A real mobile coin buyer doesn’t just “come look.” I bring the calibrated scale, the loupes, the reference library, the wholesale pricing, and the payment method of your choice, ready to write a check before I leave your driveway.
Plenty of dealers in the region say they make house calls. What usually happens is this: they drive over, eyeball the coins, jot a few notes, and tell you they need to “take it back to the shop” to look up values or get the owner’s opinion. Then they ask to leave with the collection. That is not a mobile buyer, that is a courier with a clipboard. A true mobile coin buyer arrives with every tool needed to identify, weigh, grade, price, and pay for a collection right at your table, with nothing leaving the house until both parties have signed and shaken hands.
My mobile kit is intentionally identical to my shop setup. Calibrated 0.01-gram gem scale. 10x, 20x, and 30x loupes. Black and white backing felts for slab review. Filtered overhead lamp. PCGS Photograde, the Cherrypicker’s Guide, Red Book, and CPG in print. A laptop on the home Wi-Fi pulling Heritage and Stack’s archives, GreySheet bid/ask, and live spot for gold and silver. A checkbook, a Zelle-ready phone, and cold cash in the bag for smaller transactions. That kit is the difference between an estimate and a deal.
At a shop, you wait while the owner finishes with another customer, then unload your coins onto a counter the public can see. The lighting is whatever it is. The pricing references on hand are whatever the owner subscribes to. Pressure to decide builds because you don’t want to repack everything and drive home. The whole environment is built around the dealer’s convenience, not yours. A mobile visit flips the script: my schedule wraps around yours, the workspace is your home, and the only deadline is whenever you say the appointment is over. The collection never leaves your sight, and if you want to think overnight, I pack up and come back another day with the same offer.
The entire DMV is in range, really anywhere within a couple hours of the Beltway.
Arlington, Alexandria, McLean, Vienna, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, and most of DC are typically same-day or next-day for collections above ~$5,000. Smaller lots are usually fit in within a few days.
Loudoun, Prince William, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George’s, and outer Fairfax are all standard coverage. Leesburg, Manassas, Frederick, Annapolis, Columbia, all on the regular route.
For meaningful collections I’ll travel to Richmond, Hampton Roads, Baltimore, Philadelphia, even up to New York. Above six figures, distance stops being a factor.
Cash up to a sensible federal-reporting threshold, Zelle, certified check, or wire. You pick. No “I’ll mail it next week” nonsense.
I work around your calendar. Most clients are working professionals, so after-work and Saturday appointments are the rule rather than the exception.
ANA and PNG member cards, driver’s license, and business documentation produced at the door, before any coins come out. You should never let an uncredentialed buyer into your home.
For most DMV addresses, the timeline runs: text on Monday morning, phone call to scope the collection by Monday afternoon, appointment Tuesday or Wednesday evening, payment that same visit. Truly large estates can take a second visit because some material gets photographed for wholesale partners or sent to PCGS or NGC for grading first, but even those almost always resolve inside two weeks, not the months that auction houses require.
If you’re selling because of a move, a settlement, or a deadline, say so up front. I’ve closed seven-figure deals on 72-hour timelines. I’ve also closed $1,200 deals the same day. The size of the collection doesn’t change the responsiveness, only the logistics of payment do. See more on selling a coin collection in the DMV or read why clients choose Hicks Coins.
Schedule a VisitText a short description of what you have and your zip code. I’ll come back within the hour with a realistic value range and the next available visit window.