Your five numismatic truths?

Here are my five numismatic truths:

1. Eye appeal trumps all other coin characteristics.
2. All things being equal, bigger is better when it comes to coins.
3. All things being equal, earlier is better when it comes to coins.
4. Coin prices are primarily driven by demand, not supply.
5. There is no substitute for looking at coins in your own two hands.

These are five things that no matter how much anyone would argue with me on, I wouldn't change my mind. I believe in them implicitly.

What are your five numismatic truths?

 

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1. Buy what you like because you like it.
2. Learn. Knowledge is Power.
3. Don't be fooled by what somebody else (including grading companies) say about a coin, use your own mind to determine what you feel about the coin.
4. Don't fall under the pack mentality. Just because everybody is buying one coin or the other, don't buy them if you don't like them just because they are "hot".
5. Don't buy with the intent to make a profit. It goes against everything I collect for, and if I ever do that...Please shoot me

 

1. Eye appeal
2. Stay away from gold & silver. (too stock marketish)
3. Learn something new everyday.
4. Know who to trust.
5. Its just my hobby, have fun.

 

1. Knowledge is power
2. Buy the best possible for your money
3. If you cannot love a coin, don't buy it.
4. Share your knowledge
5. Trust your instincts, not some TPG graders.

 

1. Knowledge
2. Eye appeal
3. ACTUAL not percieved Rarity
4. Best possible coin affordable
5. Do not be fooled by TPG holders, humans fill them and make mistakes, bad people counterfiet them for profit.

I would like to add my 5 steps prior to purchasing a coin
1. Gain knowledge
2. Gain real knowledge
3. Look at the coin in hand
4. Gain more knowledge and if you still want the coin
5. Go back and buy it if it is still there, if not you were not supposed to have it in the first place.

Kie

 

All right. I will give it a shot.

1. Have fun. It is a hobby. I don't want to lose money hand over fist, but I am in this as a collector first and foremost.

2. Knowledge requires reading. Read everything available on the series you collect (for instance, I have three books on Buffalo nickels and re-read them periodically).

3. Focus on one or two series and do not be tempted to buy pretty baubles in other series you know little or nothing about.

4. If there is something about a coin that bothers you (an abrasion in a certain spot, toning you don't care for on the reverse, a weak strike in a single location, for example), no matter how much you like the coin otherwise, do not pass go and buy it. That something will be there every time you look at the coin. There will always be other coins to buy.

5. Accept that there are others in this field who will always know more than you do. Find people in this category that you can trust and take advantage of the opportunity to learn from them (and yes, this may include buying coins from dealers you trust). By the way, there are such people on this and other forums.

 

1. Eye appeal

2. Price

3. Date/mintage

4. I keep in within the U.S

5. Love the coin and love the hobby.

 

1. Eye appeal -- universally #1
2. The best price is what I'm willling to pay for it.
3. If I like it and can afford it, I buy it.
4. If it's not fun, find something else to do.
5. Try to understand as much as possible about the history behind my purchases.

 

I took these five from my list of 20 collecting tips:

The best way to improve your grading ability is to find someone who is highly qualified AND willing to spend time reviewing coins with you. That person can be a dealer or collector, but he needs to be more than just a friend - he needs to be a teacher. Many individuals are "qualified" OR "willing to spend the time", but few are BOTH.

Don't talk yourself into buying a coin. If something about it bothers you now, there is an excellent chance it will bother you as much or more later.

Eye-appeal is hard to ignore, but technical quality shouldn't be over-looked/compromised.

Don't try to get bargains at the expense of quality and desirability for the coins you're buying, or you'll likely end up with sub-par coins which aren't bargains, anyway.


Enjoy our hobby.

 

I will take a stab at this, but basically it looks as though we all agree:

1. Know your own collection, where you want to go with it , and try to stick with a plan.

2. After you decide want you want to collect study before buying any.

3. Eye appeal and affordability are an individual thing. Make sure while studying you can afford what you want to collect in the grades you will accept.

4. Learn and share with others. You can do this here or other places, and have fun while you do it.

5. Have fun. When it stops being fun stop for awhile or just quit all together. But, don't sell your coins even if you think you're quitting. We have seen alot of people join here that quit many years ago, sold their coins, and now wish they hadn't.

 

Mark

I see I borrowed my fourth rule about "if something bothers you about a coin..." from your 20 tips, which I have read many times. And here I thought I had come up with it on my own!

But boy is it true. And I have some examples in my collection that prove the rule.

 

I really like your observations and would also put eye appeal as a solid #1. I would replace your #5 with:

5. The true numismatic price for gold and silver coins equals the price minus melt value, so these coins are sometimes less expensive than they look.

 

My five, in agreement with Rick Snow:

1) There is no price too cheap for a problem coin.

(repeat four more times)

 

You are, of course, correct.

 

1. Have a reason for collecting what you collect --- date sets to match family birth years, fascination with the Civil war, just love the beauty of the Seated series.
2. Don't buy coins that you don't need for your collection - random coin buying will kill your budget (I have hundreds of "neat" coins that are basically orphans)
3. Plan your purchases - then puchase according to your plan
4. If a coin seems cheap - there's a reason for it
5. There's nothing wrong about buying a slab and cracking it out - and there's nothing wrong with buying raw and slabbing

 

In some instances, that's not the case. For example, some coins are so rare and valuable that if a collector wants/needs one for his collection, buying a problem example at a discount is his only realistic option.

Also, just about any rare coin has some value - it's simply a matter of how much or how little. Many dealers make a living off of buying problem coins at the right price and reselling them for something over that amount.

 

1) Don't buy raw gold on eBay under any circumstances. No matter who you think you are. Photos lie.

2) After you pay for something, you will see it in a better grade for less money at another table.

3) A holed capped bust half deserves love to.

4) Coins are not investments.

 

Here is what I think for what it's worth.
1. Eye Appeal
2.Just plain old Appeal
3.Junk is Junk no matter how cheap
4.Join CT
5.Buy what you like not what you can afford (If you like it and can't afford save up don't settle)

I collect coins not just sets there pieces out there I like and sets I like but I don't like all sets or all types. I just like what I like.