Collecting gold coins is often regarded as something that people with money and time would get into as a hobby. It can be an expensive hobby depending on how much money one has to spend and the kind of coins they collect, however, collecting gold coins isn’t exclusively for people with money to burn. It can also be a lucrative hobby and an investment vehicle that can help you get cash when you need to liquidate your investments. Selling gold coins is easy. There are many avenues that one can go about liquidating your gold, however, it is important to be prepared and to have as much information about gold coins and the selling process so you can get the best deal. Here are some suggestions on how and where you can sell your coins that you might want to explore.
Local coin shops
There are a number of gold buyers and sellers who specialise in coins. If you happen to know of a coin dealer near you, that could be a great place to start. Coin dealers have extensive knowledge of what is going on in the coin collecting world and would know which coins are in demand and have a higher value because of that demand and which coins are bought solely for their gold content. The benefit of choosing this option is that you will be dealing face-to-face with gold buyers, which often results in immediate cash – no waiting for someone to send you a check in the mail. However, there aren’t a lot of coin dealers around and which can be inconvenient if you aren’t living near one. The price that you get in a coin shop might not always be the best because, the dealer buying your coins needs to make a profit to cover overhead costs involved in running a brick-and-mortar establishment.
Coin Shows
Coin collectors often create communities where they live. They often host coin shows where enthusiasts, display their collections, put up their coins for sale and generally share their love of collecting. People usually travel from far flung areas to sell or buy coins. These are also a great place to meet with like-minded coin enthusiasts to learn more about collecting gold coins, buying or selling gold coins. Having dealers and collectors in one spot is convenient however, most coin shows focus on selling rather than buying gold coins from collectors. If you live far from places where these coin shows are being held, the cost to travel makes them inconvenient. These shows happen intermittently and you may not have the time to wait for a show to roll into your area.
Pawnshops
Pawnshops are great because they offer you the option to use your coins as collateral for a cash loan. If you do not repay the pawnshop loan as per the agreement with the pawnbroker, you will forfeit your coins and the pawn broker can resell them, often at a higher price than what you received as a loan.
Online Gold Buyers
There are many online gold dealers, including auction sites that give you the convenience of selling your gold coins from the comfort of your home. The downside of going online is that you don’t get paid instantly. You have to ship the coins to the dealer to even get an appraisal and offer. This can take weeks! The other issue that people have with online gold buyers is security. There is a lot of risk associated with shipping valuable gold coins to a buyer you have never really met.
Smelters and Refiners
For gold to be clean and pure enough for use in different industries it needs to go through a refinery. Refineries also melt down old gold jewellery and coins, refine the gold to remove impurities and reform what comes out of that process into a bullion bar, bullion shots or gold coins. Smelters and refineries are a great option to look at when you have a large number of coins or a lot of jewellery. When you choose a refinery to sell your gold to just know that the amount you will receive for your gold will purely be based on the melt value and nothing else.
For most gold pieces, the amount that you can expect is close to spot price. When it comes to gold coins, the spot price, particularly affects U.S minted coins that were struck before 1965. It does not affect rare coins and collectable coins whose numismatic value exceeds the price of the yellow metal itself. Bear in mind that most refineries will only deal with gold buyers who can sell gold to them in volume.
Take some time to look at each of the options presented. Where the pros and coins for each option and choose the one that will work best for you.
