[CLOSED] Contest - Share the most Valuable Piece of Collecting Advice you Can!

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Non-entry comment:

Don't clean coins.

Yes, there are times when cleaning coins is a good idea. After you've studied enough, you'll understand the difference between "good cleaning" and "bad cleaning". Until then, don't do it!

 

Some good advice here already! I'll leave it open until this weekend, and I will choose the first winners.

Keep it coming!

 

The advice I would give to someone joining the hobby is something I wish I would have been told in the beginning: "Slow down". I bought everything and anything that I could afford with no regard to what it was even. I had no direction to my collecting. Heck, it wasn't collecting.....it was accumulating. It wasn't until I got my first Redbook and went through it cover to cover that I started refining what I wanted to be as a collector. I chose to learn more about a few series (Buffalo's being only one of them). I also chose to save my money and buy finer pieces as I was able to. "Slow down".

 

Best Advice for collectors:

1) If you are a newbie: BUY the Red Book!
2) Then read it.
3) The read it again.
4) then talk to other collectors, you may learn something.

For experienced collectors:

1) If you ask for someone's advice, please consider it. You asked, they replied. Don't argue with them. If you disagreed, remember: you asked them, they didn't offer a comment until you asked.
2) Consider what they said, then discuss the matter. Discuss, not argue. They may be able to teach you something.
3) If you are looking at a coin and considering whether to buy it, say to yourself: 'can I live with this coin?'
If you feel that you MAY be sorry that you bought it, then don't buy it. If you feel that way now, the feeling will only grow. Better to pass than be sorry later.

 

Use Cable/Broadcast TV coin shows for entertainment purposes only. The coins they 'hawk' there are way overpriced. I discovered this myself.

Join a local coin club if there is one in your community......wealth of knowledge from old timers there.

Join 'Coin Talk'........wealth of knowledge here as well.

Don't be afraid to ask questions because you think you might appear stupid. The stupidest question is the one that is never asked.

 

Non-entry comment:

Don't buy coins for investment.

 

Entry Post:

Having been a collector of many things most of my life I've only 'seriously' gotten into coin collecting since I moved to the US in 2016 and was given my wife's grandparents collection of 350+ Morgan and Peace Dollars, plus a plethora of other US coins.

I was asked to sell them for the family and realised very quickly I knew nothing about them, so set about educating myself so I could understand what I had and what value we have in these.

After much discussion with other collectors I got myself a Red Book, ANA Grading Book, Morgan - Peace Dollar Encyclopedia and utilised the knowledge of other collectors to hone my skills.

So.. My advice to anyone new to the game: Educate yourself about the coins you have an interest in. Ask fellow collectors for assistance when you are not sure about something, there are no stupid questions other than the unasked ones. Listen to what advice others have to say, and then research it for yourself, to make sure it is sound advice.

No matter how many years you have been collecting, you will ALWAYS find something new to learn, then, help others learn about the hobby, keep the circle going...

 

One thing I wish someone would have told me when I started is that most tv coin shows are meant for entertainment only.

 

Don't spend a lot of money as a newbie. You need to look at lots and lots of coins. Learn what original surfaces look like. Learn to read luster. Look at lots of professionally graded coins in the series that interest you. Read and listen. Absorb. Some folks have been playing with coins for years but don't know a whole lot, but you don't need to be one of them. Oh yeah, if you're not enjoying it, you're doing it wrong.

 

Has anyone been picked yet ??

 

Bumpity Bump!

 

Have patience, learn, and listen to the experts on Cointalk.

Learn the minting process.

Believe the experts at CT when they tell you that your coin was run over by many cars in a parking lot and it is nothing more than (PMD) Post Mint Damage.

Take the time to find out what PMD looks like versus an error.

Never believe what you see on YouTube!

If you sell your coin that was run over in a parking lot on Etsy for $100,000, then just ignore any advice from Cointalk.

 

Entry comment: Do not clean coins; this includes simply wiping off the coin. If you must have it cleaned - send it to someone who is trained to do it.

 

Non-Entry comment:
Instead of buying a $100 (for example) coin per week. Buy a $1200 coin every 3 months, and don't put off selling the lesser coins in order to upgrade.

 

Buy what you love!

 

LOL!

 

Shoot, what's the matter with you guys? Don't you want to win this contest?

My best advice is:

Buy @physics-fan3.14 book!