Need Help--Morgan Collecting Strategy

Here's the plain (and distasteful) truth, bluemule31 - you have to educate yourself before you should even *think* about starting a collection, especially with Morgans. Most importantly, learn about grading. Grade is paramount with coins, and small differences in quality can lead to stupid increases in value; if you do not know how to grade, you will be taken to the cleaners. I do not wish to drive you away - it's our mission to create new collectors, not murder them - but this is not a hobby for the uninformed.

Now that I've gotten you into a sufficient state of panic....

Your choice in collecting Morgans should relate to what makes you personally happy, and to your budget. With a little forethought, you can easily collect examples which will not lose money, but do not plan on creating something of investment quality unless you're prepared to spend money to make money. Only the higher-grade and rarer (like most forms of collecting) examples can be reasonably assured of keeping pace with less-risky investments - you should consider coins as a high-risk investment.

O-mint coins are a nice set to gather. None are prohibitively rare, although a few get pretty pricey in higher grades.

Which leads me back you advising you to consider your budget. You can, literally, plan anything from $25 to $5000 per coin, based upon the grade you wish to collect. Collecting slabbed coins is generally safer, assuming you're aware of what you ought to be paying for them, and understanding that there is variance in relative quality of a coin at a given grade....

We say, in this business, "Buy the coin, not the slab." The slab gives you reasonable assurance of authenticity, but the people assigning the grade are human, too. Some coins are on the lower end of the grade, some on the upper.

The Binion Collection is, in my opinion, overvalued. He accumulated a *huge* bunch of coins (I can't call it a collection because he was just hoarding casino-worn dollars) and they're not worth a hill of beans more than a raw coin in equivalent grade. Some other provenances have added value, but that's all really subjective to the whim of the buyer.

This is only a start, my friend. The people who succeed in numismatics are the ones who educate themselves. I offer you all the help I can give - Morgans are near and dear to my heart - but it won't be as easy as you envision.

Although I don't have much to add to what SuperDave posted I am also from Alabama so I am going to say Welcome & throw in my 2 cents worth. I can't stress enough the importance of going slowly & educating yourself.....it can be a real jungle out there.

I think the most important thing to remember is that coins are not primarily an investment. In general, if you collect because you think you are going to make a large profit you probably won't. On the other hand, if you collect for enjoyment, educate yourself & accumulate a collection of reasonable quality coins over time you have a good chance of finding that your collection has increased in value over the years.

Finally, don't get discouraged if you make a few bad buying decisions. There will be times where you pay too much, or find out a coin has been cleaned, doctored or is an outright fake. I'm 100% sure that everyone on this forum has done the same. The key is to start small so that mistakes don't hurt as bad.

I am in agreement with the other posts to your message but have a few things to add. I started collecting Morgans as a memorial tribute to my father who is now deceased. He was an avid coin collector, but the only Morgan dollar that he gave to me is a 1896 O, so we have something in common. That is the first coin of my Morgan dollar collection and because of this coin I decided to become a coin collector. Although I collect coins for the coins and not as an investment, it is really nice knowing that some of my coins would command a hefty premium if I was forced to sell them. I have and still do read everything I can get my hands on regarding coins including Coin World, Numismatic News, monthly coin magazines, auction catalogs, multiple books on coins (at least twice) and Internet articles, stories and posts on coins. I am also a member of the local coin club up here in Seattle and am a member of several online coin clubs (Coin Community is one of my favorites). Yes, I cannot stress more the importance of learning everything you can about coins or Morgan silver dollars before you start buying them. I have purchased around 70 coins in the past few years (I began collecting in 2007) and have made some bad choices along the way. But the good choices I have made far surpass the bad ones. I'll look at my coins, especially my Morgan dollars and say to myself, "Why did you buy that one Brent?". Sometimes I think where my head was or my eyes for that matter when I have purchased some coins for myself. There is always positive options for resolving your mistakes such as reselling them on the Internet, coin auctions, classified ads, or trading them. Many dealers will repurchase coins that you have purchased from them previously. Especially if you are a good customer. I love collecting Morgan dollars because I feel they are beautiful, fascinating and prestigious. It is a hobby that I will have for the rest of my life and I could kick myself for not starting earlier as I just turned 50 this year. I think of all of those Morgan dollars that I could have bought in the seventies and eighties and I totally cringe! But I am glad and grateful to be a collector now. Good luck to you in your future endeavors and in finding some awesome Morgans along the way. Oh and welcome to the Coin Community Family!