You should never clean your coins ever. Cleaning coins can drastically hurt the value of any numismatic coin. Even if coins are spotty, dark, or toned leaving them in this original state is much better than you attempting to clean them.
The way a coin value is determined for numismatic coins is based on how many coins were made, how many coins survived, and what condition the coin is in.
We never charge for any verbal appraisal for any size collection. The only time we will charge any fee is if you are only looking for a written appraisal for insurance or estate purposes or anything else to that effect.
A mintmark indicates what mint your coin was made. All coins will have a mintmark located on the coin, usually but not always located on the back of the coin. A mintmark would be a small letter or only in Carson City’s mint case you will find the letter CC. If the coin does not have a letter then it has been made at the Philadelphia mint which opened in 1792.
Coins should be kept where the obverse and reverse surfaces are both protected whether that is an album, tubes, hard plastic disc, or plastics flips they should be protected. When picking up a coin always hold the coin by the edges. Try not to get any fingerprints on the obverse and reverse of the coin. The oils on your fingers can cause damage to the coin.
It should always be kept flat. In a plastic sleeve is better although you can keep it in an envelope as well. The main thing is to keep it out of the way of the chance of it being frayed or ripped. If you have uncirculated notes please contact us and we will give you specifics on how to keep your paper money safe in the same condition.
Selling jewelry is usually a necessary situation or personal decision. If it is a necessary situation you should just sell what you need to sell. If it is a personal decision then broken or bent jewelry should absolutely be sold as well as any earrings where there is one missing. Next go through your jewelry that you have no intention of ever wearing again and you will not be handing down to an heir. Your last portion of jewelry should be all the jewelry that you need to make a case by case decision based on what you can get for each piece of jewelry.
