What Might Actually Determine The Value Of Your Coin Collection
There are many factors that will need to be taken into consideration in order to determine the value of your coin collection. It is often determined by four factors: -
1. How many of the coins are around?
2. How many collectors are looking for that particular coin?
3. What condition the coins are in? This is most important where many coins are concerned.
4. The bullion or exchange value of the coin in question? Either a gold or silver coin will not normally sell for a great deal less than its melt value.
One of the best ways of valuing your coin collection is by using a coin dealer. These are experts in their field and they are likely to stay abreast of prices, auctions, information and news related to coin collecting. Also as these people are probably coin collectors themselves they will often be willing to sit down with you and discuss the coins you already have and how to improve on your collection.
Another great way of determining the value of your coin collection value is through blue books. There are several available that contain complete lists of every coin ever stuck including their current values. These books are published every year and will list the market value of each coin year by year as well as minting location and condition. But unfortunately with this method the prices shown in the books are fixed once it has been published. But at least these books provide you with a good idea of just how much your coin collection is worth.
You could also take a look at the Internet. This is a great source of information thanks to the number of sites that now offer lists of coin values. The best thing about these sites is that they are very up to date and stay in touch with any developments that are occurring (however this will depend on the site that you visit). But as with anything it is always best if you visit a number of different sites in order to make sure that the information you are getting is correct. Also by looking at a few different sites you can get averages from several sources and so avoid getting bad information from one site that is forgetting to update the information it provides.
But at the end of the day the value of your coin collection will actually depend on what someone is willing to pay for it. So if you really want to see the value of your coin collection in real terms then take a look and see just what people are willing to pay.
For more information on how to value coins using a coin value guide visit http://www.find-coins.com where will find useful tips, articles and resources to help you find old coins.
What Needs To Be Considered When Providing An Estimate Of Value On A Rare Coin
When dealers are looking at a rare coin value estimate there are a number of things that they will need to take into account. In this article we will look at the things that such dealers will consider when estimating the value of a rare coin.
Age
Although generally speaking the older a coin is then the more it is worth. However, but this may not be the case.
Condition
Unfortunately a coin which is badly corroded and you are unable to tell what it is will not actually be worth much. But in more recent coins the fine degrees of condition can mean the difference between coins being valuable or it is just a curiosity.
Metal Content
As we all know the coins that contain high amounts of gold or silver are more valuable than those that contain copper, nickel or zinc. But there is always an exception to the rules and in some cases there may be a very rare copper coin that can be worth lot more than some more common silver coins.
Rarity
This is probably the single most important trait when valuing a rare coin. Sometimes coins that contain mistakes are often the most valued. As mistakes do not happen very often and are often quickly caught by the mint if such a coin does make it into circulation with a mistake then it can be worth a lot.
Country
Unfortunately in America there is not much of a market for world money. In fact they are more of a curiosity rather than a commodity to many coin collectors in the US. But if you are not collecting coins for their monetary value then collecting world coins can be a lot of fun.
Personal Preference
This should not be ignored. Although one coin may be priceless to one person it may mean nothing to someone else. There are many collectors who collect particular coins because of their sentimental value (it may have been a gift from either a friend or a relative).
Market Value
If there happens to be a high demand for a coin at any one time and if you happen to be selling one then you are more than likely going to get a good price for it. But just like fashions coins go in and out of style. So if you have a coin that is out of favor at the moment hold on to it until it comes back into fashion. The coins that tend to fluctuate the most are those made with precious metals.
But when looking at a rare coin value estimate it is best if you leave this to an expert. Such people are better able to judge the market more accurately and will be able to tell you when is the best time to buy or sell a certain coin.
For more information on how to value coins using a coin value guide visit http://www.find-coins.com where will find useful tips, articles and resources to help you find old coins.
Coin Collection Folders Help Protect Your Valuable Coin Collection
Many people start collecting coins because they really enjoy hunting down old coins and because of the satisfaction the hobby brings when you find that rare old coin. Once you have located that great find most people will want to do everything they can to protect the coin from harm. This is so important to the serious coin collector they will probably want to store their old money in one of the many coin collection folders.
Coin collection folders are not hard to locate and in most cases do not cost all that much. The most important feature of a coin folder you need to ask yourself is will it do the job and protect my old coins. You need to decide whether the coins will be easy enough to put in, and to remove from the folder.
Before you decide to purchase any coin collection folder you must make sure your needs will be met. There are a few things to consider before making a coin folder purchase.
There are a lot of different designs out there and many of them are made to hold more than one type of coin. You can put different denominations of coins in some of the coin collection folders. There will normally be some various size slots to accommodate the many coins you may own. The ports should be made from a material that will not damage your old coins. This can not be stressed enough, be sure the material the ports are made of will not hurt your collection.
The coin folder should have a cover made of a durable, sturdy material. Do not cut corners here, as you want something that will stand the test of time. Some of the better folders may have the type of collection and other important information on the cover. This outside cover can make or break your decision to buy. The inside of the coin folder should contain an adequate number of pages to store your collection.
You want to make sure your coin collection is not hard to store and there is a lot of space underneath the coin to provide myself information on each coin. You should purchase a folder with plenty of extra pages for any new coins you may acquire in the future. If you collect foreign coins you should make sure there are places provided to store these coins as well.
Storing your coin collection in a coin folder may be one of the better ways to keep your coins out of harms way. You can be as careful as you want and take every precaution but accidents can and will happen. Pick out one of the many coin collection folders available that you think will provide the most protection for your most valuable possessions.
For more information on old rare coin value visit http://www.find-coins.com where will find useful tips, articles and resources to help you find old coins.
Caring For Your Collectible Doll
It can sometimes be difficult to know how to clean your cherished collectible without causing harm. The following is a simple guideline for you to help you learn which way is the best way to care for your doll.
Porcelain Dolls:
With porcelain, the decorations are usually fired on, so it would be unlikely that that you would hurt them by cleaning. Use warm soapy water. If this doesn’t work good enough, try a wet eraser to remove marks. As a last resort, very, very gently clean with a low abrasive cleaner such as Tilex or Soft Scrub. Use caution because some cleansers have bleaching agents that could be devastating to antique clothing, wigs or bodies. Ultra violet rays can be very damaging to porcelain dolls, so when you are displaying your doll, avoid direct sunlight.
Celluloid Dolls:
These dolls are extremely perishable. They are easily broken and can become very brittle over time. Proper care and respect of a celluloid doll helps a perfect example remain in that condition. Heat is celluloid’s worst enemy. Keep these dolls in a cool room with good ventilation – and never store celluloid in a sealed case – it can combust!
Cloth Dolls:
Vintage cloth dolls can be worth thousands of dollars and deserve your best efforts to preserve them and prevent needless deterioration. Keeping the fabric clean is important because it’s exposing the fabric to pollutants that will weaken the material. Direct sunlight is not good for these dolls. You should also inspect your cloth dolls every now and then for insects. There are insecticides designed especially for textiles under many brands and the results can be excellent if used according to instructions.
If you decide to vacuum your doll, place a nylon screen over the fabric first to protect the delicate fibers. Most often, a good vacuuming is enough to restore a doll to display condition. If you doll is badly soiled, get the advice of a professional who specializes in preserving textiles.
Sometimes you can use an eraser or art gum, tapeten and reinger-and-absorene to clean your cloth doll. These seem to give the best results. Ink can be removed with hairspray, but first test an area on the doll to assure that no damage will occur. Apply the hair spray with a cloth, and wipe in a light rubbing motion with a clean white cloth.
For display purposes, it is best to keep them in protective cases and inspect them regularly. Moth crystals should be placed near your dolls. Many collectors recommend making a small cloth pouch, filling it with moth crystals and placing it under the doll’s hat or tying it around its waist beneath the clothing.
Composition and paper-mache Dolls:
These dolls pretty much require the same care as the cloth type dolls. They are especially susceptible to damage from temperature changes. Never store composition or paper-mache dolls in a hot or cold attic, or in a damp basement.
Most collectors will accept some signs of aging on composition dolls – fine craze lines or cracked eyes, for example.
There are many popular ways for cleaning composition, but first always test it on an inconspicuous area of the doll and work quickly – never leave any cleaning agent on the doll for any length of time. Pond’s Cold Cream or Vaseline and a soft tissue work well for these dolls. Another option is paste window cleaner but not the ammonia type. You want the old fashioned paste that you can get at most hardware stores.
Wigs can be restyled after spraying with Johnson’s & Johnson’s No More Tangles. Faded or worn-off facial features can be touched up with artist’s colored pencils. When moistened, they are very easy to apply. Crackled eyes are best left alone.
Hard Plastic Dolls:
These types of dolls are very resilient and can be cleaned with almost any soap detergent. You can clean stubborn stains with cold cream or waterless hand cleaner. Avoid chlorine, bleach and ammonia. Never use fingernail polish remover or lacquer thinner which may eat into the plastic! You can use Oxy-10 to remove stains that are not close to painted surfaces. Just moisten a cotton ball and allow it to sit on the stain for several hours. You may have to repeat this process several times. After each cleaning, wash the doll with mild soap and rinse well.
For displaying purposes, avoid direct exposure to ultraviolet light. Although they may seem indestructible, hard plastic can slowly oxidize and change color and direct heat can also cause warping.
Rubber Dolls:
These dolls will deteriorate no matter what precautions you take, but you can delay the process. Any form of grease is harmful and accelerates deterioration. If you have a “Magic Skin Doll” always wear cotton gloves when handling her. Rubbing corn starch on these kinds of dolls twice a year will help to preserve the dolls’ life. Maintain an even temperature and avoid changes in humidity.
Tin Dolls:
These dolls often have chipped paint which can happen from the metal getting cold which in turn causes the paint to lift off the face. Try to keep these dolls in a constant temperature environment.
Vinyl Dolls:
Vinyl dolls are probably the most lifelike in appearance and touch. In order to keep them looking that way, special care is needed. Extreme room temperatures are harmful. Even quality vinyl dolls subjected to heaters or air conditioners can be damaged in just a few months. Direct sunlight can be deadly. Vinyl is also sensitive to fluorescent light; use indirect non-fluorescent lights. Finally, avoid tightly sealed show cases or glass domes because condensation can form and damage vinyl dolls.
Wooden Dolls:
Chipping paint is a major problem with wooden dolls. Humidity and mistreatment are the two main culprits. Keep wooden dolls in a dry atmosphere. Expanding and contracting associated with high humidity causes paint to chip. Knocks and bumps can also chip paint, so take care in moving or displaying wooden dolls.
Wax Dolls:
Wax dolls can be intimidating to many collectors. They do require special care, but so do all types of dolls. Basic care and common sense will help preserve a wax doll in perfect condition. Of course, never place a wax doll in direct sunlight or near any heat source, such as a fireplace mantle.
The best way to start cleaning these types of dolls is to use a solution of cool water and Woolite. Saturate a cotton ball or a Q-tip and wash the wax. If this doesn’t work, try a dab of cold cream on a Q-tip, followed by a rinse of the Woolite solution and then clean, cool water. As a last resort, try denatured alcohol on a cotton ball, followed by a through rinsing. Never use turpentine to clean wax dolls because it can soften the wax!
Tips for Barbie Doll Collectors:
Remember those Barbie Dolls with the earrings and how it would eventually create green deposits around the ear? Here’s a way to remove it:
Cover the ears with a small piece of cotton soaked in Tarn-X silver cleaner. Wrap the head in saran wrap to keep the application moist. Check after two days. If the ears are still green, replace the saran wrap. If, the ears are still green after four days, repeat the procedure with fresh cotton balls. Once the green is gone, rub a paste of baking soda and water over the treated areas. After several days, flake off the dried baking soda and clean the area with warm, soapy water on a Q-tip. Tarn-X causes a chemical reaction that acts as a bleach; the baking soda neutralizes the reaction; and the warm, soapy water removes any residue. It is important to perform each step as described and to inspect the doll periodically throughout the process.
Bubble cut Barbies often have sticky or greasy faces. This is due to an ingredient being emitted by the vinyl. Here’s a tip to take care of that:
Carefully remove the head from the body and clean inside and out with a Q-tip soaked in alcohol. Dry it good and fill the head cavity with baking soda. Then replace it on the body. The baking soda will neutralize the chemicals and absorb the extracted grease.
Old Tips Recommended By Some Doll Collectors
- To remove mildew: soak in sour milk and salt. Then lay the doll in the sun. To remove milk therapy, follow with a warm soapy water wash and rinse.
- To restore color to faded cloth: sponge with chloroform.
- To soften old kid: saturate an old woolen rag with kerosene and rub in the kid.
- To clean old ivory: scrub with Ivory soap; bleach in the sun for several days, reapplying the soapy solution often.
- To remove tar: clean first with turpentine, then clean with Lux soap.
- To remove paint: Patient rubbing with chloroform.
- To restore faded calico: wash in water with a teaspoon of sugar of lead; soak for fifteen minutes and launder.
- Black taffeta is best washed in strong tea.
Hopefully, we given you some helpful information!
Evelyn Whitaker writes articles for Deutsches Haus http://www.deutscheshaus.cc which is located in St. Paul, Minnesota. Deutsches Haus offers German collectibles, souvenirs, gifts and foods.
The Fascinating World of Doll Collecting
It is only recently that we have used the word “doll”. For a long time dolls were called “poppets” or “babes” or “babies”. Sometimes in reading old books one comes across other names, such as “mannikin”, “idol”, “image”. Ask Grandmother what she called a doll. She will probably tell you she called it a “doll-baby”, but that, naturally, it had its own personal name. During her childhood all dolls had names. Sometimes the dolls came with names given to them by the manufacturer. Usually a particular and special name was selected for each doll by its young owner.
Many of the dolls now in museums are still known by the names given to them long ago. The names of others have been lost and now they just have labels which say “Wooden Doll” or “China Doll” or “Composition Doll”.
That is the way museum people and doll collectors identify old dolls. The label tells what they are made of, which sometimes also tells about how old they are. Wooden dolls can be very, very old or just medium old. Composition and china dolls can be anywhere from 125 years old to very young dolls made just this year.
Bisque dolls are another kind of china doll that collectors love to get. Bisque is a fine pink-toned china that has been used for doll heads for the past ninety years. It is quite different from the regular kind of china doll head, which is pure white and has painted hair and features.
Celeste and Louise, shown below, are two French bisque dolls made near Paris, France, about seventy-five years ago. They were made in a large factory where dozens and dozens of people did nothing but make doll bodies and doll heads. After the head, body, arms, and legs were put together, the supervisor examined each doll to see that every curl was perfect, that the heads turned easily, and that the arms and legs moved correctly. Celeste and Louise passed these tests very satisfactorily.
Soon after they were on display in a Paris doll shop, an American gentleman from Boston came in to find presents for his granddaughters. He bought the two dolls and had them specially packed for the long sea voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to America.
Celeste and Louise, a pair of French bisque dolls dressed in the height of fashion. Made about 1870, each doll had her own trunk and a wardrobe of a hundred and twenty-five pieces.
When Celeste and Louise were unpacked in the front parlor of the tall brownstone house in Boston, they were greeted with cries of admiration and joy and excitement. They were examined from head to toe. Each dress, each piece of jewelry and pair of shoes was tried on, taken off, and tried on again. Since the dolls were exactly the same size, they could exchange things, so each had twice as many clothes as was originally intended.
The grownups were having just as much fun as the children. Because the lovely clothes came from Paris, the fashion center of the world, they were of great interest to Mother and Grandmother and all the aunts. Pretty soon it began to seem as if Grandfather had brought the dolls for the women instead of for little Mary and Susan. For them, the fun of receiving these beautiful gifts was disappearing because the dolls had to be handled so carefully. In fact, the dolls were put away, to be taken out and played with only on very special occasions.
Mary and Susan really didn’t mind not having Celeste and Louise for everyday play. The girls had more fun with the wooden peg dolls their grandmother had given them last year. They could wash their wooden faces, spank them, or carry them around by one leg, without harm. They could dress and undress them as often as they wanted to without worrying about fine lace and exquisite embroidery becoming soiled or damaged. All in all, they agreed, Grandfather was a darling to get them such terribly expensive gifts, but it was much more fun to have common wooden poppets to really play with.
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