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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Ed Zak, post: 31869, member: 824&quot;]<b>and how to avoid them!</b></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Don Bonser </b> is a former ANACS authenticator/grader and instructor at the ANA&#039;s summer seminar.&nbsp; I attended his seminar at the FUN show in Ft. Lauderdale and found it enlightening.&nbsp; He compiled the following list of mistakes that he has seen and experienced first hand...especially by new collectors:</p><p><br /></p><p>- Don&#039;t pay too little.&nbsp; Quality is more valuable then junk.</p><p>- Don&#039;t pay too much.&nbsp; Don&#039;t let the emotion of &quot;got to have it&quot; get you.</p><p>- Not learning enough before spending big bucks</p><p>- Not Reading enough</p><p>- Condemning the grading services (i.e., what do you mean it&#039;s not a MS64!!)</p><p>- 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.)</p><p>- Improper etiquetter at coin shops (i.e., if you don&#039;t agree with what a shop owner is offering you, simply say, &quot;thank you&quot; and walk out.&nbsp; DO NOT yell and scream in front of other customers stating that he is a crook!)</p><p>- Lying.&nbsp; Don&#039;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&#039;t lie.</p><p>-Not going to a ANA seminar</p><p>-Not joining a coin club</p><p>-Not attributing possible rarities</p><p>-Being convinced&nbsp; that every minor die variety is rare because YOU found it.</p><p>-Not joining the ANA</p><p>-Not joing FUN</p><p>-Not going to local shows and clubs</p><p>-Refusing to accept &quot;market grading&quot; (i.e., you may believe it is a MS64, but when 10 people behind you think it is MS63, it is MS63!)</p><p>-Insisting that Buffalo Nickels need a full horn to grade Very Fine 100% of the time.&nbsp; Many MS Buffalo coins (especially early San Francisco strikes) had poor strikes with a very little horn, even in MS grades!</p><p>-Finding wear on every MS64 coin graded by the major grading services.</p><p>-Assuming that you know more about grading and authentication than the grading services.&nbsp; All things be equal, and sure there always can be a mistake or two,...YOU DON&#039;T!&nbsp; Don went on the mention that the top four grading services he trusts and recommends are PCGS, NGC, ICG and ANACS.&nbsp; </p><p>-Buying coins that you don&#039;t like just because they are cheap.&nbsp; Goes back to the first line.</p><p>-Not spending enough for quality.&nbsp; 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.</p><p>-Assuming that all grading services are equal.&nbsp; They are not!&nbsp; There are many junk &quot;slabbing&quot; companies and the are NOT the same.&nbsp; he didn&#039;t list any because he didn&#039;t want to be sued.</p><p>-Assuming that your local coin dealer is an expert on everything.&nbsp; He like you probably started out as a collector and knows about some coins more so than others.</p><p>-Buying the first coin you see at a show.</p><p>-Selling specialized materials to a non-specialist.&nbsp; If you have Morgan CC dollars and are looking to sell them to somebody that specializes in Franklin Halfs...DON&#039;T!&nbsp; What happens is that Franklin coin specialist is immediately going to call his Morgan CC friends/dealers and state, &quot;Look, I have some nice Morgan CC&#039;s...you want them, because that is not my bag.&quot;&nbsp; You will get more that way for your coins.</p><p>-Buying from non-reputable people on eBay.&nbsp; Read the feedback!&nbsp; Also, it was brought up that Coin Vault and HSN has really suckered &quot;newbies&quot;, but then again, made the hobby interesting to more of the masses.</p><p>-Not convincing your spouse/family that your collection has value.&nbsp; Too many widows and family memebers bring coins into shops with no idea of their worth.</p><p>-Not caring about what you buy because &quot;you&#039;re not investing, you&#039;re collecting.&quot;&nbsp; If you are <u>spending</u> money, you are in fact investing!</p><p>-Not going to FREE, good educational programs.</p><p>-Not taking advantage of socializing opportunities in the hobby/business.</p><p>-Buying what everybody is buying (herd mentality).</p><p>-Not buying what you like...but you buy it because somebody told you it was a good deal.</p><p>-Not educating yourself about what you like.</p><p>-Assuming that you&#039;ll be able to make a profit on what you buy in a short period of time.</p><p>-Assuming that you will never make a profit.</p><p>-Getting disgusted and leaving the hobby because one bad egg &quot;got the better of you.&quot; (i.e., like collectors that think they got a deal from HSN or Coin Vault)</p><p>-Buying coins from cold callers on the phone, unless you know who they are.</p><p>-Buying from the US Mint (coins that didn&#039;t do well after their release)</p><p>-Not buying from the US mint (i.e., 1999 silver proof sets that took off)</p><p>-Not carefully beginning to assemble a library of educational materials</p><p>-Not subscribing to the hobby&#039;s periodicals</p><p>-Buying the grade, not the coin.</p><p>-Assuming that another collector will pay you more.</p><p>-Improper storage of coins.&nbsp; Coins you buy today should look exactly the same way the day you purchased them 100 years from now...if properly stored and handled.</p><p><br /></p><p>Of course, Don added things like, &quot;Don&#039;t eat too much greasy foods&quot; or &quot;Travel to coin shows in cities that you like&quot; to this list, but here is the list as much as I could transcribe.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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