Ramblings of a new coin collector

[RickS]

2 weeks or so since I took interest into this crazy hobby. Here are my thoughts to date. Maybe they'll help another new person, maybe y'all will just think I'm nuts. I imagine I'll be adding to this over the next few weeks.

Copper sorting - Effort by hoarders to collect pre-82 pennies that are primarily copper, vs the zinc "zincolns" made today. Actual copper value > 2 cents/coin, but our own internal trading floor seems to be tracking these around 1.4 cents/coin. Why? Hope that in the future, pennies are allowed to be melted. By having the coins now, these folks are hedging their bets. One of the forum residents makes/sells Ryedale machines (various capacities) to aid in this otherwise manual effort.

Skill level required - 1/5
Numismatic value - 1/5

Silver collecting - bullion - best prices for more than 20 ounces seems to be APMEX, provided you're willing to cut them a check vs pay a pretty hefty fee for credit card processing. American Silver Eagles (ASE) command a few dollars more per round, which you may/may not get back as a premium when you sell. One thing though - they're definitely better recognized/verified than standard independent mint rounds. For the average collector, bars/rounds from 1-10ounces seem to have the best price/silver ratio when considering ease of sale later. 100oz bars (>$2k these days) don't have quite the same liquidity, and higher risk of counterfeit. You'll pay more for name brand bars (Engelhard, Johnson & Matthey, etc), but resale appears to hold this premium.

Pricing seems to be {bid} 90% spot {ask}105-110% spot. Fair amount of forum deals, so watch for these!

Skill level required - 1/5
Numismatic value - 1/5

Silver collecting - 40/90% coins - collecting coins that are either 40% or 90% silver. Less premium than pure bullion.
Link for melt price info - http://www.coinflation.com/
Big market - Franklin halves, 64 (and all S mint) Kennedy halves, Walker halves, pre-64 quarters, pre-64 dimes, 42-45 "war nickels". When buying from sources - make sure that you're talking Face Value. If you're not - beware of conversion from Troy to standard ounces/pounds!!! Going rate is typically under spot, with plenty of buyers/sellers, keeping this a very liquid asset.

Skill level required - 1/5
Numismatic value - 2/5

Coin collecting - Numismatic This takes a bit more skill, especially if you're looking at these as an investment. Knowing how to grade unslabbed/non-third party graded coins is a necessity to not get burned. I'm just getting into this....this is where most of the future work on the post will go.

Skill level required - 5/5
Numismatic value - 5/5 (duh! )

[Beau]

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sounds like you have your ramblings down pretty good.

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[aloneibreak]

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sounds like you have your ramblings down pretty good.

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i agree with beau -- not too bad for only two weeks of learning !

keep it up !

[bman]

don't make the same mistake I did and try to collect EVERTHING all at once
Just pick a couple of coin series you like and learn to grade them and start filling those albums then move on to another series or two.

[HoardCopperByTheTon]

As a collector with "tons" and years of experience I have one suggestion for a new collector. Try to find a local coin club to join and attend. It is a great place to learn more as well as buy and sell coins. Also a very fun social outing during the week.

You can also post any questions here. This is a great community with many experienced collectors that are willing to help.

[Rodebaugh]

Solid job Rick.

I think thats 2 weeks well played so far.

[exbingoaddict]

You've learned more in two weeks then some people ever learn. Bravo to you. Looks like you'll avoid being a whitman bingo player. Not that there is anything wrong with filling in albums or folders. Just realize what is junk and what is not.

[just carl]

As a collector with "tons" and years of experience I have one suggestion for a new collector. Try to find a local coin club to join and attend. It is a great place to learn more as well as buy and sell coins. Also a very fun social outing during the week.

You can also post any questions here. This is a great community with many experienced collectors that are willing to help.

As noted and also, try to find coin shows. Usually you can just Google the name Coin Shows and your state. Also, if you live near other states, try those. Coin clubs and coin shows are really the only way to find what you are doing, why you are doing it, what is available, how much stuff costs and on and on and on with great items for this hobby.
Just remember the important thing is this is a hobby. If you start getting carried away with what will it be worth tomorrow, you'll end up like most and abandoning a hobby that is supposed to be fun and educational.