50 Mistakes Made by Beginning Collectors...

and how to avoid them!

Don Bonser is a former ANACS authenticator/grader and instructor at the ANA's summer seminar. I attended his seminar at the FUN show in Ft. Lauderdale and found it enlightening. He compiled the following list of mistakes that he has seen and experienced first hand...especially by new collectors:

- Don't pay too little. Quality is more valuable then junk.
- Don't pay too much. Don't let the emotion of "got to have it" get you.
- Not learning enough before spending big bucks
- Not Reading enough
- Condemning the grading services (i.e., what do you mean it's not a MS64!!)
- Improper etiquette at coin shows (i.e., interrupting when a dealer is in the middle of selling/purchasing, reaching over and touching coins that a dealer pulled out for the person in front of you, improper handling of coins, etc.)
- Improper etiquetter at coin shops (i.e., if you don't agree with what a shop owner is offering you, simply say, "thank you" and walk out. DO NOT yell and scream in front of other customers stating that he is a crook!)
- Lying. Don't tell a seller/buyer that you were, for instance, offered $5,000 for a $50 coin because most people would rather sell/buy from somebody else who doesn't lie.
-Not going to a ANA seminar
-Not joining a coin club
-Not attributing possible rarities
-Being convinced that every minor die variety is rare because YOU found it.
-Not joining the ANA
-Not joing FUN
-Not going to local shows and clubs
-Refusing to accept "market grading" (i.e., you may believe it is a MS64, but when 10 people behind you think it is MS63, it is MS63!)
-Insisting that Buffalo Nickels need a full horn to grade Very Fine 100% of the time. Many MS Buffalo coins (especially early San Francisco strikes) had poor strikes with a very little horn, even in MS grades!
-Finding wear on every MS64 coin graded by the major grading services.
-Assuming that you know more about grading and authentication than the grading services. All things be equal, and sure there always can be a mistake or two,...YOU DON'T! Don went on the mention that the top four grading services he trusts and recommends are PCGS, NGC, ICG and ANACS.
-Buying coins that you don't like just because they are cheap. Goes back to the first line.
-Not spending enough for quality. Buy one quality coin instead of 3 junk coins...after all, junk will always be junk, but a high quality coin will always go up (mostly) and be expontentially more desired and more valued.
-Assuming that all grading services are equal. They are not! There are many junk "slabbing" companies and the are NOT the same. he didn't list any because he didn't want to be sued.
-Assuming that your local coin dealer is an expert on everything. He like you probably started out as a collector and knows about some coins more so than others.
-Buying the first coin you see at a show.
-Selling specialized materials to a non-specialist. If you have Morgan CC dollars and are looking to sell them to somebody that specializes in Franklin Halfs...DON'T! What happens is that Franklin coin specialist is immediately going to call his Morgan CC friends/dealers and state, "Look, I have some nice Morgan CC's...you want them, because that is not my bag." You will get more that way for your coins.
-Buying from non-reputable people on eBay. Read the feedback! Also, it was brought up that Coin Vault and HSN has really suckered "newbies", but then again, made the hobby interesting to more of the masses.
-Not convincing your spouse/family that your collection has value. Too many widows and family memebers bring coins into shops with no idea of their worth.
-Not caring about what you buy because "you're not investing, you're collecting." If you are spending money, you are in fact investing!
-Not going to FREE, good educational programs.
-Not taking advantage of socializing opportunities in the hobby/business.
-Buying what everybody is buying (herd mentality).
-Not buying what you like...but you buy it because somebody told you it was a good deal.
-Not educating yourself about what you like.
-Assuming that you'll be able to make a profit on what you buy in a short period of time.
-Assuming that you will never make a profit.
-Getting disgusted and leaving the hobby because one bad egg "got the better of you." (i.e., like collectors that think they got a deal from HSN or Coin Vault)
-Buying coins from cold callers on the phone, unless you know who they are.
-Buying from the US Mint (coins that didn't do well after their release)
-Not buying from the US mint (i.e., 1999 silver proof sets that took off)
-Not carefully beginning to assemble a library of educational materials
-Not subscribing to the hobby's periodicals
-Buying the grade, not the coin.
-Assuming that another collector will pay you more.
-Improper storage of coins. Coins you buy today should look exactly the same way the day you purchased them 100 years from now...if properly stored and handled.

Of course, Don added things like, "Don't eat too much greasy foods" or "Travel to coin shows in cities that you like" to this list, but here is the list as much as I could transcribe.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

"Not caring about what you buy because "you're not investing, you're collecting." If you are spending money, you are in fact investing!"

That one could get a lot of mileage here.

 

"-Buying from the US Mint
-Not buying from the US mint"

Okay, so what is the conclusion of those two pieces of advice?

 

Buying from the mint can be a mistake.

ie some items are way overpriced, like circulation quality nickels by the roll. You are paying for packaging.

Not buying from the mint can be a mistake.

ie You'll never be able to get a 1999 silver proof set for the price the mint sold them for.

The trick is to know the difference. (not that I do)

 

Super. Thanks for sharing. I hope you enjoyed the show.

 

This would be good information to add to the sticky "Information and Helpful links" thread.

 

Very good list ED, Can't say that we are 100% in agreement but the numbers would be way up there! Basically we all can and will make some mistakes and a list like this would have been real handy years ago when I was busy making mine!!!
Thanks for taking the time to post it!!!

 

Goes back to educating yourself on what you buy. With some research, a collector should have a good idea of whether particular mint offerings are overpriced or not as desireable as other offerings. Though I would like to point out that, although some of the mint products have not increased in value, that does not necessarily make them "bad buys". It also depends on what you collect. The Mint has offered some interesting presentations that, although I did not personally find to be worth the money, a different collector might really want for his collection.

I think that all of the statements made (and Ed, that was a great list ) need to be personalized for each collector. Just because a collector doesn't collect what is generally seen as "valuable" items does not make the collection wrong, it makes it different, which adds value to those collections in my opinion.

I, also, would like to see that list posted in the sticky "Information and Helpful Links" thread.

 

Thanks for the list! I wish I had the list a few years back. I think I will review this list the next time I am ready to make another purchase. Really great information!!
coinsngolf

 

Outstanding post. Thank you.
You could change a few words around and many could apply to any of life's little journeys. As i look down the list as very new to the numismatic world i see things that would simply come from maturity and or wisdom. Some folks grow up at 3 yrs old. some never do. And i like seeing the consideration of others presented as well. My wife and i rail back and forth about no one has the time to teach manners, so we deal more and more with the ill behaved. The worst thing that can happen is to let this slide. The coin itself is a sign of civilzation. Will the coin outlast?

 

I can't wait until I've made all 50 mistakes so I can advance to Intermediate Collector !

 

lot of they 50 are only of concern to american coin purchasers.

we have diffrent grades here, we have our own numismatics groups and clubs, we dont buy nickles, we dont have coin fairs.ANA is american.

i think the title should have been 50 common mistakes for american coin collectors.

am i being picky?

well probably but all the same i think it needed to be said.

 

So "never clean a coin" is sub-newbie?

 

Looks like I have a long way to go........good info.

 

Again, this is NOT my list and I was only transcribing what was handed out at this seminar.

 

Never joined the ANA, never heard of FUN, not bought anything from the US mint, i do get the 'i must buy this now', i do frequently overpay and sell for lower and yes i have never been a member of a coin club nor do i expect to. And i never subscribe to anything that's going to cost me money, cos i'd rather buy myself a Coincraft catalogue and spend everything else on coins. But after 15 years in the hobby i'm still here! Amazingly

 

Thanks for the list Ed, and I will try and work on completion of all 50 errors before I hang it up. Don't really have all that far to go as I have sure made several of the ones listed. Again, thank you!

 

FUN stands for Florida United Numismatic. They just celebrated their 50th anniversary and their show is probably the largest in the U.S., if not the world. Over 400 booths will be on display this weekend where the best of the best can be seen, bought and sold. Anywhere from 12,000 to 16,000 people will attend, what is considered, the "kickoff" show for the year.

Everything from US to non-US (I used to use the word "World", but that now offends people outside of USA) coins and currency will be there.

For instance, Heritage is auctioning three Brasher doubloons:

Not bad considering only 7 Brasher examples known to exist.

Want a to see the finest known 1913 Liberty Head Nickel (one of 5)? It is ONLY insured for $4,000,000 and will be displayed this weekend.

How about a 1894-S Barber Dime (Finest known conditon out of a mintage of 24)? You can see it and buy it this weekend.

Between the free seminars and world class coins on display and for sale, that is what "FUN" is all about.

 

Great post- can't argue with much of anything there. Especially the part about not reading enough. Reading about the coins is almost as much fun as buying them. (I said almost !)

Rachel

 

Ed:
If you don't mine my asking, do you know if that list was
available beforehand? Before the seminar was given?