coin collectors

[Lion]

Once you read up and study(buy the reference books)the series you plan on collecting always go with your first impressions of the coin you are looking at. Never...ever talk yourself into buying a coin with problems just because it has a low mintage or has been slabbed in a grade which you do not agree with. Scratches, rim nicks and specks of carbon...as examples do not go away...they will always be there. And believe me if you see them so will a perspective buyer in the future. There are many slabbing companies out there but I would stick to buying from PCGS(the first such grading company)or NGC(the second such company). These companies slabbed grades hold up better in the marketplace and dealers will be more willing to buy them because of who they are. Also there is no such graded coin as MS-70...MS-70 is suppose to mean perfection and there are no coins which are perfect. Do not buy coins from TV programs who tout their wares to you the viewer or from magazine ads. These coins are way overpriced and you will be the one stuck for a loss in the end. Finally remember to use discretionary funds when buying/investing in coins...do not expect to make a profit in two months and remember to enjoy yourself.....this is suppose to be a hobby which can make you money down the line!!!

[Numismatist]

Originally Posted by Lion

Once you read up and study(buy the reference books)the series you plan on collecting always go with your first impressions of the coin you are looking at. Never...ever talk yourself into buying a coin with problems just because it has a low mintage or has been slabbed in a grade which you do not agree with. Scratches, rim nicks and specks of carbon...as examples do not go away...they will always be there. And believe me if you see them so will a perspective buyer in the future. There are many slabbing companies out there but I would stick to buying from PCGS(the first such grading company)or NGC(the second such company). These companies slabbed grades hold up better in the marketplace and dealers will be more willing to buy them because of who they are. Also there is no such graded coin as MS-70...MS-70 is suppose to mean perfection and there are no coins which are perfect. Do not buy coins from TV programs who tout their wares to you the viewer or from magazine ads. These coins are way overpriced and you will be the one stuck for a loss in the end. Finally remember to use discretionary funds when buying/investing in coins...do not expect to make a profit in two months and remember to enjoy yourself.....this is suppose to be a hobby which can make you money down the line!!!

Sage advice.

I would also add, pick a small collection and stick with it and do not stray, like all Civil War year coins, or all CC mints, etc. Get yourself a strong but precise collection, not a whole bunch of random, nice coins but with no cohesion.

This way, the collection completed will be worth more than the sum of it's parts.

[TheVTCGuy]

Hey Numasist... I have two funny looking wheaties in my collection... one is a copper 1943 and the other is a steel 1944... Are they worth anything










(I WISH!!!! )

[Lion]

Originally Posted by TheVTCGuy

Hey Numasist... I have two funny looking wheaties in my collection... one is a copper 1943 and the other is a steel 1944... Are they worth anything










(I WISH!!!! )

Hey Paul...have you been drinking again???

[Numismatist]

Originally Posted by TheVTCGuy

Hey Numasist... I have two funny looking wheaties in my collection... one is a copper 1943 and the other is a steel 1944... Are they worth anything










(I WISH!!!! )

I'll double your money, and send your 4 cents!

[bossing]

I started out by pushing pennies into Whitman folders. Over the years I've randomly collected coins that I have come across from circulation and coins given to me by friends. About 3 years ago I started collecting Barber Quarters. I haven't been buying recently, since I've started contributing to my 401k. A lot of people that know I collect always approach me about coins as an investment. I tell them that I don't view it in that manner, an consider myself a true collector.

[Numismatist]

Originally Posted by bossing

I started out by pushing pennies into Whitman folders. Over the years I've randomly collected coins that I have come across from circulation and coins given to me by friends. About 3 years ago I started collecting Barber Quarters. I haven't been buying recently, since I've started contributing to my 401k. A lot of people that know I collect always approach me about coins as an investment. I tell them that I don't view it in that manner, an consider myself a true collector.

[Ebruner]

Please don't use Numismatics and investment in the same sentence. I was in this business in the 80s and 90s. ARG!!!

-Eddie

[TheVTCGuy]

You know, I am way too much an amateur collector then the rest of you guys, but I do want to add I really enjoy ... "the hunt." I mean, whenever I get pennies as change, or whenever I come across a jar of coins, I am always looking for those elusive (and harder and harder to find) wheaties. It's actually kind of an addictive excitement, like turning over the next card in Poker or Black Jack. I've been collecting wheats since I was a kid (guess that's how I got to 9000! ). Whatever type, metal, era you choose to collect, I wish you the best of luck in your hunts!

[Numismatist]

Originally Posted by TheVTCGuy

You know, I am way too much an amateur collector then the rest of you guys, but I do want to add I really enjoy ... "the hunt." I mean, whenever I get pennies as change, or whenever I come across a jar of coins, I am always looking for those elusive (and harder and harder to find) wheaties. It's actually kind of an addictive excitement, like turning over the next card in Poker or Black Jack. I've been collecting wheats since I was a kid (guess that's how I got to 9000! ). Whatever type, metal, era you choose to collect, I wish you the best of luck in your hunts!

Excellent, I once had a complete Wheat set, all PCGS, all uncirculated (MS60 or better), all Red! The early ones just about killed me...

If you really want to see an impressive Wheat collection, lookup Stewart Blay's set.

[hsfrank]

If you are collecting coins for the love, beauty and history of them, by all means do so. If you doing it with the hope of them increasing in value or as an investment then think twice. Sure gold has increased in value tremendously but that does not mean it will do so in the future. Likewise with other coins. A select few might increase in book value but try to sell them and you will see little , if any profit and probably a loss. Enjoy the hobby not the investment.

[Lion]

You can look at Coin Collecting as an investment but it is a long term investment deal...at best. It also should be just one of your investments in your diversified portfolio. Buy high grade coins(extra fine, almost uncirculated or uncirculated)and spend the time learning about the hobby aspects as well. I would stick to buying coins from the 1800's and early 1900's and invest in a high quality magnifying glass. Buy a triplet style magnifying glass and you should keep the magnifying power at 7x or 10x. Definitely you must learn how to grade the coins and learn about counterfeit or coins whose surfaces have been altered. Another key to learning is to look at as many coins in the series you plan to collect as possible. There are no shortcuts to experience and find a dealer(s) you can trust!!!

[ag62000]

wow. money collect

[Numismatist]

Originally Posted by ag62000

wow. money collect

Who doesn't like to collect money?

[conrail]

Originally Posted by gt3pilot

Rob Chambers drove me crazy !! I know at one point he was making around $750K + a year selling on Coin Vault for Leon. Slabbed modern stuff also drives me nuts. When we would get the first shipment from the mint in Jan. Silvertowne would be there to pick up boxes of eagles and off to FL. they would drive to get NGC to slab all that first strike stuff, so they could get it on the air right away.

Like a freshly minted coin in MS 68, 69 or 70 was rare !!......


-Scott B.

Haha, no kidding. The ones where slabbing costs 2x the "value" of the coin!

BE DIALING. Gem, mint state Mark McGuire rookie card! Be dialin!!!!

[Route 66]

Hey Guys, what's a "slabbed" coin?

[Numismatist]

Originally Posted by StevArn

Hey Guys, what's a "slabbed" coin?

One that was sent in for 'official' grading to a grading company like PCGS or NGC. It comes back in a hermetically sealed plastic 'slab' with a tag showing the grade.

Type PCGS into eBay and you'll see a billion of them.

[Route 66]

Originally Posted by Numismatist

One that was sent in for 'official' grading to a grading company like PCGS or NGC. It comes back in a hermetically sealed plastic 'slab' with a tag showing the grade.

Type PCGS into eBay and you'll see a billion of them.

Thanks Chris, I get it now.