Buying Hammered Coins
While most folks seem to be mad for gold Silver has been steadily growing in worth .
Although Silver is still growing in value it will probably continue growing in value.
One investor tried to corner the market in silver but was eventually thwarted.
When buying old hammered coins you need to get the best possible price. Specialist dealers in hammered coins are of course the best source.
They are not usually the cheapest source though
However what can you do when you are a hammered coin collector and live far away from the best sources of coins such as the coin shops in London,Paris or those in New York ?
Do not despair. There are other sources .
I think the best source of course is here !
The other very best sources that I have found are car boot sales ,yard sales and Flea Markets. Antiques fairs often have a dealer or two in coins but I have found they often tend to over grade their hammered coins.
Grading is very important in judging medieval coins.
For instance, a Hammered Elizabeth Ist Shilling in vf condition is worth far more than the same coin in Fine condition.
Yet I often see these coins in less than fine condition graded as vf and priced accordingly.
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US $5.51
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Many coin dealers are specialists and what You want to look for as a buyer is a dealer who either does not specialise or one who specialises in a different era or country.
Hammered coins are easy to find on the internet. This page for instance has a number of bargain priced hammered coins for sale.
Authenticity is also really important. There are many fakes around but these often look as though they were made last week rather than 400 years ago.
What you are looking for is a reasonable price for genuine coins.
Ask the dealer if you feel there is anything dubious about the coin.
Other things to check is the origin of the coin (There are many fakes currently coming from Bulgaria) and if he/she offers a refund if the coin does not prove genuine.
Hammered Coins are becoming scarce and the prices do rise fairly constantly.
Local action house can prove to be good sources and often get their coins from local treasure hunting enthusiasts.
I personally prefer Car Boot Sales or in France Brocantes/vide greniers (means empty the loft !) where you will find lots of local dealers and people who are just doing house clearances.
These sellers are usually delighted to sell old coins and often have either little knowledge of coin values or they may have a very inflated value of their worth.
You could always contact local dealers and leave a card offering to buy medieval coins for cash. This tactic works well with bric-a-brac and antiques shops or antiques malls.
Although they may not be willing to sell to you right away, there is always the rent to pay or other cash flow problems and they may want to sell to recoup their investment or to take a small loss.
Try to become an expert in a specific period and you should find it easy to succeed.
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Filed under Ancient Coins, Coin Collecting, Coin Identification by on Apr 16th, 2010. 
