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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;superc, post: 1812621, member: 44079&quot;]Green18, thank you.&nbsp; Something like that is what got me into coin collecting.&nbsp; My grandma left me a depression era piggie bank (a blue glass Woolworth&#039;s special) and gave it to me just a few weeks before a fatal accident.&nbsp; She had put a silver coin in it almost every other week, for decades before I came along.&nbsp; It was chock full when I got it.&nbsp; Dad didn&#039;t allow me to break it open, but he did fish the coins out for me to look at, then we put them back.&nbsp; What was I, 5?&nbsp; I am 59 now and I still have the piggy bank and those coins.&nbsp; LoL, not a valuable one in the lot.&nbsp; Still I wouldn&#039;t trade that piggy bank and those coins for a dozen double eagles.&nbsp; 1960s doing research on mercury dimes and liberty quarters wasn&#039;t easy when the library only let you see children&#039;s books, but I learned about them anyway.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>That being said, that first collection has proved virtually valueless when it comes to pay the mortgage after unemployment.&nbsp; TG other collections acquired as my tastes matured were available as an expendable resource.&nbsp; That is where listening to or behaving like Mr. Reynolds suggests becomes important.&nbsp; Cash in time.&nbsp; A bag of unsorted AG3 dimes and quarters (if gradable that high) isn&#039;t much of a collection.&nbsp; A complete set of all 50 state quarters in uncirculated MS 63+ and a matching silver proof set goes a lot further on the Ebay.&nbsp; A completed Whitman book of Mercury dimes (to include the 41/42 and the 16d) is a heck of a lot more saleable than the same 70 ish exact same dimes unsorted, unsearched and uncataloged in a paper sack.</p><p><br /></p><p>Got new silver bullion eagles?&nbsp; Give me 6 of them and I may give you one of my 1800s busted halves.&nbsp; Give me enough gold sovereigns and I may give you one of my PCGS graded MS63 Trade Dollars.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>There are two kinds of collections.&nbsp; One is for our heart, and one is to make money with.&nbsp; The thing is mixing them doesn&#039;t really work.&nbsp; What I acquired from Grandma was a collection of the first type.&nbsp; That some of those dimes and early quarters had been so circulated they had no dates left was not, is not, important to me.&nbsp; A buyer will of course view them differently.&nbsp; Reynolds sums that up with &quot;this series of articles will not relate to people who collect coins from change, any coins that they come across while traveling, coins found with metal detectors, or coins with holes. Although such activities may be fun and interesting, they are beside the theme here.&quot;&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Is Reynolds right about the Roosevelt era being the dividing line?&nbsp; Er, uh, sometimes.&nbsp; Certainly it marked the end of the classic gold coin.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Buy the rarest coins you can, get them in the best condition you can afford.&nbsp; Is it necessary to also buy the coins of that type from adjacent years?&nbsp; Sometimes.&nbsp; When your budget allows it, instead of buying new coins of a different type, consider buying a replacement coin in even better condition than the first.&nbsp;&nbsp; Okay maybe (like me) you find yourself with a whole bunch of rare identical year/type coins running the gamut from uncertified AG3 to PCGS&nbsp; 65.&nbsp; Dats okay.&nbsp; Having 20-30 rare (1863 Seated Liberty quarters for instance) coins besides your Whitman books of Lincoln pennies and Roosevelt dimes is a pretty good sub collection of it&#039;s own.</p><p><br /></p><p>Avoid cleaned and dipped coins.&nbsp; You may have to acquire one early on as a place holder in your binder, but swap it out as soon as you can for something original.&nbsp; Never sell a coin you know has been cleaned without telling the buyer before he buys it (ethics).&nbsp; Telling him in writing before the sale (perhaps in the ad itself?) is also smart legally.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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