A question

Hey Numista,
What does it take to become or call myself an advanced collector?
I'm 17. Do I need to spend money and buy coins? I do not have a source of income as i'm still in high school.
Or are there any other requirements? How many of you are advanced collectors ?

A wise man once said "A true master is an eternal student"...

More seriously, some collectors may have more experience than others, that's true.. But, in my opinion, a collector who spent thousands in his collection may be advanced... or not. You may spent thousands of dollars in expensive coins, and have tons of scarce coins, if you know nothing about their story, their design,... then you are not an advanced collector, you are just rich. (I do not blame rich collectors, just saying that money is totally different of knowledge!).

Read books about your area of collecting, know your coins, learn how to differentiate the variants,... Even if you have a few cheap coins, I will consider you more advanced that a "brainless rich".

Another thing is that, you may be "advanced" in a defined area, even if multiple areas of collecting, but there's always coins you struggle to even know what they are, there's always a country you've never heard of, a new variant previously unseen, or a part of history totally unknown to you...
An advanced collector is an eternal beginner...Never stop learning.

A bit like Zoro actually, he knows he's strong, but he keep training anyway, even if he's stronger than most of people. Advanced collector and best swordsman, same fight.

The operative word "advanced" in your sentence is, like many things, extremely subjective.

I agree with most of what Choucas said; an investor spending thousands on buying UNC gold sovereigns for his portfolio isn't a collector by my metric, even if he may have a better and more valuable "collection" (read: an assortment of coins) than most of us here. Conversely, a 10 year old with a box of coins plucked from change, and maybe one who knows the basics of mintmarks, and types probably would be more of the sort of collector this site is aimed towards. Basically, be a connoisseur, not a cash machine (although having cash definitely helps).

And also said by Choucas, it's probably impossible to become a "master" (another subjective term) in every area of coin collecting, considering how some numismatists have spent literally, their entire lives writing essays and compiling catalogues on certain specialised areas (e.g. Kris' Bhutanese coinage pre-1950s). I've been using this site's catalogue for over five years now, and I still enjoy going down the rabbit hole of the catalogue every so often, and discovering new coin types from obscure issuers that I never even knew, or heard about before!

I'd like to add this; building on the original point about the subjectivity of the term "expert", there's no mathematically set limit or frontier between "amateur" and "expert/master". It's not like a game where you become a level master after you get 3000 coins, or make 1000 catalogue edits/additions. And even if you become an "expert" on something, however you want to define that personally, there's probably a bigger fish in the sea out there. In the end, you'll probably find yourself at your standards for an "expert" one day, rather than cross that threshold consciously.

Good luck!

Hello Mr. Ryujino116,

Choucas and CassTaylor have given good examples of how you can approach your question.
I won't make a long story of it.
I've collected coins for many years, and changed areas too.
I think it is for you as a person to determine if you are an expert in this.
I know my coins, but i don't know all of the coins that exist.
I know what i want to collect and what i search for, that improves my expertise of learning about the coins i am searching for, but still does not make me an expert.
Maybe it's good advice to you, to take some time and read the different posts on the forum.
The questions people ask, and the answers they get.
People who have the expertise of that area of collecting can often provide an answer within a few hours/days.
If this is your area and you know the answer, grade your own expertise :)
A personal example, i have a relatively high function in my work which means my expertise is relied on to lead people and to know what to do, and what to say.
But it does not determine that i am an expert. It's a reflection of what i've learned, and remembered.
I like Choucans quote: A bit like Zoro actually, he knows he's strong, but he keep training anyway.
Keep collecting, keep reading, keep researching.
And have fun!!

I would say once you settle on a main collection and start buying some of the more expensive coins from that area.

Usually a beginner collector will collect anything and everything. When they've been collecting a while, usually they will decide to concentrate on a particular area or era. When you start doing that and start spending money on some of the coins that you can't just pick up from bulk lots then you're a more advanced collector.

The world is just next to where you live.
You might be an advance collector by going and living sometimes in Auroville to meet and collect spirit and ideas from all the world. Gathering world coins is less important than meeting world people