Home› World & Ancient Coins Forum
Options

I think I need a mentor

stevereecystevereecy Posts: 203 ✭✭✭
in World & Ancient Coins Forum

I know I'm only getting about half the joy out of collecting as I should get because I'm paranoid that I'm making buying mistakes. I'm afraid I'm buying artificially toned coins or coins with "surface hairlines" when I buy raw. It would be really cool if I could shoot an email to someone once in a while to ask questions or run potential on-line purchases by them to get a little feedback here and there. I feel like I know a lot about some things, and too little about other things. If you want to mentor someone in exchange for a friend for life, drop me a line.

If I'm not the only one who needs help and you're looking for the same, feel free to use this thread to advertise. Better to be humble and buy good coins than arrogant and buy worked ones.

Really enjoying collecting coins and currency again

My currency "Box of Ten" Thread: https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1045579/my-likely-slow-to-develop-box-of-ten#latest

Comments

  • Options
    EVillageProwlerEVillageProwler Posts: 5,859 ✭✭✭✭✭

    There are lots of friendly, knowledgeable, selfless folk here, but it helps to give an idea of your collecting interests. The world coin market is vast and no one, not even dealers, know everything.

    How does one get a hater to stop hating?

    I can be reached at evillageprowler@gmail.com

  • Options
    stevereecystevereecy Posts: 203 ✭✭✭

    Thanks. Mostly British stuff from the 1800's. I seem to be turning into a "Vickie Chaser", but I also find Edward's reign interesting. Mostly need help figuring out whether coins might get into a slab without a details grade from internet pictures. (I know...it's hard to do)

    Really enjoying collecting coins and currency again

    My currency "Box of Ten" Thread: https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1045579/my-likely-slow-to-develop-box-of-ten#latest
  • Options
    Timbuk3Timbuk3 Posts: 11,658 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited April 25, 2018 11:44PM

    Get yourself a couple of reference books on grading and authentication. Many forum members will be glad to help. Good luck !!! :)

    Timbuk3
  • Options
    ashelandasheland Posts: 22,694 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Many of us on here are happy to help. :)

    My YouTube Channel

  • Options
    Bob13Bob13 Posts: 1,419 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I agree with the OP. Particularly as I expand my interest into World coins - even if I went to my local coin shop or local shows it will be hard to find a person with the knowledge that would be helpful to me. Finding the right books, and translating them to English is also tough (though I imagine MUCH easier now with the internet and Google Translate).

    I've found this forum to be incredibly helpful, and many of the posters here to be very generous with their time and knowledge. Every single person that I've reached out to with a personal message has responded.

    My current "Box of 20"

  • Options
    BillDugan1959BillDugan1959 Posts: 3,821 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited April 26, 2018 10:35AM

    Books and publications can help you, a genuine mentor is often very difficult to find.

    You can get the 2018 Coins of England (now in two volumes) by Spink for $53.00 postpaid.

    Sometimes you can get the five volume Standard Catalog of World Coins (from 1600 to date) directly from the publisher for as little as $160. postpaid. If you buy from others, you need to be sure that you get the most recent editions as new editions are released pretty frequently.

    One should subscribe to Coin World and Numismatic News, of course, and anybody with an interest in English coins should subscribe to 'Coin News', which is published monthly in England by Token Publishing. Practically every issue of Coin News is a little gem, the English hobbyists are probably more scholarly and perhaps less mercenary than the Americans.

    Token Publishing publishes a 'Coin Yearbook' and a 'Medals Yearbook' that are inexpensive and worth buying at least once. The Medals Yearbook covers military award medals and closely related militaria (these things aren't strictly numismatic but the portraits of Kings and Queens are very similar). These two books run $15 and $30 respectively.

    How do you separate a coin collector from a numismatist? Ask to see their library as well as their coins.

  • Options
    BillJonesBillJones Posts: 33,486 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited April 27, 2018 8:08AM

    You could post some pictures here. Quite often one can tell if a coin has been improperly cleaned or has questionable toning. Part of this does depend upon how good your photography skills are, of course. You could also post links to the pictures of coins you are considering, but some people don't like the click them because of virus concerns.

    I have been mostly a U.S. coin collector for most of my life, but over that last five or six years I have gotten involved with the British series from the hammered coins to the modern pieces. Many of the same grading and cleaning detection skills still apply. I am thinking about getting into ancient Roman, and there the rules on cleaning are a bit different. With ancient coins some cleaning is sometimes necessary.

    Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
  • Options
    ElmhurstElmhurst Posts: 777 ✭✭✭

    If you're buying online or in an auction, I would stay with slabbed coins. Photos can be made to make anything look better than it is, but your probability of being burnt is considerably reduced if buying slabbed only.

  • Options
    wybritwybrit Posts: 6,953 ✭✭✭

    PM me if you have questions about the world of Victorian coinage.

    Former owner, Cambridge Gate collection.
  • Options
    coinkatcoinkat Posts: 22,795 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Omg... Wybrit

    Great to see you posting... Hope all is well

    Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.

  • Options
    MacCrimmonMacCrimmon Posts: 7,054 ✭✭✭

    @wybrit said:
    PM me if you have questions about the world of Victorian coinage.

    Listen to this man! He's forgotten more than I'll ever know.

  • Options
    WildIdeaWildIdea Posts: 1,875 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited April 27, 2018 9:03PM

    I like the question. Just like in life, it’s not just a parent that can be a positive roll model, they can come in many forms.

    For me with coins, it’s come from so many places. First, I had to be willing to make some mistakes. I started off stoked to get a collection started and going, I didn't want to make any mistakes either. I wanted to minimize that for sure.

    I like this site, but nothing beats seeing coins in hand and talking to people in person.

    I started traveling to national shows to really get a handle on what the current spectrum was from end to end on several potential collecting interests. You know, see for myself just how available stuff is and in what grades. When you see a coin for sale someplace, you don’t really have a sense of if it’s a good value unless you get out and see for yourself if it’s worth getting excited about. Almost never believe the person selling a coin how rare or scarce or anything they feel about it’s condition.

    I went to as many coin shops as I could in every city I happened to be at and engaged the staff. Not necessarily buying anything.

    I made some friends locally with dealers and was even able to work at a shop for a while learning about the business of coins. Eye opener. Do not pass on a chance to do this. I would call that person a mentor and really opened my eyes. Really tried to slap the collector out of me, it just didn’t work, but made we more aware of the gotcha traps in the hobby.

    Summer seminar really opened my eyes as well and some instructors really made some impressions and after that I slammed my wallet shut and started making more educated buys base on condition of objects.

    You know what, I still call in a lifeline and ask a friend sometimes. It’s ok, it’s not hand holding. It can be nice to get some support or some honest feedback, before a purchase,

    It’s a long process and it’s not over for me. I’m still out there meeting people and good things are happening. I hope the same keeps happening for you.

  • Options
    ColinCMRColinCMR Posts: 1,482 ✭✭✭

    You can consult the academic journals too:

    https://www.jstor.org/journal/numchrjnumsoc
    http://numismatics.org/publications/
    https://www.britnumsoc.org/publications/Digital BNJ.shtml
    http://ons-sno.ca/main/category/publications/

Sign In or Register to comment.