Your coins stay on your kitchen table. I drive to you with a scanner, scale, loupe, reference library, and an iPad full of comparable sale data. Most appointments wrap up in under two hours, even on six-figure collections.
A 1909-S VDB cent fits in a coat pocket. A roll of Saint-Gaudens double eagles fits in a sandwich bag. That portability is exactly what makes hauling a collection across the Beltway a bad idea. Once the coins leave your house, you accept three layers of risk: theft during transit, loss or damage in handling, and the visibility of walking into a shop holding obviously valuable material. Insurance policies that cover coins on premises often exclude or sharply limit coverage once items are in a vehicle, parking lot, or commercial location. Many homeowners discover this only after a loss.
An Coin Appraisal eliminates every link in that chain. The collection never moves more than an arm’s length from where it has lived for decades. There is no parking garage, no shop window, no audience of other customers watching what comes out of the case. For estates being divided among heirs, an Appointment also means siblings or executors can sit in, ask questions, and watch the process, which prevents the “I don’t trust that number” arguments that often follow a one-person shop visit.
I arrive in an unmarked vehicle. No magnetic signs, no logo windbreaker, nothing that announces what is going on inside the house to neighbors. Everything I need fits in a soft case the size of a briefcase: a 10x and 30x loupe, a digital gem scale calibrated daily, an XRF reference card, a portable lamp with neutral 5000K bulbs, my Red Book and CPG references, and a laptop with live access to PCGS price guides, NGC population reports, Heritage and Stack’s auction archives, and the wholesale Greysheet. We work at your dining or kitchen table. I prefer a hard surface, good overhead light, and a chair across from yours so you can watch every coin go in and out of holders.
From first text to final number, here’s the full sequence.
Tell me what you have in broad strokes, “a binder of Morgans,” “Dad’s safe deposit box,” “a Whitman folder of cents.” I’ll ask a few questions to confirm an Appointment makes sense.
Most appointments happen within 3–5 days. I offer evening and weekend slots so you don’t need to take time off. Same-week availability is the norm.
I show up at the agreed time in a clean, unmarked car. We set up at the table you choose. I do not need access to other rooms, safes, or storage spaces unless you offer.
I work through each item out loud: identification, grade, mint mark, variety, current retail and wholesale ranges. You see and hear everything in real time.
You receive a written valuation summary by email the same day or next morning. If you want a full itemized appraisal for insurance or probate, that’s available as a separate deliverable.
Sell, hold, insure, or grade, the decision is yours. I’ll quote a buy offer if you want one, but there is zero obligation to sell on the spot.
Honestly, not much. The single best thing you can do is leave the coins in whatever they currently live in, albums, 2x2 flips, original mint packaging, deposit-box envelopes. Do not clean anything. Do not crack PCGS or NGC slabs. Do not rearrange a collection chronologically or by denomination. Original organization carries information, and clean coins lose 30–90% of their value the moment a polishing cloth touches them.
If there’s an old hand-written inventory or a purchase invoice in the box, set it aside for me to glance at, it can save real time on attribution. If the collection lives in a safe deposit box, schedule the appointment for after you’ve brought it home; I do not meet clients at banks. Plan for roughly 30–90 minutes for an average inheritance, two to three hours for a serious specialist collection, and a half-day for anything in the six-figure range. See how a typical deal moves from appraisal to payment.
Book a ConsultationText a quick description of what you have. I’ll confirm a good time to meet and propose two or three time windows. Most clients are sitting at their own table with a credentialed numismatist within the week.