Hi everyone! I recently came into a decent collection of old U.S. coins. I plan on adding to the collection during my lifetime. Does anyone have any tips on the best places to find coins for good prices? Also, does anyone have any recommended methods on how to store coins that I find? What are the best resources I can use to grade and price my coins (I have the most recent edition of the Redbook)? What websites would you reccomend for buying/selling coins? Thank you all for the help!
welcome to CT. coins shows ,internet, and local coin shops. start out cheap. learn to grade first. buy a couple books. there are many grading books out there. you can use cardboard/mylar 2X2's, airtites, dansco albums. Ebay's good a good site to buy from but I would not spend a fortune on a coin unless you really know the sellers reputation and feedback. Heritage auctions is good if you can afford their coins. I look forward to seeing pics of your coins soon.
Thanks for the reply! I have been searching ebay awhile for coins. Been pretty good sofar. Actually just bought a few 2x2's recently, they help a lot. Is GreatCollections.com a reliable website?
not sure ? other members here can tell you many more places to find/buy coins at. CoinWorld magazine has good coin ads there.
Great Collections is a newer auction house, but it's completely reliable and their customer service is fantastic. There are SO MANY places to buy coins, it really depends on what you want to collect. There are series specialists, there are bullion houses, general coin sites and big auction houses. You might want to buy an edition of Coin World magazine (or other) and start looking through the advertisements for possibilities. I'm not trying to be evasive, but here's and example: Legend Rare Coin Auctions has awesome material in their auctions; however, it's typically for the high end collector. So without knowing what you plan to spend and on what types of coins you plan to spend it, it's difficult to send you to a good place to buy coins.
Almost Everything I buy is from local shops. It's nice seeing what you're buying and once you become a regular it seems you get better deals.
A big piece of advice since you seem to be newer to collecting and you specifically asked about storage... When you put your coins in the 2x2, do NOT ever rip open the 2x2 cardboard flip to take the coin back out. Instead, use a small knife to cut the plastic around the edge (not over the surface of the coin) then peel the plastic back and retrieve your coin. Pulling the flip apart, you risk a staple touching the surface of the coin and ruining its value.
It's not something a lot of people think about, but a staple scratch, as small as it is, can be devastating.
I'd modify that a small bit. Instead of a knife which could nick the coin or cause a scratch of its own, use a toothpick. Poke it through and the Mylar will cut just as easily and the toothpick is much softer than a knife blade so if it does make contact with the coin there won't be any damage.
I've never really had luck with Bricks and Mortar Coin shops. I love buying coins online. Here is a great place to start. Great Collections is awesome, as is Heritage, and I have even been buying stuff from StacksBowers lately (they finally fixed most of the website issues). Read a ton here. a mean really, read, read, and then read some more. Check out these popular threads, there is plenty to learn. Personally, I also really like eBay, but you will hear otherwise from a lot of people here.
If a new collector do not buy raw coins on Ebay. The local coin shop I use is staffed with a good group. So you might even have luck there. Follow some of the links geekpryde has posted. I buy from a variety of online dealers.
If you want to be extra sure when opening 2x2s, remove the staples first using an appropriate tool and always face the tool outwards (away from the coin). When puncturing the Mylar, there's always a chance the coin could fall out unexpectedly. If you open the flip on the hinge though, this doesn't happen.
Hi Reino. Do you mean you're not going to ask us about the best ways to cash off on the collection? Lol, but we get that a lot. Anyway, here's a handy link for you: http://www.pcgs.com/photograde/. And good luck with your new hobby, and show us some of your coins every now and then.
