Inheriting a coin collection is more common than most people think, and for most heirs it's also more stressful than expected. You didn't build the collection, you may not know what any of it is worth, and you usually need to divide or liquidate within a timeline that other family members or an estate attorney is watching. This post walks through what to actually do in order, with a focus on not losing money to haste.
Start by not doing anything irreversible
The single worst move after inheriting coins is to take the collection to the first local coin shop and accept the walk-in offer. That's not a statement about coin shops being dishonest; it's a statement about information asymmetry. A shop owner can tell in thirty seconds what a coin is, while it may take you weeks to learn the same thing. The offer they give you reflects their cost basis, not the coin's fair market value, and once you accept it the transaction is final.
So the first rule is simple: keep the coins secure, do not clean anything, do not rearrange holders, and do not sell anything for at least two weeks. That window gives you time to understand what you actually have.
Inventory before you appraise
Before paying anyone to look at the collection, build a rough inventory yourself. You're not grading coins at this stage; you're describing them well enough that an appraiser can quote a fee and a timeline.
For each item, note: denomination (penny, nickel, dime, quarter, half, dollar), metal (copper, silver, gold, clad), date, and mintmark if visible. Flag anything in a plastic holder labeled PCGS, NGC, or ANACS — these are already graded and the holder itself carries information. Flag anything in a cardboard holder ("2x2") with handwritten notes, since those notes usually reflect the deceased's own grading and may or may not be accurate.
Photograph everything, ideally in the holder it came in. If the collection is in albums, photograph each page. If it's in rolls, photograph the ends and one or two coins from each roll. These photos are your paper trail for the estate and they're also what a remote appraiser will work from first.
Establishing tax basis
The IRS treats inherited coins as capital property, and the cost basis is the fair market value on the date of death, not what the deceased paid for them. This matters enormously if the collection was built decades ago. A Morgan dollar bought for $50 in 1975 might be worth $800 today, but your capital gain for tax purposes is measured from the date-of-death value, not the $50.
To lock that basis in, you need a written appraisal dated close to the date of death. For estates above the federal exemption this is often required anyway, but even for smaller estates it's worth doing because it caps your tax exposure if you sell later. An appraisal done six months after inheritance can still reference date-of-death value if the appraiser is experienced with estate work, but it's cleaner to do it promptly.
If the estate is being probated, the appraisal usually goes through the estate attorney and the cost is paid from the estate. If not, you're paying out of pocket but the fee is deductible against the eventual sale proceeds.
Choosing an appraiser
Three kinds of people appraise coins: local coin-shop owners, independent numismatists with credentials, and the grading services themselves (PCGS and NGC offer appraisal services for a fee).
For everyday collections under about $10,000 in total estimated value, an independent numismatist with an American Numismatic Association (ANA) certification is usually the best fit. They charge by the hour and give you a written report that stands up to IRS scrutiny. Expect $100–$300 per hour depending on the region; a typical mid-size collection takes three to six hours.
For high-value collections, or for any collection that includes slabbed coins graded MS-65 and above, sending the top items to PCGS or NGC for re-grading under their appraisal service gives you both a formal valuation and a sale-ready encapsulation. This is worth the extra time if you plan to sell at auction.
Local coin-shop appraisals are faster and cheaper, but they come with a structural conflict: the appraiser is also a potential buyer. Always ask whether the appraiser is willing to walk away without making an offer before you agree to the appraisal.
The three ways to sell
Once you know what you have, you have three real options to convert it to cash: sell to a dealer, list on a marketplace like eBay, or consign to an auction house.
Selling to a dealer is fastest and usually yields 60–75 percent of fair market value for generic material. For rarities or high-grade coins, the gap widens, and a dealer offer can be as low as 40 percent of what the same coin would bring at public auction. If you need cash quickly and the collection is mostly bullion or common-date silver, this is fine. If there's anything scarce in the group, you'll usually leave money on the table.
Listing on eBay gives you direct retail exposure and typically yields 80–95 percent of fair market value, but the work is yours: photographs, descriptions, listing fees, shipping, returns, chargeback risk. For a dozen coins this is feasible. For a hundred coins or a thousand, the friction exceeds the margin you're saving.
Consigning to an auction house splits the difference. You turn over the physical coins, the auction house handles photography, cataloging, bidding, collection, and settlement, and you receive your share about a week after the sale closes. Commissions typically run 15–25 percent of hammer, offset by the auction venue's reach into a buyer pool that specializes in numismatic material. For anything above common-date silver, auction consistently clears higher than dealer sale, often higher than eBay once fees are netted.
How USCNE handles estate consignments
Estate consignments are a material share of what we process. The intake flow is the same as a regular consignment — mail-in or pickup, depending on volume and distance — but with a few estate-specific accommodations.
First, we accept consignments from multiple heirs under a single account or split across multiple accounts depending on how the estate is dividing proceeds. Your estate attorney can coordinate this directly with us; we're used to the documentation.
Second, we'll break up a collection across multiple auctions when that improves sale price. A hundred Morgan dollars in one auction dilutes buyer attention; the same hundred split across three or four auctions over two months often yields a meaningfully higher total.
Third, we provide detailed settlement statements that slot into estate accounting without extra work. Each lot is listed with hammer price, commission, and net, and the total ties to the wire you receive.
Our commission is the standard 20 percent, dropping to 18 percent at $25,000 in cumulative sales and 15 percent at $50,000. For a full estate collection, most consignors hit the 18 percent tier on the first auction.
What not to do
Three mistakes come up often enough to warrant calling out.
Do not clean the coins. Ever. Cleaning destroys the original surface and drops the value of almost any coin by half or more. This includes polishing cloths, silver polish, and "gentle" water rinses. If a coin is ugly, sell it ugly; a buyer who wants a bright coin will pay more for it after they have it conserved by a professional than they will for one you cleaned at home.
Do not separate slabbed coins from their holders. The holder is part of the coin's value. A coin graded MS-64 by PCGS in 2018 is worth what an MS-64 is worth; the same coin loose in a flip has to be re-graded and may come back lower.
Do not accept a lump-sum offer for the entire collection without itemized valuation. A dealer who wants to "make it easy" with one round number is usually hiding better material inside a pool of filler. Insist on line items or walk.
Timeline
A typical estate collection runs about six weeks from inheritance to first settlement check if you move promptly: two weeks to inventory, two weeks for appraisal, one week to decide sale channel, and then the auction cycle runs on its own seven-day schedule after listing. If the collection is large enough to split across multiple auctions, plan on three to four months to liquidate fully.
If you're working on an estate timeline or have specific questions about your collection, contact us through the consignor portal or at info@uscollectiblesne.com. Estate consignments usually get a direct response within one business day, and we can quote commission, timeline, and expected results before you commit.