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 Replies: 8 / Views: 1,017 |
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New Member
United States
1 Posts |
What is your best (cheapest) way of attaining valuable coins? My guess would be using a metal detector because there's tons of valuable stuff buried in the ground. You also have to be kind of lucky to strike a good find using a metal detector though. I am yet to try using a detector but it doesn't seem too hard. I've been reading up on it at http://hobbies.parxy.com/metaldetectors/ If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. Thanks. |
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
9410 Posts |
Hi Shone, I don't really have many valuable coins, so I can't advise you on this subject. I just wanted to welcome you to the forum, have a great time here. We do have a metal detecting section, so maybe you should post in there as well. Steve  |
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Forum Kid
Kuwait
1523 Posts |
Welcome to the forum!
Another interesting addition to the Metal Detecting forum hopefully.
TKC!
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Moderator
 Australia
16832 Posts |
Hello and welcome! There are several detectorists on the forum, and I've nothing against it - it sounds like a fun extension of the hobby, though I too have never actually tried it. The thrill of the hunt, being on the "cutting edge" of discovery, researching to find likely sites and researching any items you actually happen to find; I can understand it holding appeal. But personally, I'm not sure if detecting is necessarily the best way to obtain "cheap treasures". It seems to me to be a lot like fishing - which is not necessarily the best way to obtain cheap seafood. [:p]  I get my fish from the local fish & chip shop, and I get my coins from the local coin dealer. As for "cheap treasures", there are two key ingredients to finding them: 1. Arm yourself with knowledge. The old guys down at the coin club keep saying, "first the book, then the coin". The more you know about coins in general and your area of specialization in particular, the more you will find bargains "jumping out at you". 2. Go somewhere where the sellers haven't armed themselves with knowledge. Flea markets, pawn shops, garage sales, even ebay are all options some folks have tried, with success. Often the prices asked in such places are wildly optimistic, but sometimes you can grab a bargain. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7123 Posts |
Hi Shone Welcome to the forum !! Im one of the metal Detecting fisherman ,, I have been a detectorist for more than 20 years,, I have found hundreds of coins and other things,, with well over 100 silver coins to my credit, are these coins valuable ? sure thay are !! are they Numismatically valueable ? Not all of them ,,in fact very few will hold the numismatic value that a collector is looking for !! Keep in mind that condition is everything in coins that hold numismatic value, dug coins are just that coins that have been dug from the ground,, and many are affected adversely from their time under ground,, although I have seen some coins that even in that condition hold some real value. Metal detecting as a hobby is fun,relaxing and sometimes profitable but generally its the the thrill of the hunt that keeps me buying batteries,, its also a bit of a satisfaction for the research time to pay off !! when you spend 100 hours researching any given site ,getting permission at times to hunt it, and then find that corroded Indian cent,or tarnished silver or the handfull of wheaties it cool, but not really the best place to find coins that would be considered collector or collection quality coins . But coins are not the only thing in the ground !! I think this qualifies as valuable !! Just over 9 grams !! the half dollar is for size comparison   Rick Edited by Metalman
07/21/2006 04:21 am
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
Ebay, without question. If you know your stuff, including how to read lousy photographs, you can come up with some really significant deals from sellers who don't know what they have.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1247 Posts |
Welcome to the forum Shone. IMO the cheapest way to obtain valuable coins is to buy coins that you like but don't cost much because no one else wants them. In other words invest in coins by not investing in them but just collecting them because you like them. Someday, *big maybe* other collectors may like them and buy them from you. The coin market has many segments to it. The biggest segment, IMO, is your average Joe/Jane collector. There is also a high end segment where I believe the Greater Fool Theory has been made into an institution. Folks that buy very expensive coins as speculators or collector/Investors under the belief that everyone will just have to have this or that and if so they will just have pay the price for it. Now in this segment there are some well-off collectors who buy high end coins because they like them and because they can afford them. But the key word that speculators are missing is "collector." Collectors don't have to do anything. Even the well off who are true collectors don't have to buy if they don't like the conditions. You still see these coins selling at ever higher prices but to whom? IMO, know one really knows if collectors are still buying them "because they just have to have them" or if speculators are just trading them back and forth to each other. And if and when it gets to the point of speculators selling back and forth to each other what then happens when they figure that out? On the other hand, Joe and Jane are not crowded into the point of the pyramid because they basically can't afford the MS69 mentality. But they also have far more options. A certain beauty in "downward mobility"--(America's economic future) is that the area of the pyramid only gets wider as you move away from the point. There are 1,000's of bargains that are bargains because no one right now one wants them. In the future people still may not want them. But then again no one wanted Morgan dollars in the 50's either. Collectors who went to banks looking for them were laughed at. The Fulds purchased Civil War tokens for research in the 60's for 6 cents apiece. David Bowers still recites the story about how he spent an afternoon in the bank filling up his albums with Walking Liberty half dollars from bank rolls. So, it can happen, just don't count on it. Collect coins as a collector and you will automatically be thinking like other collectors--something speculators can't do. If your thinking like Joe and Jane *maybe* Joe and Jane will be thinking like you and want to buy some of the coins you collected years before. In any case if you just buy what you like as a collector you'll at least be happy. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
14454 Posts |
I like SuperDave do most of my cherrypicking off of ebay |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
590 Posts |
Ebay. I wouldn't pay too high of a price for a coin that is not certified by a reputable company. The PCGS and NGC coins are going to sell for the highest premiums, so look beyond the top 2. I have a couple of coins graded by SEGS and 2 graded by PCI the ones I have seem to be graded fairly. You can get some good deals on Anacs also. I believe you can trust ICG and Littleton is a little high but they grade accuratly. I avoid all other grading services. My point, buy certified when purchasing valuable coins.
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Replies: 8 / Views: 1,017 |
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Posted 07/21/2006 02:46 am
