Tips For Picking Coins That Go Up in Value

People collect coins for a variety of different reasons. Some people collect coins that represent a certain point in American history. Some people collect coins because they like the beauty of the design and some people collect coins because they are interested in the rarity of the coin. These collectors are passionate about their hobby and will often spend quite a deal of money and time in completing their collections.

There are however, a great number of people who collect coins for monetary gains, and this cross-section of collectors are what we are going to focus our attention on today. I am going to give you tips for picking coins that go up in value. Before we begin, allow me to give you a slight disclaimer. While many people make good livings buying and selling coins, there is no guarantee that any coin that you purchase will go up in value. Like any other investment, coin collecting has its share of risks and rewards. With that being said, let’s look at the top tips for selecting coins that increase with value.

1. Specialize-Before beginning to purchase coins for profit, I would suggest that you specialize in one aspect of the business, at least in the beginning. When I first started I learned everything I could about Morgan silver dollars. I learned what they sold for and what their average value was. Sure, it could be boring, but it allowed me to make buying decisions that were superior to my competitors. After I got experience under my belt, I was able to branch out into other areas of the business.

2. Consider it’s rarity-The less available a coin is, the more it is usually worth on the market. This is true not only of coins, but anything that has any value. It is therefore in your best interest choose coins that had a limited minting or whose numbers were severely restricted to things such as war-time scrapping.

3. Condition is king-You should choose coins that are in the best condition possible. Personally, I don’t like to buy coins that are worse than an AU 51 for anything prior to 1940. The higher the quality of the coin, the greater the market for it.

4. No cleaning allowed-You are going to want to avoid coins that have been cleaned. Cleaning can reduce the value of a coin by almost ninety percent. You should never buy a cleaned coin or clean one yourself.

5. Educate yourself-Numismatics is a field that continuously grows and expands. Grading standards are perfected, new trends develop and new hoards of coins are found all the time. Get yourself some solid information on the field by subscribing to some of the email newsletters offered by the various numismatic grading agencies.

6. Learn the art of negotiation-Okay, so you have found the perfect coin. It is a rare coin that is nicely struck and is high quality. You are positioned to buy it, but before you do you need to keep one thing in mind. Do not pay more than you have to for it. A lot of beginning coin traders get so caught up in acquiring a coin that they cut their profit margin to shreds. Getting that perfect coin doesn’t matter if you can’t get the money out of it, and that is exactly what a lot of people do. Remember, there is usually always room for negotiation and when there isn’t, don’t be afraid to walk away from the table. There will always be another coin.

If you follow the above tips, then you are already way ahead of the game. There is only one more thing to remember. Coin collecting is an art that requires patience above all other things. Apply a high standard to the coins that you want to add to your collection and don’t be afraid to turn down coins that don’t meet your criteria. If you do this consistently, you will find that you have added coins to your collection that will continue to rise in value as time passes.