Hi all! As some of you may remember, I've recently chosen to pursue a type set. This is going to be a fun yet daunting endeavor, but one that I am quite excited about. What I've been doing is picking 2 or 3 items at a time and studying up on them before I make my purchases. Anyone can just walk into a shop or show and buy coins to fill holes...but what I'm striving for is something that I can put as much of my personal interest into as possible, while still making some smart picks. For example, I'm currently picking what commemorative halves to include. I've chosen the TX Centennial (for obvious reasons), WI Centennial (that is where I grew up), the Stone Mountain (Joe was born in Atlanta) and the Statue of Lib (my husbands family came here from Poland through Ellis Island). My question is this...Where do I learn how to accurately grade these pieces? With some of them carrying a price tag that will make my hubby flinch, I'd like to make sure that I get what I'm paying for. Thanks!
This one is gonna be a little tougher than usual. Commems by their nature are tough to grade because they are all unique. But in the end they are no different than grading any other coin - you just have to become familiar with them. That's the hard part because there are not that many around. About all you can do is study them as much as possible - look at pics in auctions, visit forums and pics posted there, try to get auction catalogs with good pics - and go to as many coin shows and dealer shops as you can - all to allow you to see as many of the coins as possible. Only after all that should you attempt to buy your first coin.
RATS! GD, I was afraid you were going to say that Give me the proper materials, tell me what to read, etc and I'm all over it...but with something as off-the-beaten-path as commemoratives, well I guess this is where the real challenge begins. If I were happy with slabs that would make this easier but I normally prefer to buy my coins raw. Golly, if I HAVE to go to more shows and shops...then I must *sigh*. It's going to be a dirty, rotten job but I think I can force myself to do it Thanks GD
If it were me - I think I'd spend the money on some of those slabbed coins when first starting out making purchases
