Starting A Coin Collection

Welcome to Coin Community, Dave !!!

I think your analysis has a lot of merit. Keys and semi-keys tend to increase in value over time. Moderns of high quality (MS-70 or PF-70 anything) are horribly overpriced, IMHO, and will undoubtedly drop like a rock at some point in the not-too-distant future.

I'd strongly advise two things: First ask questions here like you just did. The folks here are helpful and knowledgeable. And second, buy books about the coins you want to collect. The greater your knowledge, the less chance you have of getting burned buying coins.

Hello Errorcoins,

I saw a lot of those error coins on wscoin and I am curious. Did the mint do an entire batch of those coins by mistake, or are they all one of a kind coins that slipped through the quality control process? (I assume that mints have quality control process.)

coininfocenter you seemed to have a good understanding of coins which is a great start but now YOU must decide what you really FEEL GOOD about as it is your collection. While focusing on key date or semi-key dates coins offer a very stable future you might also consider the value of finished sets as well. I would highly recommend you take a look at the possibilities in the highest performing area in the last two decades as the Indian cent and the Buffalo nickel are absolutely stunning sets and tough to fill in higher grades. When it comes to the Buffalo nickel I have relaxed my grading requirements as many dates and mint marks are getting so hard to locate in any grade. Good luck with your new found passion and make every effort to buy wisely. Look at the whole process as starting a company! You are the CEO, the whole board of directors and employee force so its up to you to keep your company afloat with wise investments for the future and remember to ALWAYS shop around as sooner or later another desired coin will come along!

Hi again Errorcoins,

Thanks for the info. But I didn't say "wisconson error coins," I said wscoin, as in wscoin.com. It's the website that was recommended to me. Just type in "error" on the product search and it will bring up all the "error" coins >> http://www.wscoin.com/index.php?v=ss

Welcome Dave.
Being relatively new to coin collecting myself, I've found the pleasure, for me, is not so much what my coins are worth, but the enjoyment of completing a set, or getting a new "old" coin that I've been wanting. For that matter, holding coins in my hands that were over a hundred years old when I was born is just one of the many fascinating aspects of coin collecting. Guess I would fall into the classification of collector, not investor; however; I, as I'm sure it is with everyone else, do appreciate the beauty of an older coin in near pristine condition - just can't afford them.
As for the advice of buying the book..... I began collecting with no thought to books, but, as I've gotten more into this hobby, I've come to realize that that is probably the best advice anyone can give to a new collector. Knowing what you're doing, some history of what you have, and what you want enhances the enjoyment of this hobby of our's.

Ralph

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Originally posted by coininfocenter


...you will be way ahead of the crowd if you start with older key date and semi-key date coins. These coins are scarce and will have a much better chance of holding their collector value and increasing in value in the future.

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I have heard many a coin dealer give this advice. But then again, they want to sell their more expensive coins at the best price...and a novice collector might just pay full book price or not notice that the coins quality isn't up to it's graded level.

Starting out with a coin collection is a very steep learning curve. I'd suggest that getting some easier and cheaper dates while you are learning about grading and which coins series you like to collect the most. Yes, the key dates will rise in price, but bigger and more expensive mistakes can be made in this area of collecting than with lower grade and common dates. Key dates will still be for sale in a year or two.

In other words...If you KNOW exactly what you are doing...go for the keys. But, If your just starting a collection and still learning...then pratice with the cheaper common dates, until you are praticed and experianced enough to make a wise and informed investment in key date coins.

Welcome to the forum.

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Originally posted by coininfocenter

With so many coins available to collect, where is the best place to start? In my opinion, you will be way ahead of the crowd if you start with older key date and semi-key date coins. These coins are scarce and will have a much better chance of holding their collector value and increasing in value in the future. Avoid modern date over priced coins, even in high grades. There were way to many coins produced to ever become rare or scarce. Supply and demand drives the coin market and the supply of the key and semi-key dates are limited. The demand for these coins should remain strong. Dave

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Almost all collectors want their collection to be worth as much as possible compared to his expenditure whether he intends to ever sell it or not. But if you start buying any coins for the sole purpose of making money then you'd better know what you're doing. Most of those who "invest" in coins do very poorly and this is especially true if it's the primary motivation.

The idea that coins made in large numbers can never be rare is what has made so many moderns rare. Numismatic coins don't exist because governments make them and provide them to collectors. No! Numismatic coins exist because collectors set them aside for themselves and future generations. There would be no ancient coins and very few 19th century coins if we relied on government to provide them. The government would have melted every single large cent if they had them. They did melt every single 1976-P PR 40% 25c and several other modern coins. They burned (or tried to) almost every one of the gas ration coupons.

The belief that coins made in huge numbers were here for good kept people from saving many of the "common" coins made since 1964 and now the prices are soaring. When you consider that the older rarities cost many times as much as the nmodern rarities, one has to consider the possibility that it's the moderns which are relatively underpriced.

Well the first thing before starting collection is to not do a Buffaloboy5


definition-Buffaloboy5- Someone who buys as many coins he can touch with out thinking or caring about others in the way.
synonyms-Retarted, stupid and just greedy


But I am no longer one of those I'm more like a easy going collector now...sorta...not really I haven't changed a bit!