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World coins at a US shop: old, foreign, and often still cheap
A kilo of mixed world is usually a bulk bid. Silver and gold still talk. The rest is a sorting tax. Age and a foreign language are not a premium.
The bag says “foreign.” The hope says “rare because I cannot read it.”
Most of it is common circulating money from countries that made a lot of it. Ancient and world: old can still be cheap.
What a US shop will actually hunt for
- Silver and gold — we can weigh and test those
- A few known collector series (some crowns, some commemoratives)
- Anything we personally know
What we will not do is attribute 400 zinc coins from the 1970s one by one for free while the line grows.
Greysheet and world
US dealer sheets are strong on US. World coverage is patchy. Sometimes the data feed is thin on the exact thing you have. That is not you doing it wrong. It is the reference. We still have scales and eyes. Greysheet for regular people.
Pandas and Libertads as bullion are a different sentence than a mixed tourist bag.
How to sell a world pile without hating us
Pull obvious silver (it rings and it does not look like sandwich coin). Pull gold. Leave the rest as a bulk lot. Say you know it might be a bulk bid. That sentence makes the whole visit easier.
Part of the coin shop counter wiki · visitors & collectors · NumisQ Learn