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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;RedTiger, post: 640398, member: 19098&quot;]<i>If a person can&#039;t grade, and they don&#039;t know anything about pricing and availability - then they should not be buying coins. They should be studying.</i></p><p><i>&gt;&gt;</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Easy to say, very hard to do.</p><p><br /></p><p>&gt;&gt;</p><p><br /></p><p>A novice will usually enjoy the hobby more and learn faster, by buying some coins, than by studying books or online images. Enjoying the hobby is #1. If the hobby isn&#039;t fun, there is zero reason to be in it. If a person wants to study, that is fine, but it is nowhere near the top of the list.</p><p><br /></p><p>A person has to start some where and for most that means zero grading skill, and zero knowledge of pricing. I would agree that it is best to learn at least the basics of grading and pricing before buying any expensive coins. Expensive will have a different definition for each collector.</p><p><br /></p><p>Each person will have a different learning curve in terms of learning to grade, and learning market pricing. In my case, I&#039;ll never be an expert grader. I am far sighted, and my mind likes to waffle, that means that I have less talent to work with than someone that is near sighted or has perfect vision, and a mind that makes snap decisions easily. I do have an excellent mind for prices and numbers. So for me the pricing part comes easier than learning to grade. For others, it will be the opposite.</p><p><br /></p><p>Another cornerstone for collectors is to develop contacts and relationships to get better access to better coins at better prices.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here is my fab five:</p><p>* Collect what you like, not what someone else likes</p><p>* Enjoy the hobby</p><p>* Learn how to grade</p><p>* For expensive coins, learn the market prices before buying</p><p>* Develop contacts with dealers and other collectors </p><p><br /></p><p>A person might argue that learning to grade is studying. Well, it is, and it isn&#039;t. A person learns to grade by looking at coins, lots of them. A grading guide, and/or mentors will speed the process, but it remains a process. Studying images, or photos is of limited use and brings diminishing returns rather quickly. Studying a dealer&#039;s coins without buying any of them is a boring option and will not make any friends in the dealer community (see #5).[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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