There is money in old money! 

Over the past year in O'Reilly's Auction Rooms, we have seen a big increase in the number of coin and banknote collections being consigned to us for valuation and auction. This has been spurred on by the current spike in the price for gold and silver. Coins and banknotes are now always listed in our monthly auctions. Many of these collections have been passed on through the family and are usually made up of Irish and English coins and banknotes. 

Most coin and banknote collections we see can be divided into a few categories. They could be coins collected from circulation from before the Euro in 2002 or upon decimalisation in 1971. Then they could be serious collectors who kept upgrading their collection, or they could be savings or "running away money" - usually banknotes. Then they can also be "holiday change" collected as souvenirs from different holidays in various countries over the years. 

Coins and banknotes collected from circulation - say in 2002 or 1971, or holiday change will probably be of little value to collectors.  Serious (adult) collectors will have built up specialised collections stored in albums and can be quite valuable. Banknotes put aside as savings or for a rainy day can be of particular interest. Lady Lavery Irish banknotes for example can realise many times their face value. Even £1 notes from the 1940s can sell at auction for anything from €5 to €100 each depending on condition and date. It is very important that they are assessed before approaching the Central Bank who will only offer €1.06 to £1.

So what else affects the value? Gold of course is always good - with full gold sovereign English coins selling at auction for up to a €1,000 each - and even more depending on date and condition. South African Krugerrands and American Eagles will go for even more. Silver coins such as Irish shillings, florins and half crowns before 1943, and pre 1947 English silver coins are worth many times their face value for their silver content and more depending on their dates and condition. 

Age does not always equate to value. The big English pennies and halfpennies and the brass threepences taken from circulation before decimalisation in 1971 are worthless as hundreds of millions were minted, and many still survive in households throughout Ireland and the UK. 

Also be wary of eye catching claims on line that certain coins are selling for many thousands. One current claim is that a 1971 English 2 pence coin was for sale on eBay for £4,000 and is "extremely rare". However there were over 1.4 billion issued that year! It seems that this is just "clickbait" to get people to click on their site.

So never ever clean your coins as this destroys their value to collectors. It is akin to taking a wire brush to an old oil painting to bring up the colour! Leave the coins and banknotes in their album pages or sealed cases and contact our full time Numismatist in O'Reilly's for a free and full assessment your collection. There is money in old money!