Coin collecting...

WOW, with some of these prices I see for coins, maybe I picked the wrong hobby. I have a budget that I am willing to spend per month, but with some of these prices I dont get much ....maybe I should start a rock collection...lol

 

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There are great collections that can be formed with any budget.

What are you interested in? What is your budget?

 

Rocks can be worse than coins.

Buy quality over quantity, if you dont get something this month that means next month you can buy something better.

 

im trying to spend around $100 per month. Doesn't leave much room when alt of coins are 30-40-50 bucks apiece. I started collecting clad proof Roosevelt dimes, but kinda got the impression on here that they are pretty much worthless.

 

The beauty of the hobby is that you can collect from pocket change. Try to assemble a year set of nickels dimes or quarters from circulation. This will help you learn to grade coins while you are learning. You could spend a year or two reading books and forums and collecting from circ before actually buying any coins. Another low cost entry point into the hobby would be searching rolls from the bank. If you keep aware you can also "flip" coins (buy from the mint and sell on Ebay) and make money to plow into our collection.

 

Have you tried "Roll Searching" ? Its basically free! Go to a bank and ask for rolls of nickels, dimes, etc, eventually you'll find something very interesting. It probably wont be anything highly valuable, but it will make your day. After searching $25 dollar boxes of cents, I found an 1864 cent in AG condition, supposedly with with an "L"; a 1911S Lincoln cent in VF condition, an amazing number of Wheat Cents in surprising decent shape, as well as foreign coins to include a Russian Kopek. Keep at it and you'll find something interesting. Best part is that you return what you don't want to keep.

 

$100 a month is a great budget. Tons of stuff in that price range. Personally i do ancients so i would buy one roman republican denari per month. Tons of collectors have done that.

For us, how about vf/xf wl halves or barbers? Type set?

 

Like some already stated, with a $100 monthly budget you can get some great stuff. If you like Civil War or hard times tokens you can pick up four or five really nice pieces with that. That will buy a few large silver dollars or half dollars. You'd be surprised what $100 will buy you. The key is knowing where to look to buy.
Guy

 

I look for deals everywhere. I started with Wheat Cents, and got my collection going by stopping in at Coin Shops and buying a few dollars worth of circulated common dates by the pound or however they were selling them. My LCS back then would sell me them for 2 cents apiece, so I could buy $10 face value for $20 and these were the ones that people would bring in and dump for some cash. The owner was a one man business, so he rarely if at all sorted them. I found some semi key dates in my buys, and after I filled most holes in my book, then I started to get better versions of what I had.

Now, I roll search from the bank for cents. I sort out the AU/BU pre 82 cents, wheats, foreign, Lincoln Bi-Centennials (just because I love the look to each and don't care if they're circulated or not) and years with known errors from the bunch, then closely examine what I have in my "hoard" from the bank. Take what I don't want back to a bank, rinse and repeat.

There is plenty you can do to start your collection on a budget, so don't feel overwhelmed by what you see on websites for prices.

 

You don't HAVE to spend $100 this month.
$100 not spent this month means $200 available next month.

 

$100 a month, huh?

I'd be buying .999 silver 'till the cows come home, what's silver $30ish?

Sell it later = money back plus some.

 

$100 is perfectly fine. An ASE every 10 days would be fine by me!

 

lol...you are right, but its getting addicting....feel like I need something all the time. I have done some coin roll hunting with not much success. Im not saying that all prices are to high, just seems like the coins that I like are pricey

 

i kinda like this, but I have a hard time seeing $15 for it. maybe its just me!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1995S-PROOF...26?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item45f2b01062

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1995-S-Washington-Quarter-Mint-Clad-Proof-from-U-S-Proof-Set-/330826943276?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item4d06d28b2c

Way cheaper, same coin.

Or get the whole set for 9.95

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PROOF-SET-1...81?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item5d3a3d8de9

 

might be a good idea there.

 

Biggest piece of advice I can give is don't buy the first one you see. If you're using eBay, look for what you want, watch a lot of Auctions and some Buy It Now's, and see what the prices of the Auctions do. I find that with so many Auctions for the same items, some get WAY overlooked and go for dirt cheap. Others go way above some of the Buy It Now prices. By doing this, you will save money and still get what you're after. Doesn't always pan out on the first go, but that's the gamble so to speak. I'm still waiting to get a few commemorative coins for this reason. Never pay more than what you want to for a coin and sooner or later you'll get what you want in your price range.

 

yea, I have lost over 900 auctions in the last month....lol

 

Do you like them because they are pricey?

 

no, I like the looks. Really like a coin that shines.....like this one

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2005-S-PCGS-PR69DCAM-Silver-Roosevelt-Dime-90-/111009274533?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT&nma=true&si=mY0Op22qc7U%252Fb%252FdQhmOTyet27jQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc