Preparing Your Coin Collection for Appraisal

To prepare your coin collection for appraisal, keep coins in their original holders, separate U.S. and foreign currency, group items by type and denomination, and store paper money flat in rigid envelopes. Avoid cleaning or re-packaging coins. A professional appraiser will safely sort, grade, and value each piece during your appointment.

Preparing coins for appraisal doesn’t have to be stressful. At PGS Gold & Coin, our certified coin dealers walk you through how to sort, store, and transport your collection so you’re ready for a professional coin appraisal. Use this simple guide to get your coins and currency collection appraisal-ready.

Coin collection and estate appraisals can be done at various locations including our retail coin shops, a bank vault room, your home, or your attorney’s office. If you are looking to have an appraisal of an extremely large antique coin collection, rare coin appraisal, gold coin appraisal, PGS Gold & Coin recommends the more valuable coin collections and currency valuations should be appraised at a secure location, like any of our safe & convenient retail stores or a safety deposit box room at your bank.

GENERAL TIPS FOR YOUR COIN COLLECTION APPRAISAL 

• Skip the spreadsheet: You don’t need to list every coin. Use our Coin Collection Sorting Guide to help make coin valuation go smoothly without spending hours making a list of hundreds of different coins.
• Use our Coin Collection Sorting Guide: Group similar items together so we can move quickly through your appraisal.
• Choose a secure, well-lit location: Most appraisals are done at our PGS Gold & Coin shops or in a bank vault room with a large, flat work surface.
• Decide whether to stay for the appraisal: You’re welcome to observe the process, or you can drop off your collection with a trusted expert and we’ll call when it’s ready.
• Keep everything organized afterwards: Leave our labels and groupings in place while you decide whether to sell, keep, or distribute the collection.

How to Prepare Paper Money for Appraisal

• Carefully unfold old notes and lay them flat without pressing or ironing.
• Place bills in rigid, flat envelopes or currency sleeves, avoiding new folds or creases.
• Separate U.S. and foreign notes into different stacks.
• Within U.S. currency, group by denomination ($1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100) and, if possible, by series year.
• Keep everything together in a folder or small box so it’s easy to move to your appraisal location.

COIN COLLECTION SORTING GUIDE

US CURRENCY, FOREIGN WORLD CURRENCY, OLD PAPER MONEY

Very old paper currency can be fragile, be cautious not to damage edges and corners while handling. Carefully unfold paper currency notes, place them into a rigid, flat envelope. Ensure as few bends or folds as possible, with special care to the edges and corners.

1. Separate US currency and foreign currency.
2. Sort US currency into large and small notes.
3. Break into groups by denominations $1 $2 $5 $10 $20 $50 $100.
4. Put in order by year, within each denomination group.

Proof Sets, Mint Sets & Commemorative Coins

• Leave all U.S. and world proof sets in their original mint packaging.
• Keep any small inserts, certificates, and paper cards with the correct set.
• Organize sets by year so our appraisers can quickly review completeness and condition.

Foreign Coins & World Sets

• Keep foreign coins grouped by country if possible.
• Leave any proof or mint sets sealed and intact.
• Place loose foreign coins in small bags or containers by country or type for easier valuation.

MISCELLANEOUS COINS, TOKENS, MEDALS

Sort and organize miscellaneous coins by type for easier evaluation. Some types you may find are military medals/pins, sales tax tokens, souvenir tokens, casino tokens, gaming arcade tokens, to name a few.

What to Do With Unidentified Items

• Don’t throw away items you can’t identify or read.
• Place mystery coins, tokens, medals, or paper pieces in a small, labelled bag.
• Bring them along to your appraisal so our numismatists can determine whether they have value or historical interest.

Have you ever wondered…

Where do I find a place to have my coins appraised? Where is a coin appraisal shop near me? Who do I trust for a gold coin appraisal? Where can I take my coins for an antique coin appraisal? Is there a local coin dealer in my area? Where are the local coin appraisers near me? Where do I find a coin shop for getting my coins appraised? Where are the best coin appraisal shops near me? Which coin shop do I call for silver dollar appraisals? Which coin shop do I call for antique coin appraisals? Which coin dealer do I call for a gold coin appraisal? Which coin dealer do I call for old paper money appraisals?