Looking for a coin dealer in Toronto
October 23, 2012 10:34 AM   Subscribe

A relative reently died and left me a bunch of gold coins. Some "real" coins (minted by governments) and a bunch of Franklin Mint specimens. I can find lots of plaecs that tell me the price if I can want to buy them, but nowhere to find out what they are worth to sell. Can someone recommend a reputable dealer in the Toronto area where I can take tham?
posted by Pablo MacWilliams to Shopping (4 answers total)
 
I know nothing about coins, but when I was in the same position I sold some coins to Taylor's Coins at Avenue and Eglinton. I had a couple gold coins, and judging by the price I received for them compared to what I saw online and the cost of gold that day, the prices were reasonable. His shop has been there as far as I can remember (20+ years, I'd guess, likely longer).
posted by evadery at 10:51 AM on October 23, 2012


If they are actual gold, they are bullion coin. They'll need to list fineness, but then it's a simple matter to look up the current trading rate and figure out if a buy offer is reasonable or not.

I'm seeing 1oz US Gold Eagles (22kt/.9167 fine) and Buffaloes (24kt/.9999 fine) buy offers around $1600 USD, and sells about $1800. So, if you were to move them today, you should get somewhere in that neighborhood. Note that both coins have 1 troy ounce (ozt) of gold, the Eagle is heavier to account for the alloy (1.0909 ozt, as opposed to 1.0001 troy ozt for the Buffalo)

Note that many government bullion coin are minted in fractional units -- the US Gold and Platinum Eagles are minted in 1/10th, 1/4, 1/2 and 1 ozt -- so the price of those would be 1/10th, 1/4 and 1/2 the 1 ozt coin.

Government issued bullion, with an actual fineness and amount listed on the coin, should get very close to actual gold price -- no more than a few percent off. Fundamentally, the value they have is the metal they contain. Yes, the US Gold Eagle is minted at face values of $5, $10, $25 and $50, but this is a small fraction of the real value in the coin. Any formally minted bullion coin will sell/buy basically at metal price from a reasonable dealer.

Medallions and such from non-government sources sell at a discount because they require testing to confirm the metal content. Once confirmed and certified, they would move at market price, provided the certification stayed with them. Often, a batch of such would be melted into hallmarked ingot to make trading simple.
posted by eriko at 12:30 PM on October 23, 2012 [1 favorite]


Gold Stock at 21 Dundas Square will buy your gold. The entire building is filled with gold and jewel dealers ... it's like being in a spy story. If you don't like the prices they offer, you can go next door or down a floor and see what someone else offers. For gold by the ounce I imagine it'd all be very much the same.
posted by wdenton at 8:58 PM on October 23, 2012


If they are actual gold, they are bullion coin. They'll need to list fineness . . .

This is not entirely true. Gold currency that was actually expected to circulate at face value often did not show the fineness or weight. US-minted gold currency, up until 1933 when they discontinued mintage, only showed the face value of the coin, as that was worth more than the gold the coin was made of. Some gold coins, such as the British Sovereign and half-sovereign, listed neither the fineness nor the face value. Most coins of this type were discontinued sometime before World War II. Gold currency will always sell for at least the value of the gold in the coin (minus maybe a small percentage). Sometimes, if the coin is in good condition or is a rare type, it will sell for more. This page will give you the current market price of US gold currency and a few foreign issues; this page will give you an idea on the adjusted price for US coins based on rarity and condition*. Most, but not all, modern bullion coins simply trade for the value of the gold in the coin, as eriko explains above. That second link also has a section on modern bullion coins.

*Many of those numbers are very, very big. A good rule of thumb is that if the "G4" price is near the low end of the "G4" prices, then you're just going to get the gold value.
posted by clorox at 12:59 PM on December 20, 2012


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