Pricing old coins is trickier than picking an avocado

Today’s question:

I’ve got a fairly large coin collection that I started putting together in the mid-1960s: Indian head and wheat pennies, buffalo nickels, Mercury dimes, Liberty quarters and halves. There are also a few Barber dimes and Liberty nickels.

Nothing in the collection is that super-rare

coin, but some are a hundred years old or nearing the century mark. And all are in good condition. So why is the overall value of this collection barely worth more than face value?

Putting a price on older coins is a tricky business and one that I do not fully understand.

Just because a coin is old does not make it especially valuable.

Condition, rarity, supply and demand and many other factors go into setting a price for a collection.

If you really want a firm opinion you probably should take your collection to a

reputable dealer and ask for an educated opinion of its worth.

Or content yourself with a collection of interesting bits of history.

When I purchase Haas avocados, take them home and cut them open, some have much larger seeds than others. The shape of the avocados vary somewhat although I have never been able to determine how to pick the avocado that has the smallest seeds. Any hints?

I am told you should look for avocados with a sort of long, tear-drop shape. Round avocados tend to have larger seeds which means you are paying for a lot of stuff you probably aren’t going to use.

You could also try poking the avocado with a large needle to figure out how much of it is fruit and how much is seed but I don’t think your fellow shoppers or the grocer would appreciate that. I like asparagus, but why does it make your urine smell so bad? Because it has a high sulphur content.

Have a question for Clay? Reach him at 602-444-8612 or clay.thompson@ari zonarepublic.com.