4 Mistakes (Almost) Every Coin Collector Makes

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From using vinegar and baking soda to make our coins shinier all the way to giving a fortune to some fabricated piece of metal we though actually was some of a great value, we all had that not-so-bright moment in our history as coin collectors.

Lighten up, as you’re not the only one! However, if you are just starting your numismatic career, familiarizing yourself with these common mistakes (almost) all beginners do can save you quite a sum (plus nerves, which is more important… I guess).

Jumping on an Occasion

For those who consider themselves experienced numismatists, there has never been a true doubt in that this is an expensive hobby. Lord knows that some of the coins are really worth a fortune and it takes months of hard work and renunciation to save enough money to buy a rare coin we need to complete our collection.

However, what happens in those rare situations when we do have enough money, but there is just not one coin on the market that would be worth spending our hard-earned money on?

One of the most common mistakes coin collectors make is jumping on an occasion of buying whatever coin that looks interesting to them even without them researching a bit on their true value. Those impulsive purchases, usually made as a result and frustration of a long-lasting dry period, 9 times out of 10 results in reselling those coins.

Make sure that every coin you spend on your coins is worth it, even though we all make mistakes and will always buy something that won’t satisfy our numismatic selves to the fullest. And who knows, maybe one day you end up running your own coin business online.

Improper Handling

Did you get to that point when you just had to try cleaning some of the coins from your collection? How did it go? I know.. We’ve all been there and done that.

Grabbing coins without any protection (in the form of gloves, for example) and leaving oily fingerprints on this precious pieces of metal is something we all did sometimes. In the infant stages of my numismatic life, I didn’t care much about how I handle my coins. It’s a piece of metal for God’s sakes, grabbing it heads/tails can’t do any harm, right? Wrong!

Correct way of holding a coin is holding it between your fingertips. Of course, it’s always advisable for you to wear gloves so you don’t leave any fingerprints on it. How much crazy this may sound to you, grabbing all over your coins might leave unrepairable little scratches on coins surface. Leave no victims.

Storing the Coins

First of all – know that this is no pirate treasure. Worst thing you can do is to store your coins without any protection in a glass jar or any other container.

What do you think coin albums and protective holders are for?

Newbie coin collectors usually make a mistake of storing their coins altogether without any protection whatsoever. This results in damaging their surface due to coins scraping off each other while in the bowl.

One other thing, you should make sure that you keep your coin collection on uniform temperature and a place with low to none humidity.

Getting Scammed

There are two sides to every story. Since some of the coins are worth a couple of 1000s of dollars, this gave solid ground to many scams to arise, claiming that they sell genuine coins while they actually don’t.

You will get more experienced over the years but being super-careful never gets old. The good way of doing things would be not to bite for numerous TV sellers arising on literally every station right now.

Making sure you buy your coins from reputable coin dealers, either online or offline, can ensure that you don’t get scammed for your money.

Also, being informed about the latest trends in the industry helps a lot. For instance, did you know that custom challenge coins have been on the rise lately? If not, you can read all about it in this blog post by Embleholic.