new and learning 1 1

[KLCARLSON]

Hello all,

My name is kevin and my wife and I are new under a year to coin collecting. We have made some cool finds so far, but we don't know what should be turned in for grading. how can we learn what should be turned in for grading and what shouldn't.

thank you for any advice and hope to have coins worthy of being on here soon.

[Sandon]

    Welcome to the NGC chat board. Please note that the "NGC Registry" forum is for topics pertaining to the use of the NGC certified coin registry. Questions about coins by new collectors should be posted on the "Newbie Coin Collecting Questions" forum. (The Administrator will likely move this topic there next week.)

   As a new collector, submitting coins to third-party grading services such as NGC, which is what I assume you mean by "turned in for grading" is the last thing about which you should be thinking. Only coins worth at least several hundred dollars each are financially worthwhile to submit to a grading service. To determine that your coins are likely to have such value, you must know how to grade and otherwise evaluate them yourself.   Less valuable pieces--or even more valuable ones, if you prefer--can be collected and enjoyed in coin albums or other appropriate holders.

  If your "cool finds" were taken from circulation or random accumulations of modern coins, I'm sorry to inform you that the odds of finding any coin worth submitting to a grading service are slim and nil. In over 53 years of collecting and checking change, I've never found any coin worth more than a few dollars in that way and only know one person who ever received a coin of significant value--a cent overstruck at the mint by nickel dies--in change. If you are to any extent under the impression that you can find valuable coins in change or are likely to profit by submitting common date coins to grading services, please carefully read the following article recently posted by a prominent coin dealer: Jeff Garrett: Fake News and Misinformation in Numismatics | NGC (ngccoin.com).   

 Please refer to the following topics from which you can obtain print and online resources from which you can learn about U.S. coins and how to collect them:

    Your education should also include attendance at such venues as coin shows and coin club meetings, where you can examine a variety of coins and speak with experienced collectors and dealers.   Numismatics can be a life enriching pursuit if you are realistic and follow the old adage, "buy the book before the coin!"

[Coinbuf]

On 7/26/2024 at 1:01 PM, KLCARLSON said:

Hello all,

how can we learn what should be turned in for grading and what shouldn't.

Welcome to the forum, nice to hear that you and your wife are enjoying the hobby.   If you don't know then you should not be thinking about spending money on third party coin grading, plain and simple.   How do you learn, by studying and learning how coins are made, reading books, reviewing valid on-line resources (not all the you tube get rich quick videos), and good old in hand inspection of thousands of already graded coins at coin shops and coin shows.

Even more importantly is to look at coins in details holders and try and figure out why a grading company like NGC calls a coin cleaned or tooled.   Being able to identify problems before you submit will save you a lot of money and frustration.

Coin collecting is a great and fun hobby, but don't get caught up in the "I must send coins for grading" mania that so many new collectors feel pressured to do.