General Instructions for Preparing Your Coin Collection for Appraisal

As Your Certified Coin Dealer, PGS Gold & Coin Assists You Through The Entire Coin Appraisal Process, And Will Help You To Prepare Your Coins & Currency Collection For Evaluation.

-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
- Don’t waste your valuable time making a list of coins on a spreadsheet. The coins in your collection will be resorted into proper categories and cataloged by the coin experts at PGS Gold & Coin during your numismatic coin appraisal. Use our Coin Collection Sorting Guide to help make coin valuation go smoothly without spending hours making a list of hundreds of different coins.
- Collection evaluations and coin valuations are done at our retail coin shops, or another secure place that is both well-lit, and features a large flat surface suitable for material sorting. For extensive coin and currency collections, appraisals can be boring and time-consuming. Should you choose not to be present during the coin valuation process, you may drop off materials with a qualified PGS Gold & Coin numismatist, at one of our retail coin shops. Our expert coin appraisers will evaluate your coin collection and other items at your convenience, then contact you for further instructions on how you’d like to proceed.
- Once a coin value appraisal has been completed, it is best to keep the material organized and labeled until you decide on plans for the collection. Often the choice to sell an antique coin collection requires decisions that include other family members or beneficiaries. The reputable and honest coin appraisers at PGS Gold & Coin understand the nature of these decisions and help you through the process.
- Proper storage of your coins should be addressed during a coin collection evaluation. Some types of containers & old coin holders can damage the precious contents over extended periods. During the coin valuation process, PGS Gold & Coin will advise you on how to preserve valuable antique coins and old paper money in proper protective containers for short-term and long-term safekeeping.
The Golden Rule of Coin Collecting:
Never “Clean” Coins

How To Prepare Your Collection For A Professional Coin Appraisal
Coins in Coin Albums and Coin Books
Leave coins contained in coin albums or books in place. Do not attempt to remove coins from their placements. If the collection of coins is contained in 3-ring binders with protective plastic pages, it is best to organize the pages by coin type, using the sorting guidelines below.
Coins in Plastic Holders, Coin Capsules
Leave coins intact for evaluation.
Coins in Paper Rolls, Plastic Coin Tubes
Leave coins intact for evaluation.
Loose Coins
Organize the loose coins by type/denomination. Bag each different type of coin and label the bag with the quantity.
Use the sorting guide below to organize your coins by type. Take care to contain only one type of coin per bag.
COIN COLLECTION SORTING GUIDE

CENTS, PENNIES 1c
- Lincoln Memorial Reverse
- Lincoln Wheat Reverse
- Indian Head Cents 1880 – 1909
- Indian Head Cents before 1880
- Flying Eagle Cents
- Large Cents 1793 – 1857
TWO CENTS 2c, THREE CENTS 3c
- Two Cent piece 1864 – 1873
- Three Cent Silver 1851 – 1873
- Three Cent Nickel 1865 – 1889
NICKELS 5c
- Jefferson Head
- Buffalo or Indian Head, Full Date
- Buffalo or Indian Head, Partial Date
- Buffalo or Indian Head, No Date
- Liberty Head or V type
- Shield Type
DIMES 10c
- Roosevelt pre-1965
- Roosevelt 1965 – current
- Mercury Dimes or Liberty
- Barber Head Dimes or Liberty
- Liberty Seated Dimes
- Bust Dimes
QUARTERS 25c
- Washington Quarters pre-1965
- Washington Quarters 1965 – current
- Standing Liberty Quarters
- Barber Quarters
- Liberty Seated Quarters
- Bust Quarters
HALF DOLLARS 50c
- Kennedy Half Dollars 1965 – 1970
- Kennedy Half Dollars pre-1965
- Franklin Half Dollars
- Walking Liberty Half Dollars
- Barber Head Half Dollars
- Seated Liberty Half Dollars
- Bust Half Dollars
- Flowing Hair Half Dollars
DOLLARS $1
- Eisenhower “Ike” Dollars (large silver-tone coin)
- Sacagawea and Presidents (smaller gold-tone coins)
SILVER DOLLARS $1
- Liberty Head or Peace Dollars
- Morgan Dollars
- Seated Liberty Dollars
- Bust Dollars
- Flowing Hair Dollars
WORLD COINS
- Copper, Aluminum, and Nickel coins after 1965
- Copper, Aluminum, and Nickel coins after 1900, but before 1965
- Copper, Aluminum, and Nickel coins after 1800, but before 1900
- Silver coins after 1965
- Silver coins after 1900, but before 1965
- Silver coins after 1800, but before 1900
- Coins dated between 1700 and 1800
- Coins dated before 1700
- Ancient coins
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.
- Separate US currency and foreign currency.
- Sort US currency into large and small notes.
- Break into groups by denominations $1 $2 $5 $10 $20 $50 $100.
- Put in order by year, within each denomination group.
Foreign Coins, World Coin Proof sets, Mint sets
Leave coins intact within the original packaging. Retain all small paper cards included with sets. All original material should remain included and intact with each set.
US Proof sets, US Mint sets, Commemorative Coin Sets
Leave coins intact within original packaging & material. Organize sets by year.
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.
Unidentified Items
Place any unidentified items you have into a separate bag to be assessed during your coin collection appraisal by a numismatic expert from PGS Gold & Coin.
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?
PGS Gold & Coin is a trusted Coin Dealer, certified coin buyer, coin seller, and coin appraiser in the Chicago area and Midwest region.
As Certified Coin Dealers, Appraisers, and Precious Metal Specialists, PGS Gold & Coin buys, sells, and appraises coin collections, stamp collections, gold & diamond jewelry, along with a wide variety of items. PGS Gold & Coin provides free evaluations, estate & insurance appraisals, safe deposit box appraisals, and coin grading submission services. PGS Gold & Coin can assist you in buying, selling, and investing in gold bullion, silver bullion, platinum bullion, palladium bullion, and rhodium bullion, as well as guide you through investing in Precious Metal IRA. PGS Gold & Coin GIA Certified Diamond Buyers appraise diamond engagement rings, diamond jewelry, loose diamonds, and gemstones. PGS Gold & Coin pays top dollar for diamond rings, diamond jewelry, sterling silver, and scrap dental gold. PGS Gold & Coin retail stores feature rare coins, antique silver coins, US gold coins, foreign gold coins, silver dollars, type coins, ancient coins, medals, tokens, old US currency, foreign currency, Confederate currency & Civil War currency. Our online store features all of the above plus fine watches, antique pocket watches, autographed sports memorabilia, historical documents, militaria, US & foreign war memorabilia, comic books, vintage toys, model trains, musical instruments, rare stamps, estate jewelry, luxury fur coats, designer handbags, purses, fine wine collections, antiques, and collectibles. We also buy smartphones, cell phones, iPads, laptops, video game consoles, and other new in-the-box electronics.
For more information from a certified coin dealer
about buying selling appraising your coin collection,
Call your trusted local numismatist PGS Gold & Coin (888) 416-2701
PGS Gold & Coin has retail coin shops conveniently located in the Chicago suburbs of
Palatine (847) 713-1282, Wheaton (630) 534-9356, Schaumburg (847) 235-7063, and Villa Park (331) 246-0759
How Can We Help?
Do you have a question or would you like to schedule a free quote?
ABOUT PGS
PGS Gold & Coin’s mission is to provide our customers with fair market value in exchange for any unwanted rare coins, platinum, gold, silver, diamond, jewelry, and collectibles. We strive to deliver the highest quality of customer service each and every day.
PGS Gold & Coin is locally owned and family operated since 2008. PGS has become one of the premier and most trusted rare coin and precious metals dealers in the Midwest region & Chicagoland area.
We are a Certified Coin Dealer by PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Service), NGC (Numismatic Guaranty Corporation), and PMG (Paper Money Guaranty). We are a proud sponsor of the ANA (American Numismatic Association) and have an A+ Rating with the BBB (Better Business Bureau).
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