My "Thanksgiving Day" question: When is a "newbie"...
dizzyfoxx
Posts: 9,823 ✭✭✭
...no longer a newbie???
Mid-December will be a year for me as a coin collector.
Is there a time frame or some sort of requirement to graduate away from "newbie" status?
Mid-December will be a year for me as a coin collector.
Is there a time frame or some sort of requirement to graduate away from "newbie" status?
...There's always time for coin collecting. 
0
Comments
<< <i>I think the official rule is after your 6,537th post your not a newbie anymore
TorinoCobra71
Tbig
Happy Thanksgiving!
Here's a warning parable for coin collectors...
<< <i>Hey Dizz when WE get to 2000 posts we will have it! Wanna Race?
TorinoCobra71 >>
Ready........ Set........
Am I a newbie?
No.
But I got interested in Morgans as a collection about 3 years ago.
Am I a Morgan newbie?
Maybe.
I joined this forum 2 years ago, yet have less posts than newer members (like dizzyfoxx).
So who's the newbie?
There is no real answer to that question.
Just relax, eat turkey today and watch some football.
Gobble Gobble!!
-Wayne
"Bongo hurtles along the rain soaked highway of life on underinflated bald retread tires."
~Wayne
"Bongo hurtles along the rain soaked highway of life on underinflated bald retread tires."
~Wayne
<< <i>When Laura no longer ignores you... >>
What if you like the fact that Laura ignores you?
Common newbie mistakes:
* Buying from Shop-at-Home or other venues that charge double or triple retail price.
* Buying so-called "third-world" slabs and paying close to PCGS retail. These coins are sometimes only worth pennies on the dollar. This is not always true, but newbies are better off sticking to the big three.
* Buying raw coins on Ebay and believing the grade given by the seller. Many a time, the coin is overgraded, or a problem coin (cleaned, tooled, damaged, etc). There are exceptions, but a newbie will usually not be the one to find them. Learning to grade consistently takes most collectors several years of looking at lots of coins.
Advanced newbie mistakes
* Buying the cheapest coins at a given grade. This goes double for raw coins, but also for certified. A nice MS65 in a PCGS holder is worth more than a "dog" in the same holder.
* Buying coins thinking they are sure to increase in price. Coin collecting is a hobby. No one really knows what is going to go up in price, though everyone has an opinion. Dealers make the prime portion of the profit. A few collectors do very well. However, they are generally extremely knowledgeable and talented, and often become part-time dealers in the process.
* Buying the best grade they can afford. In my opinion, foolish, unless working with a mentor, or trusted dealer. A new collector usually has no idea what a nice coin for the grade looks like, vs. a dog that snuck in on the tenth try. Newbies are often the dumping ground for bluesheet material, often at full retail prices. Some auctions are chock full of dogs--it is often the best way for a dealer to locate newbies to dump them off to and sleep at night.
* Paying a huge premium for a common coin that is widely available. It is one thing to pay up for a coin that only becomes available once every few years or that is uniquely toned, or very hard to find. It is another, for so-called "widgets," coins that are offered every day in quantity, paying a huge premium is not a good idea. Again, it takes most collectors several years of looking at lots of coins to be able to grade consistently. A newbie will have a hard enough time distiguishing MS64 from MS65, and even less chance of discerning what a nice coin for a given grade looks like. Every seller can say his/her coin is top end for the grade, only a few have the steak to back up this sizzle.
As long as you are developing grading skills and the ability to deal with dealers, auctions, coin shows etc.. you are experiencing what needs to be experienced.
edited to add: It is okay to be a small fish in a big pond... seriously.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
<< <i>You're a newbie until we say otherwise!
When you say this to somebody Else !!!
Rick
Always Looking for Raw Proof Lincoln Cents !!
<< <i>I think the official rule is after your 6,538th post your not a newbie anymore
From the help file:
Title.............................Posts Required
New Member......................0
Member.............................20
Senior Member.................200
Veteran............................500
Collector..........................1000
Expert Collector...............2500
Master Collector..............5000
Choose Your Title...........10000
From the help file:
Title.............................Posts Required
New Member......................0
Member.............................20
Senior Member.................200
Veteran............................500
Collector..........................1000
Expert Collector...............2500
Master Collector..............5000
Not a Newbie..................6537
Choose Your Title...........10000
<< <i>You stop becoming a newbie when you notice that your local coin shop guy has made a mistake on the price of a coin or the grade of a coin, and you buy it. >>
My sentiments exactly. I would add that you also have to sell the coin for more (or get an offer for more) just to prove it was a genuine rip. Once you know more than the guy on the other side of the counter you have defnitely made an upward step.
I was collecting coins in 1967
I type over 60 wpm and think almost twice that fast... but I have to have 500 posts here to be a veteran
THIS IS NOT FAIR
I am a wannabe and a newbie
but I hope to remain those two things for the rest of my life.....it gives me the drive to learn and experience new things every single day.
``https://ebay.us/m/KxolR5
A new collector, like dizzyfoxx, can graduate out of the newbie category in a short time. The fast track is to concentrate on only one coin series, or even a subset of a series. Dizzyfoxx has concentrated on certain Classic Commem issues that have special toning. In his first year he probably knows more about this specialty than most on CU. A lot of us can't afford to learn as fast.
Even though I have been collecting for about 55 years, I consider myself a newbie on Morgans, coppers, and moderns. I own no Morgans, one copper, and certainly no moderns.
Those that collect every series will need to take many years to lose the newbie title.
To have had some experience and practice with understanding how to grade (at least basically); time studying luster, surface and strike qualities; time learning to understand and identify basic "problem" coins; some experience buying and selling; and some time to read, ask questions and cyper through the BS usually puts someone with a true desire past the real newbie status.
You usually aren't a newbie anymore when you know the truth the moment you hear it
“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
first time you sell a coin to someone who didn't sell it to you. The status starts evaporating
fast when you know what any coins are really worth.