[CLOSED] Contest - Share the most Valuable Piece of Collecting Advice you Can!

Discussion in 'Contests' started by physics-fan3.14, Sep 25, 2021.

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  1. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    Bump, to move the active contests to the top, and send some of the now-locked older ones down the list.
     
    TheNickelGuy likes this.
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  3. potty dollar 1878

    potty dollar 1878 Well-Known Member

    Wow almost going on 3 months,is this a new record:wacky::wacky:.
     
  4. Treashunt

    Treashunt The Other Frank

    He was here yesterday, perhaps he forgot?
     
    Paddy54 likes this.
  5. shilines

    shilines Active Member

    Hello,
    I still consider myself a newbie even though i been collecting for about four or five years now just because there is still such a massive amount of information out there that I still have to learn. My very first year though of collecting I made many mistakes. I've submitted the most blurriest pictures ever for review, I have refered to doubled dies as double dies, and I would sware and argue the issue that mechanical or strike doubling was the real thing. The worst thing I ever done or the biggest lesson I ever learned was to NEVER CLEAN COINS with chemicals and solutions. I had heard that the highest grades paid out a higher premium. So, I use to to shine them babies up with basically anything that was wet to try an get them to shine.The following were things I really used on my coins before....
    Baby oil, lotion, jewelry cleaner, toothpaste, awesome surface cleaner, olive oil, dish soap, laundry soap, hair grease, baking soda, hair conditioner, car wax, ajax, to name a few. I understand today that presenting a coin as is regardless of it's bumps and bruises, dirt marks, and stains kind of creates a story for that particular coin. Gives it character in a way. Cleaning coins with harsh chemicals brings down the value of the coin as well. Only unless it's super super dirty a mild soap and water should do the trick.
     
  6. dwhiz

    dwhiz Collector Supporter

    Don't buy DETAIL coins unless it's ultra rare.
     
    BuffaloHunter likes this.
  7. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    Here’s another.

    By all means, read advice posts like these, and DO keep yourself informed, but in the end, remember it’s your hobby, and collect whatever makes you happy.

    Don’t let other people dictate your collecting decisions too much, unless you want them to. You can let other people’s opinions influence you- to a certain degree that’s healthy (especially if there’s some investment involved)- but in the end, you are the sole arbiter of what you should and should not collect.
     
  8. Cucumbor

    Cucumbor Well-Known Member

    1 - Don't clean coins
    2 - Know more than the dealer, i.e. learn, learn and learn

    Q
     
    shilines likes this.
  9. TheNickelGuy

    TheNickelGuy Yippie I Oh

    1. I suggest reading this thread from start to finish.

    and

    2. Avoid hoarding, later in life you'll be overwhelmed. Believe me, I know.
    Keep your very best, the coins you just like the most, and sell the rest before it's too late. If you aren't able to and will never take the time to look at them, then they really aren't worth having are they?
     
    Theodosius and KevinS like this.
  10. Treashunt

    Treashunt The Other Frank


    Uh oh!

    Avoid Hoarding?

    I am in real trouble.
     
  11. KevinS

    KevinS Junior Member

    I couldn't agree more. I am at that point in my life where I am reducing to my CORE collection. Time to let some go
     
    lordmarcovan and Theodosius like this.
  12. Randy Abercrombie

    Randy Abercrombie Supporter! Supporter

    I had the good fortune of being a rabid coin lover long before an internet or TPG’s existed so this comes naturally for me…… Enjoy what you enjoy. Be it pocket change, errors, classic US coins…. Whatever. Enjoy it and immerse yourself in the history you hold in your hands…. And do not be swayed via peer pressure or current mainstream trends. Your love of collecting is yours to enjoy.
     
  13. masterswimmer

    masterswimmer A Caretaker, can't take it with me

    Well said my friend. Couldn't agree more.
     
    Randy Abercrombie likes this.
  14. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    But-but-but "I bet they'll be worth big money one day!"

    I'm not kidding, my dad still laments that I donated my broken-down 1984 Voyager minivan instead of keeping it. Somewhere. "It was the first year they were made, it'll be a collector's item!"
     
  15. dano

    dano Junior Member

    Learn to understand the difference between a collection and an accumulation. Both can be fun, but one shows a passion and attention to detail, while the other might lack focus. At different times in my life, I've been in both circumstances, and even today, I understand what part of my collection is which.
     
  16. Lueds

    Lueds Well-Known Member

  17. I wish I had been told that you don’t need the most valuable golden shiny coin ever and that some more common coins are still cool too.
    Good luck people and am exited to see all the other advice. :D
     
    Theodosius likes this.
  18. Santinidollar

    Santinidollar Supporter! Supporter

    Collect only what you can afford and then enjoy your collection.
     
  19. 1stSgt22

    1stSgt22 I'm just me!

    Buy cheap and keep!!!
     
  20. Nevernotsurprised

    Nevernotsurprised It could be .....

    As new as I am comparatively to most collectors I have some small ln regrets already . For me it would definitely be one thing that stands by itself . Organization, organization, organization !! The hours we spend roll searching, can dumping ,and jug sorting can add up to be quit a lot of time . In the beginning I don't know if anyone has a ah ha moment of what one thing were going to collect. I myself had undersold the coin collecting possibilities ! Had I cataloged a little more .Separated a little more towards complete ,instead of in general . Documented some strange, and separateed the not so unique . I would have saved COUNTLESS hours of looking through those same buckets ,bags , and piles yet one more time !! I didn't know my interest would explode into all of it ! Not a coin ,denomination, or variety was I stuck on . . The more i learned about the bigger my love for all of it was obvious !! Slow down, enjoy , absorb it all . You'll find more tomorrow!! Don't kick yourself for those jugs that went to the change counter prematurely to suit an immediate hunt . That jug might be next months hunt .....
     
  21. Keith Fischer

    Keith Fischer New Member

     
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