I just joined the forum and introduced myself and thought this thread would be better suited for my questions. I'm sure some will sound stupid but I am really a total novice here. I have several different coins that were purchased from mail order type places and all are in a hard type of plastic case. For example, I have the Libertad which is in the plastic case with information on the coin and I have something called the Liberty Head collection with 5 different coins in the case and it also has information on the back of the case about the coins. Is this type of hard plastic holder safe for coins or would it be better to store these in mylar holders? I also have a couple of Walking Liberty coins in a small soft plastic type holder with a paper with information on those coins. Would these coins be better off in mylar holders as well. I am always seeing graded coins on Ebay and on TV. Where do these coins come from? Are these coins ordered from the mint and then sent to a grading company? Are they purchased as an uncirculated roll from a bank and the best sent off for grading? I have been buying uncirculated rolls of presidential dollars from my local bank. Should I send any of these off for grading? Should I bother collecting common coins that are in poor shape? That is mainly what I have now even though many are old. I just wonder that if in the future I should try and stick with coins in good condition. The book I bought Strike It Rich With Pocket Change lists errors for several coins. Is it difficult for a novice to examine coins for errors or is it even worth the time? I have read that the Red Book is off by around 25%. Is this true? If so, is the Blue Book closer to the real value of a coin? Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
The coins in the hard plastic holders are probably acrylic (plexiglass) and are as inert as mylar flips. If they are secured by screws or welded together they are probably just fine in those holders. I would leave them there unless other reasons come up. Soft plastic holders are more questionable. They could be low plasticizer plastic, or inert plastic like polyethylene or polypropylene, or unfortunately they could be pvc plasticizer rich which would be detrimental. If there is no apparent gunk or hazing on the coins, they are probably ok for the moment. After a few weeks, you may have the knowledge to handle them, and transfer to safer holders and they should be ok for that long . The coins on TV are usually special considerations between large distributors and the mint. People usually pay terribly for these in the long run. Hold off in my opinion. Grading is expensive, and if you keep the coins that might be worth it, they will be worth it later. Put the best aside until you familiarize yourself with the different grading companies and also being able to grade coins yourself. In the early stages collect every coin that interests you, just don't pay much! Look at each coin in your change and try to grade it. A roll or 2 of nickles from the bank should give you a wide range to look at~ find date, mintmark, and arrange in a sequence of worse to best. Then later you can assign grades and have a nice reference and study guide. Same can be done for cents, quarters, etc. To be successful as a collector grading should be studied before you buy better (and more expensive) coins. I used to buy bags and bags of coins to go through and study and look for varieties. I still do, just not very many. It does sharpen the eye and allows you to spot better coins when shopping, often even the dealer might not notice them. I need good light and magnification with my eyes! The red book is excellent for the new collector. It is the basic reference, but the prices are determined well in advance and tend to be high estimates. For general use try this site http://www.numismedia.com/ the collector price guide on the left is closer. but don't feel it is in stone, prices do vary constantly. You will need a good magnifier ( loupe) to see the details, most common is 10X . The internet has guides on almost every series of coins. Google is your friend. The forum loves to see new coins and can help your grading efforts if you have a digital camera with a macro ( the little flower) function. Hope this helps. Others may have differing opinions!! Jim
Good answer Jim. I use Numismedia for values also as, according to their web site, are updated on a daily basis.
In general, hard plastic is okay; soft plastic is bad. As with all generalized statements, it's not 100% true. But to be safe, follow this one. Be more specific. Too many possibilities. If you can get UNC rolls from the bank, great. People who can't are pay 50% over face (maybe more) just to get the coins from dealers. Grading is not cheap. You have to be confident your coins will be graded high enough that you can cover the cost. That means MS-68 maybe, MS-69 probably and MS-70 definitely. So you have to be able to identify the coins that will probably make those grades, i.e., learn to grade them. That depend strictly on you budget. The general rule is, "Buy the best you can afford." (There's that general again.) Later if you get more money you can upgrade. No, it's not difficult to do. You'll probably need a 10x loupe (magnifier). Is it worth the time? Depends upon how much time you have available. I've got lots of time but I choose NOT to use it for this sort of effort. Forget about those books for pricing. Look a eBay results for coins that sold. Free (If a coin didn't sell, the price probably wasn't right). Look at the PCGS charts. Free Get a subscription to Coin World. Then you'll get the Coin Values magazine monthly. About $50 per year.
Thanks to everyone who has responded so far. I appreciate the help and I have gotten some good answers to my questions. What I am asking is where do these coins originate? Do these coins come from pocket change, the mint, a bank, somewhere else, or a combination of these places? Where do grade quality coins come from? I already have the Blue and Red books. Are they that bad off in pricing? Is one better than the other?
Graded coins come from anywhere. You can buy coins from the mint, from anyone else, or even take them out of your pocket and send them in to be graded. Of course most coins you find in your pocket are probably not worth the fees to have them certified and graded. Anyone can send just about any coin in to be graded though.
And yes, those books have alot of valuable information about U.S. coins, but don't use them as price guides.
First of all Welcome to the Forum! Everyone has giving you some good advice as most everyone will on this site. The best advice that I can give you is take your time and pick out the coins that interest you the most and read everything that you can about those coins before you buy them. Strike IT Rich With Pocket Change by Allen & Potter is a good book but it only covers coins from 1960 to 2004 and dose not cover a lot of the Varieties and Errors that you may find. Cherrypickers' Books, United States Type Coins, GNC Grading Guide for Modern U.S. Coins are some good books to start with. When buying coins, buy from someone you know and trust at first. As you become more knowledgeable of the coins you are interest in then Ebay, coin shows, and dealers whould be a good sourse. Stay away from buying from the shows on TV. Storing coins is up to what you can affordand and your preference. 2x2's, books, folders. But stay away from PVC! As far as price guides they are only intended as a guide and will not give you the accurate value of your coins, but one of the better one that I use is the Gray Sheet (www.graysheet.com). Here are a few sites that will help you on grading and what to look for. www.linclncentresourse.com www.pcgs.com www.coinlink.com www.coinfacts.com I hope you find these suggestion helpfull and if you have any more question please do not hesitate to ask. Good Luck!
WELCOME TO THE FORUM WOW you really asked a lot of questions and most are the normal ones. My suggestion is to slow down. I mean take some time and do a little research on coin collecting. Buy a copy of the Red Book. Do some searching on the internet for coin pricing such as the PCGS web site, Numismedia, Coin World, etc. TAKE YOUR TIME. Don't run out and start buying all kinds of stuff due to their advertising. Be carefull of TV adds, magazine adds, internet adds, ebay, etc on coins untill you have more of an idea of what your doing. Be carefull of the answers you get from ANY source since you don't know who is giving that information. Great to ask, then check and verify yourself with as many sources as possible. Yes the Red Book and most on line prices are excessive. Remember that there is no manufacturers suggested retail prices on coins. They are what they are, coins. Prior to purchases I suggest you 1. Ask here 2. Check in books 3. Check other web sites for similar products. 3. Find some local coin shows. Yes you may loose out on some deals being to cautious, but better to be safe than sorry.
Thanks to everyone for some great advice. I guess my main objective for now is to read and study to get a better understanding of things. I look forward to participating with all of you in the future on the forum. Thanks!
One way to look at coin collecting or any hobby is like working on a car. If you start playing around under the hood of a car with no or very little knowledge of autos, there is a good chance your car will end up being towed away. Your not allowed to fly a plane without lessons. Try eating with chop sticks with no instructions. So when starting coin collecting or any hobby, look into it first.
That makes sense. I have actually collected coins for some time even though most are in poor shape, I do have a few good items. I mainly would just stick any old coins I found in a box such as rolls of buffalo nickels or mercury dimes but have bought a few here and there. I have read a little here and there in the past bust recently found the box again and it sparked my interest. I'm going to read through my Blue and Red book, my pocket change book, and some websites and hopefully get a better understanding of the hobby. I have a few rolls of the new presidential dollars and I noticed these selling on Ebay. Are these rolls worth hanging on to or because of the amount produced are they nothing special? Should I just open one roll and keep a few of the best ones and get rid of the rest? One of the rolls has a head and the other end a tail, I noticed seller's on Ebay saying these were the most looked for by collectors. Is this just a seller hyping this or is there any truth to the heads/tails rolls?
