• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

What You Need To Know----Important
0

78 posts in this topic

Hello Numismatic Friends----Recently, I am sure that a lot of you have seen many unhappy collectors. We seem to be the victims of a lot of money hungry people---whether it be just simply overgrading or cleaning problems. Or the coin doctors selling various AT coins. Or maybe hairlines that were not mentioned before the sale. Or maybe just professional hype of one degree or another. In any event, my friend CTcollector and I are going to try and help all of us by starting a once a week posting entitled 'What You Need To Know'. We hope to involve all of the "regulars" here on the boards. We would like the knowledgable guys to step up and explain various topics. Start simply and explain the why or the why not. Take your subject matter and run it from the beginning collector to as far as you wish to go. In other words we would like you to 'tell it all'----to help us to understand your area of expertise. Use pictures if you care to do that. We need knowledge and we need your help. Please PM me and let me know if you are interested in writing. If we get enough interest, I will assign a date for your posting. We thought once a week on Sundays as most would have some time then. After your assigned posting, guys could make comments and ask questions at any time during the week. You can pick basically any series that you want---or any topic--- as long as it is about coins. And CTcollector and I both want to say this---"This is not to be a TPGS bashing. We are not trying to knock any TPG. We just want knowledge to be laid onto the table to help "ALL" collectors grow in the hobby". Talk about grading, cleaning, ATvs.NT, hairlines, Vams, Varieties, Patterns. Just any old thing that you really know about. A pet peeve that you have. Or just how you got into the hobby and what you have learned and how long it took you to learn it. CT and I hope that we can keep this going and that we all can learn from each other. Please respond to this post or PM me directly. I do not mind sharing what I have learned. I hope all of you feel the same way. Bob [supertooth]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bob, not only do I think this would be an excellent topic of conversation and education, but I think it should also merit its own category on the boards. thumbsup2.gifthumbsup2.gifthumbsup2.gifthumbsup2.gifthumbsup2.gif

 

Chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would read what is posted . I have been collecting for 30 plus years , but am not an expert in any one category....I'm a jack-of-all-trades kind of hoard the lil buggers type of can't use a digital camera -ish of a new to slabs and like both slabbed and raw coins of a constantly searching , but never asking for any particular coin kinda guy 893blahblah.gif . Sounds interesting 893scratchchin-thumb.gif ,,,,hmmm information over whining ....yeup! Sounds good to me !. takeit.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bob and I have been speaking for a while and feel it is a worthwhile effort to increase awareness and education across the collector community in an organized format. We both believe the hobby has changed a great deal over the last several years. Some things have changed for the better and unfortunately some things have changed for the worse. All are points which are worthy of discussuion and honest straight forward debate. I look forward to getting this going and I hope many other experienced and knowledgeable collectors can join in and share their own perspectives.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’m new to the NGC boards, and a collector / ex accumulator of fine coins. Mostly moderns and working my way back toward the early era 1800’s. Started out not being able to get enough Morgan’s, then to the hard stuff (SLABS). I have leaned a lot since being a member of the CGS. I’m no expert by any means however I would be willing to contribute something. One thing I posted a few days ago reference slab cleaning. I can speak with some knowledge of this topic from my previous life. I have seen this topic come up numerous times browsing the threads. The product I mentioned is an automotive plastic cleaner. Sells for around 9.00 pint. Sure worth trying at the cost of submissions, not to mention waiting. I first used this product on some GSA Holders a few years ago. Works great.

1085300-plasticcleaner001websmall1.jpg.6d621d397f19923fd0482a0508504b6d.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello Folks----This is an update on when we will get started on the 'What You Need To Know' thread. CTcollector and I were originally going to wait until after the Baltimore Coin Show in March to start. But, with the current controversy over the AT vs. NT business, CT thought that he would begin by posting his thoughts on the AT vs. NT situation this coming Tuesday. So keep an eye out and read it. Then we can all get our thoughts out there on the table and we can hope that we will all learn a little something. Now, remember one thing. Every guy who ends up doing his thing is only going to be trying to HELP all of us. Noone will be 100% right but those of us who will be posting will try to put forth some knowledge for all of us to consume. Feel free to ask questions and the guys will try to answer them. Remember one thing else. We here on the NGC boards are a great group. We want to require that everyone remain civil. It is ok to disagree but it is not ok to make a fool out of yourself. If we do this right, it can be an educational tool for all of us. Bob [supertooth]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello Numismatic Friends----Recently, I am sure that a lot of you have seen many unhappy collectors. We seem to be the victims of a lot of money hungry people---whether it be just simply overgrading or cleaning problems. Or the coin doctors selling various AT coins. Or maybe hairlines that were not mentioned before the sale. Or maybe just professional hype of one degree or another. In any event, my friend CTcollector and I are going to try and help all of us by starting a once a week posting entitled 'What You Need To Know'. We hope to involve all of the "regulars" here on the boards. We would like the knowledgable guys to step up and explain various topics. Start simply and explain the why or the why not. Take your subject matter and run it from the beginning collector to as far as you wish to go. In other words we would like you to 'tell it all'----to help us to understand your area of expertise. Use pictures if you care to do that. We need knowledge and we need your help. Please PM me and let me know if you are interested in writing. If we get enough interest, I will assign a date for your posting. We thought once a week on Sundays as most would have some time then. After your assigned posting, guys could make comments and ask questions at any time during the week. You can pick basically any series that you want---or any topic--- as long as it is about coins. And CTcollector and I both want to say this---"This is not to be a TPGS bashing. We are not trying to knock any TPG. We just want knowledge to be laid onto the table to help "ALL" collectors grow in the hobby". Talk about grading, cleaning, ATvs.NT, hairlines, Vams, Varieties, Patterns. Just any old thing that you really know about. A pet peeve that you have. Or just how you got into the hobby and what you have learned and how long it took you to learn it. CT and I hope that we can keep this going and that we all can learn from each other. Please respond to this post or PM me directly. I do not mind sharing what I have learned. I hope all of you feel the same way. Bob [supertooth]

 

I will be looking forward to this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One thing that became apparent as a result of the Peace $ scandal, is that collectors can not solely rely on TPG's and they can not solely rely on even the most reputable dealers for determinations on AT/NT. The best defense a collector has is to develop their own knowledge and expertise. Hopefully, these posts that we are about to launch will help those of you who are interested to learn more. Also, I would like to encourage those of you with the relevant experience and knowledge to contribute. I am tired of our hobby being exploited and I know there are many other collectors out there who feel the same way. So lets all chip in and do our best to increase education and awareness throughout the collector base.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Supertooth, CTcollector,

 

I didn’t catch this thread back in Jan., I guess you could say the cat was napping. I think this is a great idea, to me it brings the feeling of an actual coin club setting where members get up in front of the group at their meeting to discuss topics they know about and share this knowledge with the other members, that sharing of experiences and knowledge is one of the main points I try to make to people when I talk to them about the merits of joining clubs no matter what the hobby is.

 

I’m sure this would be very well received by the folks who are here at the forum and give this board more of a “virtual club” feeling. 893scratchchin-thumb.gif

 

I also agree totally with Chris that is idea merits its own category on the boards! thumbsup2.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello All,

 

I am a new collector/investor and wondering what should I collect, so in 20 years I can sell and make a nice profit.

 

Thank you

 

Max I wish I could tell you, but if I could I would be a rich man. Nobody can predict the future. The only way to be a money maker in this hobby is to hit the books and learn all you can. You will then have an idea of what to buy that will hold its value and do well. If you want my honest opinion, coins are not to be collected for a profit, but for the fun of it. Now I know they can be worth a good bit, but unless you know what you are doing you are more than likely going to get hosed on a few deals which could offset any money you gained. The best thing is you are off to a good start by coming here. Stick around and learn all you can. I bet you will like it here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Max,

 

I am a new collector as well 2-3 years. I agree that coins should be collected for the fun. However Yes it has also proven to be a good investment. With some hobbies in 20 years you have nothing to show except a bunch of old tools.

 

My 2Cents... Look at all the types of coins (20cents, 2 cents, morgans ect.). Pick what you like to look at then read just a little. How manny years was this made? what type of material? is this denimination still made?. Once you have found what you like your best bet is to buy slabbed. And when I say slabbed DO NOT!!! buy anything except PCGS of NGS... You will read everywhere "do not buy the holder, buy the coin" you have no business buying a raw coin for any amount of money. Other than cheap cheap cheap. And you do not have the ability to buy a coin in a lower tier holder and know what the grade really is. NO NGC and PCGS are not perfect, but you will not be throwing you money away.

 

You will end up with a collection that is desired by other collectors. If you go raw you will find there are way too many possible pitfalls. Fakes are junk and cleaned coins are worth sometimes 10% or their dirty origional counterparts.

 

First have fun, be skeptical, if it too good to be true, the experts here would have bought it long before you or I saw it comming.

 

Good luck

 

REDMAN ...aka Jay

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just wanted everyones opinion of Home Shopping Networks' guest expert Mr. Mezak, I believe his name is. He has been selling coins on HSN for years from ICG and most recently ANACS. I bought the set of 1999-S Silver PR70 DCAM Statehood quarters graded by ICG when they first came out. The Delaware coin in the set is valued today at $12,000.00 by PCGS coin guide for some reason????? I sent the set in to be graded by PCGS recently and the Delaware was graded PR68 as was the Pennsylvania coin. The other 3 in the set were slabbed as PR69DCAM. I sent a note to Mindy Grossman, who runs HSN to let her know my feelings. I don't know if it is true but the people at ICG tell me that the previous management and graders all left and went to ANACS, which is what Mezak is selling on HSN now along with some ICG graded coins. I have lots of PR70's graded by ICG that I will never get rid of, because if they aren't graded by NGC or PCGS, people don't buy them very readily. Just wanted to vent about this guy on HSN still selling PR70 coins that probably could not stand up to close scrutiny. Any ideas as to what course of action is left to me?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just wanted everyones opinion of Home Shopping Networks' guest expert Mr. Mezak, I believe his name is. He has been selling coins on HSN for years from ICG and most recently ANACS. I bought the set of 1999-S Silver PR70 DCAM Statehood quarters graded by ICG when they first came out. The Delaware coin in the set is valued today at $12,000.00 by PCGS coin guide for some reason????? I sent the set in to be graded by PCGS recently and the Delaware was graded PR68 as was the Pennsylvania coin. The other 3 in the set were slabbed as PR69DCAM. I sent a note to Mindy Grossman, who runs HSN to let her know my feelings. I don't know if it is true but the people at ICG tell me that the previous management and graders all left and went to ANACS, which is what Mezak is selling on HSN now along with some ICG graded coins. I have lots of PR70's graded by ICG that I will never get rid of, because if they aren't graded by NGC or PCGS, people don't buy them very readily. Just wanted to vent about this guy on HSN still selling PR70 coins that probably could not stand up to close scrutiny. Any ideas as to what course of action is left to me?

 

A quick note on this. ICG generally grades modern proofs, a point or 2 higher. ICG and Anacs have swaped a lot of people. Your letter will not to much good, but still you should tell them. In short stay away from HSN and coins.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hi i think you did everthing right here by letting people know what happen to you i've heard of other people who had the same thing happen to them. i use to buy coins from hsn then i seen i could'nt get the price for the coins that i thought i should have. thats why now i only buy coins thats graded by pcgs or ngc when you buy coins thats graded by these companys you know you're getting what you pay for.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bob,

 

First of all I what to thank everyone who thought of this topic. Being new to the Numismatic world this will be a great thread to read and learn from. I started getting interested in coins about 6 months ago when I was reading The Numismatic news paper at a book store. I found lots of very interesting articles in the paper. Well to make a long story short I bought the paper and am now getting it every week and my knowledge about the hobby is expanding. Again, thanks to everyone .

 

Rich

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks to everyone who contributes to this forum, your expertise and advice is priceless. I am brand new to coin collecting as others in this thread have mentioned. I feel I have been extremely fortunate in starting collecting before joining NGC.

 

Bank CD's are a losing proposition so I went to Barnes & Noble and started reading books on investing. Great thing about B & N is, you can purchase a Starbucks coffee, sit down in a comfortable chair and start getting educated.

 

I read PM investing for dummies. That was a great place to start. Then I read Howard Ruffs book also The Collapse of the American Dollar by James Turk, and other books on the subject and decided to invest in some coins.

 

Before investing in coins I checked each firms record with the Better Business Bureau and the two firms I purchased coins from have lived up to their spotless record of doing business in a reputable manner.

 

I will now be reading these forums and learning more and more about the art of investing in coins, protecting them and learning about this hobby I have become very interested in.

 

Thanks again.

Bob

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One thing that became apparent as a result of the Peace $ scandal, is that collectors can not solely rely on TPG's and they can not solely rely on even the most reputable dealers for determinations on AT/NT. The best defense a collector has is to develop their own knowledge and expertise. Hopefully, these posts that we are about to launch will help those of you who are interested to learn more. Also, I would like to encourage those of you with the relevant experience and knowledge to contribute. I am tired of our hobby being exploited and I know there are many other collectors out there who feel the same way. So lets all chip in and do our best to increase education and awareness throughout the collector base.

 

I am a brand new collector who has been extremely fortunate to have purchased several Gold coins and not been scammed or cheated. As a newbie to coin collecting, I am curious what TPG's and AT/NT stand for.

 

I appreciate this forum and am learning some vitally important facts.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Couldn't have said it better about HSN. I'm surprised that they haven't been investigated as far as their coin sales. My stepmother kept buying silver Eagles on there for Christmas for me. I kept telling my Dad to get her just to go to the mint site or call them.. and it will saved her a bundle. NO go.. still sucked in by their sales pitch. Disgusting. It's the vulnerable and uneducated who fall for there pitch. Those Eagles were either electroplated with gold or silk screen or whatever with some cheesy picture. They are only worth bullion value or maybe even scrap value. What a racket.

Edited by sinohog
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is really a shame that so many people are taken in by HSN and their sleazy Pitchmen. Unfortunately, it is not against the law to do what HSN is doing. They along with various so called "Mint" sales, boiler-rooms discredit the entire hobby. It is shameful.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I, too, am a relativly new collector although my father tried when I was a kid. We buy mostly slabbed, being careful of what and from whom we buy non-slabbed/graded from. I recently purchased a NGC Mint error coin, but cannot find out anything about the error typr itself. I am happy with the coin and the price, but curious why I can't find info on the error, even on the NGC site. Lable reads, in whole: 1986 S Eagle S$1__Reverse Struck Thru__Mint Error PF 69 Ultra Cameo__and than lists the number. We collect the Eagle Proofs and this was just a nice add-on bonus for the set. The error is slight but noticable, so why can't I find info? Am I even posting this in the right area??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
0