If you knew then, what you know now about coin collecting…
MFeld
Posts: 13,480 ✭✭✭✭✭
What one piece of advice would you give to collectors who are just starting out?
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
3
Comments
Don’t settle.
Join the Forums and read as much as you can about the hobby in general and your collecting area before you start acquiring coins.
Don't sweat the petty and don't pet the sweaty.
peacockcoins
Loaded up on bullion when much cheaper back at that point in time.
Advice - Buy what you like in your range of affordability and risk. Stay within plan investment.
Shoot only for the best possible pieces that your budget will allow, and then shoot even higher than that!
Don't be harsche.
Pay more attention to the overall economy than the hobby itself when determining what to pay for a coin.
On the web: http://www.earlyus.com
Don't be constrained by registries or albums. Hole filling costs.
It's worth paying for quality. It's worth waiting for quality. It takes education to know what is truly quality.
Look at as many coins as you can and learn how to grade yourself.
Quality over quantity.
If we were all the same, the world would be an incredibly boring place.
Tommy
I would have bought the 01s 25c in ‘84 when I began collecting. Duh!
WTB: Barber Quarters XF
Learn to grade conservatively. Be selective, very selective.
Stay away from online auctions...
Do not panic and think it is your fault if the mint mark falls off the coin you are looking over It happened to me when I was 16 years old in 1969 in New York City on a 1932 quarter with a glued on D mint mark. . I was on the floor in a panic looking for the fallen D mint mark, not knowing any better.
Learn grading as well as counterfeit detection of coins and slabs before laying out more than a day's take home pay for a coin.
And usually ends up with "settling", just because something fills a hole.
Coinlearner, Ahrensdad, Nolawyer, RG, coinlieutenant, Yorkshireman, lordmarcovan, Soldi, masscrew, JimTyler, Relaxn, jclovescoins
Now listen boy, I'm tryin' to teach you sumthin' . . . . that ain't an optical illusion, it only looks like an optical illusion.
My mind reader refuses to charge me....
BE PATIENT and wait for the right coin. It takes years of experience before you are knowledgeable enough to buy only those coins you will want to keep in your collection forever.
Also, don't let registry fever lure you into buying average coins to fill up your set
Commems and Early Type
Quality over quantity. The best coins appreciate the most and give you the most joy.
Learn to grade. Don’t believe everything you see on slabs and stickers.
Don’t get caught up the hype surrounding modern issues. If the price has gone to the moon, wait a few years. If it’s still high by then, the interest might be for real. If the price has come down, you’ll get to buy it for less. And there is always the possibility that you didn’t really want it anyway.
When in doubt - pass.
If you have to talk yourself into making a purchase - pass.
Member ANA, SPMC, SCNA, FUN, CONECA
Well its coin buying not collecting.... We are only caretakers of our coins so relax and enjoy them..
Don't trust eBay sellers or buyers. Protect yourself.
Don’t be afraid to stretch for exceptionally nice coins as you may not get the opportunity again!
Dave
Buy the keys first!!-I did that and it worked well for me.
Do your research!!!
Be prepared for when the good one comes along!!
Find a mentor!!
Give back (gift a YN a or share knowledge and/or experiences)!!
Be persistent!!
Be PATIENT!!
Have FUN!!!
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
Find a niche somewhere in the numismatic world where you can afford to collect the best of the best. This will pay off later on in both enjoyment and appreciation.
Stop bothering us on this forum!!
Just kidding, just kidding.
Folks just starting out? In all seriousness, if you look at coin collection as an investment...........you are going to lose!
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )
Take up fishing 🎣
Join a coin club if there's one near where you live. Coin collecting is more fun with coin buddies who have a similar interest as you.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Learn how to grade.
The younger me should have learned how to grade BEFORE blowing a big wad of money on raw coins. The big majority of those coins came back either details or well under the grade I thought they were.
Keep it in perspective. As wonderful as the hobby is, coins are just objects.
Buy the best you can afford - one great coin is better that 10 okay coins.
RUN FORREST RUN
1) Should have held onto all of my small and large cherrypicks.
2) Stretched for bucket list varieties
My collection would have been diverse, colorful, and enjoyable.
Profits went up in smoke into other collectibles or purchases.
BST: KindaNewish (3/21/21), WQuarterFreddie (3/30/21), Meltdown (4/6/21), DBSTrader2 (5/5/21) AKA- unclemonkey on Blow Out
Exactly. I started out thinking VF35 was good enough for my circulated CC Morgans, then decided XF40 was, and finally chose XF45. I took some big losses each time I upgraded to the next level. LOL!
My Carson City Morgan Registry Set
Joe...I'm sure you don't mean all online auctions. Honesty, great service and nice prices realized can be found with the most reputable houses...Great Collections, Heritage, Stacks & Bowers, David Lawrence and more. Might want to be a little more specific.
"Brother, can you spare a dime?" (Especially a 1975 no S proof?)
Learn to grade and buy the best you can afford in a grade you will be happy with for a long time. If you have to think about settling for something that you might not be happy with in the future then pass, another will come along that you will like eventually.
it's crackers to slip a rozzer the dropsy in snide
Read and study more, buy less
Stretch to buy the best coins you can possibly hope to buy, AFTER you've read and studied enough to know what the best coins you can possibly buy are
Learn how to differentiate and understand grading for the coins you are planning to buy
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
As others have said, be patient and read reputable resources regarding the hobby and coins of interest to you. Get connected with an expert collector/mentor / trustworthy dealer, and consider joining a coin club to make more friends in the hobby. Be patient, and learn what constitutes quality in the coins that interest you. Learn grading through friends, reading, clubs, classes at shows, online photo grading assistance, GTG exercises, and experts on the forum. Acquire the high-quality pieces you have been waiting for, and don't rush the purchase. For great pieces, consider asking to take the coin home with you or inspect it for a period of time to see if it is "the right fit ."It is always better to inspect coins in hand when considering a purchase. Know price ranges and learn how to interpret Greysheet values-- many factors affect value, and Greysheet benchmarks may only sometimes be spot on. Past auction activity can provide useful insight into what is popular. Collect coins because you like them, and again, be patient with your quest to obtain the highest quality coin you seek. Sell coins that no longer interest you and plan to hold onto the special pieces for a long time. Have fun!!
Best coin advice to my younger self... build a larger pirate strong box. You are gonna need a bigger box.
The substantial truth doctrine is an important defense in defamation law that allows individuals to avoid liability if the gist of their statement was true.
No. 1 thing: Read the forum for a while. I had read the forum for over a year before I joined, and it kept me going when I felt like it was impossible to keep collecting.
No. 2 thing: Collecting coins from circulation has been extremely rewarding as well as being fun. I have completed a full set of Jeffersons from circulation, and found things that I thought were impossible. You can actually make money with this.
No. 3 thing: Don't let people scam you. Don't let people talk you into a buy or a sell. Always know exactly what you are there to do and don't do anything different.
No. 4 thing: Always keep learning. It will never fail you.
God bless all who believe in him. Do unto others what you expect to be done to you. Dubbed a "Committee Secret Agent" by @mr1931S on 7/23/24. Founding member of CU Anti-Troll League since 9/24/24.
If you sell a set, hang on to the keys.
This is a different time period as when I started by 60 years. But still the advice would be to learn(so much more info available to all for free), make friends with those in the hobby and learn from a group, then select a passion as it hits you with the willpower to know it thoroughly. Do it as a hobby and not as a job. JMO
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
Don’t go to bed at night secretly wishing you had bought a CAC coin instead….
The evolution of my collecting over time have taught me the following:
Buy coins because you find them interesting, not because you think you should. This has many applications, among which are (a) maybe collecting an entire series is a money-sink you ultimately will not enjoy; instead, you could collect just years, or types, or very special coins, or....; (b) to the extent that you do collect an entire series, define "entire series" yourself, rather than taking someone else's definition; e.g., I don't consider the 1895 Morgan dollar to be part of an entire series; I don't care about collecting the modern coins in long series, like the Washington quarters (which became uninteresting to me after 1964).
Buy slowly, so you don't find, after spending a bunch of money, that you wish you had done something different This also has many applications including (a) it sucks when you spend significant money on coins, then later decide that you want higher-grade examples; (b) you can bail on a series if/when you decide that you really don't want to collect that series, with minimal damage.
Learn how to clean "restore" so you know what to look for
Don't limit yourself to coins wearing one particular sort of plastic or only those with certain stickers.
Put as much effort into making friends as finding coins. Long after the thrill of certain coins is gone, the friends will remain.
Find a mentor.
The best coin may be the coin you didn’t buy.
Go to major shows and take advantage of lot viewing.