Where/how to buy coins? 1 1

[124Spider]

Hi,

I was an enthusiastic coin collector when I was a kid, many decades ago.  In those days, I collected only by saving coins that I got in change, or by going to the bank and buying rolls of coins, and going through them.  I never bought a coin at a coin shop.  As a result, I have some/many of the following:  Morgan dollars (yes, they were in circulation when my parents visited Las Vegas in 1960 and they brought a couple back for each of the kids), JFK half dollars, Walking Liberty half dollars, Standing Liberty quarters, Washington quarters, Mercury dimes, Roosevelt dimes, Buffalo nickels, Jefferson nickels and Lincoln pennies.

Something has caused me to rekindle the interest, and now I'm interested in filling in the more affordable holes in those old collections.  At this point, I don't care to fill in all the decades that I was not active, preferring to fill in the holes in the folders I have.  But that means that all the coins I'm now interested in buying date at least to the mid-1960s.

Yes, I know that 90% silver ended in 1964, so the dimes, quarters and half dollars will have the value of the silver factored in.

I've bought some coins at APMEX, which has the advantage of being reputable and easy, but they clearly don't have low prices.  I tried looking at a local coin shop, but they didn't have prices on the coins, and they spent five minutes looking up each value (probably the catalog value plus the silver value, since they looked in two sources); I don't have the patience for that when I'm interested in buying a bunch of coins at a time.

I am happy getting coins in reasonably good condition (generally, F or better, although I'll go below that for some very old coins, as long as the date is easily legible).  I really don't care to pay for BU or better (or even for XF or better in most cases).

Is APMEX about as good as it gets for one like me?  I doubt I'll ever pay big bucks for a coin (although I flirted with the idea of buying a 1909-S VDB penny, but decided that a whole bunch of more plebeian coins is a better way to spend somewhat limited funds).

Thanks.

Mark

Edited December 2, 2020 by 124Spider

[bsshog40]

Well it sounds like you want to stay in a mid budget for coins. Of course there is always ebay. Sometimes you can get decent deals from a reputable B&M shop. Pawn shops are usually too high. NGC has a marketplace here and so does the collectors society forum (pcgs). There is also GreatCollections. Heritage and Stacks are good auction sites also. Thats all I can think of right now.  Hope it helps. 

[Hoghead515]

Im a fairly new collector to. One the cheapest places i found to get coins is eBay. Off certain buyers. I look for ones that have good feedback. I read the reviews. What I've been doing is finding coins I like and then trying to work on a full set of a certain grade or whatever. Im working on a set of 2019 w quarters right now in ms 66.  I just completed a set of ms 65. Im on a very tight budget so I can only get about 1 a month or something. But ill also see a different coin I like at a good price and ill go ahead and get it and set it back for a set of its type later to work on. . Ive been reading alot of these very knowledgeable people's post on here and im gonna try to start expanding my searching to different places to purchase from now. Good luck on your collecting my friend. Its easy to get hooked. 

[JKK]

One often overlooked way to buy coins is to check local estate sales. Right now they are somewhat constrained, but take it from someone who is in business with someone who does estate sales (and like me is a numismatist). Go to the sale and ask if they have any coins. They probably will either not be on display (maybe the plan is to just take them to a dealer), or they will be locked up (security is a real problem; my buddy can't take my coins to antique shows due to the fundamental issues in that area). Either way, they might be available even if not on display, and the estate seller might be willing to take an offer. If you can figure out what a dealer would probably pay, and offer a little more, it will be to the estate seller's and their client's advantage.

[Alex in PA.]

I can only give what I know.  I deal with two nationally known coin dealers; Northeast Coin (www.northeastcoin.com) and Northern Nevada Coin (www.brokencc.com) and have found them over the years to be professional and honest dealers who treat you with courtesy and pride in their business.  As for EBay once it may have once been the place to deal but now I am not sure.  I can purchase a coin, the same Grade and TPG, but of better eye appeal and at least $100.00 less than EBay from Northeast Coin.  Of course the choice is yours and I am certain other members of this forum have personal trustworthy recommendations.  Good luck on the hunt.  

Edited December 2, 2020 by Alex in PA.

[Simple Collector]

There are many venues available to feed your passion. Depends on your goals and objectives. 

One piece of advice I would offer is buy the single rare coin over a bunch of commons. You mentioned the SVBD. Common coins will always be common and may or may not hold value over time. There are still some decent circulation series you can collect from your change. State quarters come to mind. I still find the occasional silver nickel or buffalo in my change. Also. you can go the bank and buy some rolls to go through.

 

Good luck!

 

[124Spider]

Thanks; that's all very helpful.

I'm not looking to build wealth, only have fun, without spending too much money. To the extent that I can convince myself that at least the silver coins have a melt-down value that is a significant portion of what I'm paying for the coin, that makes it easier to convince myself (and my wife) that this is ok.  So I'll generally take quantity over quality--fill those holes!

Mark

Edited February 9, 2021 by 124Spider

[Hoghead515]

3 minutes ago, 124Spider said:

Thanks; that's all very helpful.

I'm not looking to build wealth, only have fun, without spending too much money. To the extent that I can convince myself that at least the silver coins have a meld-down value that is a significant portion of what I'm paying for the coin, that makes it easier to convince myself (and my wife) that this is ok.  So I'll generally take quantity over quality--fill those holes!

Mark

Thats my biggest problem. Trying to convince my wife. Lol.  She said she already getting fed up. She don't understand that I need some of them coins. 

 

[zadok]

....based on ur collecting goals, best means to accomplish buying most of the coins u need to fill multiple holes in ur various series all at one time or in a few number of attempts would wait a bit till this virus passes n restrictions ease n then go to a few decent size coin shows where u can buy several lower grade coins from dealers n have no extra fees or shipping costs, I see u r from ohio, there r numerous smaller coin shows some monthly in ohio n a few larger ones in Columbus during the year, many dealers will have albums with literally pages of these lower grade circ coins for u to choose from...buying one ebay one coin at a time will prob double ur costs with shipping on lower cost coins...most of the major auction houses usually don't list very low dollar coins...auctionzip.com will give u various sources of coin estate sales in ur local area...buying a rarer date coin is better than buying lots of common date coins if ur goal is investment orientated, the '09 -s vdb is not a good investment coin however, if u r wanting to collect within ur budget, join one of the various coin clubs or organizations n seek out advice from various collectors who know the local ropes...happy collecting, filling holes is rewarding except for potholes...

[JKK]

If you want to have a lot of fun without spending too much money, world and ancient coins are there for you. The challenges of identification and historical context last a lifetime. It's not at all rare to find a late 1800s small change Kaiserreich coin in dealer assortment bins for 15-25c. Now and then you'll come across something particularly cool. As for ancients, late Roman bronzes in identifiable condition typically run in the $10-15 range except for rare or high demand issues. I bought a silver antoninianus of Elagabulus (c.220 CE) at a coin show near Salem (Oregon) for about, let's see, $50. There are great resources you can use to find out what you got, if you do like I have often done and buy something cheap then go figure out wth it is.

[scopru]

On 12/3/2020 at 1:23 AM, JKK said:

If you want to have a lot of fun without spending too much money, world and ancient coins are there for you.

Definitely is a good way to have fun, build an interesting set that can easily span centuries at a reasonable and often cheap cost.

[Coinbuf]

For the kind of coins that you have indicated you are looking for I think ebay is your best option, that is until all the lockdowns are lifted and local coin shows are more of a regular thing.  This website will list many of the local shows that may be available in your area, of course most local dealers will also know of any local shows.  http://www.coinzip.com/

[BearlyHereBear]

On 12/2/2020 at 10:49 PM, Hoghead515 said:

Thats my biggest problem. Trying to convince my wife. Lol.  She said she already getting fed up. She don't understand that I need some of them coins. 

 

Shush!  Don't say that so loud.

[124Spider]

OP here, just circling back to say what I've found.

I have found various online shops that seem to be honest and fairly-priced, along with a couple of local brick-and-mortar places.  I bought bulk sets off of eBay to fill in the 50 years since I last collected; these were very inexpensive for P and D; not so inexpensive for the proof S versions that the coin albums include, but it's fun to order them some at a time and look forward to "Christmas" a couple of times a week.

So I'm up-to-date on the modern coins (either in hand or ordered).  Yay!

Of course, I'm now completely sucked into the "red mist" (as we called it when I raced cars), and have considerably upped my goals; still only US coins, but I'm willing to get most of the less common varieties of 20th-century coins (and Morgan silver dollars).  But that's part of the fun, right?

Mark

Edited January 19, 2021 by 124Spider

[GoldFinger1969]

On 12/2/2020 at 2:10 PM, 124Spider said:

Hi, I was an enthusiastic coin collector when I was a kid, many decades ago...I've bought some coins at APMEX, which has the advantage of being reputable and easy, but they clearly don't have low prices.  I tried looking at a local coin shop, but they didn't have prices on the coins, and they spent five minutes looking up each value (probably the catalog value plus the silver value, since they looked in two sources); I don't have the patience for that when I'm interested in buying a bunch of coins at a time.  I am happy getting coins in reasonably good condition (generally, F or better, although I'll go below that for some very old coins, as long as the date is easily legible).  I really don't care to pay for BU or better (or even for XF or better in most cases).   Is APMEX about as good as it gets for one like me?  I doubt I'll ever pay big bucks for a coin (although I flirted with the idea of buying a 1909-S VDB penny, but decided that a whole bunch of more plebeian coins is a better way to spend somewhat limited funds).   Thanks.  Mark

Ebay and Great Collections and maybe even Heritage Auctions (though they may be out of your price range).

Right now, you seem like a quantity over quality kind of collector....not going for expensive or high-grade coins.  If you decide to up the ante, so to speak, then GC and HA will be more important.  Ditto coin shows.

[124Spider]

Thanks; that's helpful.

As I had said in a subsequent post, after having acquired all the low-hanging fruit, I'm now working my way up to buying some very expensive coins (I've bought a striking 1972 DDO Lincoln cent in MS64RD condition, certified by PCGS, and a couple of other similar purchases of expensive slabbed coins, and I expect over time to be buying more--e.g., 1942 42/41 Mercury dimes), so having some good sites for such coins is useful.  While I'm certainly not attempting to create a collection of the quality a fabulously wealthy person might, I've upped my sights quite a bit; it's still for my own enjoyment, but I find that I enjoy having high-quality versions of the more beautiful coins (e.g., walking liberty half dollars and silver dollars).

And, yes, I even used eBay to buy a 1931-S Lincoln cent in very fine condition, and it seems to be exactly as advertised.

Edited February 9, 2021 by 124Spider

[Henri Charriere]

Welcome back, old-timer!  I, too, stopped out of the hobby in the Sixties and though I have followed developments over the years, only jumped back in two years ago. I have a small pet project I am working on as I am at that age when divestment seems to be the only sensible pursuit.  It may interest you to know that old Red books and blue Whitman albums have become collectibles in their own right. You have the right mind-set and approach and will do fine in a hobby that offers infinite possibilities.  I wish you all the best!