Posted 01/20/2011 09:11 am
Good beginner questions, and I'll try to give the most comprehensive answer I can without writing a book...
1. Short answer - NO. Not unless you are buying stuff you will not find in pocket change, like proof coins. And even then you can generally get them cheaper from a dealer. Buying 'rolls' of uncirculated coins from the mint directly is a marketing scam and a complete ripoff. Those coins come from EXACTLY the same source as the coins you get at face value from the bank.
2. Know exactly what you are doing when you do it. Know your coins, know the grades, and know the people you are dealing with. Start small with small amounts of money until you know what you are doing, then graduate to the next level. Coin shows are a good place to learn and expose yourself to a number of numismatic items without having to buy them. They are also a good resource to find dealers in your reion who would be willing to deal with you and do good deals for you. Check Coin World for the next coin show near you. You may have to drive 50-100 miles to attend, but if you're serious about being a collector, you have to be serious about going to some trouble to learn.
3. Absolutely NOT. Get them from the bank - they are the SAME coins as the ones sold by the mint. Befriend a teller and have them hold out 'fresh' rolls of coins for you. Your chances of finding errors worth messing with are VERY slim to begin with, and you certainly don't want to pay over face value for them to take that slim a chance. Your chances of finding errors in face value rolls from the bank are exactly the same as finding them in mint rolls.
4. Having coins professionally graded costs money - minimum of about $20 per coin, which means it's not worth doing unless you have a very good idea the coin is worth a minimum of $50. Right now you would be poking around in the dark with your wallet sending coins off because frankly you have no clue what has enough value to 'send in'. Learn to grade using a book, get experience looking at graded coins at shows, get some experience buying and selling coins, THEN consider going off into the casm of sending coins off to be graded.
I have been involved in coin collecting for nearly 35 years now and have still NEVER filled out a submission form for grading. I have hundreds of slabbed (professionally graded and holdered) coins, but have never submitted one myself. It's not that I don't have anything worthy, and it's not that I don't know what to send in. It's more that I simply cannot justify the expense.
1. Short answer - NO. Not unless you are buying stuff you will not find in pocket change, like proof coins. And even then you can generally get them cheaper from a dealer. Buying 'rolls' of uncirculated coins from the mint directly is a marketing scam and a complete ripoff. Those coins come from EXACTLY the same source as the coins you get at face value from the bank.
2. Know exactly what you are doing when you do it. Know your coins, know the grades, and know the people you are dealing with. Start small with small amounts of money until you know what you are doing, then graduate to the next level. Coin shows are a good place to learn and expose yourself to a number of numismatic items without having to buy them. They are also a good resource to find dealers in your reion who would be willing to deal with you and do good deals for you. Check Coin World for the next coin show near you. You may have to drive 50-100 miles to attend, but if you're serious about being a collector, you have to be serious about going to some trouble to learn.
3. Absolutely NOT. Get them from the bank - they are the SAME coins as the ones sold by the mint. Befriend a teller and have them hold out 'fresh' rolls of coins for you. Your chances of finding errors worth messing with are VERY slim to begin with, and you certainly don't want to pay over face value for them to take that slim a chance. Your chances of finding errors in face value rolls from the bank are exactly the same as finding them in mint rolls.
4. Having coins professionally graded costs money - minimum of about $20 per coin, which means it's not worth doing unless you have a very good idea the coin is worth a minimum of $50. Right now you would be poking around in the dark with your wallet sending coins off because frankly you have no clue what has enough value to 'send in'. Learn to grade using a book, get experience looking at graded coins at shows, get some experience buying and selling coins, THEN consider going off into the casm of sending coins off to be graded.
I have been involved in coin collecting for nearly 35 years now and have still NEVER filled out a submission form for grading. I have hundreds of slabbed (professionally graded and holdered) coins, but have never submitted one myself. It's not that I don't have anything worthy, and it's not that I don't know what to send in. It's more that I simply cannot justify the expense.
