Hey All! I just discovered this site recently and have spent the last several days pouring through many of the old posts here. I have been extremely impressed about the incredibly kind and helpful members of this message board here. It is nothing like some of the football message boards I also frequent. Anyway, I have recently rediscovered my passion for coin collecting after finding my childhood collection. It doesn't consist of much... some Morgan dollars, walking liberties, a few gold Pandas, some proof sets, etc... In reading many of your posts, I found a lot of good advice about where to start when beginning a collection. One poster, named GDJMSP, suggested finding an era of time that sparked your interest and starting with a focused collection there. In addition to continuing my collection of Morgans, I have found myself interested in the idea of Pirates gold, spanish dabloons or other sunken treasure. I've tried searching google for leads but have only found things on Mel Fischer and atocha coins. Does anyone have any thoughts on these or other options. I'd appreciate any and all advice. Thanks!!
Ship-wreck coins are fascinating. But they tend to be over-hyped and over-priced. If you're going to go down this road, you might do better to buy them after-market rather than directly from the marketing firms that are selling them. I recall reading a thread recently in which someone claimed they bought some of these coins after-market at a substantial discount. Whatever you decide, welcome back to the hobby and good luck!
I'd do some research first. Find out what some of the shipwrecks were, and the prices they first sold for. Buy some books, if neccessary on that type of coin, or ask questions about the types here. Then start looking around, any sales type venue, and see if the prices are much better for you. First rule of numismatics is buy the book before the coin!
For what you say you are interested in, look here - http://www.sedwickcoins.com/ Dan Sedwick is one of if not the leading authority on Spanish colonial coinage. And there are several other dealers who you can trust that deal in these coins. If you use this link - http://www.cointalk.com/f33/ - and then explore the links found within that section of Coin Talk you can not only find other dealers but you will also find a great deal of information about Spanish colonial coinage. And that's where you need to start, you need to gain some knowledge before buying any coins. If you have questions, just ask. I'll be glad to help where I can
Here is a segment from our podcast on collecting coins from the Atocha. Hope it helps! [video=youtube;OL9SK1k4EJk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL9SK1k4EJk&context=C35962dfADOEgsToPDskKP DPm41BBjKN89Vxa57EO3[/video]
