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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;physics-fan3.14, post: 3604805, member: 19165&quot;]Welcome to CoinTalk!</p><p>Here&#039;s my advice:</p><p><br /></p><p>1. Spend $100 on some good books (there are several threads which recommend essential books to read). Read those books. Study them. Absorb all the information you can. Post here, read here, ask questions, learn to grade for yourself, and learn what you like and what you want to collect.</p><p><br /></p><p>2. Spend $100 on a couple of certified coins that interest you. This is important - buy a couple of inexpensive things that you like to look at and study and learn from.</p><p><br /></p><p>3. Put the rest in a savings account and don&#039;t spend it until you have learned how to avoid mistakes, have learned what attractive, problem free, original, quality coins look like. If you spend a large sum of money on bad coins, you&#039;re wasting your money. I know exactly what I would spend a grand on - but that&#039;s because I know what I like and want to collect. My collection and yours will be different, and nobody can tell you what you should collect. As you get into this hobby, you will start to realize that you prefer a certain type of coin, or a certain set, or theme - and you&#039;ll start seeking them out. A thousand dollars is a lot of money just to spend on something someone tells you they like if you don&#039;t like it yourself.</p><p><br /></p><p>If you do decide that you want to spend all your money instead of waiting, at least buy coins one at a time. Space it out - buy a coin, study it, post it here, listen to our feedback and learn from it, and then buy the next coin. In order to be successful at coin collecting, you must take the time to study and learn.</p><p><br /></p><p>4. Forget increasing value, investment, or anything else like that. Some people can make money in coins, but it takes years of study and dedication, honing your craft before you can reasonably expect to be in this position. Or, I guess you could get lucky, but it is improbable. Collecting is a hobby - we do it because we like it, not because we expect it to necessarily increase in value or treat it as an investment. I&#039;ve been collecting for 30 years, wrote a book, won several awards, and I can count on two hands the number of coins I&#039;ve made a profit on.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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