Reno Raines

I only buy coins that I like. It's no different than when I buy a work of art by an old master. The oldest piece I own is by Pierre August -Renoir titled "Still life with roses 2"which was painted around 1907.

I view coin collecting as more of game than a hobby. If you really think about it you'll understand what I mean.

I'm sorry I invest in real estate, stocks,bonds,T-bills and works of fine art by old masters instead of numismatics damn it. Oh wait ALL of the investments I've made are far more lucrative compared to numismatics my bad .

I'm sorry that I'm not an old cronie like you.

Condor is correct. In fact I just bought a 1977 (my birth year) proof set for a total of $7.50.

In my case I only collect gold and silver coins so it's all about eye appeal and presentation. As far as modern coin grades are concerned only submit coins that are as close to perfection as possible wether it's MS70 for circulated coins or PF70 for proof coins. However, for classic silver coins such as Peace Dollars for example, my minimum acceptable grade is MS64. For classic gold coins like a Indian Head quarter eagle my minimum acceptable grade is AU58.

I'm not quite 46 years old yet but will be in September.

Yup that's why when I have time I read answers to newbie questions from experienced collectors.

We all live in a fast paced world these days and I just don't have enough time to read every coin collecting book ever published.

I did read that Beckett has started their own coin grading service. If I remember correctly they made their name by publishing sportscard price guides and grading sportscards. If and when I buy an ungraded coin I won't be sending it to Beckett to be graded but I'll send it to NGC as they are more established and respected in the coin grading community.

Lloyd's of London will be insuring my collection even though I live in the US.

What is the absolute best book that you would recommend to a newbie coin collector? Keep in mind that I'm looking for only one book.

I never said that coins are an investment. However, in my case the only way I can get them insured is to have them certified / graded by a TPG as I'm not an ANA member. As we all know coins made from gold and silver are most likely to be counterfeited especially rare and or key dates. Don't twist my words.

I'm not an ANA member and I most likely won't even be. I just tip toe in and out of the hobby as I have other investments.

Being that I'm a newbie to the hobby don't you think it's a wise idea to have any coins certified and a coin collection insured?

Yeah I don't understand why they call them "Uncirculated" instead of calling them burnished. Oh well since there's nothing we can do about that.

I'm a newbie but to me the coin isn't worth getting graded due to it being damaged.

I only saw his collection once (six years ago) but I think he had either a full set or near a full set. I won't even venture a grade guestimate as I'm a newbie to the hobby.

My dad also collects Morgan dollars - none of which are graded so eventually I'll have to get them graded.

Personally I could never get into the bullion and proof versions of ASE's for some reason. To be completely honest I buy my coins pre graded to avoid a situation that the person who posted about buying a counterfeit coin from MA-shop and for insurance purposes. If I were considering buying a raw coin online I'd ask for opinions from the experienced collectors such as yourself. When I buy gold and silver coins I buy coins that I like the design of and eventually I'll be buying a very nice graded coin display case since I think the graded coin cases offered by NGC and PCGS look cheap.

I haven't bought that one yet. Currently I'm seven coins short of completing the set. The odds are I'll be able to buy the 2023 pre graded NGC MS70 for around $170.00 - $190.00 at most. I remember in 2021 when type 2 came out and people were paying $250.00 - $450.00 for it without any market data to support spending that much money. Needless to say those buyers got hosed on the deal.

No as I only collect the burnished ASE's. In most cases I can buy pre graded NGC MS70 burnished ASE's for an average of around $65.00 each. It would cost way too much to do a complete set of the bullion and proof versions in NGC MS70 grade.

I buy mine pre graded by NGC.

My guess as to why the burnished ASE's aren't the most expensive version is because they are always the last version to enter the marketplace each year. However,if the burnished ASE program were to end that potentially could cause the demand for burnished ASE's to increase which in turn will cause their value to increase drastically especially those that have been graded NGC MS70.

None of the coins pictured are worth the grading fees imo but I'm also a newbie to the hobby.