I am trying to decide whether I should make an investemnt and attempt to make some money here. I foolishly bought a Bluebook instead of a Redbook, so I only have deler prices on hand. I have been scrutinizing every single ad in May's COINage magazine looking for Morgans to buy cheap and sell high. I mean, I dont know what exactly "gem" is. Is that like MS-65? Gem is higher than BU, right? What I want to do is, buy a gem Morgan from one of these dealers for around $100, then send it in to be graded, preferably by NGC. My Bluebook ( :headbang: ) shows that some Morgans are worth $100 in MS-63 and $1000 in MS-65. Do you guys think I should go for it?
You're not going to find hidden gems in coin magazine classifieds. And it doesn't sounds like you would know one if you saw it, anyway. I would advise you not to do this. If you enjoy coins, you should go out and buy a nice Morgan that you like, already graded...preferably one recommended to you by someone much more knowledgeable than yourself. Then, look at about 10,000 Morgans in person at various dealers shops and shows. Read coin books, too. Then, if you want, you can give it another shot. I doubt that you'll be looking at COINage ads for for material by that point, though.
NO!, at least not until you have learned enough to accurately grade raw coins according to the standards of the TPG you will use, so you can tell which ones are priced low enough to make a profit on at the grade you successfully predict will be awarded by the TPG. Necessary skils include the ability to detect cleaning, overdipping, weak and strong strikes, TPG idiosyncracies, and all the other myriad of details that go into determining what grade the TPG will award. In investing, like in coin collecting, always "Buy the book" before the coin/stock/commodity/parcel of real estate/etc. Some folks say the best way to make a small fortune is taking a large fortune to Las Vegas. An even better way is investing that large fortune in something you don't fully understand.
For whatever reasons, DON'T ever invest until you really have a good idea of what yuo are going to do! As well as, if you are looking for grade examples, you should take a look at the top three tier slabbing companies, like NGC, PCGS, ANACS to compare. It does take a fair amount of traiining. Remember, if there was such thing as to get rich scheme, everyone would be doing it.
It always amazes me why people think it is so easy to make money collecting coins. Let me tell ya - it's not. Of all the things in the world that one can make money by doing - collecting coins is probably the hardest of them all. It's just that simple.
OKAY OKAY I got it I don't think I will buy those coins. I know I only have a year of coin collecting experience compared to the possible decades of experience some of you guys have. Also, as a 16- year-old student, I am clearly working on a limited budget here. I understand that dealers are not going to offer remarkable deals in magazines. I also understand that I have a 10-day grace period to return purchased coins if I am not satisfied with the product. If I buy a Morgan dollar for $100, I could submit it to be graded KNOWING that I am taking a risk. For example, the coin may be worth $100 in MS-63 and $1000 in MS-65. I don't plan on ever stepping foot inside a casino to gamble at any point in my life, so this is my form of gambling. One must take risks in life, and this type of risk I am willing to take. I don't know if you gentlemen have read Scott Travers' "Coin Collector's Survival Handbook" (vol 5), but I have read it cover to cover and I am interested in what the book has to say about collecting coins profitably. I didn't just skim through the chapter about cracking out coins, and cherrypicking. I have read them fully, and put in hours of research online and in books on the subject. Jim Halperin managed to make a fortune cracking out coins, and I can too in time. XpipedreamR- Thank you for your advice. I am not, however, looking for million-dollar coins in classified ads. I am looking for semi-key date coins which command high premiums at higher grades, such as the 1884-S morgan dollar. Satootoko- Thank you for your advice. I haven't made any substantial purchases yet, because I am still learning what type of coins to buy, when, and where to do so. gxseries- Don't worry, I am nowhere near ready to purchase such things as gem Morgan dollars. I am still collecting information, taking it all in before I make any decisions. this post was a part of my research. I have been looking at grading examples from PCGS, ANACS, NGC, and also ICG. By the way, you have quite a collection on OmniCoin, and it is pretty popular, too. GDJMSP- For the record, I never said I thought it would be easy. I'm not trying to make a living by collecting coins profitably. I want to sell a few coins at a small profit and have more funds to expand my collection. I am trying to build a collection- not sell it off. So, gentlemen, thank you for your advice and opinions. I will take them into consideration when I make my own decision as to what to do. I don't know what kind of impression I gave with this post, but I assure you that you are not talking to an uninformed child who collects coins because they are shiny. I can master anything I put my mind to, and I will do just that with the art of grading coins.
Alex - I've been doing this for going on 50 yrs now. And if there is one thing I have learned in that time it is that more collectors come into this hobby expecting to be able to make money by collecting coins than there are collectors who come into it to do so just for the joy of it. I have also learned that 99% of the time the only collectors who end up making any money are those who collect for the joy of collecting. Those who expect to make money or try to use coins as investment vehicles almost always walk away discouraged, angry and broke. That was the reason for my comment. The impression you gave with your previous posts, at least to me, was one that I have seen all too often and was another reason for my comments. But this comment of yours - "I can master anything I put my mind to, and I will do just that with the art of grading coins." - gives an entirely different impression. And you're 100% right. If you truly do put your mind to it and obtain the necessary knowledge - you will go far. Above and beyond that you will experience a great deal of joy and personal satisfaction from your efforts. Just about every collector there is uses the hobby itself, the buying, selling & trading of coins, to further their collection. This is the way it is done - always has been. So there is certainly nothing wrong with doing so. But before doing so knowledge is required. So I urge you - follow through with your idea to become knowledgeable and proficient at grading. I for one would consider it an honor and a privilege to assist you in doing so in any way I can.
I know what you mean....I'm 17 almost 18 and have collected on a limited budget for sometime....but things can be done with that limit....and even if it means holding off buying coins for a few months...its worth it. I would say that almost everyone on here has read that book....now Mr Travers is a smart man....but he is what I would call an Invester....not a collector. I haven't heard both sides but I've heard a few stories about how he got his $$$ and it wasn't all really truthfull. Speedy
I agree, Speedy, Scott Travers does seem like more of an investor than a collector. I don't know about the stories about Jim Halperin. I also don't plan on cracking out coins, especially just to make money. I want a collection. I want to keep that collection, not just sell it off, buy more coins, trade them, and what-not. The only thing that bothers me is the fate of my coins. I don't know what I want to happen to them when I die. Do I want to leave them to someone who will keep them and add to the collection, or do I want my family to sell my collection? It almost makes me think, "What's the point of even collecting these coins? I put all this money into getting a set of coins, when I could be buying things I need." :desk:
Don't worry about something you can't really do something about...you can leave a letter if you want asking them not to sell it....but that really isn't going to hold much water if they want to sell it.....most collectors hope for a kid that is a collector too so they can pass it on and it will be added too.... Speedy
Whoa, man...you're getting way ahead of yourself! The answer is to have kids and force them to become coin collectors :goofer: Seriously, though, that's a question that every collector will have to face, and think the answer that is right for you will become clearer when you get closer to the point when you really have to start thinking about that. For now, please spend your coin time having fun with the coins :kewl:
Very good Speedy, sometimes it takes the young to set the young on the right road oh to be young again.
I think that one point should be made here: If these coins were worth more then these dealers would sell them for more. No matter what they are calling them, they are NOT worth more than they are being sold for. Remember that these dealers have years of experience looking at coins for hours on end and they KNOW what they are selling. It is possible that they will make a mistake every once in a while, but your odds are way better in Vegas.
The full-page advertisers in Coin World, Coinage, and Numimatic News do not sell Mint State coins. They advertise their dipped out, reengraved, and damaged XF-AU coins as "Premium Quality Brilliant Uncirculated." I have purchased coins from them in the past, and have had to return them every time. You will not get any good deals from them. Charlie
Thanks, Charlie. I knew something had to be off about all the deals offered. I didn't know they were actually selling altered coins, I just thought it would be something simple like "lenient grading" That issue of COINage is goin right in the trash!...as soon as I finish reading the articles.
Well, if you're like me, you could just just have coins that are worth next-to-nothing, so that selling them off would be more trouble than they are worth. Then your descendents will be stuck with 'em and be forced to become coin collectors! Bwah-hah-hah!
This is true Bluegill, just about all of my coins ARE worth next to nothing! Honestly I have no slabbed coins, and have never made a purchase over $50...and speaking of descendants getting stuck with coins, I know a guy whose family is in for a BIG surprise when they try to sell his coins. He cleaned every one of them to the point where large cents and whatnot are shining like new.
Alex your best *chance* for making money in coins is to think like a coin collector since we are the final buyers of coins. And, IMO, the only way to think like a coin collector is to actually be one--there's no short cut. You either are or you aren't. Just buy what *you* like because you like it. Maybe you'll make money or maybe you won't. But either way, you'll be a lot happier. :thumb: 50 years Doug? Good God man, how old are you?
