New Member From Greater Toronto Area

to the Community!

Noncentsically,

Post your questions along with one or two photos when needed in the proper sections of the forum and we will do our best to assist you.
John1

to CCF!

I don't collect coins but paper money & reside within the GTA.

About 2002, I was lucky enough to stumble upon the CPMF (CDN currency forum) & met a few chaps with similar interests via the site. We eventually hooked up at a few coin events including the TOREX & 2 shows hosted by the RCNA (Mississauga & the Falls). At the shows, I met even more advanced collectors & they all had similar advice:
A) get to know exactly what you want to collect before you buy a coin (or note: what series? what denomination, etc?)
B) get a Charlton catalogue (or any other numismatic book with collector info about grading/series, errors, etc) & get familiar with what collectors like (sure there's online resources but there's nothing like a hard copy to really go over the stuff/& they're packed with collector tips). This can really help you with step A.
C) take your time (go to workshops, a LCS, talk to the "experts," etc). Avoid "impulse buys" like the plague!

Going to the shows with these new-found collector buddies helped me a lot as we all got to express our opinions (of what we thought was collectible) & these guys often shut the other down (gently) if we were off on a tangent/misdirected, etc (like thinking post-mint damage was an "error.") I also swapped banknotes with some of them (so got fantastic UNC items for a fraction of what a dealer would have charged).

Another helpful site is NUMISTA which has an "OUTINGS" section (a list of the shows/places you can enjoy our hobby).
https://en.numista.com/outings/inde...e=on&p=1&o=t
Numista also allows registered users to swap their doubles- an excellent way to keep costs down. This hobby doesn't need to be a money pit.

And here's the link for the RCNA in case you're interested:
https://www.rcna.ca/

A LOT of collectors never attend a show - which is fine - they're not essential (just a fun place to meet people with similar interests). To those, I suggest they just try to be a bit consistent (come back here & check out what people are interested in, etc) on a weekly (monthly) bases so they find their way.

And always- HAVE FUN!