Mistakes That Coin Collectors Make

There are a lot of coin collectors throughout theare not such a good idea. The reason is because
whole world. We collect everything from the ultraof altered coins and counterfeit coins. There are
rare coins to even the most common coins. But,also tons of artificially toned coins out there that
as a collector, we always make mistakes.are sold raw. Why are they sold raw? That's
Sometimes we don't realize it is a mistake unlessbecause nobody would grade them. The seller
someone points it out to us. These are some ofdoesn't bother to have them graded because he
the most common mistakes I see collectorsshe actually made the artificial toning. Besides
make.altered coins, the other bad thing about raw coins
The first most common mistake I see collectorsis counterfeited coins. I know it's a lot cheaper to
make is paying a premium for a set of coins thatbuy 1916 D Mercury Dimes or 1932 D Washington
has only 1 rare coin. Wouldn't it be a lot easier toQuarters raw. But, if it isn't graded by PCGS,
just buy that one coin? The rest really isn't worthNGC, or ANACS, it could end up being counterfeit.
much anyways. I would only buy the whole set ifI believe some of the most commonly
the whole set was rare and hard to find. Somecounterfeited coins are the ones that are cheap in
people may argue that the whole set putthat same year, but expensive if a mintmark was
together is what gives the set its' value. Well, ifadded or removed. This is what makes the 1916
the key coin within the set was damaged,D Mercury Dime and the 1932 D Washington
wouldn't the whole set drastically go down inQuarter some of the most counterfeited coins.
value? If a common coin was damaged, the setMany people like buying the newest coin(s) when
would probably go down in value, but not bythey first come out. It's a mistake because this is
much. One example was the 2001 Silver Proofwhen the coins are at their most expensive. They
Set. If collectors bought the whole set, theyare new, they are hot, so everybody wants
wouldn't have made much. But, if they boughtthem first. This pushes their prices up. I would
just the key coin (The Sacagawea Dollar) in Proofnormally wait a couple months to get them. Once
70, they would have made a lot.their hype has died down, you can get it for a
The next big mistake I see collectors do is payfraction of their opening market value. One
above book value for a coin. If the coin is goingexample was the 2006 Proof Silver Eagle in PR70
up every single day, then I would understand. But,First Strike. It was sold for about $125-$145 when
some coins are not even worth book value, letit first came out. About 4 months later, they
alone above book value. What happens is a lot ofwere trading for less then $100 dollars. It was
collectors get into bidding wars and start toppingonly a year and a half later that they started
each other to try to win a coin. The honest truthgoing for $225 and up. Imagine if a coin was over
is, no matter how rare a coin is, you can always$1,000 dollars when it first comes out. The price
get it on Teletrade, a local coin store, or on Ebay,can easily drop to $600 in a month or two.
one time or another. There is no need to beAs coin collectors, we make a lot of mistakes.
fighting over coins unless there are only a handfulSome of these mistakes are bigger then others.
in the world. If you are going to pay above bookMaking mistakes is common. We are only human.
value for a coin, make sure it is at least gradedBut, making rookie mistakes is a sin. So hopefully
by PCGS or NGC.with this article, you will not make anymore rookie
Many collectors buy raw coins for their collections.mistakes. These mistakes can easily make your
A lot of coins are okay to buy raw, but otherscoin portfolio to give low or negative returns.