How can we help?
Plain answers about buying, selling, funding your account, the vault and shipping coins home.
Buying
Buy whole, vaulted coins at the price on the screen. Buyers pay no fees.
Do I actually own the coin?
Yes. You hold title to a specific physical coin; Changes Hands holds it as custodian (a bailment). Customer coins are not company assets, and you can have yours shipped home at any time for a published fee.
Why is there no buyer’s fee?
We only get paid when a coin sells. Buyers pay the price on the screen and nothing more. Sellers pay 3% + a one-time grading fee, due on sale.
What does “class” mean?
A class groups coins that are interchangeable to a buyer: the same series, date scope, grade and any listed qualifiers (mint, designation). Every class has a single order book, so buyers and sellers meet at one price instead of browsing hundreds of individual lots.
What is the difference between a market order and a limit order?
A market order buys right away from the lowest current offers, up to a protective maximum price shown on the review screen; anything that can’t fill at or below that maximum is canceled, never left open. A limit order lets you name the most you’ll pay per coin. If no one is selling at your price yet, it rests on the order book until it fills or you cancel it.
What is a “reference price”?
When a class has no trades and no offers, we show a reference price based on recent public sales so you know roughly where to bid. It is not an offer: you can’t buy at it until someone lists a coin. Prices labelled “Lowest offer” or “Last trade” come from the order book itself.
Will I get the exact coin in the pictures?
Class photographs are representative; intake photographs show individual coins. You buy a coin that meets the class definition; when a buy fills, the oldest eligible coin in the vault is allocated to you, and its certificate number and grade report appear in your holdings.
Selling
Send coins in once. After that, selling is as quick as any trade, and nothing is charged up front.
What does it cost to sell?
3% + a one-time grading fee, due on sale. The 3% commission applies to each sale. The grading fee for your service ($2 house grade, $0.25 bulk, $5 certified cross-in, or $15 + the grader’s invoice for a PCGS/NGC send-out) is taken from the coin’s first sale, never more than the sale proceeds. If you ship a coin home before it sells, the outstanding grading fee is added to the shipping fee instead.
Is it worth sending in very cheap coins?
Do the math first. A $2.20 house-graded coin pays $0.07 commission plus the $2.00 grading fee, leaving about $0.13. For coins worth a few dollars or less, bulk intake ($0.25 a coin, 20 coins or more) usually makes more sense. Our sell page shows a net-proceeds example for each service before you submit.
How do I sell a coin I already own on Changes Hands?
Open the coin’s market (or Portfolio → Holdings) and choose Sell. A market sell fills against the best current buy offers; a limit sell lets you set your minimum price per coin. Sale proceeds can be used to buy right away and become withdrawable 7 days after the sale.
How do I send coins in?
Start a submission on the Sell page, choose a service, and we give you a reference number and packing rules. Pack coins in flips or their slabs, ship insured with signature required, and write the reference on the package. While intake is closed you can still get quotes and join the waitlist.
Funding & withdrawals
Deposit by bank transfer (ACH) or card through Stripe. There are no deposit or withdrawal fees.
How do deposits work?
Link your bank through Stripe (Changes Hands never sees your bank login) and deposit by ACH, from $10 to $25,000. Up to $1,000 of pending bank deposits is available to buy with right away; the rest arrives when the transfer settles, usually within 4 business days. Card deposits through Stripe Checkout are also available.
When can I withdraw?
Withdrawals need two things: a one-time identity check with Stripe, and withdrawable funds. Newly deposited money becomes withdrawable once the payment settles plus a 7-day hold, and sale proceeds 7 days after the sale. Your Account page shows exactly how much is withdrawable now and how much is still settling.
What happens if a bank transfer is returned?
If your bank reverses an ACH deposit, any instant credit is taken back. Open orders may be canceled first; if that still leaves a shortfall, your account shows a balance owed and is frozen until it is repaid with a new deposit. Your coins are held as collateral meanwhile.
Custody & the vault
Coins stay in insured custody unless you ask for them, which is why trades settle instantly.
Where are the coins kept?
In an insured, access-controlled vault. Each coin is logged by certificate or house grade number, photographed and audited. When a coin changes hands, ownership moves in our ledger while the coin stays put.
Is there a storage fee?
No storage fees during launch. If that ever changes, we will give notice in advance and publish the rate on the fee schedule.
Is this a securities exchange?
No. Changes Hands sells whole physical coins only. There are no fractions, bundles, indices or yield products: one unit is always one physical coin.
Shipping coins home
You can take delivery of any coin you own. Shipping is priced per shipment so every package is fully insured.
How much does it cost to ship coins home?
Each shipment costs a $35 base fee plus $3 per coin, plus insurance of 1% of the declared value above $500, plus any grading fee still owed on those coins. Coins shipped together share one base fee; separate shipments each pay the base fee, so ship coins together when you can. You see the exact fee before you confirm.
Does it make sense to ship a single cheap coin?
Usually not. Shipping one $4 coin costs about $38, so most buyers of low-value coins keep them in the vault and sell them on the exchange, or wait and ship several together.
How long does shipping take, and can I cancel?
We pack and ship requests in the order received, fully insured with signature required, and post the tracking number to your account. You can cancel for a full refund while the request is still “requested”, before packing starts.
Grading & guarantee
Certified coins keep their PCGS or NGC grade. Raw coins are graded under our published standard.
How are raw coins graded?
Two qualified graders assess each coin blind against the Changes Hands Grading Standard. If they are one band apart, the lower band stands; further disagreement goes to a senior grader. Cleaned, damaged or altered coins never enter a normal grade.
What is a grade report?
Every house-graded coin carries a sealed report before it can trade: the final band, the two independent graders, authentication results (weight, diameter, metal tests) and any problem flags. You can see each coin’s report in the vault inventory on its market page.
What if a coin is overgraded?
If a coin we graded is found to be overgraded by one band or more, you choose a remedy: we buy it back, swap it for a correctly graded coin of the same class, or pay you the price difference.