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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Lehigh96, post: 24836723, member: 15309&quot;]While I commend your collecting style and think that it is cool how different collectors form their own set of guidelines to build their collections; my style is so different than yours. </p><p><br /></p><p>To me, grading coins and comparing my coins to those owned by other collectors is half the fun.&nbsp; When I started collecting coins seriously over 2 decades ago, I restricted myself to purchasing only PCGS and NGC graded coins to avoid to the pitfalls associated with raw coins.&nbsp; As the years passed and my knowledge grew, I found it much easier to both cherrypick dealer inventories as well as predict how the TPGs would grade my coins.&nbsp; You mentioned that you don&#039;t have the skill and experience to compete with dealers who handle a much higher volume of coins than you do.&nbsp; In my experience, the vast majority of brick and mortar dealers are essentially bullion traders and most can&#039;t grade true numismatic rarities worth a lick.&nbsp; Additionally, they have limited time to spend on each coin because of the increased volume which makes them prone to making mistakes.&nbsp; For example, my LCS listed this coin as a &quot;1942 T1 Jefferson Nickel GEM BU&quot; for $5:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/GCWeWlM.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Turns out that it was a full step 1942-D premium gem worth near $100.</p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/9FZTy7e.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/Oqb0RyH.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/dDG64Tv.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>It is the hunt for coins like this in the wild that really gets me excited.&nbsp; Knowing that my grading skills can turn a purchase of a few dollars into hundreds is exhilarating.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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