Can you make money being a coin collector?

Going beyond the scope of buying and selling coins, how could one make money being a coin collector?

I love collecting coins, but I really wish there was some kind of field I could get into, where I could be around coins, and also make money (to buy more coins ).

It's too bad there is not some sort of degree you could get.

I love coin collecting, like some people might like football, or some people might like history. However many people have interests that can relate with a job.

Football players can make it big with sports, history buffs can get jobs as historians or archaeologists, people who like taking care of others can get a job as a nurse or doctor.

 

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Maybe a coin dealer. they are around coins once in awhile.

 

I would love to become a dealer. Thing is, it would take a bunch of startup money. I'm guessing you would need about 15-20k built up to buy from people, so you could have a nice selection for sale.

 

Dealer sounds good. I think I could be a coin dealer? I mean I got an Ebay and sell coins lol. But anyways other professions that put you around coins would be a bank teller, a coin retriever for vending machi.es? Not sure what they are called but also one job that would be really cool to havw would be a mint inspector or whoever checks coins for flaws and the what not. Dream jobstarting right there

 

nah. you need 100 bucks to get going. buy a coin for a 100 bucks, sell it for 120. Rinse and repeat. Its easy. start part time. In a couple years your drinking mai tai's poolside at the Bellaigio.

 

Most would disagree with my opinion, but I think that it is very possible to make money as a collector. I don't do it much anymore, but you can (correctly) buy from your local dealers, Teletrade, DLRC and many others and sell them on ebay. I wouldn't be surprised if you returned 20-30% profit. You do need a bit of start up money, but about a thousand should get you going.

 

CRH for die varieties.
Worst case scenario: You return all your coins to the bank and get 100% of your money back.
Likely scenario: you find some varieties and make a profit of $5-10 on each of them. Not much, but still money in your pocket.
Best case scenario: you find a rare die variety and it sells for $100,000 on heritage.

 

im planning on applying for a job at the nearby coin shops when im almost 17.

 

Most dealers I know started out as collectors, but over time the business diminished their love of the hobby. I say if you want to continue enjoying the hobby, by all means, do not become a dealer. Learn a niche and write a book. There isn't a lot of money in it but its better than nothing.

 

Short answer, yes. But, add in the years of learning and acquiring knowledge, learning how to grade yourself, how to spot unattributed coins and understanding what collectors want to buy (not what dealers want to sell) is what it takes.

However, as a collector (and not a dealer), this is supposed to be fun along the way. If I factored in my time invested in my collection, including reading books, researching topics and even writing numismatic papers - I would show a large negative balance.

 

Many people seem to look at it in a black and white sense... you are either a collector or you are a dealer. Why not both? Buy to collect what you are interested in and buy to resell with everything else.

 

+1!

 

I suggest you study very hard in school and go to Harvard Law School. Become a lawyer for a few years and then run for office and become a Congressman. You can make enough money to buy any coins your little hear desires. OH, and you're retirement benefits will be top notch so you can go on collecting as much as you want.

 

As a collector, you really shouldn't be concerned about making money, but rather trying to enjoy your hobby. I never hear of a fisherman calculating the cost per pound of their daily catch. You start factoring in the cost of a boat, fishing equipment, license, a truck to pull your boat, fuel, fish finder, and maintenance on all of that stuff, you'll never enjoy your hobby either.

 

I remember a coin dealer in Lafayette CA that often told the kids that came into his shop "to get your education, go to college and don't become a coin dealer". There are just too many variables and risks, not to mention sharks, in the business.

 

Why not? You can make money out of anything as long as you understand where your supply and demand is coming from.

 

Coin collecting for me is nothing more than a hobby, one that occupates a lot of time and expense sometimes. Sure I have made some egregious gains on flips I have made, but there was a certain coin from the 19th century that stung me a few years ago.

For the most part I don't bother to sell - I think of my collection as sort of a Roach Motel - they check in but they don't check out.

 

I see your point Doug, but I also see the line between collecting and dealing as being a bit more blurry.
Sometimes you buy a lot, and there is a coin or two you really like. You sell off the rest and maybe you make an immediate profit, but if you buy well, then the worst case scenario is that you got to keep a couple coins at a discount, even if you did not immediately get a monetary profit out of the deal. I see that as a win-win situation.
Of course education is key here, as with any other type of business and/or hobby.

After all, if you keep EVERYTHING then you are not so much a collector as a hoarder.

 

I have a saying

When you transform what you do for fun into your job then what you do for fun becomes work.