How Can I sell My Canadian Coin Collection?
If you want a coin dealer to buy your coins at the maximum possible price he or she must have adequate time to fully inspect your coins in person and have a market or customers to sell to. Remember that if you are hoping to get top dollar for your rare coins from the Island of Tonga that the only thing more rare than a Tonga coin is a Tonga coin collector. A coin dealer cannot give you an accurate price over the phone as condition cannot be evaluated without a visual inspection. Dealers buy coins for less than they sell them for. Without a modest spread between the buying and selling prices there would be no profit to pay for overhead and staff costs.
Never clean your coins in preparation for selling. You could wipe off several thousand dollars of value without knowing it. Ten times as many coins have been damaged or ruined by cleaning than have been improved.
Professional Coin dealers can be found in your local area in a retail store environment. Many advertise their presence in the Yellow Pages.
Sometimes part time (or vest pocket) dealers operate a table at local flea markets. Because they have not invested large sums in a store front operation they can enter or leave the hobby at any time, leaving you on your own. You can even try to sell your coins in this manner. If you are willing to spend the time to "retail" your coins in this manner you can realize the bonus over the wholesale price that dealers pay.
Professional Coin dealers can also be found at local or regional coin shows. Local coin shows are usually advertised in your area newspapers under special events. Numismatic Network Canada maintains a listing of upcoming Canadian coin shows.
The Canadian Association of Numismatic Dealers sets high standards for their members.
The Penny Lane websites contains hundreds of links to online Numismatic Dealers.