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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Marshall, post: 1668463, member: 21705&quot;]I am glad to break even after 40 years of collecting. It usually takes about 20 years for inflation to catch up with a reasonable margin between what a buyer pays and a seller receives. There are exceptions both ways.</p><p><br /></p><p>The first thing you must understand though is in MOST cases, quality is everything. SO first you look at detail or grade. </p><p><br /></p><p>Most people see that, but miss the next most important thing. Condition. Condition reflects whether the coin has corrosion, damage, cleaning, toning or any number of other things which detract from it&#039;s value beyond just wear. This is why people selling Detail or Genuine coins are surprised when they can&#039;t get the book value which is for problem free coins OF THE SAME GRADE. Even this assumes you know about grading for wear and not other issues with a similar appearance like strike or errors. The differences make them worth far less or far more. </p><p><br /></p><p>This is why knowledge is the best answer to long term success, while shear luck is fine for short term success.</p><p><br /></p><p>If you have decided to dispose of your collection rather than continue the stress and cost of your &#039;education&#039;, there&#039;s no problem with that. I am disposing of mine simply because my children do not have the skills, knowledge or interest to receive fair value for my coins. But I still acquire those coins which I know have a value others do not appreciate. </p><p><br /></p><p>For this accumulated knowledge, I am rewarded, fairly I think. But I received far more because I became a numismatist rather than just a business which happens to stock coins.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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