The best place to sell coins depends on what they are. As of October 2026, common silver coins sell fastest to a local coin shop or bullion dealer at roughly 90 to 100 percent of melt, about $41 per $1 face value of 90 percent silver at $58 silver. Graded key dates do best at Heritage or Stack's Bowers, and eBay takes 13.25 percent.
Most coin accumulations are mostly common: wheat cents, worn silver, proof sets, foreign change. That is simply how coins survive. The money is in sorting first, so the few coins worth auctioning do not get swept into a bulk offer.
Quick answer
- Sort first: bullion and junk silver, common collector coins, and possible key dates or high grades each sell in a different place.
- Junk silver and bullion: a coin shop or bullion dealer, at roughly 90-100 percent of melt. A dime is about $4.20 of silver, a quarter $10.50, a half $21, a Morgan dollar $45.
- Coins worth $1,000 or more: a major auction house. Stack's Bowers and Heritage charge buyers 22 percent (minimum $29 a lot) in 2026, and seller fees are negotiated.
- eBay charges 13.25 percent on coins up to $7,500 plus $0.40 per order, so a dealer paying 90 percent of value often nets you more on common coins.
- Get two or three offers in writing. One offer is not a market.
How to sell coins, step by step
- Do not clean anything. A cleaned coin loses most of its collector premium, and dealers see it at a glance under a lamp. Our guide on whether you should clean old coins explains why.
- Sort out the silver. US dimes, quarters and half dollars dated 1964 or earlier are 90 percent silver. Kennedy halves from 1965 to 1970 are 40 percent. Nickels dated 1942 to 1945 with a large P, D or S above Monticello are 35 percent. Silver dollars dated 1935 and earlier are 90 percent. Check the edge: a solid silver-white edge with no copper stripe is the first tell.
- Sort out bullion. American Silver Eagles, Gold Eagles, Krugerrands, Maple Leafs and stamped bars sell on metal content, so they go to a bullion dealer.
- Look up the dates and mint marks of everything else. Write down date, mint mark and denomination. Our coin value guide covers which series and dates carry premiums.
- Pull anything that might be valuable. Key dates, mint state coins with original luster, proofs and obvious errors go in their own pile.
- Decide whether grading pays. NGC's published fee schedule lists $20 per coin for modern coins, $25 for economy, $45 for standard, plus a $10 handling fee per submission. If a coin is not likely to be worth well over $100 graded, it is usually better sold raw.
- Price from sold results, not asking prices. Check eBay sold listings, Heritage archives and the PCGS or NGC price guides for the exact date, mint mark and grade.
- Collect offers. Take the sorted coins to two or three dealers, ideally members of the Professional Numismatists Guild or the ANA, and ask each for a written offer by coin or by group.
- Pick the channel coin by coin. Melt coins to the best bullion offer, common collector coins to a dealer or eBay, and the few strong coins to auction.
Where can I sell old coins?
Sell common silver and bullion to a local coin shop or bullion dealer, and send only the strong coins to auction. Each channel has a clear job. The table compares them as of October 2026.
| Where to sell | What you typically get | Fees and costs | Speed | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local coin shop | Junk silver near 90-100 percent of melt; common collector coins well below retail | None, the margin is in the offer | Same day | Silver, common dates, mixed lots |
| Coin show (bourse) | Several dealers bid in one room, often a little better than one shop | Admission, sometimes a few dollars | Same day | Getting competing offers fast |
| Bullion dealer (local or online buyback) | Close to spot for Eagles, Maples, bars | Shipping and insurance if by mail | 1-7 days | Modern bullion coins and bars |
| Heritage or Stack's Bowers auction | The full collector market, minus seller fees | Buyer pays 22 percent; seller fee negotiated | 2-6 months to payment | Graded coins worth $1,000 or more, collections |
| eBay | Retail-level prices on popular coins | 13.25 percent up to $7,500, plus $0.40 per order | 1-3 weeks | Graded mid-value coins, sets |
| Mail-in "we buy coins" ads or hotel buying events | Varies widely, often low | Shipping risk | Days | Avoid unless you have competing offers |
Heritage raised its buyer's premium on US coin auctions to 22 percent, with a $29 minimum per lot, for sales closing after January 1, 2026. Stack's Bowers made the same move, from the 20 percent it had charged since 2017 to 22 percent with a $29 minimum, for auctions closing from April 1, 2026. Bidders factor that premium into what they bid, so it matters to you too. Seller commissions are negotiated: small consignments pay more, and a collection with several five-figure coins can often negotiate a low or zero seller fee. Get the terms in writing before you ship.
What coins are worth as of October 2026
Melt values at silver near $58 an ounce, which is where Kitco's spot quote stood on October 19, 2026. These are the floors that dealers work from.
| Coin | Silver content | Melt at $58 silver | What a dealer typically pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dime, 1964 and earlier | 0.0723 oz | About $4.20 | About $3.80-4.20 |
| Quarter, 1964 and earlier | 0.1808 oz | About $10.50 | About $9.40-10.50 |
| Half dollar, 1964 and earlier | 0.3617 oz | About $21 | About $19-21 |
| Kennedy half, 1965-1970 (40 percent) | 0.1479 oz | About $8.60 | About $7.70-8.60 |
| War nickel, 1942-1945 | 0.0563 oz | About $3.25 | About $2.90-3.25 |
| Morgan or Peace dollar, common date, worn | 0.7734 oz | About $45 | About $45-55, a small collector premium |
| $1 face of 90 percent dimes, quarters or halves | 0.715 oz | About $41.50 | About $37-41.50 |
| American Silver Eagle | 1 oz | About $58 | Near spot, sometimes a little over |
The dealer column is a typical range, not a published rate. Many dealers pay close to melt on common 90 percent silver, but spreads vary by shop, city and how much silver the dealer already holds, and some pay noticeably less, so ask each one for its percentage of melt. For the full list of silver coins and their content, see our silver coin value guide.
What changes the offer
| Factor | Effect on what you are paid | How to check at home |
|---|---|---|
| Metal content | Sets the floor for silver and gold coins | Date, denomination and the edge |
| Date and mint mark | Key dates can be worth many times a common date | Mint mark letter under or beside the date or on the reverse |
| Grade | A mint state coin can be worth 10 to 100 times a worn one | Luster in the fields, wear on high points |
| Grading slab from PCGS or NGC | Buyers pay for a known grade; raw coins sell at a discount | Look for the sealed holder and cert number |
| Cleaning, scratches, holes | Cuts collector value sharply, often to melt | Hairlines in the fields, unnatural shine |
| Quantity | Bulk silver sells per ounce; single coins sell individually | Count and weigh |
| Channel | Auction, eBay and dealers take different cuts | Use the table above |
Worked example: a box of inherited coins
Say you inherit a cigar box with 40 silver Washington quarters, three worn Morgan dollars and one 1909-S VDB cent in a PCGS holder graded VF.
The quarters are $10 face, which holds 7.15 ounces of silver, about $415 at $58. A coin shop paying 92 percent of melt offers about $380. On eBay a roll of 40 might sell for about $420, but after the 13.25 percent fee and $0.40 order fee you would net about $364, before shipping. The shop wins.
The Morgans, if they are common dates in worn condition, bring about $45-55 each from a dealer, so $135-165 for the three.
The 1909-S VDB is the coin that matters. It is the key date of the Lincoln cent series, and a genuine example in a PCGS VF holder sells in the low four figures. That is the one to price from recent Heritage and eBay sold results and either sell to a dealer at a strong offer or consign. A dealer will often pay 80 to 90 percent of recent sold prices for a slabbed key date because it resells easily. Selling it in the same bulk offer as the quarters would leave real money behind.
How do you avoid lowball offers on coins?
Know your melt value and your sold comps before you walk in, and get more than one offer. Lowball offers work because the seller has no reference point.
- Bring the math. Write the melt value of your silver on a sheet of paper. A dealer offering 60 percent of melt on junk silver in 2026 is not a market offer.
- Ask for itemized offers. A single number for a whole box hides which coins carry the value. Ask what they would pay for the key coins separately.
- Ask what they would sell it for. A good dealer's buy price on a common graded coin is often 70 to 90 percent of their sell price. A gap much wider than that is a reason to keep shopping.
- Be wary of traveling buyers. Hotel "roadshow" events and unsolicited buyers have a long record of low offers.
- Use dealer associations. The Professional Numismatists Guild requires members to follow a code of ethics and has a dealer search. The ANA has a dealer directory too.
Common mistakes
- Cleaning before selling. It is the most common way to turn a $200 coin into a $20 coin.
- Selling everything as one lot. One key date can be worth more than the rest of the box together.
- Paying to grade common coins. At $25-45 plus handling and shipping, a coin worth $15 raw does not justify a slab.
- Pricing from asking prices. eBay asking prices are often far above sold prices. Filter for sold listings.
- Shipping coins uninsured. Use registered or insured mail and photograph everything first.
- Treating proof sets as treasure. Most modern proof and mint sets sell for close to issue price or less. A few low-mintage sets are the exception.
How WorthPic reads coin photos
WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. From photos of the obverse and reverse it reads the country, denomination, date and mint mark, sorts silver from clad by series and date, recognizes PCGS and NGC holders and reads the grade on the label, and looks for wear on the high points to place the coin roughly in circulated or uncirculated condition. It then gives an honest value range with a most likely figure, says what drives the price, and points to the extra photo that would settle a doubt, such as a close shot of the mint mark. What it cannot know from a photo is whether a coin has been cleaned in a way only a tilt under a lamp reveals, whether a raw coin is genuine, or its exact grade. It identifies and estimates. It does not authenticate, grade or appraise, and it is not a marketplace.
What to photograph
- Both sides of each coin straight on, filling the frame, in soft even light.
- The date and mint mark close up on anything that might be a key date.
- The edge of anything you think is silver, to show whether there is a copper stripe.
- The full slab label front and back on graded coins, so the cert number is readable.
- A group shot of the silver, laid out by denomination, which makes a face value count easy.
When to get it looked at in person
Any coin you think could be worth more than a few hundred dollars should be seen by a dealer or sent to PCGS or NGC before you sell. A grading service settles authenticity and grade, which is what buyers pay for. Coins worth $1,000 and up, or whole collections, are worth a conversation with Heritage or Stack's Bowers, who will review images and tell you whether they want the consignment. For an inherited collection you do not yet understand, start with our guide to inherited coins, and if gold coins are in the box see where to sell gold.
Sources
- eBay selling fees: coins and paper money at 13.25 percent up to $7,500, bullion at 13.6 percent, $0.40 per-order fee
- Stack's Bowers: adjustment to buyer's premium (March 2026): 22 percent with a $29 minimum for auctions closing from April 1, 2026
- NGC services and fees: grading tiers from $20 per coin and the $10 handling fee
- Professional Numismatists Guild: member code of ethics and dealer search
- Kitco silver chart: silver spot near $57.55 on October 19, 2026