A Beginners's Guide To The Hobby Of Kings

At the tender age of 13, pocket change first sparked my interest towards a hobby that would last a lifetime. The fascination that one could collect an endless variety of Canadian coins by decimal, series and metal content got me hooked.
As a novice collector I had limited guidance back in the early 1970's when I first started. There didn't seem to be as many books, guide's and information that there is today especially with the advent of the internet. Throughout the years of collecting, the one thing I have learned is that "KNOWLEDGE IS POWER". This becomes more apparent in the "hobby of Kings" for it is so easy to spend more than is necessary or be conned by a dealer with bad intentions.
Although I have come across a few of those in my time, the vast majority of dealers are generally honest and reasonable to deal with. New coin collectors have a very limited knowledge on what to look for, how much a coin is worth, it's grade, surface problems, scarcity, etc. These are some of the factors to keep in mind when purchasing coins, especially as your taste in higher end coins evolves.
Most advanced collectors today deal specifically with CERTIFIED coins. Certified coins are those that are housed in sealed plastic holders that are assigned a specific grade on a certificate. These third party independent certification companies have no vested interest in the coin, thus making the grading opinion unbiased. Buying a certified coin gives the buyer reassurance the coin they are purchasing is authentic and graded consistent with the information on the certificate of the holder.
The best known and most respected certification companies used by Canadian collectors are: I.C.C.S. (International Coin Certification Service) and P.C.G.S. (Professional Coin Grading Service). Coins housed in either of these companies holders tend to sell more than ones that are RAW (coins that are not in a sealed holder).
The difference between I.C.C.S.(Canadian grading company) and P.C.G.S. (U.S. grading company) is that I.C.C.S. grades primarily on three criteria and P.C.G.S. grades on 5 criteria, one of them being eye appeal. Well how on earth can you grade on eye appeal when beauty is in eye of the beholder. Everyone has their own opinion on beauty and for a company to score points on it sometimes constitutes overgrading a coin.
Most advanced collectors will always recommend that you buy certified coins. One reason being, if you ever have to sell or trade the coin, it takes all the guess work out of what you have by dealing with certified coins.
A common saying among coin collectors is "buy the coin and not the holder". This is very true indeed. The bottom line is do you like the coin? EYE APPEAL carries a lot of weight in coin collecting. If tomorrow you decide to purchase a new vehicle, would you be more attracted to one with a nice shiney coat of lustre on it's a paint or one with a dull, scratched & dented body? That's a no brainer.
It's the same with coin collecting EYE APPEAL is very important and is the primary selling point in the sale of a coin. Beauty is also in the eye of the beholder, so what you believe to be awesome, I may feel it to be mediocre. Your personal taste as to what you like in a coin, should be the end decision on whether or not you will make the purchase. Do you prefer your coins toned, dark, full of lustre, blast white, golden toned, etc.?
Keep in mind the LOW MINTAGES that we enjoy with Canadian coins compared to their U.S. counterpart. I've always said if a mere 1% of U.S. coin collectors stopped collecting United States decimal coins tomorrow and turned their entire attention & resources towards Canadian coins, we'd be in deep trouble. Just think of what all that demand would do to the trend prices of Canadian decimal coinage within a week! Not only that, the finest pieces would be going south of the border, leaving Canadian collectors with mid-range pieces at best. Just be grateful they haven't caught on to our little secret yet....................lol.
KEY date coins are very important to acquire. These are coins with very low mintages; ie:1923 small cent. Not only will they be more expensive to acquire, but as time goes on they are in greater demand thus their price continuously increasing. Would it be better to invest in a scarce key date piece a.s.a.p. or wait till you get all your common dates first and risk paying more for the scarcer ones later down the road?
When purchasing coins, another wise criteria to use is to stay clear of problem coins; ie: coins that are bent, holed, cleaned, dented, white washed, scratched, whizzed, polished, etc. These said problems can depreciate a coins value by up to 70% depending on how bad they are and how they make the coin look. There again, buying graded coins in most instances will eliminate the guess work for you!
I hope this has been a help to anyone just starting in this wonderful hobby. Read all you can about your new hobby, listen to anyone and everyone who will give you advice or share their experiences, compare notes with other collectors, never be afraid to ask questions and give back to the hobby what you have acquired.


And always remember: "Knowledge is Power".
Glenn Pinto