Cherry Picking How Is Done?

The first thing is to take the time to look at as many coins as you possibly can. In hand is best, without a doubt, but viewing them on-line can be educational and fun too. Figure out what it is about coins that you like, what draws you to them. Is it the artwork? Is it the metals that they are made of? Do you like a certain type of metal; gold, silver, copper, nickel or clad? Do you prefer coins that are brilliant uncirculated (BU) with no toning? Do you like the way metals tone that given them a totally different look compared to what they first came out of the mint as?

A very handy tool is the type value chart in the Red Book. It tells you how much a coin is worth just based on the type that it is. For me during one period (maybe a month or two) I'll really be into picking up dimes here and there. Then, the next month or two, I'll really be into picking up half dollars. It changes as I am exposed to different coins and types throughout my collecting/coin purchasing experience. (I might mention here that I am not a big fan of Washington quarters. I don't know why, they just don't appeal to me. Maybe five years from now that will change.)

Otheres really love one type and choose to become experts in those specific types of coins. TGFTG - thank goodnes for those guys. They are really the ones that can give you a crash course once you start looking at a new type of coin you are wanting to check out.

I would say as a beginner you should start small. Buy some coins that don't have a lot of room for error. It is difficult to explain but even if your budget is a heaping amount of money, it is easy to overspend on coins that may not have any interest to you later.

I really think the best advice is to 1)look at as many coins as you possibly can. 2) look at the key coins in a few sets. You may find that you like lincoln cents and then later realize that you don't want to spend the money required to get those very special cents...again, just as an example.

Mostly, have fun, and read as much as you can on this website. The people that post here regularly are some fantastic and fantasically smart/experienced people.

Thank you for your responds I really do appreciate it.
Jon

When you really think about it, that is sort of the same thing when buying a car, house, coins, guns and even a wife. Try to get what you like.

Cherry-picking means keeping an eye open for an above average coin in its grade and price range. As in picking the best of 5 coins available all in the same grade and price range. That can give you a headache even with years of experience, you dont want to go there now, just build your confidence in spotting quality.

Cherry-picking can also refer to watching for oddball die pairs and or strikes/mistrikes that add collector value. Find what others havent noticed. If the seller has already spotted the cherry the coin will already be priced higher. In that case the benefit to you is not to make a quick buck but to see an actual example of what might be called a cherry and how the price was affected.

I enjoy finding ordinarily common/lowpriced coins for my albums that have that something extra about them that you must look carefully to see. Not because that coin is worth 125 instead of 105 or 17 instead of 12, but because every slot in an album should count. I cant do that with the coins that are worth 1000s but the lesser coins can often be improved on for next to no money.

Cherry picking is simply watching for a sweet piece of fruit that others may have overlooked or simply didnt care about.