Guide
Inherited coins or paper money? What to do first
Going through a relative's coins or old bills can feel like a lot. You don't need to know what everything is. A few simple steps protect what the collection is worth and make the first conversation easier.
For estates and large collections, we can come to you. Sending photos doesn't commit you to sell, and you can turn down any offer.
Before you do anything else
- Don't clean anything. Cleaning can't be undone and can lower a coin's value to collectors.
- Don't flatten, press, iron, wash or tape paper money.
- Leave coins in their albums, flips, holders and Mint packaging, and don't open rolls.
- If you need to move a coin, hold it by the edges over a soft towel. Fingerprints on the faces can leave permanent marks, especially on proof and uncirculated coins.
- Keep boxes, certificates, Mint envelopes, receipts and any notes the collector made with the coins they belong to.
- Don't spend or throw out coins that look ordinary. Older dimes, quarters and half dollars may be silver.
What's often in an inherited collection
- Coin folders and albums with pennies, nickels or dimes pressed into dated holes.
- Proof sets and mint sets from the U.S. Mint, still in their boxes or envelopes.
- Rolls of older coins.
- Silver dollars, loose or in plastic holders.
- Coins sealed in grading holders, often called slabs, with a label and certification number.
- Old bills kept in envelopes, books or wallets.
Collections often mix everyday coins with a few scarcer pieces, so keep everything together until someone has looked at it.
If several family members are involved
- Agree on one person to share photos and talk with buyers.
- Photograph everything before anything is divided, so everyone sees the same pictures.
- Keep the collection in one place until everyone has decided.
Who can sell
Sellers must be 18 or older and should be ready to show a valid government-issued photo ID.
If the coins are part of an estate that is still being settled, ask the estate's attorney or executor whether anything is needed before you sell, such as probate.
What to send
Photos let us see what you have before anyone meets. To start, send:
- 1. Both sides: A clear photo of the front and back of each coin or note.
- 2. Grading labels: If an item is in a grading holder, the front and back of the label.
- 3. Your town: Just your town for now, no street address.
- 4. A few words: What you have and, if you know, where it came from.
Photo tips for clear pictures
- Both sides of every coin or note.
- Good, even light with no glare, and the item in sharp focus.
- A plain, uncluttered background.
- Close-ups of the date and mintmark on coins.
- For loose silver coins, one photo of the edges (a short stack is fine).
- Leave coins in their albums, flips, holders and Mint packaging, and photograph them that way. Don't open rolls; photograph the ends. Hold loose coins by their edges.
- For graded coins and notes: the front and back of the holder label, including the certification number.
- For bars and rounds: the stamped weight and purity.
- For paper money: both sides, with the whole note in the frame and the serial numbers readable.
- Your town and a short description of what you have.
Send photos in a private message, not as a comment on a public post. Your town is enough to start.
Common silver coins
If the collection includes U.S. dimes, quarters or half dollars dated 1964 or earlier, our silver calculator can give you a quick estimate. Here's how to tell if a coin is silver.
Key dates, Morgan and Peace dollars, proof sets and anything in a grading holder may be worth more than their silver. Those are best judged from photos first, then in person.
Old bills in the collection? See our guide to old paper money.
Questions to ask any buyer
- Will you look at the items in person before making an offer?
- Will you ask me to ship anything or pay anything up front?
- Can I turn down the offer and keep my items?
Our answers are under What happens next and Good to know, below.
Ready to send photos?
We're based in Rockmart, Georgia, and we look at every collection in person before making any offer.
Not sure what to write? Copy a message starter.
Good to know
- Sending photos doesn't commit you to sell, and you can turn down any offer.
- We never ask you to ship items or pay anything up front.
- For estates and large collections, we can come to you.
- Please don't mail items to us. Start with photos.