Coin Buyers Serving Wilmette

Gold coins and bars from North Shore homes

Two kinds of sellers call us when they need coin buyers in Wilmette. One is a couple leaving a large North Shore house for something smaller. The other is a set of heirs settling an estate after a parent's death, often from out of state.

Both usually reach the coins last, in a desk drawer or a safe-deposit box, after the furniture has been spoken for. Some of these families have never sold a coin before and want to understand how the price is set before they agree to anything.

Sheridan Road follows the lakefront through Wilmette and passes the Bahá'í House of Worship, and many of the older homes nearby have stayed in one family for decades. That long ownership is why so many Wilmette estates include gold. A parent may have bought American Gold Eagles after the coin came out in 1986, and a grandparent may have held on to $20 double eagles struck before 1933.

Gold coins like these are priced mostly on their metal and partly on date and grade. A one ounce Gold Eagle weighs 33.93 grams and holds one troy ounce of gold, and a double eagle holds 0.9675 troy ounce.

We weigh each coin on a calibrated scale with the readout facing you, then check every date and mint mark. A scarce date double eagle sells to collectors for more than its gold, and we price it that way.

Downsizers often have bars as well as coins. We buy bars from refiners such as PAMP Suisse and Engelhard, along with Canadian Maple Leafs and Krugerrands, and we price all of it against the live spot price on the day you come in.

Older North Shore estates sometimes add Mexican 50 pesos, which hold 1.2057 troy ounces of gold, or a few British Sovereigns. A written, item-by-item figure before the house is listed tells you what the metal is worth, and you can sell part of it and keep the rest.

The UP-North Metra line stops in Wilmette, though few people want to ride a train with a box of gold. When the collection is large, a home visit is worth raising on the phone, and we will tell you then whether it fits.

Otherwise we agree on a private meeting place when you book. We return calls the same day.