Do's and Don'ts in Coin Collecting

DO Listen to the advice givin here on CT

stainless

 

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I stand by my advice based on years of seeing countless incomplete coin series valued at precious metal content only due to missing the key date coins OR completed series but the weighted average of the collection is greatly diminished because the key date is such an inferior grade compared to the rest of the series that the bid price of the series is lowered two-three grades when the collector attempts to sell.

All of this advice is cumulative - it goes hand in hand with 'know your coin, know your seller.'

Additionally, these days, just because the coin 'isn't' the key date doesn't guarantee it's authenticity. We've all read on here and some have encountered in person counterfeit examples of coins with minimal numismatic value and asked 'why would anyone counterfeit a non key coin?' But the fact is, they do. Either practicing, minimizing the questions about the coin, knowing greed steps in and people think they are getting a good deal, etc. Who knows, but it happens.

You may well throw away a small fortune while attaining that 'sharp experienced eye' with the misconception 'it's not an expensive coin, it must be real' and proceed forward basing everything you think you know about the series on the wrong coins.

If you're approaching coin collecting with the agenda of 'I just buy what I like, I don't have any real plan on any entire series' - then by all means, buy what you like and can afford.

But if you have been collecting and studying coins for a while decided "I want to be a true collector and my goal is to attain the best possible specimen of each coin in this series that I can afford' then the advise remains the same. Buy your key date, in the best grade you can afford. The price of that coin, sans a vault of undiscovered bags being released, will only continue to grow as time passes. It will set the tone for the rest of the series you pursue.

Happy Collecting.

 

Regarding haggling over price with dealers, when I go to a new place I find the best thing to do is politely ask "how much is this if I pay cash?" I find most people will either offer a discount or at least say they'll pay the tax (equivalent to a 7% discount or so in my neck of the woods). It could well be that the dealers don't report every sale to the taxman if it's cash in hand, I wouldn't like to speculate...

 

Good ideas. It's tough to find anything to add...

Never buy coins you see on TV.
Never confuse bullion coins with numismatic coins.
Never refuse to buy a coin because it's in a slab from a TPG you don't like. Try to imagine whether you'd be willing to buy it if it was cracked-out.
Never buy coins from a business with the word "Mint" in their name.
Avoiding a purchase that would have been a mistake is just as good as a good buy.

 

Excellent decision. You will be glad you took the course.

Make sure you register early for the course because it fills up fast.

 

Learn how coins are made and how they used to be made. You must understand the minting process to understand many aspects of coin collecting.

You need to understand how dies are made and how coins are made from them to understand the clues to why a coin is a counterfeit and how clash marks appear on a coin.

You must understand the coin minting process to understand how error coins are produced (or why an "error" is not genuine).

You must understand how a coin is made by a planchet being pressed at high pressure between dies to understand a weak strike and how a weak strike differs from wear.

You need to understand die polishing to be able to distinguish between die polish and a scratch.

You must must understand how die cracks appear on a coin to be able to tell the difference between a die crack and a scratch.

You need to understand the differences between the process of making business strikes and Proof coins to be able to understand the differences between the coins.

 

Here's a few copies on Amazon :

http://www.amazon.com/Comprehensive-Catalog-Encyclopedia-Morgan-Dollars/dp/1880731118/ref=ed_oe_p

Yes, many numismatic reference works are hard to find and expensive. Shop for them at coin shows ! Also check E-bay.

 

Here is an excellent source for finding VAMs as well. Several valuable links.
http://www.ashmore.com/index2.htm

 

If that works for you, great. I wish you well. And yes, keys often do well... but only of you got a good buy in the first place.

And I stand by my advice ... I think it's very reasonable to acquire experience before dropping the big $$$.

I bet one can throw away a small fortune even faster buying keys with an inexperienced eye.

I certainly don't advocate the mindset 'it's not an expensive coin, it must be real'. No one else does, either, since no one has made such a proposal.

I think it's very reasonable to gain experience by "starting small", as has been mentioned many times in this thread.

Agreed. No one said it did.

Similarly, just because it is the key doesn't guarantee it's authenticity... and making mistakes on keys sure keeps the tuition costs higher .

Missing a key lowers the value of all the other coins ? Not when I sell.

I'm still shopping for my 1911-D $2.5.. a key worth more than all others in the series combined. Whether I ever get it or not has no effect on the others... they will not decline down to bullion value.

If I had bought an '11-D early on, before learning to grade these guys, I likely would have wound up with a weak coin for the grade. I've passed on untold numbers because so many are low end for the grade. I only knew that by acquiring experience with others.

 

Sound advice...

 

The dumbest question is the one that's never asked.

 

Lol!!!!!

 

[GDJMSP]

And most importantly - share with others what you learn and the knowledge that you have.[/quote]


Well said

 

What Clembo said! I love the junk silver bin....

 

Regarding Key coins, I feel that if any key is under $ 10.00 in a resonable condition it is a bargin. My phylosophy is that you are going to throw $ 10.00 bucks away anyway on a Big Mac or other gotta have item at Wal-Mart. Why not invest it in a coin, and if it's not the best, you can always up-grade later. At the very least you have a head start in completeing your collection.

 

I'm sure that's true.

But for most series, keys are much, much more than $10. In fact, with coins so low-priced, the concept of "key" really melts away. The whole point of a key is that it's hard to get, which almost always means expensive.

In the example above (1911-D $2.5), a decent AU coin trades for $4000 and up.

 

Do get an accurate scale which will measure to 1/100th of a gram, example -- (23.68 gr).

Take Care
Ben

 

In the example above (1911-D $2.5), a decent AU coin trades for $4000 and up. [/QUOTE]

I guess more like $ 1600.00/1800.00. Anyway, if you are looking at prices that high, you don't need to be concerned about filling your collections.

If I see a coin over $ 100.00, I take a very hard loooooooong look.

 

My Apologies 900fine, I learn something new everyday on this coin talk forum.
I see your $2.5 mark, must mean gold. (of course I was not thinking that high)
You are correct on the price which goes from $ 5,000/6500. Sorry, I was thinking more down in my league at the 1911-D Lincoln cent.