Friday, December 28, 2007 11:08 PM CST
Antique toy, coin roadshow coming to Mattoon next week
By AMBER WILLIAMS, Staff Writer
awilliams@jg-tc.com
MATTOON — It is time for those toys that have been collecting dust in the attic to come out of hiding.
The International Toy and Coin Collectors Roadshow is making a four-day stop in Mattoon next week for local collectors to bring in antique toys and coins to sell, said Jeff Parsons, associate member.
The roadshow brings with it a group of experts in antique toys and coins who will sit down with people as they come in and assess the value of their items.
“It is easy for a trained eye to identify these very quickly,” Parsons said.
The experts will be able to identify what year the toy or monetary item was produced, he said.
For items brought to the roadshow, the collectors are looking for items manufactured before 1965.
After the experts evaluate the toy or monetary item, they will look through the International Toy & Coin Association’s database of collectors to see if anyone is looking for that particular item, Parsons said.
If a collector is looking for the item which has been brought in and the owner is willing to sell, then the collector will have an offer set to purchase it.
The roadshow will pay for the item on behalf of the collector and the seller is paid for the item on the spot, Parsons said.
“The seller retains 100 percent of the offer,” he said.
Some of the most common items that are brought into the roadshow are Barbie and G.I. Joe because they are highly collectable.
Hot Wheels toys have also become a popular item, he said.
One mistake people will make before bringing an item to the roadshow is taking out dusty toys or coins and cleaning them.
Cleaning a toy or coin improperly can injure its integrity; it is better to bring them in as they are, Parsons said.
“Bring it as it is, as it sat in the attic or garage or basement,” he said.
This roadshow will also have a gold buying station, which will purchase old gold items, even broken jewelry and chains, Parsons said. The gold will be purchased at the day’s gold value.
The roadshow will be from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday at the Ramada Inn, Mattoon.
Contact Amber Williams at awilliams@jg-tc.com or 238-6858.
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misterdeez wrote on Dec 29, 2007 7:55 AM:
1) Are the experts members of the American Numismatic Association (ANA) and/or Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG)? If they are, there is a dealer code of conduct which can be found at http://www.money.org. If they're not, exercise extreme caution.
2) Are the "experts" giving you the best price for your coin collection? There are coin dealers in Effingham, Champaign, and Terre Haute who may actually do better on a buying price, and they're in the phone book and on the internet. I have heard from those who went to these "experts" who have come to find out that the price that they would pay for a coin collection is not top dollar, but actually bottom dollar. Caveat emptor - buyer (or in this case, seller) beware! "