Bullseye Bullion wrote:
Pick up "Grading Coins by Photographs" - Q. David Bowers. Great Learning tool, especially for beginners. Has a picture of every US Coin type in every grade level (Circulated) Does not have MS pics, but describes Mint State for each type. I have been a collector for 18 years and a dealer for 5 and I still use it. |
^^^ This is a very good resource. ^^^
I also recommend joining the American Numismatic Association (www.money.org) and taking their correspondence courses. FYI, if you don't want the diplomas for each course, you don't pay the $100 registration and $200 testing fee for a comprehensive test at the end. You just buy the courses and do them as you have time, just don't send the tests in for grading. You'll get lots of good information without the added fees for a diploma!
You also get a great magazine with membership, and a few other benefits like being able to submit coins to NGC for certification. You pay more for a paper magazine over a digital one, take your pick.
Secondly, the rule of thumb in coin collecting is "buy the book before the coin." In other words, do NOT buy a little of every type of coin that interests you. Instead, find a coin series you like (i.e. Indian Head Cents, Buffalo Nickels, etc.), and buy at least one book about that series. Learn everything you can about the series, and THEN start buying coins. If you join the ANA like I suggested above, you get the privilege of checking out books from their library. If you don't live near Colorado Springs where they are headquartered, they mail the books to you for the cost of shipping! You can't go wrong here. Take some time and LEARN before you start buying.
Thirdly, a common mistake new collectors make is to buy as many coins as they can afford. You'll regret it later. A better approach is to buy ONE coin that is the BEST one you can afford. In other words, if you have $20 to spend on coins, then buy one $20 coin instead of four $5 coins. Yes, it will take a lot longer to develop a collection, but you'll be much happier with yourself in the long run! Trust me, I started collecting coins at age 8 and now that I'm approaching 40, I wish I had learned this one earlier.
Last piece of advice I'll throw your way: Stay away from eBay until you know what you're doing, and even then be leary of it. There are a LOT of unscrupulous sellers on there, and there are lots of ways to disguise problems with coins in digital formats.
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