Featured How to buy US coins that are good values, and not get victimized.

Just wanted to write a few notes on some suggestions for purchasing coins, and not being oversold, or vulnerable to scams, frauds, and misinformation. This is in NO WAY a condemnation of dealers (I have lots of dealer friends), veteran collectors who have "their way" of doing things, or investment "rollover" collectors. I just want to say a few words for the new collector, or middle-level neophyte who still has not acquired a lot of experience in purchasing coins and assuring that he/she is not over his/her head:

1. Buy from reputable dealers only. There are many of them on this forum, and lists abound here. Reputable dealers are honest, decent, nice people who deserve our patronage, to keep their businesses profitable. If someone is offering you a deal that seems shaky, or too good to be true--it is!!

2.Develop a rapport with dealers and collectors--if you are friendly with them, they will be friendly in reciprocation. Your purchasers will be worry-free.

3. To quote an expert on this firm who has written extensively, "BOOKS BEFORE COINS." He is right--learn your coins first by reading about them, before you touch metal. Lists of books abound here, and on other message boards and sites. Learn the series that you wish to collect before you buy.

4. Be cautious of Ebay. If you don't know the seller, or the seller has some negative feedback, that should be a warning. Notice that I did not say "avoid Ebay," as a lot of beautiful coins can be found there for the right price. Just do not impulse buy there. Many of the posters here have Ebay stores, and will be happy to deal with you. Once again, if a coin just "Does not feel right to you," listen to that feeling and pass on it. Once warned/not burned. There are lots of scams on Ebay.

5. Be cautious buying raw. Many coins can appear nice. However, if you are not familiar with the series--don't buy a coin until you check with people who know better, or look at your books, and compare appearances. There are lots of really bad, doctored, cleaned, damaged coins that bring in much profit for the dubious dealers, especially on Ebay. Learn to grade, and recognize a damaged coin before you dabble in the raw market (unless it is the bargain bin, where you don't have much to lose).

6. Unless you are expert, NEVER buy a key date that isn't certified, and make sure the slab isn't a fake one. This is especially important so as not to lose money on expensive coins, only to find out that they are not what they seem.

7. Learn to grade. Learn the rubrics of the hobby--the Sheldon Scale, PCGS photo grade standards, and the overall ANA standards for appropriate grading. As you might notice, even the more expert collectors disagree, but there is at least a standard that needs to be mastered. Doug has oft times said this, and I agree---learn to grade. TPGs help tremendously (whether you like them or not), but they do make mistakes. Don't blindly buy a coin that is slabbed if you have doubts as to the grade.

8. Go by your gut--if it doesn't feel like a wise, intelligent purchase, it probably isn't. Your subconscious is telling you something--don't pull the trigger and open the Paypal account if you don't feel comfortable about the purchase.

9. Don't insult an honest and hardworking seller of coins by lowballing. It is highly doubtful that you will get the coin for that price, and if you don't, all you do is insult the person selling the coin. Imagine how you would feel if someone lowballed your merchandise. Make mutually fair offers.

10. Go to shows. Expose yourself to the people, the goods, and the experience--it is exciting and educational. Talk to people and ask questions--most coin hobbyists are only too happy to share knowledge.

11. You are not going to buy a 1909S.VDB for $20. Be suspicious of obvious bargains such as that, and don't think you can beat the seller. You are most certainly falling for a scheme, such as a doctored coin, fake coin, or blatant fraud. Be intelligent about that.

12. Narrow your purchases. One cannot collect every series--too many forks in the road. If you like Silver, consider dollars, halves, quarters, etc. If you want Copper, stick to it--very popular nowadays. If you like moderns, don't believe all the negative talk about the US Mint, and how terrible coin mintage is from them. You can begin a beautiful collection of moderns, just as easily as older coins.

13. Read, read, read, and then read again.

14.Set a budget, and set limits on your spending, unless your funds are unlimited. This is an expensive hobby. If you can afford (for instance) $100 a month, don't go over that by more than 5-10% maximum, no matter what. Don't jeopardize your finances for a collection.

15. Last, ENJOY YOURSELF. If you are getting angst from coin purchases, that should tell you something. It is a hobby, and you should get pleasure from it. Don't get into anxious situations, just to own a coin.

Good luck and good hunting. I am sure others have many suggestions.

 

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Nice write-up sir. I would emphasize your last point. Coin collecting should be a pleasurable experience. If you find yourself not liking the "fill the hole" mentality, the "must only buy the absolute best", the "wheeler dealer" aspect of the hobby, then simply stand up and say no. There truly is no "wrong" way or coin to collect. This is YOUR hobby, its about what YOU like. Morgandude gave you good advice how to get there, but always remember its YOUR journey, and travel how you wish.

Also, education is your friend. If you know more about coins, not only can you learn about more coins you want, you can learn more coins you already own, therefor giving you more pleasure from money already spent. Education can come from many sources, the only point is to always be open to furthering your education if you truly want to maximize your enjoyment in this "hobby of kings, and king of hobbies".

 

I really prefer the opposite approach to this. Buy some inexpensive, unslabbed, worn or imperfect samples of a coin type or series that interests you. Those are the samples that will motivate you to find out more about the coins you have in hand. You will have a starting reference point, then you can upgrade as you learn more about a series or coin type. There is nothing worse than just knowledge from books without the visual experience of a coin surface, weight, sound, luster, imperfections, details, etc. That physical example will help motivate your efforts, instill curiosity and help stimulate the senses. You can learn a heck of a lot more on your own by purchasing and studying the appearance of coins in a variety of grades and conditions, than from reading someone else's opinion on how they interpret grades and conditions. Also, the internet is a much more powerful visual aide than most coin books I've seen. You have to look at a lot of coins (not just words) to grasp the best of what this hobby has to offer.

From personal experience, nothing bored me more than one of my first coin books (1976 Fell's). Almost none of the coins I owned were pictured in the amusing drawings.



I took real pleasure in the coins themselves. Looking at prices of some of the really good books available out there, limited printings, editions, etc. that money might be better spent on your first coins.

Even today, the visual aides in many books are just pathetic. I did manage to find a couple of gems in my area of interest, one of the first books I've encountered of its kind. The giant high-resolution detailed photos and book format make this book a pleasure to explore.



This one just arrived and I haven't had time to really dive in, but, the quality visuals are there, along with the text.



Both books are hardcover and huge. Quality paper and quality images from many important collections make it a real treat to explore.

If it wasn't for the photos, I would not have invested in them. I would have spent that money on coins I wish to learn more about. With internet at most fingertips and countless photos from TPGs floating around, I believe that to be the way to go.

When was the last time one of us gave an opinion about a coin without some sort of decent image being present in a thread? That is what books are, without the presence of visual aids, someone's opinion on what they saw, but, they are not showing it to you in the same capacity.

That would sum up my advice for beginners regarding point 3.

To counter the repetitive point 13, I would say...

Look, look, look and then look again at your visual aids, as you read up on their types, varieties, errors, characteristics, surface condition, grade, etc.

 

Good addition Torontokuba. When starting, I think we all want to jump in and buy something. Getting a lower value coin to start with is a good way to quench that desire and get familiar with the series.

 

I'm not sure exposing oneself at a coin show is a good idea. You'd likely end up in jail!

I know you didn't mean it that way, but I'm in a snarky mood and couldn't resist...

 

I would add: Sell a coin now and then. As you wrote, this is an expensive hobby. Selling can teach you more than buying.

 

Great write-up, Morgandude. Some nice tips for new and seasoned collectors alike.

 

Thanks, folks. Some excellent points made here--Toronto's idea about buying worn, inexpensive examples to get the physical idea of the coins you're interested in is an excellent idea.

Yeah, exposing one's self literally as opposed to mingling socially might not be a better idea.

 

Hey Ive been known to buy coins in the raw is what buying online is for now raw coins I don't buy online! In hand only! Starting small is a good idea too wheat cents was my beginning led to large cents led to a type set to early dollars to trade dollars which is heading toward I got so dang many coins I'm gonna end up a coin dealer! Warning this hobby/ business is highly addictive!!

 

Is that a small "P" version?

 

Why limit this nice write-up to just US coins? It applies across the numismatic universe (and beyond)

 

Genius, GDJMSP thinks it's free to travel and enter as many coin shows as you can, you'll be saving your money that way, I guess everyone lives near many, many coin shows, walking distance. Unfortunately, if you wish to examine silver coins, which almost everyone aspires to from the early beginnings in this hobby, you will have to buy those. This hobby is about coins. Maybe the experts on books should provide a few content reviews and recommend only the worthwhile books, because from what I can tell, too many of the coin books out there are poor quality images, poor quality content, bright shiny covers and are part of the add on sale when you start your collection. It's a racket. The internet makes most of them obsolete before they are even printed or published.

So, you need a lot of coins in hand. Got it!

So, now I don't need a lot of coins, just a lot of time and travel money, so I can say I collect coins by not having any, just traveling from show to show and looking at items that I can't easily go back to for reference in my own spare time, at home. Brilliant! So, am I a coin show groupie at this stage, or am I starting in the hobby in order to collect coins?

Don't coins in a variety of grades present an opportunity to learn about grading by looking at physical coins in the privacy of your own home and more importantly, not through a shiny plastic slab?

Am I collecting coins, or mileage and books that may end up being a complete waste of my time, as a beginner? Not everyone is concerned about losing money on a purchase, when doing what they enjoy. One must ask themselves a question, am I interested in coins, am I interested in books or am I interested in traveling? If you plan on collecting coins, in my opinion it's probably best that you buy coins. How fun is it to collect coins and not actually have any to start with? There is no staying power in the dull approach.

 

Oh boy, what suffering. For your HOBBY you might go to a large venue where you can talk to others about your hobby, educate yourself both from dealers and from other collectors. You can actually see and learn from first hand experience all of the coins and issues that can happen to them.

Yeah, those collectors who simply sit on their computers REALLY get all of the best deals, same with those who refuse to spend a nickel on good numismatic books. They are really just smarter than the rest of us.

[end sarcasm]

 

I'm sorry, one more thing, weren't you the big proponent of dealer etiquette in many many threads on the forum? How does your advice not contradict them directly?

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/recycled-article-no-1-coin-show-etiquette.209153/

 

Glad to see the parrot speaks again, thought we lost you in a couple of other topics, you know, the ones with concrete discussions, links and evidence that supported a realistic approach and train of thought. It really does show a smarter individual when grading almost all coins AU or describing contact marks as PMD scoop marks. Those must have been some great books that helped certain individuals (and their parrots) compensate for a complete lack of imagination. My favorite are still the harshly cleaned comments when referring to die finishing lines. I guess the real smarts are truly in the books. WOW!

 

You can probably get the best deals sitting on your computer, but certainly not without a huge amount of experience with seeing coins in hand. And the books alone don't cut it. You need experience to be able to interpret the books.
A book can tell you a lot, but if your eyes can't tell a fake, altered, or otherwise compromised coin... then the majority of books won't help you much.
You also cannot look a coin up in a book or online if you have no idea what it is. Bigger issue for world coins/exonumia than US, but you catch my drift.

 

Imagination is a big part of being able to perceive what one might be seeing in a photo, scan, etc. Without it, you can't explain to a person what is shown right in front of them. Nothing better than to study your own purchased coin in hand, then take a scan and photo of it and interpret that on a big color screen. Helps so much when internet shopping to know how your coins look in multiple formats and real life. Unfortunately, you have to have the coin first.

 

That was my point sir. Education all around. Some trolls sitting in their mother's basement like to think they are simply magically able to know all of this stuff. Personally, I needed to see the coins in person, talk to well respected dealers and collectors over the years, and have great references in order to feel like I was somewhat knowledgable in some numismatic areas.

Buying some good numismatic references, going to coin shows to see lots of coins in person, and talking to knowledgable numismatists, are all part of "education" in this hobby. If some believe none of this is needed, well, that is their opinion I guess. I think its shortsighted and they are seriously shortchanging their "return" in this hobby, but that is their problem. Such collectors will always be at the mercy of the TPG's. Knowledgable collectors can use TPG's, I would put people like Morgandude and Lehigh to name two in that camp. But the TPG's have enabled a lot more collectors to collect coins without them feeling the need to actually learn something about the hobby. That is what is most sad, for its knowledge, not the actual coins, that gives me the most pleasure personally.

 

Yes I agree it's valuable to get both perspectives. Sometimes with good photos you see things you may not in hand, and vice versa.