Inherited a collection from a parent or grandparent? Downsizing your own? Have specific coins you'd like to move? I buy outright — fair numbers, fast decisions, no waiting on a consignment auction window. If you're in the Denver area, even better; I'd love to find a time to sit down in person.
If they were passed down and you don't know what any of it is, don't start here — read this instead. It covers what not to do first (short version: don't clean them), what you probably have, and how to find out what it's worth for free. You don't need to know anything about coins to get an answer.
If you don't know what you have
Most people who inherit coins can't answer a single question on the list below, and that is completely fine — you do not need to identify anything to talk to me. Here is what a collection worth a conversation looks like from the outside:
- Small paper envelopes with dates or prices written on them by hand.
- Coins pressed inside cardboard squares with a clear window, stapled around the edge.
- Coins in clear plastic sleeves, or in pocketed pages inside a binder.
- Blue or brown folding albums with coins pushed into punched holes.
- Coins in plastic tubes, or rolled in paper wrappers.
- Sealed hard plastic cases, about the size of a matchbox, with a grade printed on the label.
- Anything that has been sitting in a safe deposit box for decades.
The container is not the point. The point is that somebody chose to put them there. A collection is coins someone set aside on purpose — if a relative troubled themselves to label them, sort them, fill an album, or pay a bank forty years of rent to keep them in a vault, that is exactly what I am looking for. Whether any of it has been graded is my problem to solve, not yours.
What that isn't: a jar of pocket change. I would rather tell you now than waste your afternoon — coins pulled from circulation in the last sixty years are almost always worth exactly their face value, and shipping them here would cost more than they come to. Two shortcuts worth your time instead: dimes, quarters and half dollars dated 1964 or earlier are 90% silver and worth separating out (half dollars through 1970 are 40% silver), and your own bank will usually count the rest for free if you hold an account there.
What I'm the right buyer for
- Early American coinage through the 1950s — half cents, large cents and the colonial copper that came before, draped busts and capped busts, flowing hair dollars, Seated Liberty across every denomination, Indian Heads, Federal contract pieces like Fugios.
- Pre-1933 US gold, all denominations — gold dollars, quarter eagles, half eagles, eagles, double eagles. Especially in better grades with original surfaces.
- Anything rare with eye appeal. Original skin, gorgeous toning, unmolested surfaces. Coins that have spent a century quietly carrying their own patina.
- Standout Morgans and Peace dollars. Not my main lane, but a great example walks in and goes straight in the inventory.
- Raw or graded — genuinely either. Certified coins (PCGS, NGC, CACG, sometimes ANACS) are quickest to quote, because I can price them without holding them. But most of what I buy arrives unslabbed: loose in envelopes, in cardboard holders, in albums, or straight out of a safe deposit box. Sending coins off to be graded is my job and my expense — it is not something to do before talking to me, and you will not get a better number for having done it.
When I'm not the right buyer
I'm a specialist, not a generalist coin shop. There are categories where you'll do better at a bullion dealer or a generalist:
- Bullion silver, generic American Eagles, common-date gold rounds.
- Pre-1965 silver "junk" bags and 90% silver halves by the roll.
- Rolls of common-date Lincoln cents, Mercury dimes, Roosevelt dimes, etc.
- Heavily cleaned coins, problem coins, or mostly "details" grade material.
- Modern proof and mint sets sold from the US Mint (1968+).
If your collection is mostly any of those, you'll get better numbers elsewhere and I'd rather tell you that than waste your time. I'm happy to point you to someone who'd be the right fit if I can.
How it works
- Send photos using the form below. Phone shots are completely fine — I just need to see the coins. Stack slabs in a row with the labels facing the camera. A representative selection is enough; you don't need to photograph every coin.
- I'll respond within 24 hours. Either with a real conversation about numbers, or with a pointer to someone better suited.
- Denver area? Let's meet in person. I love getting eyes on coins, and the conversation is faster + better when we're looking at the material together. If you are attending an upcoming coin convention, we can also meet at our table. See our Show Calendar for dates and locations. Otherwise we work out shipping logistics by phone — USPS Registered Mail, fully insured, both ways.
A small note about valuations
One thing to know up front: Snowpack is one person. I can't do written appraisals or coin-by-coin valuation reports as a service. What I can do is give you a fair, motivated number on material I want to own — and be honest when something isn't my lane. Photos are the screen, not a barrier. They're the fastest way for me to tell you something useful without spending hours on inquiries that don't lead anywhere for either of us.
If you're looking specifically for an estate appraisal for tax or insurance purposes, that's its own profession — I'd recommend an ANA-accredited numismatic appraiser for that. They charge for it because it's real work.
Tell me what you have.
For coins that warrant the auction route — better dates, exceptional condition, anything with active collector demand — consigning to a Snowpack quarterly auction often realizes more than an outright buy. 10% commission, transparent settlement, you keep more of the upside. We can talk about which route fits your collection.