and quarters dated 1964 or earlier, and half dollars dated 1970 or earlier, were struck in silver. Later dates are face value unless they came out of a US proof or mint set that was marked as silver. If you are unsure, bring them in and we will check.
- Are older coins worth more than newer ones?
- Often, but age on its own does not make a coin valuable. Value needs collector demand as well as scarcity, and there are coins many centuries old that trade for very little simply because few people collect them.
- Do you exchange foreign currency?
- No. We buy foreign coins and banknotes that have collectable or precious metal value, but we do not convert currency for travel. Your bank will handle that before or after a trip.
- Can you cash in a jar of loose change?
- No, we are not set up for it — a bank or a coin-counting machine is what you want. We are interested in loose change only where the coins are silver or collectable, which is worth a look before you cash it in.
Available at
Book an appraisal
No obligation, and no fee if you decide not to sell. Bring photo ID to any appointment — New Jersey requires it.