What is the biggest thing you had to learn the hard way with collecting coins?

Grading. Really have to know how to do that.

Mike McKinnon, Crawfordsville, Ind.

It is hard enough to tell if a coin is BU or cleaned, but to trust a vendor at a coin show or in a coin shop. They show a coin that is BU and uncleaned, and you purchase it at that price. You have it sent to, for instance, PCGS, and it turns out that it's not BU and/ or it's been cleaned. You have lost a lot of money and lost trust in these people. This has been one of the biggest lessons I have learned in collecting numismatic coins. So, who do you trust?

Scott Ferguson Henderson, Nev.

Not to clean coins or at least carefully and only as necessary as with coins recovered with a metal detector.

Name and Address withheld

How to identify a counterfeit coin.

Name and Address withheld

45 years ago, my grandfather gave me some of his coins, and I have been hooked ever since. The hardest lesson to follow was actually one of my first: "When to say no!"

When shopping for coins, I try to take the emotional aspect out of it. If it's a coin or currency that just screams "Buy me now," it may be time to step back mentally and consider the following: Does it fit with my collection? Is the price reasonable? Is it up to my usual standards? If not, waiting is almost always the best course of action. In the rare case that isn't true, I just view it as "It wasn't meant to be" and press on. This prevents Buyers Regret or Remorse. In some cases, waiting allows another chance at the same coin or currency at a better price or condition.

Still, I sometimes purchase a coin that I normally wouldn't. On those occasions, I hear my grandfather telling me, "Boy, you ain't gotta get everything this week."

Nuff said!

Name and Address withheld

Don't fully trust any coin dealer, especially smaller ones, and if you are buying expensive coins, only purchase encapsulated coins!

Name and Address withheld

I first started my interest in numismatics in 2019. So, as with everything I do in life, I jumped in headfirst. Well, this cost me dearly, and I mean dearly. It almost efficiently deterred me from numismatics. I saw an ad on good ol’ eBay, which, of course, at the time, I didn't know the taboo of eBay. I ended up purchasing a "complete set of Morgan's" for $399.99. I'm thinking a nice start, especially for a retired guy on a very limited income. Well, I was so happy with my purchase that I immediately took them to Bellevue Rare Coins here in Tacoma, Wash., to see how I did. Well, the nice lady really didn't know how to break it to me because, of course, I was basically glowing with excitement only to be informed of my not-so-great investment. I found out later that China makes these from a master real coin, then mass produces them & sends them to a contact in the U.S. to be re-mailed to people in their orders. So, needless to say, I learned quickly that a lower grade common date Morgan can run the $399.99 easily, let alone a complete set. I almost gave up on my first try but luckily, I have true friends in numismatics, and they propped me per se!

Unfortunately, people like that throughout history have spoiled it for others.

Robert A. Keen, Address withheld

As a very young person, when I started collecting coins at the age of around 9 or 10, I was always under the impression that if something is old, it is valuable. When I became wise and knowledgeable at around 12 or 13, I realized that just because something is old does not really mean that it is valuable. I applied this to numismatics and learned at a young age that supply and demand created value. Buying R.S. Yeoman's A Guide Book (Red Book) and Hand Book (Blue Book) of United States Coins every year helps me to see this. Looking back, I should have tried to concentrate on purchasing key dates rather than the less expensive, more common items. For example, purchasing a 1913-S type II Indian Head/Buffalo nickel in the early 1960s was well worth the purchase and an excellent investment. The problem was not being able to afford it at the time. If I were to go back in time, I would do it over concentrating on purchasing just the key and semi-key items to complete a collection. Today, buying key items is just about cost-prohibitive unless, of course, you win a big lottery.

Name and address withheld

Buy unique, limited mintage bullion items when buying from the mint.

Name and Address withheld

Pretty much everything. My mother-in-law left me some coins, which spurred my interest, so I decided to give the coins a shot. I started modestly, acquiring coins locally, then moved on to auctions (live and online), where I started the learning process-distressingly. A lot of coins purchased at online auctions were either cleaned or otherwise altered, whereas I didn't have the knowledge to discern the grades on various coins, therefore frequently overpaying. It still remains an enjoyable pursuit, but I would caution newbies to start very modestly with more inexpensive varieties until they learn, learn, learn. (But, to add, I have made some surprisingly significant finds, but more by chance than in the know.)

Chris Kierski, Address withheld

I have collected coins my entire life but I would often stop and lose interest at times, but I've learned that collecting coins is more about collecting friends than it is about acquiring coins. Thanks to the local coin club, I've made good friends that I look forward to seeing every month, and that is more valuable than anything I own. I've also branched out into meeting people at shows. What fun! I like to work the hospitality tables at our local shows, and I went to the ANA Money show in Phoenix last year and met some amazing people, and now I plan on attending the Money show in Colorado Springs in March. I am also starting up a coin club at the high school where I teach.

Brian Cole, Utah

Filling a hole to complete a collection is not nearly as much fun as the hunt for a superb coin to fill that same hole.

Name and Address withheld

How to grade coins. I still use the PCGS grading site.

Name and Address withheld

Not everyone was as honest and ethical as I am.

Michael Emmerson, Brookfield, Conn.

Grading counts.

Name and Address withheld

Who to trust, and who is really knowledgeable? Our local coin shops are mainly interested in selling and buying silver and gold. They have no other inventory and, in most cases, know nothing about coin collecting.

Nick Petra, Address withheld

"Knowledge is vital!"

Kerry Rodgers, Address withheld

Don't clean a coin! You and I have read this many times, and yet I had to learn this lesson the hard way. I had an XF 1917-S obverse 50-cent that my father had gotten in change on a trip. It had some tiny black speckles on the eagle's breast that bothered me a little, and I finally decided to give it a "slight" cleaning with baking soda. A minute or two later, my $700 coin was worth $250. But no more black speckles! Or any other natural patina! That was one of the toughest lessons learned.

Mike Thorne, Ph.D., Mississippi

The biggest thing that I had to learn the hard way with collecting coins was looking up Barber coin values while bidding online. As we all know, the Barber dime, quarter, and half dollar have the same obverse. It was easy to look up the value of one denomination thinking that you were looking up another and base your bid/offer on the wrong value!

Dave Burdis Charleroi, Pa.

I found learning how to grade was tough but easier than determining if the coin had been cleaned. Whizzed was no problem, but many well-struck, battleship grey-type coins I found to be very difficult to discern. Add to that the differing metals, i.e., copper, silver, and gold, and I was prey to the opinion(s) of the sellers. After four or five bad calls, as determined by the TPG folks, I learned to buy encapsulated coins. I am fine with lower-grade, inexpensive coins, but above $200, I always purchase TPG coins.

Lorne Lavertu, Herndon, Va.

If you’re going to build a complete set of any coin, always buy the key dates first and buy the very best you can afford.

Name and Address withheld

For me, it was learning to identify cleaned coins and reduce their valuations considerably if I would even consider buying them. Also, I still have problems telling artificial from real toning.

Name and Address withheld

Well, it all started back in 1964, when my grandmother started me collecting Roosevelt dimes. I was 8 years old, and I was hooked. I could go on and on about my collecting over the years, but that’s not the question at hand.

I was always told to “buy the best condition coins you could” and “always buy the key coins first.” Well, as I said, I started in 1964 when almost everything could still be found in circulation. My dad kept bringing home rolls and rolls of coins for me to go through. So, I filled most of my holes with coins out of circulation. I waited until later in life to fill the remaining holes by purchasing them from coin dealers. Unfortunately, the key coins kept going up and up in price, and I kept saying, “I could have bought that coin for 1/10 that price!” Thus, my biggest lesson, learned the hard way, was definitely not buying the key coins first.

Still collecting after all these years!

Thomas, Address withheld

There are a few different things that were learned the hard way. 1) was probably who could I trust not to take advantage of me. I inherited some money when my parents died. I was in my late 20s and thought I knew it all. I was wrong. I think First Coinvestors was my first hosing. I trusted them because Walter Breen's name was associated with the business. The company had a lot of bells and whistles, which I was overwhelmed with, and high-pressure salespeople. There was also an auction company that graded liberally with their auction lots, and I wasn't aware of this when I was spending my inheritance. Their "AU's" were more "XF" in nature. 2) I needed to learn to grade myself and not just believe what the 2x2 said. I spent 3 summers in Colorado Springs, taking classes in grading and counterfeit detection at the ANA summer seminars. That was a HUGE help! This was in the early '80's. Back then, there was just getting to be a difference between uncirculated and circulated. Then, the coin could be described as "60" or "65," I believe. It was the introduction of the Sheldon scale to all coins, not just the cents. 3) As I got to develop a rapport with local dealers in my area, I started judging them on how they treated me. If it was with respect and honesty, I kept coming back. If it wasn't, I moved on to somewhere else. I visited local, state, regional, and ANA national shows to look for better pieces to complete my collections and expected the same from these larger dealers. I diversified from solely U.S. coinage to Canadian, British, and German coins, farm machinery/agricultural tokens & medals, and other forms of exonumia, but I digress as old people do sometimes.

Name and address withheld

When I first started collecting coins again at age 55, the price lists I reviewed were truly not the real fair market value of the coins I sought to obtain. After a couple of years of collecting, I noticed that coins could be purchased at retail for less than 10-15 percent.

Steve Cheaney, Address withheld

I collect Barber quarters in VG-F condition. The hardest thing I had to learn was the difference between original surface wear against cleaned surfaces on these lower-grade coins. I made a couple of mistakes, but they serve as examples for my next purchases.

Michael, Address withheld

The hardest thing I had to learn about coin collecting, since beginning in 1954, was to stop cleaning coins because nearly all the professional coin dealers were cleaning coins and offering them for retail sale through the 1960s, and coin cleaning was encouraged by nearly all coin clubs and coin supply companies, and by publications and how-to books. Now, many of my coins offered for authentication and grading are judged “Details,” reducing their values by about one-third. Seems like a rip-off now.

Den Navrat, Address withheld

I spent $300 on an uncirculated Morgan dollar that a dealer stated would most likely grade MS-67. I was similarly convinced. Upon submission, it was graded MS-63. There isn't a scratch or blemish anywhere on the obverse, and the strike is good. Carrying this coin around with me for several years and asking other dealers and collectors their opinion of it the remarks are varied. The consensus reason - so far - for its grading as it did is that the luster is not bright and shiny. Neither is it dull and dark.

The lesson I learned? Don't try and outsmart the TPG services. They hold all the cards and power and do not answer to you in any way.

James Evans, Leominster, Mass

When I was a younger coin collector, I would often buy and sell my coins. Usually to a dealer. Well, since I didn't know how to grade, I often bought over-graded coins and sold a lot of my coins at lower grades, e.g., I would sell an XF for a fine price. This cost me a lot of hard-earned money and made the dealer richer.

I wound up paying a dealer to grade them for me. It was money well spent.

Edward Mahoney, El Paso, Texas

The hardest thing was and still is trying to determine if a coin has been cleaned or not.

Brian Dziewior, Address withheld

Buying cleaned coins is very risky!

Name and Address withheld