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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;stickamw, post: 196235, member: 7894&quot;]Y&#039;all,</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; Ok, now I started with my questions, they just won&#039;t stop!!</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; I have only been &quot;seriously&quot; collecting for a couple of months now...and I&#039;ve probably made a zillion mistakes so far.&nbsp; My primary drive for collecting is split between just the pure enjoyment I get out of doing it and the need to invest our extra cash before we just blow it on stupid stuff.&nbsp; We&#039;ve tried&nbsp; a dozen ways to save money and can&#039;t ever seem to leave it alone.&nbsp; So far, this is about the only thing that has actually worked...giving us a start on a nest egg. </p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; I should have probably asked these questions before I started my &quot;binge&quot; of buying...hindsight is 20/20.&nbsp; Since Christmas, I have spent ~$2200 on coins....all of them from Ebay and all of them slabbed, 90% with PCGS the other 10% with NGC.&nbsp; Now before you cringe and holler at me, I have sat down with the Heritage Sheets (as I saw a posting about the PCGS sheets being high) and the value that these just over 200 slabs comes to is ~$5000. I have just about filled out a series of Jeff Proofs (1973-date, all PF69), Roosie Proofs (1972-date, all PF69 &amp; a couple of 70&#039;s) and very nearly the entire Statehood Proof Set(completed clad and need 1999 silver; all PF69 and 70). I have really been drawn to the modern commemoratives, but they are bit more pricey and I haven&#039;t been as active on them.&nbsp; Additionally, I have been hitting PF69 on the Lincoln 1c, Kennedy Halves, Wash 25c as well as the circulation strikes on the Statehoods, some full-step Jeffs and full-band Roosies.&nbsp; In all, I have only found one coin that I paid more than the Wholesale for, while the huge majority of the rest have been at least 1/2 to 2/3 below wholesale.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; As I have been seeing more and more coinage across my desk (my mailman is trying to figure out what kind of racket I have going) I have been paying more and more attention to what my money is getting and trying to understand why one slabbed coin seems to command a higher premium than another slab of an identical coin.&nbsp; I thing I have seen is a variety in the strength of the strike and have been gravitating towards those that are better struck.&nbsp; Lately, as I have been reading this forum, I have been questioning my methods.....I know, buy the coin, not the slab...I am learning!!</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; So I humbly ask y&#039;all...is this an intelligent approach towards putting money away by investing it in...well...money?&nbsp; Is it better to have a coin that has been graded by an accepted (if not the strictest) grading company vs. having an ungraded coin that can be at the mercy of a subjective dealer? And given my inexperience with grading, is it not safer (until I can learn on my own) to trust the grading company over the possibly shoddy dealer? </p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; Also, as you can tell, I am all over the map on what I am collecting...granted, all so far have been moderns, but I am quite interested in a number of classics....the older nickels and dimes really have my attention.&nbsp; But what about the more precious metals?&nbsp; Should I hock the slabs and convert that cash into gold coins? Do they tend to keep their value better? (I really like the Indian Head 2.50).&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; This is tough trying to balance the numismatic learning with investing our family dough and still enjoying what I am doing.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; *sigh*....ok....lemme have it.....</p><p><br /></p><p>-- adrian[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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