World Coins beginner

Yes, specialize in ONE country (or two...), and get to know them. Don't just buy the silly Krause catalog, although it's a good start. Granted, Krause has gone through a great effort to give us all prices, but if you delve deeply into a certain World-Coin niche (buying/selling/researching over a few years), you will notice how many errors are in Krause for those coins that you specialize in, and just how much info it doesn't give you. Those errors, especially regarding Krause's sometimes-tenuous connection to real-world market prices, are a GREAT opportunity for cherrypicking.

Find the publishers of catalogs for that THAT specific country's coins that you collect; usually, they are published in that country. This might require the ability to read a foreign language, or the need to make friends with a bilingual immigrant from there! If you can, travel to that country, and investigate the Brick and Mortar stores yourself.

I found the two most commonly-used catalogs used for South Korea (publishers named Dae Gwang-sa and Oh-Sung). I also found the ONLY known memoirs of a former Korean currency designer, and it detailed the history of the mint, coin production, and design work for S. Korea's coins. There are also Korean coin blogs and online sellers. None of this was in English, and I realized just how ignorant I was about these coins! All of these sources have expanded my knowledge of S. Korean coins well beyond Krause.

 

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My suggestion is, "Don't do it!"

You'll become addicted. Your eye sight will go bad sooner than normal. You'll grow old before your years...cranky too.

 

On a serious note:

I agree with Hiddendragon and Spirityoda.

 

OMG...Doug as an early collector of...things...my precious