Best coin collecting advice

What's your best coin collecting advice?

These are some of mine:
- When buying online, it's the quality of the coin that matters, not the quality of the photo.
- It's 50 times cheaper to store pennies in a penny roll instead of in coin flips.
- If a coin is worth more than the catalogue price, don't buy it unless it's the very last coin to collect.
- If you feel like the price is too high, chances are it'll be available cheaper in the future.
- Cash coin prices are overinflated online. Buy locally.
- If a coin looks fake, there's a 100% chance it might be.
- If a silver coin is being sold 3 dollars or less, it's probably worth it.
- If you find a coin you don't know about that's Asian, come talk to me.
- It's better to buy a whole mint set than to buy the coins individually.
- Don't buy common coins. Trade your common coins for common coins.
- If a coin is from anywhere after the 60's it's probably not worth buying.
- Don't trust anyone completely when buying coins.
- It's better to buy an F coin than a cleaned VF coin.

Quote: SmartOneKg- If a coin looks fake, there's a 100% chance it might be.

LOL Even if a coin look genuine there's 100% chance it MIGHT BE fake too.

- If a coin is from anywhere after the 60's it's probably not worth buying.

Not true, there are plenty of desirable countries that issued coins after the 60s.  Most Pacific nations didn't even START issuing coins until the 60s.  Tonga, Samoa, Solomons, Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, New Hebrides, Vanuatu.  I would also buy Vatican coins and San Marino coins from after the 60's.  And if someone offered me  this coin https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces10363.html I sure as hell wouldn't turn it down

My advice to add is:

- Buy bulk lots face to face rather than over the net.  Most of the bulk lots you get on online auctions have been picked over many times and are nothing but dross. If you buy it off someone personally you can usually pick up the bag and have a rummage to see if it's going to be worth buying.

- When re-selling bulk lots you've sorted out, split them up into countries.  You get more money for them that way since people tend to collect specific countries and aren't always interested in sorting though a pile of coins they don't want.

- Above all else, enjoy yourself!

Quote: neilithicBuy bulk lots face to face rather than over the net.  Most of the bulk lots you get on online auctions have been picked over many times and are nothing but dross.

This is very good advice, although it's harder to come across a pile of coins in person than one on eBay.

Sticking an ad in the paper is a good way to get some interest, or auction houses that are selling off estate lots and things.

From my experience, the best bulk lot buys online are the ones where the person obviously doesn't know a lot about coins.  Typically the pic will have the coins in a baggie or a pile and will have very little description.  You'll still get a lot of commons, but there is almost guaranteed to be a gem or two in the bunch.

Nice topic!

Few more from my side,

1. When starting to collect coins focus on some areas (Themes) to collect, Like Specific country, Specific series, or theme. If you grab whatever comes your way, your bank account will be empty but you can never satisfy yourself.
2. On eBay, any coin selling on "Buy it Now" are almost always overpriced. But there are some exceptions when the seller does not know what is the actual worth of the coin he is selling.
3. Go talk to your nearest "We buy Gold" stores. Often they have nice old silver coins they can sell you at the worth of it's silver content. I have got 1963 Franklin Half dollars VF for USD 10 from them.
4. Before you Place that Bid in eBay on a coin do some research, see the "sold listings" on eBay to see how much it was sold for before. Also look it up in Numista and see if anyone is interested in Swapping them.
5. Old Copper coins and nice silver coins will always be in demand, If you are getting them in a bargain price, go for it!
6. DO NOT opt for grading a coin unless you are planning to sell it in near future.

Quote: sujit_kumar3. Go talk to your nearest "We buy Gold" stores. Often they have nice old silver coins they can sell you at the worth of it's silver content. I have got 1963 Franklin Half dollars VF for USD 10 from them.

What about buying gold coins from them?

Quote: manxcat12

Quote: sujit_kumar3. Go talk to your nearest "We buy Gold" stores. Often they have nice old silver coins they can sell you at the worth of it's silver content. I have got 1963 Franklin Half dollars VF for USD 10 from them.

What about buying gold coins from them?

Never tried.   But I think it's better to buy gold coins from reputed dealers since there is obviously lot of money involved.

My adder:

1. Hoard coins which you feel are going to be soon out of circulation. Hoard them in mass lots in a bag or so. It might be worth a lot for your kids when they are old.
2. Encourage your kids to like the hobby and later they can take over from you rather than sell your life's worth to some unknown person.

Just follow your heart and enjoy, most important have fun. There's a lot of nice people out there who collect too.
And hoard and hoard

Good advice! I agree, Hoard hoard hoard

"pennies are 50 times cheaper when stored in rolls" LOL

Excellent advice throughout. I would only add this:

Start off cheap and cheerful, buy in bulk and yes.... hoard. You don't need to be buying $100 coins until you know how to spot a fake coin, how to tell if a coin doctor has been at work.

Don't waste your time and money on slabbed coins. People assume that learning to grade and validate isn't necessary because the nice plastic case has a label which tells you everything you need to know. The Chinese fakers have been turning out fake coins in fake NGC and PCGS slabs for decades.

There is even a website which sell empty cases in various sizes and a label printing kit, anyone can be a "real pro coin grading guy" for $25. There is even a name for them - basement slabbers. You too can pick a legitimate sounding acronym and grade all your coins MS70, stick them in a cheap slab complete with a couple of cat hairs and put them on eBay where the gullible** will snap them up. INB and SGS are already taken so you will have to pick different letters.



** gullible = collectors who don't listen to ole' Phil

Quote: pnightingaleYou too can pick a legitimate sounding acronym and grade all your coins MS70, stick them in a cheap slab complete with a couple of cat hairs and put them on eBay where the gullible will snap them up

so your advice is for us all to become basement slabbers since the gullible snap them up so quick?  Sounds good, where do I sign up?

I just get and spend whenever I want for whatever I want [within limits obviously]

I just really love coins    and sure making money is great, but only if the money's used to buy more coins!

Quote: pnightingaleYou don't need to be buying $100 coins until you know how to spot a fake coin, how to tell if a coin doctor has been at work... Don't waste your time and money on slabbed coins.

This is excellent advice.

If you're starting small, buy cheap, buy lots, and when you get really high up there, say 3,000 coins, go for gold. Or silver in this case.

If the world coin virus has taken hold of you, make sure to set yourself a collecting focus, like a region, a theme, a period. Collecting everything is just not doable.

Setting a goal will help you to spend the limited resources in the most satisfactory way and it will reward you in time with an interesting collection (instead of some arbitrary bunch of coins from everywhere and nowhere). Also, it makes it easier to say goodbye to coins you happen to have, but which don't contribute to your goal.

The goal should be ambitious, but not unrealistic. Avoid spending money on coins outside your collecting focus, unless of course it's a real bargain, but then you can always swap them away for something you really like.

I collect everything except non-circulating commemoratives, I guess that's as focused as any collection.  

My goal is to buy what I like.  Some people like treating coin collecting like basic training, a military operation or a spontaneous dance in North Korea.  Sure having pages of the same coin my year and mint mark may be nice for some people, but if you don't like that don't be afraid to get what you want.  I like the fact the my Siam porcelain gaming tokens are next to my glazed cardboard notgeld and Mexican silver.  If you are not enjoying it then why bother?

This is not to say people who collect that way are 'bad.'  Just mean figure out what type of collector you are and don't let other collectors, companies, or a coin album tell you what to get.  I don't care if you have 6,000 wheat cents, I am happy for you and glad we live in a country where you can do that, just don't invite me over to look at them.   

I want one of everything, and I will get it.    I just put out a lot for money just to house my German pf coins book 40 pages and have 600 coin holders coming. More than the coins book value. Collect what you like - don't be a sheep; and go after silver and gold. You do coins long enough they will come. JUST ENJOY YOURSELF. Have fun and meet a lot of people.

Hey, I was only giving advice But perhaps I sounded a bit too preachy. Anyhow, I never intended to deprive anyone of his pleasures, let alone civil rights  

But I do believe that focusing can make collecting more fun for some people. (sounds better, doesn't it?)

Personally, I think anyone should enjoy himself the way he chooses (as long as it's legal and everyone involved agrees).

If I'd have unlimited resources, I would focus on everything, too, and if I were an American, I would have reached for the stars and went for it. Unfortunately, my resources are limited, and I happen to live in a country where reaching for the stars is kind of unacceptable socially (and no, it's not North Korea, it's TPS).

But I'm digressing. This forum topic is about coin collecting advice. Let's focus, guys

No ArnoV. The great thing about coin collecting is there no wrong way. I do not have unlimited resources.

I think non-circulating commemorative coins are really nice to collect. They are usually quite cheap because dealers don't see them as real coins - they often come pre-packaged in a plastic  case or mint packaging. There are many and varied themes to collect i.e. royalty, nautical, flight, or sports. They could also be collected by country, mint, or artist. Anyway, that's what I think is a nice type of coin to collect.