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new rookie.

Started by usgitmo33-migration,

28 posts in this topic

usgitmo33-migration

usgitmo33-migration

Posted
Posted

i just started collecting coins. 3 months collecting.

 

i have a 1787 post colonial (british), 1831 capped bust half, 1861 $2.50 Liberty Gold coin, (2) 1829 half cent, 1922 and 1928 peace dollars, 1882 morgan dollar, 1828 large cent, 1925 stone mountain, 1852 three cent silver (star), 1858 flying eagle cent, 1867 3 cent piece, 1837 bust dime, 1952 washington-carter half, 1946-S booker t washington half, 1941 liberty walking half, 1875 seated dime, (4) mercury 1924 dimes, 1858 seated half, 1906 barber half, 1971-S and 1972-S EISENHOWER dollars (40%silver), 1893 Columbian Expo, (2) barber quarters 1908 and 1915-S, 3 Liberty nickles (V) 1892 and 1893 and 1895, (2) standing liberty 1920-s and 1928, 1893 Five cent silver (canada), (2) indian cent 1886 and 1895, 1968 JFK half (40% silver), 1935 and 1936 buffalo nickels, 24kt mini gold double eagle, and 1 gram gold bar, and a 1780 restrike (M. Theresia). This is all i have for now. Right now i'm trying to save my money up for a WORLD TRADE DOLLAR and a Seated Dollar (arrows). If any body have any advice for me I'm all ears.

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Raisethis2

Raisethis2

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I'm told Trade Dollars are among the most counterfeited of all coins. Bring a magnet.

 

The best advice I can provide is to understand market pricing by researching the actual sales prices for the coins you buy. If you know what a coin should cost and are willing to be disciplined, it will come along in the grade you desire (often in an NGC or PCGS slab). Actual E-Bay sales prices are a very good barometer.

 

Enjoy our hobby and welcome to the boards.

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Bruceswar

Bruceswar

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Best advice... go very slow and learn all you can before buying any coins or else you will lose tons of money in the process.

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HCumberdale

HCumberdale

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Welcome to the forums!

 

If its advice you're looking for I suggest you read this courtesy of Mark Feld.

 

Other than that, read a lot. Books, internet forum posts, magazine articles, whatever. The more knowledge you have the better purchases you will make. Also, attend as many shows as you can and look at lots of coins (particularly the series you are interested in.) Try not to purchase "whatever is interesting" but establish a few goals and try to stick with them. Believe me, this is not easy.

 

We love to look at coins, so please take pictures and show yours off :)

 

Again, welcome to the forum and by all means enjoy yourself!

 

 

 

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AnkurJ

AnkurJ

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Wow it looks like you're off to a running start! Are these coins raw or graded? Until you know how to grade and spot problems well, I suggest buying slabbed coins.

 

Read this and the PCGS forums. Ask as many questions as you desire.

 

A great book that I started with was the Coin Collectors Survival Guide by Scott Travers. A very useful book for the new collector in my opinion.

 

Most importantly, have fun!

Ankur :)

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James_OldeTowne

James_OldeTowne

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i just started collecting coins. 3 months collecting.

 

i have a 1787 post colonial (british), 1831 capped bust half, 1861 $2.50 Liberty Gold coin, (2) 1829 half cent, 1922 and 1928 peace dollars, 1882 morgan dollar, 1828 large cent, 1925 stone mountain, 1852 three cent silver (star), 1858 flying eagle cent, 1867 3 cent piece, 1837 bust dime, 1952 washington-carter half, 1946-S booker t washington half, 1941 liberty walking half, 1875 seated dime, (4) mercury 1924 dimes, 1858 seated half, 1906 barber half, 1971-S and 1972-S EISENHOWER dollars (40%silver), 1893 Columbian Expo, (2) barber quarters 1908 and 1915-S, 3 Liberty nickles (V) 1892 and 1893 and 1895, (2) standing liberty 1920-s and 1928, 1893 Five cent silver (canada), (2) indian cent 1886 and 1895, 1968 JFK half (40% silver), 1935 and 1936 buffalo nickels, 24kt mini gold double eagle, and 1 gram gold bar, and a 1780 restrike (M. Theresia). This is all i have for now. Right now i'm trying to save my money up for a WORLD TRADE DOLLAR and a Seated Dollar (arrows). If any body have any advice for me I'm all ears.

Congratulations! It sounds like you've jumped right in with two feet.

 

Curb your enthusiasm to some degree starting out, perhaps by sticking to coins under $50 value or so. You WILL make mistakes, and this will limit your financial exposure.

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coinman_23885

coinman_23885

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Also, don't blindly rely on price guides. They can and often are wrong. Learn to grade coins for yourself and do not rely blindly on plastic (although I do recommend certification for higher priced pieces). CAC may be of aid, but it is not a necessity and I do (as others) occasionally disagree with them (e.g. their treatment of certain toned pieces,etc.), but overall, I like them very much and think they offer a valuable service.

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x2rider

x2rider

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:hi:

 

Sounds like the making of a good type set . But be patient please . It will save you a fortune in the long run :)

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KeyMan64

KeyMan64

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Welcome! Read the books before you buy! Buy from auction houses or dealers with good reputations. Know how to grade the material you are buying. Study auction history at coins.ha.com by creating a free account. Look at hundreds if not thousands of coins and understand how they got the grades they did. Then look at coins with CAC stickers to study them. Ask lots and lots of questions. Maybe pick a series to focus on so that you can learn how to grade a series well, then move on to branch out?

 

 

...oh, and have fun! :D

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cpm9ball

cpm9ball

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Welcome to the neighborhood!

 

As others have said, you should try to temper your "buying" enthusiasm with a good amount of reading and learning. Since you didn't specify whether or not the coins you've purchased are raw or certified, I will assume that they are raw. Also, you didn't specify where you purchased these coins (coin shop, coin show or internet). There are a lot of counterfeit coins being produced in China, and there are plenty of sellers on SleazeBay who are more than willing to sell them and/or problem coins to you in a heartbeat. Please tread carefully!

 

The important thing is to have fun in this newly found hobby, and remember that you're buying coins, not as an investment, but for the pleasure it gives you.

 

Chris

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Keigwin

Keigwin

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"New rookie". Isn't that redundant?

 

Welcome to the forum. Have some fun collecting but read and study, and ask questions. You will make a lot of mistakes early on, just as all of us did.

Lance.

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erickso1

erickso1

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"New rookie". Isn't that redundant?

 

Welcome to the forum. Have some fun collecting but read and study, and ask questions. You will make a lot of mistakes early on, just as all of us did.

Lance.

 

You'd think so but rookie can be classified in different ways, just look at MLB rookies. Some played the year prior :)

 

As others have mentioned, read, study, ask, and keep your purchases to a minimum monetarily until you have a handle on what you are doing.

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SkyMan

SkyMan

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Welcome to the boards!!! :foryou:

 

Given that you are buying raw coins be prepared for being bent over. We've all been there as new collectors and "paid our tuition". The important thing is to get past that and just have fun in the hobby... it is a GREAT hobby.

 

As mentioned by others, buy any high value (for you) coin in either a PCGS or an NGC slab. It will lower (but not eliminate) your risk. I'd also recommend that you buy a Red book ("A Guidebook of United States Coins") just to get started. Finally, your local library may have some books dealing with coin collecting.

 

Have FUN!!! :whee:

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mkman123

mkman123

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can't wait to see pics. You will learn a lot here......don't be surprised if in a few months your collecting interests change where you prefer one type of coin vs another, happens to all of us :)

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Bruceswar

Bruceswar

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I assume you mean 2x2 Cardboard flips... I have some as old as 60 years... and they are still fine. Plastic holders are generally a bad idea for your coins as they rattle around.

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gpnyc

gpnyc

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Welcome to the boards and to the hobby. Since you're buying raw, I would highly recommend not buying a "Seated Dollar with Arrows" since there is no such thing! Also as has been stated already, Trade Dollars are a highly counterfeited issue. If you don't know how to spot fakes, don't buy a raw Trade Dollar.

 

Best of luck!

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TheCoinGeezer

TheCoinGeezer

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The best advice I can give you is to "Buy the book before the coin".

In other words, before you spend your hard-earned money on something, be sure you know what you are doing.

The Red Book is a handy guide but the prices are generally unrealistically high.

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