Being a Coin Collector
By Coins and coin collecting | Wednesday, 17 May 2006
Coin collecting from starting out to specializing
A coin collector will probably accumulate hundreds, if not thousands, of coins in a lifetime. When starting out it is usual for any coin collector to begin with lower value, lower quality coins and move up from there. Often they will replace these lower value coins with much improved specimens of the same variety. A coin collector may then find it necessary or at least desirable to sell on the older variations of these coins either to free up some space in cabinets etc or to free up some money to be used in the purchase of further coins. Many a coin collector will begin with one or a small amount of coins they are given or have inherited from friends or families and then move on from there.
Knowledge of your subject
An avid coin collector will be able to tell you virtually every piece of history that surrounds any coin in their collection both because they tend to specialize and because knowledge is one of the most important factors when it comes to starting and maintaining a collection of any value or worth. It can sometimes take a long period of time and the beginning of a wider collection before a coin collector finds out exactly what this specialist area will be.
Specialist knowledge
Specializing makes the pursuit of knowledge much easier and quicker. Coins have been in production since 600 BC so learning every piece of history surrounding every conceivable coin a collector may have collected is beyond belief. By concentrating on a particular era, one country or even a particular type of coin like the Double Eagle $20 coins from America. Even specializing this locally can still leave a lot of knowledge to be sought and gained but the more specialist a collection becomes the easier it is to learn all about it.
Being an authority in your area
By specializing in one area and learning everything there is to know regarding that area you can be sure when collecting the appropriate coins that you are a leading authority on those coins. This will give you a lot more confidence when approaching buyers and sellers that you aren't being taken for a ride and subsequently losing money. Unfortunately, as with any collectible market, there are people out there who look to take advantage of people with little or no knowledge and by specializing you are helping to guard yourself against these individuals. A precaution that could save you time and money in the long run.
The size of your collection
A coin collector may collect hundreds of coins even when specializing very specifically so imagine the size of a coin collection belonging to someone who doesn't specialize. It may mean that you only need to concentrate on coins with a small value but you will eventually have a huge collection that is very difficult to store, log or show off. At this point you will be wishing you had specialized right from the start. Which coins do you choose to get rid of? When you've got rid of those coins, which ones are next?
The market and coin collectors
Coin collecting is a very enjoyable and widely enjoyed fascination and with the latest increases in market prices and analysts predicting that the rise is set to continue for another couple of years at least there are more and more investors getting involved that would only normally trade on the stock exchange. Gold coins, for instance, are very popular indeed with investors. They not only have a collectable value associated with them but also the value of the precious metal itself that will never depreciate by very much. This rise in the market is being enjoyed by investors and traders but merely endured by collectors around the world. One thing is for certain, there isn't a coin collector out there who will stop collecting just because the prices have risen a little and probably the same amount will consider selling their prize collection to the highest bidder.
This article is part of the Coins and coin collecting articles.
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