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5 Worst Buys in Coin Collecting 2026 according to TheCoinGeek
Desert Moon
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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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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.
So 90%? 95%? In either case the overwhelming majority get hosed for the benefit of a few lucky gamblers............ Coingeek was spot on for that one.
I didn't say he was wrong about the main point. I just thought it should be expanded. There are all kinds of gambling/speculation in the hobby.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
My take-away from the CoinGeek video is that he is offering five pieces of general advice based on his numismatic experience. And as general advice, he acknowledges there are exceptions. For those who have not watched the video, here are the five items (as I understood them):
If that's what his point number one is, it is flawed if not completely inaccurate. His statement was less global than that. The bid/ask spread on some things (like bullion) are smaller than ebay fees, so there is no point in trying to retail on ebay. But my 8.1% ebay fees are lower than any other retail venue, auction house, or wholesale discount at a dealer, except for bullion. YMMV
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
Here’s my take. I agree with 4 out of 5.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
I was hoping for something more profound when I saw the title of the thread. My response: oh golly, really!
For a list of the five worst things you can spend your money on as a coin collector (he said that in the first 10 seconds), how does "eBay fees" even come up? People buying coins through eBay don't pay eBay any fees for doing so.
See, J-roc, this is where I’d respectfully opine that you’ have a bit of a pro- eBay bias that stems from your own perspective, which is normal and to be expected. That said, I think your reverse generalization doesn’t add up for many others. For one, myself, but I think his greater point was that people who don’t value their time or have unlimited time to burn are always going to think the grass is greenest where it’s the lowest up front cost.
For me, ANY selling venue I use is going to be around within a few points of 10%, so sometimes it’s negligible and other times I’m better off wholesaling. After taking my time and effort in descriptions, photos, hassles with returns etc- that 2% is well worth the extra cost to have someone else do all of that while I wait for a check..:
Same principle in using a dealer vs auction, there are pros and cons with everything but any sweeping generalization is going to raise some rabble from the crowd who has a different business model or different circumstances, but I think you can (or should) agree that everyone should attach some value to their time.
Coin roll hunting comes to mind- if you actually enjoy it, and don’t have other tasks that you have to back burner to do so, you will value your time much differently than someone who sees it as a chore. Not everyone would be better off just working a typical wage if their ultimate goal is capital… in contrast to the retiree who likes to keep his eyes sharp and spends time doing it with their kin, where the journey is half of the perceived value, not just the destination. It’s the same general argument as the coins/investments topic, so since we’re in agreement, I’ll excuse myself because i don’t have the wherewithal to respond to counterpoints tonight.
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I agree with all of that. But he specifically said that it is better to sell it to him because of fees and invested time. And I agree, especially with things like bullion and low bid/ask spreads. I SAID IT MYSELF earlier. But it is really odd that he would single out eBay fees as "worst buys" when I can think of a dozen worse buys. Why isn't "US Mint products" on the list? LOL. TV coin sellers? YouTube sweepstakes? (Thinking of you, JoeyKoins.)
Yes, I'm pro-eBay. But that doesn't make my point invalid or inaccurate. There is a reason they continue to be #1 after 3 decades.. And, yes, I'm a little defensive about eBay because people keep dumping on it.
Yes, GC is better for some things. Heritage is better for some things. Stacks is better for some things. Instagram or whatnot are better for some things. The LCS is better for some things. I've said this dozens of times on this site and continue to say so.
There are many things that are BEST sold on ebay. And many things that should probably never be sold on eBay. There are also many things that should NOT be sold on GC, not ever...and Heritage...and Stacks. So, what? Why didn't he call out GC for their 20+% BP/SP, Heritage/Stacks for their 30% BP/SP?
The issue with eBay isn't the price, especially when compared to other venues. The issue is the bid/ask spread for coins. They are generally small which makes, as you said, any 10% fees potentially problematic. That's why most of my eBay listings are for raw world coins and lower grade widgets. But what I've said and continue to say, eBay is the best bargain in retail. That's not global support, its qualified support. You can actually sell some high value coins on eBay for LESS than the cost of a PayPal transaction!
Is eBay worth my time? Sometimes. But I haven't quit my day job.
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And why not the almost irrationally hated Buyer's or Seller's Premiums at auction houses - all of which are higher than eBay fees? I just find it a very odd inclusion, especially when they remain the best bargain in retail. And, given the number of eBay sellers on this forum, we are apparently all a bunch of morons who can't do math.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
As the senior ANACS rep, I obviously disagree with the assessment in the video. A few things:
@cmerlo1 Pardon my ignorance, but who is "we"? Thank you.
"She comes out of the sun in a silk dress,
running like a water color in the rain...."
Thanks for the callout- I updated the post. I'm the senior rep for ANACS.
The markets can be brutal especially now. I know a dealer who was doing $30k a month on ebay in metals and classic numismatics. Now he says it's dead. And he does a lot of submissions to Anacs and gets over Greysheet on a lot of the Anacs certified coins.
+1
Totally agree on all counts.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
He said you're usually better off wholesaling to a dealer than selling it yourself on eBay. Well, maybe for some things. But then again, he's a dealer with a shop and he doesn't see any benefit himself when people bypass him and sell on eBay, so there's that. Why would he advocate for a method of selling that leaves himself out of the picture?
I sell on eBay and buy most of what I sell from guys with shops like him. I make a perfectly acceptable (to me, anyway) profit and assume he probably does, too. The people who sold him the coins he sold me (that I sold for a profit) could have cut out the middlemen, sold the coins themselves and kept all the profit. Yes, it takes more time than just dropping a box of coins off at the local shop and some people won't want to spend it on doing the work and that's okay, too.
And now, the math- there's that "What's your time worth?" question, which different people will have different answers to. As for me, I typically list stuff in the evenings when I'm just hanging out at home and not doing anything else. I do value that time, but I'm pretty sure if I was to look, I wouldn't be able to find anyone who'd pay me to watch hockey on tv so whatever amount I make listing stuff on eBay while I'm doing that is a bonus.
As always, YMMV.
Shops buy at advantageous prices but have limited ability to retail most of what they buy. If the rest of your business model is working you don't even have time to sell on eBay.
A lot of shops sell on eBay. The two most successful shops in Rochester sell on eBay.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
Yeah, that pretty much describes a large piece of what i do. In most years, my pre-tax profit is $10k to $15k. My best year, or was just under $30k. That probably works out to a bit over minimum wage if you figure roughly 10-15 hours per week. But that's why i keep my day job and benefits. It's basically my TV time and hobby time. Unlike more traditional 2nd jobs, I have complete control of when and how much.
Calling it one of the top 5 worst buys of 2026 just seems off base and too broad. As I said to Formerly Deplorable Dan, I've always said that different items belong in different venues. If you think everything should just go to GC, for example, you aren't ready to be a coin dealer.
The same is true if you think everything should be slabbed. You aren't ready to be a coin dealer. But you also can't say that you should NEVER slab anything or, especially, use ANAC oe even ICG. If you have an environmentally damaged 1877 Indian cent, it will sell better in an ICG or ANACS holder than raw, and it will likely sell for a very similar amount as in an NGC or PCGS holder.
One of the key skills of any professional dealer is knowing where to go with what material. And sometimes, the answer is eBay. Sometimes, the answer is eBay in an ANACS holder.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
I've been collecting now for over 20 years and have found that __selling_ on ebay is a part of being a coin collector. For instance when replacing a certain coin in my collection I sometimes like to sell the duplicate. Does that make sense?
I understand your position. Not everybody thinks you need to sell to be a collector, though...
Who has never sold a single coin from their collection?
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/comment/8269666#Comment_8269666
"I haven't sold any of my coins, although I've thought about it a number of times."
"I've been collecting steadily since 1963 without ever selling a coin from my collection."
"I have never sold a coin to someone else."
"I have never sold any coins, although I thought about it sometimes."
"I don't sell nothin"
"i know 3 collectors who have never traded or sold a single coin, but 1 had some stolen"
"From my collection, I have gifted coins (even re-gifted a few), donated coins, distributed/spent coins, and traded coins but I have not sold any yet."
"Never sold a single coin !"
"not one!"
"Never have, too much inertia to get started on eBay + not wanting to get ripped off at a B&M or Show ..."
"Never."
"Shops buy at advantageous prices but have limited ability to retail most of what they buy. If the rest of your business model is working you don't even have time to sell on eBay.
What I meant was the above is true if you're selling large volumes of great classic coins you aren't even going to get in a lot of other stuff and much of it is much more easily wholesaled. Don't forget too that if you know the top wholesalers for all the stuff that comes in you aren't going to be selling coal tokens for $2 a pound. There are strong buyers for almost everything.
That's in incredible thread. I can't imagine never selling a coin. I guess you can trade and give away what you don't want any longer, if you have a good network of other collectors.
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