WYNTK: FAQ of coin collecting and counterfeits

[stinkycheese1]

I posted this on another forum and I hope it is helpful to some people. I came with it off the top of my head. Hopefully if it is good enough it can be made into a thread. All helpful comments are welcome. Its aimed at new collectors and YN's.

Edited: Thanks to Mark Feld for giving me some suggestions on how to improve this. Thank you to Conder101, MikeInFL ,JustBob, and others for their contributations.

<

Numismatics is just a big complicated term for coin collecting. >>

 

 

Numismatics is the study of money and money substitutes. While many people consider it to be just a big complicated term for coin collecting, the two actually are only somewhat related. It is possible to build a vast and important coin collection and not know anything about numismatics, and some advanced students of numismatics do not collect coins at all. A good way to look at it might be that coin collecting is concerned with the acquiring of the objects (coins and tokens) themselves, while numismatics is more concerned with gathering the information about the objects. The who, what, when, where, how, and why about them. It is possible to be a coin collector, a numismatist, or both.

 

 

 

<

TPG's are third party graders. The top three are PCGS, NGC, and ANACS.. Anyway, TPG are third party graders, staffed with experts well versed in counterfeit detection (authentication), and grading. They will (for a fee) grade your coin, encapsulate it in a slab (a hard plastic shell). . PCGS is normally considered the best, (Professional Coin Grading Service), their slabbed coins usually sell for the most, most often because they are more strict on grading than some of the other companies. NGC comes in second (click on my signature for a link to it), also ANACS is third. ICG comes in around 4th, which focuses on more ancient coins.>>

 

 

ANACS recently (2008) was sold and has moved to Colorado. All the graders were fired, so ANACS might be going downhill at this time.

 

Here are some commonly frequently asked questions on numismatics.

 

 

I have a coin, what is it worth?

Many factors determine what a coin is worth, including the most important, the condition or grade of the coin, the mintage, rarity and other factors such as supply and demand. Sometimes adding a mintmark to a coin can greatly increase the value. For example, the 1927 saint gaudens is a very common coin in most grades. But adding the D mintmark can make it a great rarity. This has inspired counterfeiters to perfect their methods and try and add the D mintmark which is known as altering coins. A coin may be common in low grades, indicating a low rarity, but in high grade, the same coin can be very rare, which is known as a condition rarity.

 

 

 

I decided to leave the counterfeit section out.

 

My coin looks dirty, should I clean it?

NO! Coins are like other collectibles, if you remove them from their originial packaging , they lose their value. If you clean a coin, it loses most of its value . . There are 'proper' ways to clean coins and ways that would ruin your coins. Polishing a coin for example would not be proper, and would destory the coins value. But a light dip in acetone is good for removing PVC.Some of the TPGs mentions above may offer "Conservation Services" which can conserve an otherwise damaged or unfavorable looking coin.There are many products out there on the market that folks will promote to help you to "clean" or "fix" your coins but beware that any attempt at this could be detrimental to the coins' value and/or condition.

Products like MS 70, Acetone, Olive Oil etc. are promoteed by individuals and others quite often but beware, before any attempt cleaning or altering a coin, consult a professional or someone who is familiar the process.

[MikeInFL]

Stinky,

 

I continue to be impressed with your positive contributions to this forum and the collecting community. Bravo, young man.

 

Sincerely...Mike

[stinkycheese1]

Stinky,

 

I continue to be impressed with your positive contributions to this forum and the collecting community. Bravo, young man.

 

Sincerely...Mike

 

Thanks MikeInFL. Hopefully I can expand this so It can be better. It's not as good as other peoples guides but I guess its ok considering I don't know that much about numismatics yet.

 

[MikeInFL]

It's not where we start or where we finish, but the improvements we make in ourselves that mean the most...Mike

[EZ_E]

A good way to look at it might be that coin collecting is concerned with the acquiring of the objects (coins and tokens) themselves, while numismatics is more concerned with gathering the information about the objects.

 

What an excellent distinction between the two. I never quite put that together. Thanks for the info!

[pendragon1998]

I applaud your effort to inform your fellow YNs. I think that several of the board members have reserved the title header "WYNTK" for an organized series of posts, so you might want to check with cpm9ball or supertooth before you use it. If you don't mind a little constructive criticism, you might make your post more readable with a little more attention paid to grammar and formatting.

[MarkFeld]

Kevin, you've come a long way, through your determination and persistence. Enjoy the road ahead.

[Just Bob]

Great job, Stinky! (thumbs u I was just thinking earlier today of how advanced you seem to be for your years, and now I log on and see this! Well done!

 

A little constructive criticism, if I may: in the paragraph about TPG's you might consider dropping this line ". All the graders were fired. The slabs are rumored to be different as well, so ANACS might be going downhill." since it is restated in the following paragraph. Just a thought.