Hello all. Im new to this site and already got a warm welcome. Since I am so new to this ( this site and coin collecting in general ) here are some of my questions and concerns. There is such a vast majority of items out there for sale from coins to paper money. I chose coins. Now with that being said, I know there is a lot to learn and a lot of reading and things are always changing. Ive bought about 5 books (whitman series red,blue and a few others) but these are a few questions cause i dont want to bore you guys to death..... 1. is it better to buy sets,series, loose coins of ONE particular thing meaning quarters, dimes, american eagles etc, or is it better to have a wide variety of things? 2.Where do you find a local dealer other than looking through a phone book? ( someone who is knowledgeable , and wont take advantage of a new guy ) 3. Is is better to look for coins at garage sales,coin expos,estate sales, Ebay ( the prices look a little inflated ) or a local dealer? 4.Other than personal preference what are good items to shoot for. (complete sets,proofs,loose items,) and finally...5. I just bought about 55 coins on ebay most were indian cents a few proof sets, and about 30 eagles ( silver ) ranging from uncir to proofs. Was that a bad move?:desk:
Welcome to the forum, General. When we talk about you should we do it in General Discussion? My recommendation is that you do not rush into coin collecting. You know the old sayings - Act in haste; regret at leisure. Haste makes waste. This applies to coin collecting, too. You really need to become educated before you start laying down a lot of money for coins you know little about. If you don't know what you are doing you can overpay for your coins and later, when you realize that you have been ripped off, you may become soured on the hobby. Buy the book before the coin. To answer your questions: 1) Buy what you like. Most people gain a lot of pleasure from putting together a set of coins themselves. You will learn a LOT by buying the individual coins yourself - things like the difference between AU and MS, strike, luster, varieties, etc. It is better - especially for a beginner - to focus on a particular series or put together a type set. 2) Go to your local coin club's meeting and ask members which dealers they would recommend. You could check the ANA web site for dealer members. (ANA members and dealer members are bound by ANA's Code of Ethics and face expulsion if they break the rules. Being a dealer member of ANA is no guarantee of complete honesty but it is something.) Being a member of PNG (Professional Numismatists Guild) is another plus for a dealer. Your profile does not clue us in as to where you live but others here on CT may live in your area and know good dealers to recommend. 3) Good deals are where you find them. But first you must be able to spot a good deal. Cheap coins are not necessarily good deals. At a garage sale or an estate sale you might find a good deal buried among other common coins. For instance, there may be a coin board filled with common Lincoln cents but you, after educating yourself, spot a rare 1922 Plain cent in the 1922-D hole. If everyone else thinks it is just a book of common "pennies" (the correct term is "cents") then you might be able to buy the board for a song and get a rare coin worth a few hundred dollars in the deal. At coin dealers you should expect to pay retail; you won't find many underpriced coins there BUT you will (or, rather, should) be dealing with an informed seller. At a coin dealer's shop you can compare coins so you can learn how coins are graded. A good dealer will also take some time to help in your education. Be careful buying cons on eBay. There are some good deals there but they pale in comparison to the number of auctions with coins that are overgraded, cleaned, altered, misrepresented, etc., etc., etc., etc. After you know how to grade a coin and spot a cleaned coin and know how to cherrypick varieties then you might try buying a few coins on the Bay. Until then you are very likely to make a poor purchase. 4) What you collect is your personal preference. But you need to ask yourself, "Am I going to be a collector or an investor?" If you are planning to buy coins as an investment the answer to your question will be very different. I am a collector and I collect what I like. 5) Again, don't rush into coin collecting. I would recommend you halt your coin purchasing (you bought 85 coins before knowing anything about coins) and concentrate on educating yourself. Read the Red Book. In it you will learn about every US coin series and maybe one series will strike your fancy. Or maybe you will decide you would like to get a nice example of many series. A 20th Century type set might be just the ticket for you. Or you might become interested in early silver commemorative coins. Or obsolete denominations (half cent, two cent, three cent silver, three cent nickel, twenty cent, etc.). How about coins minted during WWII, WWI or the Civil War? Or maybe error coins are more your speed. Maybe you would prefer world coins. Or ancient coins. The choices are almost endless. Once you decide what you want to collect buy some books on that series. There are books on practically every US coin series and there's plenty of free info on the Internet as well as here. You will also need a price guide. There are entire threads on CT on this topic. Make sure you understand how to use your price guide and its limitations before you commit yourself to a coin. Good luck with your new hobby.
welcome! i would highly recommend buying a redbook and also purchase a copy of david bowers' book...an experts guide to to collecting and investing in rare coins". the price of the book will more than make up for itself. i would also recommend you consider joining the american numismatic association. if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. this is a wonderful site for help. welcome again to coin collecting!........steve
Welcome to the forum! I've recently been selling off all the coins in my collection that don't fit my interests anymore, instead starting to just focus on morgan dollars, buffalo nickels and my type set. When I started out I really wanted diversity, but now I'm more into single series collecting. While diversity is nice, I think you'd find single series collecting to be a lot more organized and somewhat more rewarding as you continue to fill holes needed to complete the set(s).
General_Godlike (Ans.) Depends on the condition of the coins and the price you paid (include S & H). Clinker
WELCOME TO THE FORUM. My opinions: 1. Buying or just finding each coin is more fun than buying a complete set. Sort of like buying a model airplane kit and it is already put together. 2. Caution with any local coin stores. They must make a profit to support the store and their family and that is based on your expenese. 3. Garage/yard/estate sales and flea markets are the greatest. Not estate auctions or any auctions since most have ringers there to up the anti. The most important thing at any such garage/yard/estate sales is you have to ASK. Don't just look around and leave, ASK. Most people that have those sales do NOT put out coins, knives, guns, etc. They may have them and want to sell them but are afraid to put them out wher they can be BORROWED. You have to ASK. 4. I find that completing a set is more fun and rewarding than to purchase sets already completed. Also, I suggest starting a collection of one proof and one uncirc set from the Mint each year. 5. Stay off ebay until you know what your doing. As to coin clubs, having coin magazines, etc where your name and address are exposed, that depends on the area you live. Around my area any advertising of an expensive hobby is like putting a sign out stating I bet you can't rob me.
Collect something which no-one else collects. You'll get the coins cheaper, and they will be more interesting (my expirience with medieval hungarian !)
