Where to go from here...

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by Bman33, May 3, 2016.

  1. Bman33

    Bman33 Well-Known Member

    Ok, so I just started collecting in January of this year. The first week I bought an 1897P Morgan that I found out was dipped. I bought a cull 1921P Morgan and a cull 1917S Walker. I then joined this site and was given sound advice to not buy anymore coins until I have Knowledge under my belt. It made sense, and I don't have funds to haphazardly buy coins. I was given a common Morgan and Peace dollar and 8 rolls of Wheat Pennies from my family to grow my collection. I did some coin roll hunting and accumulated a stash of silver Halves and dimes. Little burned out on that. I joined a coin club in March and attended two meetings so far. I attended my first coin show a few weeks ago. Now I am wondering where to go from here. I like pretty typical stuff like Morgans and Walkers and would like to start a set or short set of Walkers. Any advice?
     
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  3. Markus1959

    Markus1959 Well-Known Member

    I never had a FULL set of any US coin denomination. I bought a Dansco Walking Liberty album and started buying coins to fill the holes in the album. Of course I bought circulated coins and I bought probably G-6 coins for the most expensive coins, it took me probably a year to complete but when I got done it sure was pretty looking!!
    Now I started a Franklin Dansco - circulated coins can be bought off of Ebay for between 8-12$ - fun to collect.
     
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  4. Paul M.

    Paul M. Well-Known Member

    Nothing wrong with Morgans and Walkers. :) A Walker short set is a fine project, but, IMO, if you've only been collecting for a very few months, you should take a break from buying and do a lot more looking and reading. You'll need to learn how to grade and how to recognize problem coins (particularly cleaned ones).

    Your best avenue for doing this is going to shows, IMO. Going to a show gives you the opportunity to talk to 20 dealers in a day and look at hundreds of coins you'd never be able to see otherwise. I don't know precisely where you're located, but where I live, I could easily go to 1-2 shows a month.

    Books! Lots of books! I don't know what you have, but your minimum should be a general grading guide, a current-ish Red Book, and one or two more specialized books on the series you want to actively collect. Whitman publishes books on most major US coin series. For Walkers, there's also https://www.davidlawrence.com/books/the-complete-guide-to-walking-liberty-half-dollars/ which is a little out of date, having been published in 1993, but has the very nice virtue of being freely available online. I don't know if there's a Morgan book available for free online, but VAMWorld is an interesting place to look, at least!
     
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  5. Santinidollar

    Santinidollar Supporter! Supporter

    A short set of Walkers has always tempted me. Seem to be readily available in MS graded slabs. I don't have a full set of any type of US coin, and doubt I ever will. I like Morgans and Peace, old proofs and a bit of gold. One thing about this hobby: I bet no two collectors are exactly alike.
     
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  6. Bman33

    Bman33 Well-Known Member

    I'm in Colorado. Going to the Denver Coin Expo this weekend. There is the 2016 US Mint set that I would like to buy. Already talked to the dealer who is a member and former President of my coin club. I have the 2016 Red Book but I will take your advice and read, read, read. There's a hobby shop near me that has some of the books you suggested I read near me. I am wanting to get a Non-1921 Morgan that hasn't been dipped that I can use as a base for learning to grade. If I can get one for under $40 I think I'll do it.
     
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  7. Paul M.

    Paul M. Well-Known Member

    If you're close enough to Denver to drive there on a weekend, I'm sure you'll be able to find at least one show a month worth going to. :) I definitely think a few bucks spent on show admissions is probably the most cost-effective education you're going to get in numismatics until you get some confidence in grading.
     
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  8. baseball21

    baseball21 Well-Known Member

    PCGS has Bowers silver dollar book for free on their site, not specifically for Morgans but they do have a few pages in the book.
     
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  9. Collecting Nut

    Collecting Nut Borderline Hoarder

    Since you're going to the show take time to talk to dealers and other people there. Don't rush things, learn, be patient and slowly build your collection, after you decide what it is you really want to collect. Have fun and enjoy the show. :)
     
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  10. Jwt708

    Jwt708 Well-Known Member

    Probably a good idea to figure out what your budget is going to be for the set you decide to put together or the coins you'll collect, then go to the shows and get an idea what that will cost you.

    Or just go ahead and buy whatever you like only two decide two years later that you no longer like 75% of your collection.

    Like everyone else said, learn to grade and how to spot problems. Learn the market for the coin(s) you're interested in. Lots of this takes time. While you wait, why not buy a couple lower value coins.
     
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  11. eddiespin

    eddiespin Fast Eddie

    Do yourself a favor, think small, not big. Think, easing your way into the hobby, rather than jumping in with both feet. Roll-search. There's an inexpensive way to learn. You walk up to my table sounding like this, I promise you, I'll sell you the Brooklyn Bridge.
     
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  12. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    Bman -

    There is much to learn, more than you can even begin to comprehend, but everybody's gotta start someplace. As suggested, buying books is far and away the best advice, here's some to get you you started -

    http://www.amazon.com/Collecting-Ra..._UL160_SR160,160_&refRID=0Z5M9VB6QAYC7PQ39HSF

    http://www.amazon.com/Collectors-Su..._UL160_SR106,160_&refRID=0Z5M9VB6QAYC7PQ39HSF

    http://www.amazon.com/Official-Stan...ion+Grading+Standards+for+United+States+Coins

    http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Morgan-..._UL160_SR104,160_&refRID=0Z5M9VB6QAYC7PQ39HSF

    But there is a great deal of basic information that you need to know as well, and much of it is not easily found in books. It's not that it's not in the books, it's more that it's scattered about through a great number of them in small bits and pieces. So finding it can be tedious to say the least.

    For instance, you mentioned buying a coin that had been dipped. But did you know that a coin being dipped is not necessarily a bad thing ? In fact, it quite often is a good thing. And if a coin having been dipped is going to be a reason for you to not buy that coin, then you better ready not buy very many coins. I say that because 80% or more of all older coins have been dipped. And yes that includes those slabbed by NGC and PCGS, as well as all of the other TPGs.

    That said, dipping can be a bad thing, when it is not done correctly. And there's more than one way for it not to be done correctly. Dip residue can be left on a coin making it spotted and ugly, coins be dipped just a second or two too long making them over-dipped and stripping away the luster. The dip may not be neutralized allowing some to remain on the coin resulting the luster being stripped in places and not in others. Or the coin may have just been a bad candidate for dipping, in other words it never should have been dipped to begin with.

    Then there's the lingo of coin collecting. Words often have very specific meanings, definitions, in numismatics that are quite different from what you are used to them having. And it is all too common, even for coin collectors, to use these words incorrectly and assign them definitions that are completely inaccurate. So when you read something, or hear somebody say something, it may not mean what you think it means. It may not even mean what THEY think it means !

    And it is also important to realize even in coin books there is a lot of bad information mixed right in with the good information. Of course unless one already knows a great deal, there is no way to know if it is bad or not.

    So like I said there is much to learn. But to learn it, ya gotta start someplace. Every journey begins with a first step.
     
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  13. Cascade

    Cascade CAC Variety Nerd

    No advise here other than its fun to buy... Haphazardly :)

    7564363_1_l.jpg
     
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  14. mark_h

    mark_h Somewhere over the rainbow

    Books and learn as already mentioned. And if you really feel the need to buy - buy something graded by NGC or PCGS.
     
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  15. Bman33

    Bman33 Well-Known Member

    Thanks for the advice all. Once again I will refrain from buying. I will spend some money on a scale and lots of books!
     
  16. Bman33

    Bman33 Well-Known Member

    I was not aware that 80% of coins have been dipped. A dealer told me 60% of Morgans have been dipped. I assumed everyone was chasing the remaining 40%. Well, I just learned something very important. Thank you for the advice and links to reading Material.
     
  17. mark_h

    mark_h Somewhere over the rainbow

    Dipping done right won't hurt the coin. Some of those blast white morgans are good examples - those are still nice coins. I would not try it myself and will leave it to the professions. You will notice at times people will say "original skin" - those are the coins (still might have been dipped) but maintain an original type look. Just my 2 cents worth of opinions.
     
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  18. Bman33

    Bman33 Well-Known Member

    Is it possible for a coin to have been dipped and still maintain the cartwheel luster?
     
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  19. SuperDave

    SuperDave Free the Cartwheels!

    Yes. The majority of dipped coins show no evidence that even the best numismatist can cite as "proof," except the fact that a coin that old shouldn't be that "original" in appearance. We assume the majority of Morgans are dipped because they shouldn't still look like they were minted yesterday. Yes, no doubt some have been preserved carefully enough to retain that original look, but common sense dictates they are the exception to the rule.
     
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  20. Mike Thorne

    Mike Thorne Well-Known Member

    Coin periodicals are also worthwhile purchases. Get a subscription to one or more of the monthly coin magazines, such as Coins and COINage, and one or more of the coin newspapers, such as Numismatic News and Coin World. You should be able to easily access their sites by Googling the names. Of course, it's not enough to just buy the books, magazines, newspapers. You also need to read them!
     
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  21. fiddlehead

    fiddlehead Well-Known Member

    I've seen some really good web info on what "old gold" should look like, but not silver. Are there any good resources for what old, original silver is likely to look like with original surfaces. I have noticed that the 1840 dollars with CAC stickers (heritage archives) are usually dark.
     
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