Coins We Buy in Dallas

Every category we buy, and what sets its price

Scan the table for the kinds of coins in your box. If something is not listed, bring it anyway; we will tell you what it is.

Coins that usually trade near face value

Not everything old is worth more than face, and we would rather tell you now than at the table. Copper-nickel dimes and quarters made since 1965, and halves made since 1971, hold no silver. Most state and national park quarters, Sacagawea and Presidential dollars, and the copper-nickel Eisenhower dollars trade at face value unless they carry a real minting error.

Wheat pennies are the most common surprise. Most bring only a small premium per coin, though a handful of scarce dates and mint marks are worth a careful look. The 1943 steel cents are common too. Silver certificates are redeemable only at face value at a bank today, so their collector worth depends on series, condition and star notes.

Commemorative and modern silver coins are a different case. Silver Eagles, silver proof sets and the 40% silver Eisenhower dollars made for collectors from 1971 to 1976 all hold real silver, so they are priced on metal at the very least.

None of that means you should leave these coins at home. Bring them along. Scarce exceptions hide in ordinary jars, and checking them costs you nothing.

Looking to buy rather than sell?

Most of our appointments are with sellers, but we also sell some coins and bullion. If you collect, ask what certified coins or bullion we have available when you call. What we have on hand changes as collections come and go, so we cannot promise any particular coin, and we do not post a list online.

Collectors sometimes do both at once, selling duplicates or pieces they have lost interest in while asking about coins that fill gaps in a set. Mention that when you book so we can plan the visit.

Buying or selling, the same habits apply. Every coin gets checked in plain view, the reasoning gets said out loud, and the numbers go in writing. If a coin we discuss is not right for you, there is no pressure either way. We would rather earn a second visit than push a first one.

Coins with a Dallas story

Some of what Dallas sellers bring could only come from Texas. The Texas Independence Centennial half dollar, struck from 1934 to 1938, turns up in old family collections here more than almost anywhere else. So do souvenir medals from the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition, which filled Fair Park with the Art Deco buildings still standing along Grand Avenue and the Esplanade.

Paper money has its own local angle. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas serves the Eleventh District, so notes issued through it carry the letter K and the number 11. Most are worth face value, but older series and star notes from the Dallas district are worth checking. Every so often a family finds a Republic of Texas note from before statehood tucked inside a Bible or a ledger, and those deserve careful handling.

Dallas also sits close enough to Mexico that silver pesos, Libertads and the large 50 peso gold coins show up in many estates. We price those on their silver or gold first and then look for collector interest. Canadian Maple Leafs and British sovereigns appear too, often bought on trips abroad decades ago.

Then there are the everyday collections. Blue folders of Lincoln cents filled by a kid in Oak Cliff, a shoebox of Kennedy halves saved by a grandmother in Pleasant Grove, rolls of silver dimes pulled from change by someone who worked a register downtown before 1965. They are not glamorous, but sorting them properly can turn up a better date that would otherwise get tossed in with the melt.

Graded coins round things out. Plenty of Dallas collectors bought PCGS and NGC slabs at coin shows over the years. Those are priced by the grade on the holder, and we look at each one rather than lumping them together.

Whatever category your coins fall into, the visit works the same: by appointment, Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, with directions given when you book.