Starting and Adding to Your Collection
There are many places to find coins to start or add to your collection. Coin shops are obvious places to begin the search. Then there are coin shows, which offer plenty of choices, and often some very good bargains. Unlike a local shop, which sometimes operates like a mini-monopoly dealers at shows are in competition with one another. A little competition is good for coin collectors.
The hobby magazines are rife with mail-order opportunities. Do your homework before ordering through the mail. Overgrading of coins is a common practice. Know the return policy—and it better be 100 percent satisfaction guaranteed—before ordering anything from a mail dealer. This goes for Web sites and Internet auctions, too. The scam artists, though in the minority, are intermingled with the legitimate businesses, so beware.
Coins magazine covers market trends, buying tips, and historical perspectives on coins. Subscription information is available at www.krause.com/coins/cm. World Coin News, the leading authority on the coins of the world, reports regularly on worldwide shows, providing in-depth historical backgrounds of many of its featured coins. Check out www.krause.com/coins/wc for information.
No matter where you are in your collection, joining a coin collecting society can be a benefit. You'll meet fellow collectors, trade with them, learn the ins and outs of the marketplace, and be less likely to take any wooden nickels. And you might make a friend, too.
