Coin collecting can be a great hobby and it can also lead you to some rare coin investments, but you want to be sure that you know what you are doing before you take your hobby to the investment stage. There is a lot to learn about rare coins and currency before you are qualified to select currency that you will purchase as an investment. Keep these three tips in mind as you begin to transition from coin collecting to rare coin investments.
The internet is a great tool and resource to learn about coins. You can spend hours researching and learning about the different grades of coins and how to begin to establish your own skillset for assessing a coins value. You no longer need piles of books to reference and you can even look up information online when you are out shopping for coins and viewing them in person. But what you don’t want to do is begin buying coins online too quickly. There are many scams, con artists and simply dishonest sellers. Invest your time in viewing and purchasing coins in person until you have mastered the art of grading and evaluating coins. Then you will be able to make successful purchases on the Internet.
You will also want to be careful of television ads that seem too good to be true. Everyone has seen the late night ads for buying and selling coins at amazing rates and “worry free”. The firms offer an 800 number so that you can call and then they will send you a postage paid box so that you can send in your coins for appraisal and sale. These dealers are not very reliable or trustworthy. The businesses who are going to let you pre-order a new rare minting for half price are also not to be believed. When you see an ad for such a rare new coin or for a medallion, do your research online and save yourself a lot of money and heartache. These are most likely gold plated replicas that will never be worth as much as you paid for them.
Finally, beware of telemarketers who call to offer you a great deal on coins. They might say that they got your number from a website that you signed up for or a magazine that you purchased and that might be true. But that does not mean that they are offering any legitimate currency for sale they just purchased the phone numbers of coin collectors. These are likely telemarketer scams and they are going to try to sell you on tokens or medallions that are of little value. However, if you have purchased from a business or broker in the past, they might be calling you with a legitimate offer. If you think that is the case then ask them to confirm your most recent purchase or ask for a number to call them back. A telemarketer will not be able to get incoming calls from you. But if they give you a number you can verify it against your past purchase records to be sure it is a trusted seller. Use these three tips to ensure that you are making good coin purchased for your collection or for your investments.