HI Everyone! New To The Community But Slightly Seasoned

Hi all,

I've been in the antique/collectible business for about 20 years. I co-owned an auction house, worked for various auction companies after we closed, and still maintain an ebay shop. That said, my coin knowledge is mediocre at best, currently. I've been doing a bunch of research on suggested sites I found here and other places. Most of my previous coin knowledge is of antique gold and silver coins that had usually been graded prior to sale.

I've been sitting on a bunch of coins from my grandfather's estate (passed in 2013), thinking they probably didn't have much value due to their more modern age and lack of key dates. I found out about errors/varieties when I started going through them; looking at forums, googling, and checking ebay's completed listings (although some of the "sold" coins are questionable at best - seller feedback 0, lack of clear pictures or descriptions, etc.). I got a coin microscope, can now tell the difference between true doubled dies vs. Machine Doubling, have a fair grasp of the grading scale (work in progress), check Wexler's/CONECA/Variety Vista, etc., and basically just doing my best not to misrepresent anything. I've also gotten some rolls of my own from the bank.for learning purposes (not because I'm super interested in coins now or anything lol).

I'm running into my own lack of knowledge still though. I didn't want to start posting here until I made sure I wasn't asking a bunch of redundant questions due to lack of research (I'll still search topics beforehand, but please don't rip me to shreds if I make a mistake hahaha). I'm doing my best with picture quality, but I know I need a better camera/microscope, which are not currently in the budget *edited to add: I do use a micro SD in my microscope and transfer the photos to my laptop to edit, they could still be better quality though*. Same with having anything graded yet (and knowing what is worth sending).

Anyway, sorry this is so long!! I probably won't post anything right away because I don't want to be a hassle. Thought I'd go ahead and say hello though. This is a valuable learning resource, and I appreciate everyone's time and commitment to teaching others about the world of numismatics.