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Words of wisdom for a new collector
Boosibri
Posts: 11,867 ✭✭✭✭✭
What lessons or words of wisdom would you offer to a new collector?
My first thought: Learning the right "look" for an issue is more important that learning how to grade and will save you tuition in the short term and long term.
Second thought: Be patient and trust your gut. If you don't love the coin when you first see it chances are you won't love it later.
Third thought: The biggest regrets often come from coins you didn't buy rather than the coins you did buy. Pay up for quality coins.
My first thought: Learning the right "look" for an issue is more important that learning how to grade and will save you tuition in the short term and long term.
Second thought: Be patient and trust your gut. If you don't love the coin when you first see it chances are you won't love it later.
Third thought: The biggest regrets often come from coins you didn't buy rather than the coins you did buy. Pay up for quality coins.
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But if you do, buy a bunch of `nice looking coins` and show them here, have a thick skin, and an open mind.
The name is LEE!
Latin American Collection
Be patient. Collecting is not a race.
Joseph J. Singleton - First Superintendent of the U.S. Branch Mint in Dahlonega Georgia
Findley Ridge Collection
About Findley Ridge
<< <i>Don't buy moderns. >>
I disagree. As long as you understand what you are buying there is no reason not to collect moderns. I have a complete set of modern commems. I enjoy the history and many of the designs. I am also aware that buying at mint prices buries me in nearly every coin. But I don't collect them for an investment, I collect them for fun.
But regarding moderns it is wise to stay away TPG plastic and silly labels. US Mint packaging is the way to go IMO.
Joseph J. Singleton - First Superintendent of the U.S. Branch Mint in Dahlonega Georgia
Findley Ridge Collection
About Findley Ridge
Complete Set of Chopmarked Trade Dollars
Carson City Silver Dollars Complete 1870-1893http://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase.aspx?sc=2722"
PCGS Registries
Box of 20
SeaEagleCoins: 11/14/54-4/5/12. Miss you Larry!
Go to the ANA Summer Seminar.
Go to auction viewings and look at as many coins as you, preferably with your thumb covering the grade.
Compare CAC coins to non-CAC coins.
Collect what you like, and think about what it could wind up costing you and make sure you are OK with that.
Establish relationships with collectors and dealers that you get along with.
Start with the Key Dates
Better to be patient than fill a hole with a compromise. AKA, just buy the upgrade the first time.
Read these boards
Lance.
You can get books in the library and forums where knowledgeable people are willing to help you
on your journey. You can even ask questions about potential purchases from those forums and
avoid some mistakes early.
Good deals can be found. Great deals are a trap.
Read, read, then read some more. Enjoy numismatic literature as much as the coins themselves.
BE PATIENT!!!
Get to know a few collectors that specialize in whatever you decide to collect. This forum is a great place to start.
Don't drink the Kool-aid. PCGS is, in my opinion, the best TPG in the industry. But they make mistakes just like all the other TPG's.
WS
Don't talk yourself into buying a coin. If something about a coin bugs you when you are considering it for purchase, your opinion will likely be just as hard two months later.
Find a way to stay connected to the hobby when not actively buying coins. Or else be prepared to become an ex-collector in the future.
We live in an age of slabbed/stickered coins. The 'mistakes' tend to accumulate in the marketplace, waiting for unsophisticated buyers. Learn something about evaluating coins. Or else be prepared to be a schmo.
Don't confuse collecting coins with investing in coins. The latter is much more difficult to successfully pull off, and you won't have the luxury of falling in love with your coins because ROI will be all that matters.
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
<< <i>Have fun. Collect what makes you happy. >>
Ditto. Collect what you like and enjoy the hobby.
Gotta say the advice in the first post is some of the worst I've seen. It tends to take years to learn the "right look," (which comes after learning grading basics). Years to learn which coins are truly hard to find, which are plentiful, many years to learn what quality for the grade is and how to see it for yourself. Many novice collectors like the doctored coin look, whether it be cleaned blast white, or artificial toning, many novices are the ones buying those coins. A novice trusting their gut usually results in a train wreck.
Skill and knowledge, usually earned by years of climbing the numismatic food chain are what tend to be needed to make a quality collection, not one liners. In the meantime, I suggest that a novice start small, learn by doing and enjoy the hobby. A mentor is good, but unfortunately, there are probably more "bad" mentors leading novices astray, than there are good mentors that know what they are doing. Veteran collectors often forget just how steep the learning curve is.
<< <i>
<< <i>Have fun. Collect what makes you happy. >>
Ditto. Collect what you like and enjoy the hobby.
Gotta say the advice in the first post is some of the worst I've seen. It tends to take years to learn the "right look," (which comes after learning grading basics). Years to learn which coins are truly hard to find, which are plentiful, many years to learn what quality for the grade is and how to see it for yourself. Many novice collectors like the doctored coin look, whether it be cleaned blast white, or artificial toning, many novices are the ones buying those coins. A novice trusting their gut usually results in a train wreck.
Skill and knowledge, usually earned by years of climbing the numismatic food chain are what tend to be needed to make a quality collection, not one liners. In the meantime, I suggest that a novice start small, learn by doing and enjoy the hobby. A mentor is good, but unfortunately, there are probably more "bad" mentors leading novices astray, than there are good mentors that know what they are doing. Veteran collectors often forget just how steep the learning curve is. >>
Are you a coin deek?
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.
Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.
Tyler
Very thoughtful comment. Here's a scenario.
I *hate* abraded gold. Call it harsh cleaning, hairlining, normal handling marks, whatever, but I can't stand the look. I would much, much rather own a coin with a couple scratches or a prominent hit or two (unless it's truly unsightly) than one with those hideous wispy lines that follow the luster. My SF gold collection is a good example of my tastes in this regard.
Experts don't necessarily agree with me, either. At least one prominent dealer I follow routinely sells abraded examples of issues that do, occasionally, come nice. I have seen (and in some cases owned) beaned coins with what to me are horribly abraded surfaces. So who is right? Are we both right? Am I going to get slayed when I eventually go to sell, my coins damned with the "net grade" label? Frankly I'd rather own coins whose aesthetic appeals to me rather than coins that have been blessed by others. Otherwise, why bother.
<< <i>
Gotta say the advice in the first post is some of the worst I've seen. It tends to take years to learn the "right look," (which comes after learning grading basics).
Many novice collectors like the doctored coin look, whether it be cleaned blast white, or artificial toning, many novices are the ones buying those coins. A novice trusting their gut usually results in a train wreck. >>
Wow, thanks for the compliment, shall I write another few
Seriously, I think your recommendations are true but there is no reason to intimidate novice collectors with the prospect of years and years of tuition before they can finally enjoy this hobby and not incur massive losses when it is time for sell. When people say "just enjoy the hobby" it feels like code to me for "expect to lose money but that's ok because you had fun." While I have fun with coins, if I wanted to have fun and spend money I would never see again I would fly to Florence and have a nice bottle of wine before I bought a coin.
My point on "the look" could be better stated by saying "first, get to know the wrong look". Avoiding the problems, the ATed coins, dipped out pieces etc eliminates a huge amount of the population of available coins. Refining ones filter for the appearance of the coin is many times more important than understanding the specific technical grade of the coin.
Maybe it took me less time than most or maybe I am too naive to know where my competency actually lies.
Latin American Collection
<< <i>A novice trusting their gut usually results in a train wreck.
Very thoughtful comment. Here's a scenario.
I *hate* abraded gold. Call it harsh cleaning, hairlining, normal handling marks, whatever, but I can't stand the look. I would much, much rather own a coin with a couple scratches or a prominent hit or two (unless it's truly unsightly) than one with those hideous wispy lines that follow the luster. My SF gold collection is a good example of my tastes in this regard.
Experts don't necessarily agree with me, either. At least one prominent dealer I follow routinely sells abraded examples of issues that do, occasionally, come nice. I have seen (and in some cases owned) beaned coins with what to me are horribly abraded surfaces. So who is right? Are we both right? Am I going to get slayed when I eventually go to sell, my coins damned with the "net grade" label? Frankly I'd rather own coins whose aesthetic appeals to me rather than coins that have been blessed by others. Otherwise, why bother. >>
You are right. Harshly hairlined coins are junk, this century and all the centuries to follow.
Tyler