Appraisals

Appraisals Made Easy

How it Works

The primary question we get asked is how much does this service cost? Our standard appraisal service is something we provide FREE of cost! Simply bring us your items and our experts will thoroughly inspect them and provide you with your appraisal. 

First Step: 

Bring your items! No appointment needed, our experts are always readily available to help. If you have any questions before bringing in your collection feel free to give us a call. 

Second Step: 

Once we have your items in hand we will begin to inspect your items in extreme detail checking for any premium markings that could benefit and add value to your items. During this process we will be researching your collection ensuring the values we provide are up to date and accurate. All items will be noted down on an itemized list to provide the easiest and seamless experience. 

Final Step: 

Decide how you would like to proceed. Now that you have the appraisal you have a better understanding of the value of your collection whether that would be for insurance purposes, inheritance, or to sell the items. 

For more details on the process and possible questions you may have read on below. 

Details

At Hyatt Coins, we believe that good information leads to good decisions.

If you have old coins or a coin & currency collection, the first step to making any financial decision is to take stock of what you have in the form of an appraisal.  Knowing what today's market value is, which pieces are the most significant, comparing past and present values, and understanding the next steps, are all important pieces of information to have in order to make an informed decision.  We appraise collections big and small almost every day, and we really enjoy sharing our expertise with our clients. We typically do not charge for our appraisal services, however there may be times that we recommend stepping up to our paid-service tier if you need to add your collection to an insurance policy, or if you need an estate collection divided equally among heirs.  You can expect free service unless you choose otherwise, no surprises!, and you can expect rates from $60-$120 per hour for formal documented appraisals.  Off-site appraisal services may be higher, and will be quoted based on the location and scope of the appraisal. It is typical to start with the free appraisal and then only upgrade if the circumstances suggest a strong need.  Should you sell your collection to us, you will receive the written appraisal notes for what you sell with no separate appraisal charge.

Here are some typical questions we get about our coin appraisal services:

Why do you offer this valuable service for free?

  Simple, we rely on being able to purchase individual coins and coin/currency collections to continue providing fresh material to our retail clients.  Unlike some coin dealers operating out of business offices or even their homes, we run a full brick and mortar retail shop.  Our vast retail customer base allows us to pay you more because we have the collector base waiting for your coins.  Other dealers may be quoting you a percentage of wholesale values becuase they do not have the means to directly reach retail collectors.  In fact, many office building and "estate" buyers sell their purchases to us.  To help you skip the middleman, and to acquire what our customers want, we offer our appraisal service free of charge.  

Why do more people not request fee-based formal documented appraisals?

   There are many circumstances where a fee-based appraisal is a good idea.  It's just not that many.  The first hurdle is that insurance on coin collections is expensive, and there's oftentimes a lack of clarity as to whether you will truly be covered.  For instance, what if the general policy does not cover "cash," or what happens if the appraisal is more than a few years old when the claim occurs?  So few people seem satisfied with the answers from their insurance companies that many collectors instead purchase safes for their homes or keep collections in their bank's safety deposit box. Large Collections that are part of active Estates are the dominant exception, and the time that we almost always recommend a formal fee-based appraisal.  See the next question:

I'm the executor of my mother's estate and we have a large coin collection that needs to be split among her five children.  My parents collected, but no one else in the family ever did, what do I do?

  The most common condition for which we see fee-based appraisals as the right option is when dealing with estates.  The job of executor is one of the most difficult duties to perform.  You're not only dealing with an emotional loss but now you also have a long list of things to take care of - and potentially a long list of people to answer to about it.  In this case, there is a greater chance of needing documentation in the future to show what decisions are being made now.  Equitable distribution is one of the most challenging aspects of dealing with a collection.  So difficult that many collections are sold and the money divided because it's the most fair way to divide the asset (and it gets the coins back on the market to newer collectors who will enjoy and appreciate them).  If you do need to physically split the collection it is important to be responsible to the collectors' purposes and to the individuals receiving shares.  We provide the service of equitable distribution in-kind and in-value, such that the value of each share shall be equal today and also equal down the road.  We are also attentive to keeping specialized sets together that may lose value if disassembled.

More about Estates:

When it comes to dealing with estates, there is nothing more difficult than making decisions about collectibles. More often than not, the collection has been assembled with specialized knowledge which passed on with the collector. In what is already a difficult time and situation, the stress of selling, dividing, or even appraising such a collection as rare coins and paper money can be a daunting task. Please let the Coin and Currency Experts at Hyatt Coins help you to catalog, evaluate, and properly store your collection.

Our expert appraisers already perform estate and insurance appraisals for the area’s largest banks and law offices, let us help you too! We want to be your source for good information, to help you make a good decision. We’ve helped families divide collections equally among heirs, get appropriate insurance, and liquidate collections of all sizes. Our estate specialists will be happy to help you settle your estate in a fair manner to keep all of your family members fully satisfied, and prevent a treasured collection from becoming a source of dispute.

If you are interested in selling an estate collection, we can make you an offer for immediate payment, and even issue checks to multiple parties if required by the circumstances. We will provide a detailed inventory of what you’ve sold so you will have all your duties covered. Sometimes this is the easiest way to deal with an estate collection that would be broken up otherwise – and may lose value if sets are dismantled.

Can’t come to us? We may be able to come to you. Please call about our availability for off-site services. We can even meet you at your bank for safety deposit box appraisals.

Please feel free to visit our retail store (click here for directions), email us at sales@hyattcoins.com, or call us at 704-394-0387.