If you’re struggling to deal with all the things you inherited from your parents (and maybe their parents), things you’ve held on to for years, you’re not alone. In fact, as told to me recently by an antiques dealer, there are many, many of us. And we all have the same dilemma: what to do with all that “stuff.”
The answer for some of us is to determine if those items have any real monetary value and then sell them.
Coins and coin collections seem to be at the top of the list of things we unearth in our parents’ possessions. Your first step: Grab a magnifying glass. If the coins are loose, go over them one by one. If the coins are encased in plastic, don’t open the case. Check the date and the details on the coins and go online. You might be surprised at their value (as I recently was to discover that a very tiny gold coin at the bottom of my father’s jewelry box was worth many hundreds of dollars if sold).
Your second step, if you’d like to sell the coins: Find someone you trust. Look for someone local, not an online company. Make two or three calls and describe a few of the coins you have to gauge their reaction and what price they might offer. If you like what you hear, go see them in person. Take pictures on your phone and show them what additional coins you have, but don’t take them all in at once.
There are other things you might unearth in your parents’ possessions that can have value as well: watches, clocks, military medals, magazines, cut glass crystal, silverware, original Fiestaware, fountain pens, tools, first day covers, vinyl records, rotary telephones, luggage, first edition books, etc.
Who knows? You might end up with extra cash to pay your next several electric bills or a month of groceries … or much more.
(c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.
