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What's my coin worth?Melt values →Published fee comparison
A written coin appraisal and a free verbal evaluation can carry very different terms. The 6 providers with a published written-service rate in this sample list $75–$350 per hour. Minimum bills, travel and the scope of the report matter as much as the hourly figure.
By CoinShop Finder · Sources retrieved October 13, 2026 · USD
These are advertised terms from a small, search-selected sample. They are not a U.S. average, a quote for your collection or a ranking of providers. Confirm the scope and price before booking.
Each row links to the provider's own service page. “Not published” means the source does not state a numeric term; it does not mean the service has no minimum or no charge.
11 service rows from 8 providers.
Chicagoland, Illinois · Written appraisal
Rate is per appraiser. Off-site travel is charged separately from the Palatine office.
Source section: Coin Appraisal Pricing. Link to this row
Oceanside, California · Written appraisal
Includes wholesale and projected retail values. Fee refunded if the entire collection is purchased. Appointment required.
Source section: Written Appraisals. Link to this row
Oceanside, California · On-site appraisal
Applies when items cannot be removed from their location.
Source section: Written Appraisals, on-site fee. Link to this row
Las Vegas, Nevada · Written appraisal
For personal records, insurance and other written valuation assignments.
Source section: Professional Appraisal Fees, Written Appraisals. Link to this row
Las Vegas, Nevada · Estate, trust or probate appraisal
More extensive research and documentation. Complex assignments may be quoted separately.
Source section: Professional Appraisal Fees, Estate, Trust & Probate Appraisals. Link to this row
Las Vegas, Nevada · On-site estate or collection appraisal
For qualifying collections in the Las Vegas Valley.
Source section: Professional Appraisal Fees, On-Site Estate & Collection Appraisals. Link to this row
Texas · Written coin appraisal
Quick verbal evaluations are free, with possible collection-size exclusions. Rate appears in an older article.
Source section: Appraisal Costs, written coin appraisals. Link to this row
Libertyville, Illinois · Written insurance or estate appraisal
Shipping excluded. Basic evaluations of small numbers of coins are free online and at shows.
Source section: Appraisals, published hourly rate. Link to this row
Mequon, Wisconsin · Formal written appraisal
Includes grades and itemized values. Travel outside Southeastern Wisconsin may be charged.
Source section: Appraisal Fees. Link to this row
Online · Auction evaluation
Free estimates for qualifying auction-worthy items; not a general written insurance or estate appraisal.
Source section: Free Rare Coins Auction Evaluation. Link to this row
Jenkintown, Pennsylvania · Written insurance or estate appraisal
Hourly billing stated, numeric rate undisclosed. Verbal evaluations are free.
Source section: Appraisals. Link to this row
The chart uses one published written-service rate per provider. An undisclosed rate is omitted, and estate and on-site tiers appear separately in the fee rows. Lower hourly cost does not establish lower total cost or equivalent service.
A comparison only becomes useful when the reports serve the same purpose. For locations with confirmed services, use the appraisal finder; its free-evaluation and written-appraisal labels answer different questions.
Sahara's published estate tier is $175 per hour with a two-hour minimum. Its on-site tier is $225 per hour with a three-hour minimum. Multiplying the stated terms gives base minimums of $350 and $675 respectively. These are different assignments, rather than two prices for an identical report. Sahara's fee schedule.
Sahara estate tier
$350 minimum
Calculated: $175 × 2 hours, before separately quoted extras.
Sahara on-site tier
$675 minimum
Calculated: $225 × 3 hours, before separately quoted extras.
Travel can also sit outside the headline rate. PGS charges for off-site travel from its Palatine office; Paragon may charge travel time outside Southeastern Wisconsin. Ask whether research, cataloging, report preparation and travel are included in the estimate. PGS terms · Paragon terms.
Edelman's separates free verbal evaluations from written reports billed by the hour. Heritage's free service evaluates qualifying items for auction inclusion. Neither description establishes that a free service includes a written report for every purpose.
OceanSide Coin offers free verbal evaluations and paid written reports. It also states that it refunds the written appraisal fee if it purchases the entire collection. Ask about that condition before work starts; a fee waiver and an independent valuation are separate considerations.
If you are deciding whether to sell, the collection-selling guide helps you prepare for offers. If you already have an offer, the offer checker compares it with metal value and published examples. Neither substitutes for a report valuing rare dates and condition.
Professional grading is another expense. A dealer's assessment of grade does not by itself mean a coin will be submitted to PCGS or NGC. Use the grading-cost calculator to explore submission costs separately. The dealer-vetting checklist is useful when choosing whom to contact.
The six providers with a published written-appraisal hourly rate in this comparison span $75 to $350 per hour. Their services differ, and some minimum charges and extras are undisclosed. This is a small sample of advertised terms, not a U.S. average.
Some providers offer free verbal evaluations. OceanSide Coin and Edelman's explicitly do so; Heritage offers free auction evaluations for qualifying items. These services do not necessarily include a formal written report.
Only if the provider also states a minimum. Sahara lists $175 per hour with a two-hour minimum for estate work, giving a $350 minimum before any separately quoted extras. Unknown minimums in our table stay unknown.
OceanSide Coin says it refunds the written appraisal fee when it purchases the entire collection. This is a provider-specific condition; do not assume other firms use the same policy.
An appraiser's assessment of condition is different from submitting coins to a third-party grading service. The fees in this table are appraisal terms; ask separately about grading submissions, shipping and insurance.
Ask before commissioning it. OceanSide describes wholesale buy prices and projected retail values in its report. A provider's advertised service name alone does not establish that its report meets an insurer's or estate administrator's requirements.
We assembled a convenience sample of U.S. providers discovered through searches for published coin-appraisal fees, then read their service pages. The final comparison has 8 providers and 11 service rows. It is not a random sample, and providers that disclose prices may differ from those that do not.
Rates are in U.S. dollars. Null fields in the CSV mean unknown or undisclosed, not zero. We calculate a minimum charge only from a stated minimum fee or from a published hourly rate and minimum duration. We do not estimate how long your collection will take or add unpublished travel charges.
The retrieval date is October 13, 2026. It is not the publication date of every page. Some pages have older metadata or no clear publication date; their advertised terms need confirmation with the provider. One shortlisted provider could not be retrieved on recheck and was excluded. No provider was contacted to confirm a quote.
The CSV includes row links, source URLs, source-section locators, retrieval notes and calculation labels. If a published term changes, send a correction. Preserve the retrieval date when quoting a figure from this comparison.