5 Worst Buys in Coin Collecting 2026 according to TheCoinGeek
Desert Moon
Posts: 6,320 ✭✭✭✭✭
And his number #1 I wholeheartedly agree with.
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quote on #1 - ‘I wouldn't recommend you do this with your own money’.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ighzn0nRPc
My online coin store - https://desertmoonnm.com/
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Comments
Thanks for posting!
That's really unfair to ANACS.
The eBay comment isn't really about something you buy.
And "grading fees" is #2 which is also really kind of unfair without more parameters.
And sure, gambling is gambling. But speculating on the future price of any coin is a different type of gambling from mystery boxes. So, "don't buy any coins for future profit" should also be on the list.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
I agree with your first 3 that it is a little unfair to ANACS, Feepay w/o context, and grading. Your point 4 analogy does not hold water. Buying coins to let them sit for future profit is independent of gambling on a mystery box. Not even close to the same for comparison.
Like everything those are just general guidelines, especially for new collectors who want to slab things they find in their pocket.
I find ANACS useful for a cheap way to authenticate a commonly counterfeited coin found in circulation and they have done a few dozen for me that all ended up selling -- all Lincoln cents like 22 no D strong reverse F15 details, 1909-SVDB F12 and 1914-D VG8, that sort of thing that really does not merit a PCGS fee. edit: and no nothing recent, those were all found like 4-5 decades ago and just saved in 2x2s until I retired a few years ago.
I find EBay useful for flipping overpriced current Mint stuff, but I end up with more $$ by just sending more valuable stuff to GC that is a replaced duplicate. Dealers with EBay stores have much lower fees and obviously are in a totally different circumstance and may even make their living doing that, which is great.
Gambling is not for me -- I can't even get 2 numbers on a 6 number lottery ticket.
No problem with PCGS, I just paid them for a reholder on a coin that I really like in a crappy holder, but then again it is a 1917 DDO MS64RB cent so deserves a decent holder for about $68 plus the $12 for the FedEx letter that got it there (so I guess I am a bit of gambler, no insurance).
Weak.
They are both a form of gambling. They aren't identical, but i didn't say they were. YMMV
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
It's not a lot different from real estate, which always goes up in price until it doesn't.
I bought a house in AZ for $110k from someone who paid $350k for it. I sold it for $250k, to someone who recently sold it for $500k. What will the new owner eventually sell it for? Your guess is as good as mine.
Selling on eBay can be great, the fees are quite reasonable given the huge audience, especially if you sell regularly and have a store.
ANACS is not off-brand, quite harsh.
Michael Kittle Rare Coins --- 1908-S Indian Head Cent Grading Set --- No. 1 1909 Mint Set --- Kittlecoins on Facebook --- Long Beach Table 700
And there's always the opportunity cost. Even if your SVDB cent goes from $1000 to $1500, you still "lost" if your investment account went from $100k to $200k at the same time.
I see a lot of estates where I've paid a fraction of the "investment" they put into it. Bad gamble, but hopefully they had fun doing it.
And I would say the same to the mystery box people. And, actually, I would say this to the mystery box haters. Your $1000 box had $500 in coins in it, but did you have fun?
I'm not sure people who don't gamble appreciate how much fun gamblers have. Whatnot is full of mystery boxes of all types, running all day long. And people watch a group of 20 boxes get opened and they know they lost, but they still buy into the next round because its fun.
I really don't think it's that different than speculating on future coin prices.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
Life is a gamble, the stock market is a gamble, getting in your care is a gamble every day, but a mystery box is 99% no chance of anything but losing. With life and the stock market and driving, one can be careful and not get taken mostly. With a Vault Box, or a Witter Brik (sic), 99% guarantee of getting hosed. Not the same thing IMO. But I know you will argue your point to the bitter end so I will stop here……………
Edited to add, and real estate as noted above. But long term, your chances in real estate, the stock market, life (at least for many of us), are all up up up, with Mystery Box, instant big loss 99% of the time. Different all the way.
Lol. So far, you've argued as much as I have. Since I know you'll argue to the bitter end, I won't even comment on it further. Especially since you agree with me, there's really no need.
[By the way, it's not 99%. There are more red labels than that. ]
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
I thought he was just going to give the worst investments for 2026. Some of those are bad regardless of the year. I expected him to mention some of the overpriced offerings from the US Mint for semiquincentennial coins. There will be winners and losers.