dumb question

News: Welcome to the Canadian Paper Money Forum.

Hi all
 I inherated a coin collection, that has some bank notes as well.   I was wondering , if I take them to a coin store to sell them.  how much below book value should I expect to receive. 50% or less?  And how will i know if it is a fair price.  Is there a norm  that dealears offer?

how much below book value should I expect to receive. 50% or less?  And how will i know if it is a fair price.  Is there a norm  that dealears offer?

My experience has been similar to taking gold to a dealer & looking for cash.  Basically, he'll look at your notes like your showing him a pair of stained underwear and then tell you that he doesn't want most of what you have because he can't sell the stuff.   If you happen to have a choice uncirculated Devil's replacement then he might raise his eyebrow and say he could sell it for you & offer you a price that is a percentage of book (it varies).  Most dealers have seen a lot of good notes.  They usually will grade it severely finding any tiny flaw in the note because they know they'll get collectors who'll do the same. He'll give you a better % rate of book if you buy something from his shop.  He's got to keep his shop open/running (with the typical overhead of a brick & mortar shop) so you can't expect much in return.  Remember you have the collectible note- but he has the money.

I believe most members here would suggest you buy (or borrow from your local library) a Charlton Standard catalogue to Canadian Government Paper Money & read it over to get a good idea of what you have.  This way you can make a better guess of what you have (write down the book value) and go into a shop with an idea of how much you're letting your notes go for. Some people who inherit coins/notes will do their research, then attend shows, network with collectors/dealers and then consign either to a collector who can sell for you, or sell themselves online or by auction (if they have notes that are very desirable).    If you wish to turn the collection into quick cash- expect a loss.  If you wish to turn the collection into the best possible return- then take your time and try selling online, enquire through dealers or there may be members here who can help.   

The bottom line is, educate yourself about your notes, and that will ensure the best possible offer from a dealer who might try to low-ball you if you know nothing about your notes.  Taking your items to a dealer does not mean you will get ripped off as some people on this forum suggest.  There are good reasons why dealers can't give you more than 50% of book and it has nothing to do with them being slimy little toadies because most of them are not slimy at all.  Selling stuff on your own is work, and you may not end up with much more of a return for all the work you do because most buyers don't want to spend more than 50% of book from someone they don't know for items they not really want.  Put a price on your time and decide if researching your notes in published catalogues is worth your time.  Only if you happen to have something super-rare and super-expensive should you hold on to it and not sell it to a dealer.

I consider dealers as market makers. They are a very important part of the numismatic food chain.

The one thing that will certainly help is if you can tabulate and sort your collection. In my experience where there is a ready market for numismatic materials dealers will pay you as much as 60-70% of the market price provided they do not have to spend time sorting through all the material and figuring the valuable from not so valuable.

Also it has been my experience that taking the same item to three different dealers will result in anything from: not interested to an offer for 70% of the market price.

I have found that in buying and selling numismatic material the price  is directly proportional to the time and effort you put into it.

As a buyer of numismatic material from Kijiji I often have been able to pick up items missing from my collection at a price between the dealer sell price and the dealer buy price. It can often be a win-win. So despite the hassles, Kijiji may get you a better rate particularly if you are in a metropolitan area.

Just know that they will account for their margin in the price that they offer to you.  I agree that it's best to do a little research and get educated - particularly if you happen to have some items of higher value.  This forum is a good place to get good information and advice if you take the time to post images, provide details etc.