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 Replies: 25 / Views: 2,205 |
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Valued Member
United States
69 Posts |
I am new to coin collecting. I have yet to actually start the process. A friend of mine has recommended https://www. wscoin .com, but it's always good to get a variety of opinions. To me it looks like a good site, but what do I know? Has anyone dealt with the wscoin site and does it look like a good site to the more experienced collectors? |
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Rest in Peace
United States
3730 Posts |
JeffMo: Welcome to Coin Community Family. I have a friend who has ordered coins from wscoin, and he says they are a reputable company. However, if you are interested in learning about coin collecting, you have picked a great site. Coin Community is filled with friendly, knowledgable people who are most happy to answer questions and try and help in any way they can. Hope you will give us a try, and enjoy being a part of CCF.  Edited by Gary Burke
11/11/2006 02:35 am
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Valued Member
United States
179 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
830 Posts |
Welcome JeffMo  fastfords1's advice is excellent - get a book or two about the coins you want to collect first, and learn a bit about them before you start spending hard earned money on the coins. If your major interest lies in U.S. coins, I'd advise getting the RedBook first. They're usually available in most coin shops, places like Barnes & Noble, or online. Ask lots of questions, and, above all else, HAVE FUN !!! |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Welcome to the world of coins. so much depends on your monitary abilities to spend. If you want my suggestions, here is a few. Take your time deciding what you are interested in. There are numerous web sites, books, panphlets, etc. for coins out there. Piling up on all them will jsut start boring you or getting you confused unless your different than me. Sort of like buying books on rebuilding a cars fuel injection system and never seeing a car before. My suggestion is join every coin forum and read what people are saying about coins. One thing you may want to try is starting out with jsut Lincoln Cents. Find a bank and buy a bag or many rolls of them. Start going through them and sorting out at least one of every date. If you decide to continue with that, you may want to check out coin stores, coin shows, coin supply web sites for an album to put your coins in. Regarless, take your time and learn as much as you can about what you may want to do. I've found the greatest thing for new collectors is try to go to a coin show. There it is like going to a car show where you can see a large variety of different items.
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Forum Mom
 United States
5877 Posts |
Welcome to our CC family, Jeff!  You have already made a very good decision in asking about the site that was recommended to you. Something to consider, though, is that you should always know about the coins that your purchasing - even if you're dealing with a reputable company. Even reputable dealers make mistakes and your knowledge is power. You are always welcome to ask any questions here and we'll all be glad to help. In addition, your questions help other collectors as well. We all learn together. No matter how long we've been collecting, there is always more to learn!  Please use this site and look for books about whatever series interest you. The more you know, the better deal you'll get and the happier you will be with your purchases. What types of coins are you interested in collecting? |
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Valued Member
 United States
69 Posts |
OK...I'll be getting the books and reading up on what I need to know. But my friend seems to be something of a coin connoisseur and he's big on wscoin. He collects Morgan silver dollars mostly and that appears to be what I'm going to aim for, but I'd like other opinions on wscoin. I posted over on another forum and they dumped all over it, claiming that it was high-priced. (I could post a link to this other forum and the thread if anyone wants to see it.) They recommended a bunch of other sites, but when I compared, I saw that the other sites they recommended were mostly high-end coins and that they charged more than wscoin. They finally recommended a site with low-end coins ($100-$200 or less than $100), but when I compared, wscoin not only has better prices than this "low-end" site, they also have a 30-day return policy. The site they recommended had a 5-day return policy. I'm glad they gave me all this flack because my subsequent research and investigating gave me confidence that my friend is steering me in the right direction. But like I said, I'm looking for other opinions. Edited by JeffMo
11/13/2006 12:49 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1454 Posts |
If you're going to do Morgans then you definitely came to the right place. Another Morganite, there are lots of Morganites here so there is plenty of help and information here. If you decide to go with Liberty nickels, Mercury dimes or Franklin half dollars then I will try to help you as much as I can. Metalman is a Mercury dime guru too, I am glad he is here so the Morganites don't take over completely. |
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Valued Member
United States
69 Posts |
Mercury dimes sound interesting. I just went to wscoin and checked on those. The first one knocked my socks off, as it is one of the "high-end" coins (it must be a rare coin). But the rest of the selection (they have 439 to choose from) seems remarkably inexpensive. I could pick up lots of those with pocket change. Maybe I'll do Morgans and Mercury dimes. This coin collecting stuff is getting exciting.
Edited by JeffMo
11/13/2006 12:50 am
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
I've never bought from wscoin.com but I just went to their web site and checked out the prices of Mercury dimes. I always do that because I'm a big Mercury dime collector. I have several thousand of the things. I have 8 sets in Whitman Albums complete. So I'm fairly, not expert, good at using their prices as a guide. From what I see on wscoin is just a little overpriced on most of their common ones. Of course they are a web site dealer so naturally they will be a little higher than at a coin show. I didn['t check but assume they will make you pay for shipping and handling and maybe insurance. At almost every coin show I go to a Mercury dime in the 40's area goes for $1 to $1.25 in Fine, EF, XF and sometimes even in AU. Exception is the 45micro S naturally. At one flea market I go to there is a dealer that sells all Mercury dimes for $1 regarless of date, mint or condition. Kind of a weird guy and just doesn't care about the value of coins. Again I would strongly advise any new collector to go to a coin show if possible. Really great experience. Seldom no taxes, S&H, etc for coins and as a rule you can haggle about the prices and usually they always go down especially if they know you, your a kid, act friedly, etc. At the coin shows I go to their is no fee for parking, no entrance fee, no membership requirment, nothing except selling coins. Now as to a Red Book. You should really get one. However, note that the thing came out way, way back early in Spring and is a 2007 edition. On the Walmart website, for books, the last time I looked it was $9.14 for the paperback, $9.14 for the spiral ringed, $10.36 for the Hrd Cover. |
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Valued Member
United States
69 Posts |
Thanks, Carl. A guy on the other forum who buys from wscoin wrote, "Their shipping has always been reasonable and quick. If you subscribe to the newsletter that they send out every week you can even get free shipping." I'm quickly understanding that coin shows are less expensive than buying on the web. But since I live in a small town, traveling to the coin shows would be rather time consuming for me (not to mention the price of gas). My main objective is to get a perspective from people who buy on the web. The guy on the other forum also said, "A word of advice, watch out for ebay. There are a lot of people that will take advantage of you and the are just waiting for new victims. Never buy anything from a TV show. Beware certified coins that don't come from PCGS, NGC or ANACS. Be very careful of any other grading services. I have seen coins that have been slabbed as MS69 and MS70 that shouldn't have graded higher than MS64 or MS65." |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7123 Posts |
Hi Jeff Welcome to the forum !! So far there has been alot of good info and advice given in this thread,, I buy online and I also utilize ebay,, and both should be viewed the same way,, The buyer should have enough info and knowledge to make good decisions about the coins they are buying,, because no matter which you choose online coin dealers or ebay the risk is the same . there are good sellers and bad in both venues. Learning to grade from photo's is a must ,, for anyone who buys online and then developing a trust of the sellers we choose to use adds to that ability,, take some time to check out our coin grading practice forum,, this will help you when buying from pictures . But most of all have fun with your collection there will not be another like it in the world !! Rick |
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Valued Member
United States
69 Posts |
Hi Metalman, I would expect that when looking at online coin dealers and ebay, I would find that "there are good sellers and bad in both venues." I know that ebay is open to anyone who wants to sell coins, just like anyone can get themselves a website to sell coins. That's why I want people's perspectives on wscoin versus other coin sites. So far, I'm not getting a lot of "comparative" opinions, but my own research seems to have been fruitful. Edited by JeffMo
11/13/2006 1:59 pm
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Valued Member
United States
67 Posts |
quote:
Originally posted by JeffMo
Hi Metalman,
I would expect that when looking at online coin dealers and ebay, I would find that "there are good sellers and bad in both venues." I know that ebay is open to anyone who wants to sell coins, just like anyone can get themselves a website to sell coins. That's why I want people's perspectives on wscoin versus other coin sites.
Hi Jeff, You might want to check out the ebay section of this forum - its got a lot of good info on it, and will open your eyes to what can be listed for the unwary. I also think its not a bad idea to start out with what your friend is collecting - be sure to ask him why he likes a particular coin, and dislikes another - many times someone will see something that you are not looking for and can point out potential problems to you. Normally a good dealer can educate you as well, but you said you didnt have one close to you....must be time to move then!! |
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
JeffMo, I have done no business with Wscoins, nor will I. I'm sure they're a reputable seller - people I trust recommend them - but they do not picture their coins. That immediately disqualifies them from my personal potential-vendor list.
I hate to say it, but the tone of your thread seems more like a desire to justify doing business with this specific dealer than to acquire more general knowledge about where to buy great coins at fair prices. Should you ask that, you'll find that everyone here has an opinion based on experience.
This hobby is capable of providing an enormous degree of enjoyment, but that enjoyment comes at the cost of much time spent learning. Numismatics is truly an endeavor which directly rewards the amount of work put in.
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Valued Member
United States
69 Posts |
quote:
Originally posted by Toblerone2
I also think its not a bad idea to start out with what your friend is collecting - be sure to ask him why he likes a particular coin, and dislikes another - many times someone will see something that you are not looking for and can point out potential problems to you. Normally a good dealer can educate you as well, but you said you didnt have one close to you....must be time to move then!!
Hello Toblerone2, Wscoin is not that far away.  It's the coin "shows" that would be far away. Sacramento might be a possibility if they have a coin show, but it's 2 hours travel time in "good" traffic and it would have to be a whole day devoted to the coin show. That might make wife and kids a little unhappy with Daddy's new hobby. Like I posted earlier, my friend collects Morgan silver dollars mostly and that appears to be what I'm going to aim for, but after looking at the Mercury dimes that I could pick up for pocket change, I may get both. Then I also saw the thread on Franklin half dollars and I can pick those up for pocket change. But if I'm going to get all three from wscoin, I want to know if there are online dealers who are more competitively priced. (I then research it to get a clear perspective.) I don't want to go to any "auction" sites to simply bid on a coin. I want to be able to purchase it when I see it. |
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Replies: 25 / Views: 2,205 |
Posted 11/11/2006 10:32 am
"buy the book before buying the coin"
