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Appraisal vs cash bid: they are not the same number
Insurance wants replacement. You want a check today. Those are different jobs. A shop that mixes them up is either confused or selling you a feeling.
“What’s it worth?” is three questions wearing one coat.
- What would I pay to replace it if the house burned
- What might it bring at auction on a good day
- What will a shop pay me in cash this afternoon
Those numbers are not supposed to match. When they do, somebody is rounding with their imagination.
Insurance appraisal
This is a replacement number. Often retail, sometimes optimistic, written so an insurer can make you whole. You usually pay for this. It is a document. It is not an offer to buy.
If you want that paper, say “I need a written insurance appraisal” and ask the fee first. Do not get mad when it is not free. Looking at 200 coins properly is work. Insurance appraisal vs a shop bid.
Auction estimate
A range. A hope plus a haircut. Fees come out. Unsold happens. Great for true rarities. Overkill for a bag of 1964 quarters.
Cash bid
This is the only number that comes with a check. It is wholesale enough that the shop can still eat, still test, still hold risk overnight. Why the offer felt low.
A cash bid is allowed to be lower than a YouTube “value.” YouTube is not buying.
The phone-photo trap
“Can you just look at these pictures and tell me what I have?”
Sometimes, for a monster box of eagles, sure. For a junk drawer of raw coins, no. Lighting lies. Cleaned coins look original on a phone. Added mint marks look real until they are in a loupe. We can give you a category. We cannot honestly name a check from a thumbnail.
Bring the metal. What to bring when you sell.
How to ask so nobody gets mad
Say: “I want a cash bid today, not an insurance number.” Or: “I need a written appraisal and I know that is a paid job.” Mixing the two in one sentence is how both sides feel cheated.
Part of the coin shop counter wiki · visitors & collectors · NumisQ Learn