How did you learn the ins and outs of coin collecting before there was an Internet?

dan1ecu

How did you learn what AT was? How did you learn what hairlines were? How did you learn to recognize luster?


Were you at the mercy of a local dealer to explain and illustrate all of these things to you? Did you rely on books? Was it all just trial and error? Was it much more costly to learn coin lessons in those days?

Dan

nwcs

Aside from the tiny bit I gleaned from Coins and Coin Prices magazines, nothing.

silverpop

Learned though Some Books And by Talking To people My First Coin Was A 1974d MDD Ike Dollar that i got in Change Still Have the Ike

Conder101

Books, dealers, coin shows and the local coin club. Other than the books you ask long time collectors and dealers questions. At shows you compare coins and ask opinions from other collectors.

Fragmentum

Other than the advice given here, such as join a few local coin clubs and get to know your local collectors is to read as much as you can about the hobby and about the coins. Another very good educational habit to get into is to attend the ANA Summer Seminars held in Colorado Springs each year.
linkypoo

seanq

<< <i>Books, dealers, coin shows and the local coin club. Other than the books you ask long time collectors and dealers questions. At shows you compare coins and ask opinions from other collectors. >>





In addition to books, I have a large stockpile of dealer price lists, auction catalogs, and club newsletters. I still gather as much information as I can find, it's just much easier and faster on the 'net.


Sean Reynolds

Veep

I went to school. The School of Hardknocks. Tuition was about $10,000.

kranky

After getting ripped a couple times, I quit buying coins. I still got Coin World each week, and I still kept my ANA membership and used the library, but didn't buy anything (except proof sets from the mint). Then years later I attended the ANA Summer Seminar grading class after reading some great endorsements here, and felt comfortable enough to jump back in.

dorkkarl

<< <i>How did you learn the ins and outs of coin collecting before there was an Internet? >>

simple: common sense.

i honest to god think that the internet & mass media is the biggest enemy of common sense.

K S

Conder101

<< <i>I went to school. The School of Hardknocks. >>


Thanks Veep, I forgot that one.

Shamika

Trial and error.

UncleWiggly

<< <i>I went to school. The School of Hardknocks. Tuition was about $10,000. >>





I was a little luckier than that. But I did pay my price also buying cleaned coins from Coast to Coast and Mt. Vernon. By the way for everybody's info. For awhile there I asked C to C several times about them selling cleaned coins. I kept being told, "We don't clean our coins." Well, I never asked them if they cleaned the coins, I asked if they sold cleaned coins. Big difference..to me at least.


Jerry

longtimecollector

Many, many years ago, I bought a Lafayette Dollar from C to C....... Looked like a detector find from an outhouse that was cleaned with a dull scout knife....... Cost me shipping both ways....... Never again.......

orie

The School of Hardknocks. Better known as Screw U.

coppercoins

I learned through complete immersion in the coins themselves, letting them teach me. I collected cheap coins, i.e. pocket change, until I was comfortable with what I was doing. I cleaned pocket change using a number of techniques, learning what it looked like, etc. I guess you could say that all of my experiences early on were through trial and error playing with what I had from the bank. It was years on before I "bought" my first coin. I had patience to learn the cheap way.

Books were rather scattered and a bit difficult to find, but I did find out about Coin World through the library and ordered it. I read every issue, learning my way through the stuff you couldn't find in change. I found ads for specialty books and ordered them, read them, and learned from them. I owned no fewer than two dozen books before "buying" my first coin or attending my first show. It's all about patience.

These days novices log on to the internet nad have a wealth of knowledge at their fingertips. Patience is not required if you're smart enough to take all the advice in and process it before buying a coin - alas, most people don't have that patience - thus are screwed a number of times before bothering to back up and learn.

BigE

Third party grading (reputable) taught me a lot. Sometimes I spent much more time looking at the bodybagged coins than the ones that graded. Back then AT only existed when it was covering cleaning, everyone wanted the "BU" coin and color was not really the craze------------------------BigE

coincollector1989

By reading books and talking to other collectors.

morgannut2

I got nailed so many times I ended up going for AU Morgans that I compared to nice ones that had come from circulation. Before the internet, I learned from some auction catelogues, but rarely risked buying an uncirculated coin because of problem coins that turned up when I needed to sell something supposedly unc. but altered.

EvilMCT

<< <i>How did you learn what AT was? How did you learn what hairlines were? How did you learn to recognize luster? >>



Did not exist before the internet (in my coin collecting world, at least). No one wanted tarnished coins back then. Hairlines were learned of thru reading as was luster. The local dealers were merciful then, but I was a YN and had an uncle with me for just about every purchase I made.

Another part of this was that luster, AT and hairlines had nothing to do with my collecting. As a kid, I pulled the majority of my collection out of circulation. I couldn't afford the prices back in the early 80's for coins. I have a 1 oz silver bar that my uncle bought me for Christmas; cost him $50 then. With those type prices, my largest purchases were buying proof sets and the like.

Ken

Merc

I was a kid then (before internet) and learned from an uncle. He had a wonderful collection with several early dollars and halves. He was also a small time dealer at local shows and flee markets. He gave me redbooks and I learned how to grade from them. He also gave me whizzed and cleaned coins along with normal coins to show me what to look for.