My unsolicited list of 20 tips for coin collectors...

Following, in no particular order of subject matter or importance, are my unsolicited comments and advice about coin collecting for collectors :

1) Buy/collect what YOU like. But keep in mind that when it comes time to sell, not everyone else will necessarily like what you did/do.

2) Examine as many coins as you can which have been certified/graded by the most highly respected grading companies. This can be done at coin shows and in auctions and is a great way to improve upon your grading skills.

3) The best way to improve your grading ability is to find someone who is highly qualified AND willing to spend time reviewing coins with you. That person can be a dealer or collector, but he needs to be more than just a friend - he needs to be a teacher. Many individuals are "qualified" OR "willing to spend the time", but few are BOTH.

4) Don't keep buying coins without ever selling any of them - learn what it's like to try to sell, too. Once in a while you should offer one or two of your coins back to the dealers you acquired them from. See how they deal with that type of situation and whether they want to re-acquire those "gems" they sold to you.

5) Don't be afraid or embarrassed to ask lots of questions. You and just about everyone else can learn a great deal that way.

6) Be aware of privacy and security concerns. It might not be fun to do so, but it's extremely important.

7) It's always good to get a second opinion. Doing so doesn't make you less knowledgeable, worthy or confident - it simply makes good sense.

8) Don't try to get bargains at the expense of quality and desirability for the coins you're buying, or you'll likely end up with sub-par coins which aren't bargains, anyway.

9) Generally, I advise against "investing" in coins. Even if you are very well informed, based upon buy/sell spreads and other factors, the odds are against your success. That said, I understand that many collectors end up spending significant sums of money on their collections and can't/shouldn't ignore the financial implications.

10) If you are going to "invest", I'd suggest diversification - not putting too much of your money into one coin or one coin type. I'd also recommend staying away from especially esoteric and/or illiquid and/or currently "hot" items.

11) While it is not a pleasant mindset to engage in, think about and plan for how your coins should be disposed of if/when something happens to you. Make your spouse and/or family and/or friends and/or an attorney aware of your wishes. If you have a particular dealer or coin/auction company that should be contacted, have that information recorded, along with costs, sources, purchase dates, etc., of your coins.

12) Eye-appeal is hard to ignore, but technical quality shouldn't be over-looked/compromised.

13) If you participate in auctions, whether over the Internet or in person, set your price/bidding limits in advance and stick to them. Auction fever hits many bidders, and almost always to their detriment.

14) Find time for other activities that don't have anything to do with coin collecting. Don't make coins your whole life - life is too short for that.

15) If you are going to stretch to buy a coin, do it for a coin which is truly special and/or virtually irreplaceable, not on an ordinary one. There are far more of the latter than of the former, and there will almost always be other opportunities.

16) Don't talk yourself into buying a coin. If something about it bothers you now, there is an excellent chance it will bother you as much or more later.

17) Don't be lulled or suckered into a false/unrealistic sense of security by the strength of many areas of the market that we have experienced for several years now. There are good markets, and, while some current participants might not have experienced them yet, there are bad markets too - I promise.

18) Do not buy rare coins on a sight-unseen basis, regardless of the seller or the images.

19) Enjoy our hobby.

20) I repeat, enjoy our hobby.

 

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Thanks for the tips Mark, somehting for everyone IMO, whether you have collected coins for 5 years or 50. Thanks man. :thumb: And I second 19 and 20. :thumb:

Phoenix

 

good thoughts Mark. I agree with almost all of your points.

 

Very good points, Mr. Feld, all of them. Thanks. :thumb:

 

Thanks, Mark ! The voice of experience.

 

Please feel free to let me know about any you disagree with and why - it might lead to some good/helpful discussion.

Thanks for the nice comments.

 

very good points Mark. very nice!!!

 

To expand that thought - you should decide if you are going to be a collector or an investor. There can be some crossover between the two but generally those that are in the hobby for the money don't educate themselves about the history of a coin series, a coin design or its designer, the various mints and coin varieties. Investors don't see the beauty in a coin. They usually don't learn to grade coins; they buy slabbed coins as a commodity and don't understand (nor do they care) there is variation within the grades.

Then there are the investors that do learn to grade coins and cherrypick and undergraded coin to crack it out and resubmit it hoping it comes back at a higher grade so they can sell it for a profit.

 

VERY good list of suggestions.

The only one I would consider iffy would be #4, but seeing a transaction through the eyes of a seller could be beneficial.

 

I've always classified myself as 2/3 investor and 1/3 collector. I would add that it is important to know the melt value of each series. It's amazing how often coins are offered below melt value.

 

Thats a pretty decent list of suggestions but arent suited for everyone. For example, #3 suggests that you find someone who is willing to spend time with you, as in a dealer or another collector, to improve grading skills. Not everyone lives within a convenient drive to a knowledgable/reputable coin dealer or collector to be able to consistently invest in the time it takes to learn to grade properly. IMO, there is just as much knowledge, if not more, in a good grading book like ANA, Photograde or NGC. If a collector is willing to spend the time reading at least one of these books and studying different coins to eventually be able to accurately grade, its time well spent. Dont get me wrong, I'm all for sharing information with other collectors, I try to help anyone that I'm able to but theres absolutely nothing wrong with sitting down with a good grading book and some of your own collection and learning to do it yourself. Either way, dont expect to be a grading expert in a few months, learning to grade accurately and consistently takes years of studying. Thats my 2 1/2 cents.

 

I agree, IH. Like most things, you get out of coin collecting what you put into it.

 

:smile

I think you meant #3, not #4, and, for various reasons, I don't expect that everyone will be able to "find someone who is highly qualified AND willing to spend time reviewing coins with you." But that doesn't meant it's not worth suggesting, does it?

Also, while I'm all for reading, studying and learning from books, I strongly disagree that one will be able to grade (mint state and proof coins, at least) accurately from reading grading books. Getting considerable and proper hands-on experience is an absolute must. In many cases, the right mentor can teach a collector more in 30 minutes than could ever be learned just from reading books and looking at images of coins. I've taught the advanced grading class at the ANA's summer seminar in Colorado Springs and am speaking from personal experience in that regard. You'd be amazed at how much some of the students learned from the instructors there.

 

i personally believe that newbies to numismatics need mentors. it would keep so many more people in our hobby if we could promote education first, prior to them ever purchasing a coin. collect thru your pocket change for fun until you are readily able to deal w/ the vast numismatic marketplace,.

 

That, along with what Mark has posted is the best advise have seen in these threads is a while. Very good stuff !!!

 

The way i read it 9 and 17 contradict each other. in one you advise against investing in coins and then you go on to say in 17 about the false sense of security of the market. if one is not investing then it shouldnt matter whether the market is going up or down but if one is looking to sell at some point in time then it is a investment short term medium term or long term. my own take is coins are an investment unless you are planning to give them away and one cant get away from that IMHO.

I also am against point no 4 i generally tend to get rare coins and no one in their right mind will buy those coins and just flip them over to see whats happening with rare coins people usually hang on to them for a bit before selling in most cases my case is different i just collect but that is excellent advice for people starting out. personally i would never sell a coin that i consider to be important and I am also few collectors who don't have a double of any coin I have given many coins awway but never sold a single coin in my life and i am not doing too badly. just a thought but great piece overall I liked it.

 

The only grading experience I have is from reading grading books and studying coins and I think I do pretty good. I agree that hands-on experience is a must, hence my suggestion of sitting down with your own coins and studying with a good grading book. Unfortunately, not every collector has the opportunity to live close enough to a dealer or similar mentor nor be able to afford to spend a summer in Colorado. While I'm sure that it is well worth the money to attend and I would encourage anyone to go, sometimes there are those that dont have the resources. Therefore, I suggested alternatives. Of course, what do I know, I've only been collecting for 30 years.

 

Nice list of suggestions - the only one I am not sure about is #4. Selling coins back to the dealer - yes I have a few of those gems from my local dealer, but those are the ones I do not want to get rid of. So I am not sure what I would learn by selling them back - well except maybe to lose a little money, they do need to make a profit. At this point I have only been doing this for 5/6 years - the 20 or so years before that I was just buying mint products. I think I am still not ready to sell coins - even though I do have a couple of duplicate PCGS graded silver eagles. Need to think about this more. I know at one point I was going to sell them a 4 coin smithsonian, they encouraged me to continue to hold it since they expected it to continue to increase. If I recall correctly at they time the set was selling for 1700 on ebay and they offered 1500. At this point I am still not sure I want to get rid of anything.

 

I think you are both saying the same thing - find knowledge were you can. Some sources will be better than others - but no one source is sufficient. Good instruction will always decrease the curve, experience with a wide variety of coins and the right tools will sharpen the eye and mind, and dedication to the hobby will overcome any obstacles.

And - you don't always get out of it what you put into it - but you should always put in to it, what you hope to get out of it!

Mark - welcome to the group - I hope you hang out for a while! :thumb:

Darryl

 

Thanks for your comments. Even though I don't recommend that people invest in coins, I realize that many do. So, I tried to give some pointers for those who do.

I believe that you raised a very fair criticism regarding my suggestion to try to sell some coins every once in a while. I should have conditioned my advice on trying it with coins that the collector doesn't really care about owning any longer and is fine parting with.:smile