While everyone seem to be in the middle of a Gold Rush Silver has been steadily growing in worth .
Although Silver is still growing in value it will probably never reach the dizzy heights of gold.
One investor tried to corner the market in silver but was eventually thwarted.

Where to buy Coins

What is the best place to buy Coins ?

Many people just look on Coin collecting as a hobby.

There are however lots of newspaper and magazine articles about folks who have found a rare or valuable coin and subsequently sold it for thousands !

This is a great encouragement for anyone who collects coins.
It is rather like winning the Lotto but without the likelihood of losing the initial investment.

(I speak as someone who played the daily lotto for six consecutive days only to see his numbers appear (in order) on the seventh day !)

The difference is that coin collecting involves skill and judgment too.

What your aim is – To find a rare coin or coins that someone has either mis-catalogued, under graded or otherwise undervalued.

You will be pitting your knowledge against people in the following fields :

Coin Dealers in Retail Stores:
(I exclude companies selling coins on TV since they usually sell to people easily influenced by advertising and hype)

Retail Store Owners usually know a LOT about coins and may have been in business for a number of years.
They will have excellent knowledge about the retail prices of popular coins like Silver Dollars, Proof Coins, Gold Coins and similar easily saleable coins.
It is unlikely that you will find great bargains in these stores.
The exception is for SPECIALIST COINS –coins from unusual countries and very early coins may offer hope for the bargain shopper.

Many dealers specialise in a specific range of coins apart from what I term their bread and butter coins.(easy to sell popular coins on which they make a smaller profit)

Dealers with specialist knowledge are very much worth cultivating not only for their knowledge of their field but to find out what THEY in turn are looking for.

By talking with them and looking at their coins you will learn a great deal. You may then be able to find some of the coins that dealer A is looking fo at dealer B who you will visit next

This is particularly common in dealers in small antiques arcades and people who go from dealer to dealer buying and selling coins that they know they will be able to resell quickly are known as RUNNERS (the other definition of a runner is someone who grabs a handful of coins and runs off without paying !(This varies from Country to Country)

Dealers and collectors in Flea markets (my favourite hunting ground)
Flea Markets:
You might think that a Flea Market is an unusual place to find a rare coin ..
But you would be wrong. I have found many rare coins from the most unlikely people at flea Markets.

You will see MANY over –priced coins (especially silver dollars and silver crowns) as these vendors are usually amateurs who do not realise the price difference to be found in grading.
It is always very worthwhile to go through cabinets or books of coins from dealers at Flea Markets.

Pay particular attention to coins from foreign countries (research is essential)
Many dealers who show coins will also sell stamps or Medals (examine he medals closely as these can be worth much more than coins.
If there is an antiques dealer who also sells coins or medals then he/she should have some bargains among their stock.

All flea market sellers eventually have a cash crisis of some kind – and if they are doing really badly may give you a chance to buy coins at a substantial discount.

They will almost certainly give hefty discounts for bulk buys or buying other objects plus the coins you really want.Ask how business is – and remember EVERYTHING IS NEGOTIABLE.

How about a local Coin Show ?
Sometimes coin shows have displays from local or nearby dealers and then you can compare prices from several different dealers on the same day.

It’s a great place to see new coins and what is currently available (maybe at a discount
A coin show is also a superb place to sell your bargain coins - all dealers have to have new stocks every week to keep their regular customers happy and interested.
You may even have the chance to collect some unexpected rare coins as well.

The Internet and Mail Order.:

Coin dealers love he Internet- there are thousands of dealers on the net.
There is really no reason why you should restrict your buying and selling to just your own country
The huge advantage as far as you are concerned is that you can see the coin before you buy on an online catalogue website and pay for it by PAYPAL.

There are of course exceptions – for some reason there are are fraudsters in a group of countries – Nigeria, Malaysia and The Philippines are notorious for online scams. Either you get a different or poorer grade of coin or in extreme circumstances just a registered empty envelope.

I would personally avoid either buying or selling in those countries currently.
Always read the dealers terms and conditions carefully – some dealers NEVER give refunds. Make very sure you can get a refund if you are not satisfied with the coin.

Before buying online try to contact existing customers for feedback (see the auction section for details.
There are MANY fake coin websites…it may well be safer to use a local version or branch of eBay.
NEVER part with any passwords or pin numbers to online websites.

I’m Shy about using an Auction !

Everyone feels like that at first.Its normal.
With online auctions there are normally two choices –
A BUY IT NOW option (which is the same as going ino a shop and buying at the marked price.

The Auction Option – this is much more fun.
Really rare coins often turn up at auctions.

There is a theory that an auction that starts off with a low starting price generates lots of bids.
Well that is sometimes true – but sometimes it lets crafty folk like you and I get coins at bargain prices.

Do Not ever make the first bid on a coin you want –Why ? Because if there are other bids you will have already made the price higher !

Wait until the last minute before the auction ends and if the coin looks great value, type in your bid (the top amount you think you can get the coin for and make a profit on it when you resell it)

Many people sell their whole collections at auction and this really does give you the chance to grab some bargains.

Here are regrettably fraudsters on every auction site and you have to investigate the sellers FEEDBACK before making a bid.

Click on the feebdback button and you will see what other buyers experiences are with that seller –
Avoid sellers who over grade their coins or take weeks to deliver them
Some buyer however are never satisfied and what you are looking for is sellers with feedback of 98% or higher.
Check out the other people who have bought as well to see what they have bought.
It can be a fun and interesting game.

Avoid sellers with less than 10 feedbacks (hese are often gained by buying ebooks and other low value items which build up the seller feedback (you want feedback from people on coins – not other goodies !

Friends and other Coin Collectors:

Other coin collectors often have duplicate coins that they will sell for price less than market value. (A Coin dealer always buys at less than market value and sells at market value – that is how he/she makes a profit)

To find friends who will sell to you look on online groups, forums and (if you have one) local groups. Then you can all learn from each other and swap information and possibly coins.

You can learn a great deal from forums and on-line groups (Yahoo and Google have many coin groups and so do Facebook and Myspace)From them you might find dealers who will give discounts, tips on coin collecting and maybe even acquire some of their coins too !

No matter what anyone will tell you, you will never ALWAYS make a profit on coins – sometimes you will win and sometimes you may lose.
The way to win is to be knowledgeable and well informed.

You will eventually meet dealers who will help you – and some who will try to fleece you. You will learn by experience – and experience has no price.