Post Your Coin Collecting Words Of Wisdom..

If a first you don't succeed ,keep on collecting .

My experience was that it's only true when the prices are comparable. When the coin costs under $20 and the book costs over $100 - and especially when the coin costs under $10 and the book costs over $200, which happens surprisingly often for the less popular ancients and medievals - it might not be that good of an idea.

(Of course, in some cases - the first three volumes of Kleshchinov-Grishin come to mind - it's possible to short-circuit this problem by getting the book online.)

OTOH, if you're planning to deal with $100+ coins, definitely get the book first (if you can afford it).


On that subject: coins make for a pretty bad investment unless they're high MS grade key dates. And even then it isn't that good.

In other words: unless you have at least several hundred thousand dollars (and a really good investment manager), don't even try to invest into coins.
(Collecting coins is, however, an option at any budget. I know some people who manage just fine at a budget of around five dollars per month.)

" Knowledge is Key " but " Cash is King" !
Word of wisdom ....... Never collect coins if you can't afford to invest in the pertinent reference books!

Agreed. Unless you're a professional coin dealer, I wouldn't put the words "coins" and "investment" in the same sentence. If I had to made a living at coin collection, I would have starved long ago.

"A penny saved is a penny earned"
Benjamin Franklin ~ maybe

and
"Sell it when it's HOT and buy it when it's not."
TNG ~ maybe

Have seen this many times here, on the CCF:
"Buy the coin, not the slab."

If you buy a problem coin, you will always have a problem coin.

That is definately the favorite piece of advice given by numismatic authors and publishers.