<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594</id><updated>2011-12-14T18:47:44.281-08:00</updated><title type='text'>coincollectingguide</title><subtitle type='html'></subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><link rel='next' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default?start-index=101&amp;max-results=100'/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>228</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-113154204799933464</id><published>2005-11-09T05:14:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2005-11-09T05:14:08.050-08:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; The value of a particular coin, is determined by the grade that it is in. Coins that are in common circulation deteriorate over time and start to loose their detail. Coin grading will help you get to the coins current value, and a properly graded coin will determine more accurately what the exact worth of the coin.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collectors use a numbering system to give collectors an accurate measure of the condition a coin is in. This numbering system ranges between 1 and 70. "1" being the worst possible condition of a coin, and 70 meaning flawless. The numbers tell collectors many things, like how much wear is on the coin and if there are any damaging marks on the coin. There are very few coins out there with a 70 grade on them. It is very rare, and most coins minted have flaws, even if they are ever so slight.&lt;BR&gt;Grading coins is a science, and once you learn that science, putting a grade and a value on that coin will become much easier for you. Plus you will be able to accurately grade coins at auctions, coin dealers, and private collectors, so you will not get ripped off if someone is trying to sell you something at a higher price than it is worth. So coin grading is very important in the hobby of coin collecting, and learning this practice will greatly enhance your skills in the hobby and make you much more aware or current prices and rates that certain coins are going for.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.coingrading.com"&gt;How to Grade US Coins&lt;/A&gt; is a great starter for hobbyist trying to learn the art of coin grading. This book will go over all the different aspects of coin grading, and all the different grades of coins. It is a great reference to any hobbyist, and comes highly recommended.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.pcgs.com"&gt;Professional Coin Grading Service&lt;/A&gt; is a great service for those who either have had a hard time learning the fine art, or need a professional grading service to grade a particular rare coin. They also come highly recommended, and for some of your more finer specimens, a professional coin grading service is the way to go, to get a more accurately graded coin. &lt;BR&gt;So check out our coin grading button, and learn the different types of grades for your coins, read the recommended reading on grading your US coins, or have a professional coin grading service do the work for you. Either way, accurately having your coins graded will easily put a value on your collection, and could quite save you a lot of money in the buying of coins for your collection. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt;, visit the website to learn all about the wonderful world of coin collecting.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingforbeginners/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting for beginners&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingfordummies/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting for dummies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingforkids/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting for kids&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingguide/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting guide&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingmagazine/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting magazine&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-113154204799933464?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/113154204799933464/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=113154204799933464' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113154204799933464'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113154204799933464'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/11/coin-grading-coin-grading-author-jon_09.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-113142523891637223</id><published>2005-11-07T20:47:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2005-11-07T20:47:18.980-08:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So you want to become a successful coin collector. Well you have some simple concepts that you must learn in order for you to become a good coin collector, and let�s face it, if you don't learn some key rules for collecting coins, you are not going to enjoy collecting coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Well I would say that EDUCATION would be the most important factor for anyone to be a successful coin collector. Learn as much as you can about this wonderful hobby. Buy as many books and reading material on all aspects of coin collecting that you can get your hands on. This may even include subscribing to a few coin collecting magazines like Coin World. There are many online organizations, some listed on this site, and you can read about just about anything that there is to know about the hobby of collecting coins. &lt;BR&gt;�Learn to be a coin collector. A true collector collects coins for the right reasons. It is what he loves, it�s a true passion for him. It is what interests them the most and they study the market and learn what it is they are purchasing. Most collectors build collections for not only the feel of the hobby, but to make money as well. A true collector is building an investment and knows what he wants out of his collection. &lt;BR&gt;�Make sure you know where to get the information you need to succeed in hobby. Coin magazines, brokers, and newsletters in the hobby are a great way to keep up with what is going on in the coin industry. In my opinion the greatest place to find information on the coins that you are looking to collect are from dealers and other collectors. Working with your local coin dealer, who is established and well informed would be one of your greatest relationships that you will have in your hobby. &lt;BR&gt;�Another asset in &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; is learning to grade your coins. Knowing how to grade coins will not only help you purchase your coins more accurately, but it will help you to identify with your coins to know their true grade and getting a better understanding of what your coins are worth. Lots of money is spent on purchasing coins without the knowledge of knowing what the true grade of the coin is. The coin collector assumes the person or dealer that he is buying the coin from is knowledgeable himself and trust him. This is not a very trusting practice, and in the end it could result in your spending lots of money on your coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;�In the hobby of coin collecting, you will learn patience. Coin collections are built over many years, and beginner collectors will most often rush into collecting coins, with out learning the hobby first. This is a long term hobby, and some of the best and successful coin collectors are collectors having 10+ years under them. If you are planning on collecting coins for profit. It is advisable to buy your coins with the intention that you are going to keep them for at least 10 years. This will insure that you will get a reasonable return on your coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Having long and short term goals is the key to being successful in anything that you do. Well this holds true with coin collecting. Make sure you know what, where, how, and when, when it comes to &lt;A href="�http://www.thecoinalley.com�"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt;. Knowing your goals will help you become a successful coin collector and make your hobby more enjoyable.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit the site for more information on the wonderful Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingasahobby/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting as a hobby&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingassociation/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting association&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingbook/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting book&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingbooks/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting books&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingbuysell/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting buy&amp;sell&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-113142523891637223?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/113142523891637223/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=113142523891637223' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113142523891637223'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113142523891637223'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/11/successful-coin-collector-successful_07.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-113130957804650343</id><published>2005-11-06T12:39:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2005-11-06T12:39:38.093-08:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 4)&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 4)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; steve renner &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Throughout history, many coin collections have produced substantial long-term profits for their owners. This is particularly true for coin collectors of this century. Indeed, Harold Bareford reportedly purchased a collection of U.S. gold coins for $13,832 in the early 1950s which was resold at auction in 1978 for $1.2 million. A more substantial collector, Louis Eliasberg, built a collection that cost about $300,000. In 1982, it brought $12.4 million at auction.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;This investment performance has been well documented by sources as diverse as The Wall Street Journal, Consumer Reports and a host of industry periodicals and guidesheets. What these reports have shown is that carefully selected portfolios of rare coins have had a high rate of long-term appreciation.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Of course, past performance is no guarantee of future results and investments in rare coins do involve risk. While the market performance of different coins varies substantially and no representation can be made that an individual investor's portfolio will enjoy results similar to those that have been documented in the various independent reports and surveys, those reports and surveys illustrate the impressive returns that carefully selected rare U.S. coins can produce.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Tax Benefits&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Capital gains on coins can only be taxed at liquidation, when the profits are actually realized. There is no taxation on phantom or undistributed profits as there are with some investments. And unlike most other investments, there is no federal income tax liability on so-called "wash sales" or like-kind exchanges which enable investors to trade their rare coins for other rare coins of equal or greater value&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Intrinsic Value&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Unlike paper investments, rare U.S. coins have real tangible value you can feel each time you hold one in your hand. Therefore, they offer two ways to build wealth. Carefully selected coins truly offer the best of bullion and numismatics in one investment. They contain the intrinsic security of bullion and can also offer extraordinary profit potential regardless of what precious metal spot prices do. Still, precious metal content is only a relatively small factor in determining the value of many rare U.S. coins whose value is almost solely based on condition, demand and rarity&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Historically Significant Beauty&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Rare U.S. coins are a part of our history--direct links to America's rich heritage--as timeless and valuable as history itself. For two centuries, U.S. coins have been symbols of American stability, as well as reflections of national pride. Throughout our nation's history, coins have spotlighted our national heroes, paid tribute to our great achievements and commemorated significant events. These truly historic works of art commemorate past sacrifices made in the name of freedom.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Rare U.S. coins acquaint investors with historical figures and events, no matter how far removed by time. The satisfaction of actually owning a piece of history from a bygone era makes investing in rare U.S. coins truly unique. Each coin has traveled a different path through history. As a result, each is a unique embodiment of the hopes and dreams of our founding fathers&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Condition&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The overwhelming majority of U.S. coins ever minted were circulated. Many coins were lost through attrition and others were damaged by use, thus eliminating any potential for numismatic value. The few surviving uncirculated coins are in a much more pristine condition.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Investment quality coins are primarily those coins rated in the 11 uncirculated grades, 60 and above, on the American Numismatic Association's 70 point grading scale. A coin's grade is a measure of its condition or state of preservation. The higher the grade, the better the condition.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Uncirculated coins fall into two broad categories: Proof (PF or PR) and Mint State (MS). Mint State coins were originally meant for circulation but never were circulated, so they remain in the same condition today as when they were minted. Proof coins were never meant for circulation, thus they received very careful handling and were specially struck at least twice on highly polished planchets.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The beauty of a coin can attract collectors as well as investors, and hence increase demand for a particular coin or set. This increased demand can result in rising values. Eye appeal is affected by several factors including the beauty of a coin's design, the minting process used, the fullness and sharpness of its strike, the toning, the brilliance of its luster and the amount of wear and number of blemishes on the coin's surface&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Portfolios or Collections?&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The age-old description of coin collecting as the "Hobby of Kings" is both accurate and misleading... accurate in conveying the outdated perception that coin collecting is restricted only to the very wealthy, misleading in that the number of collectors has steadily increased and has been estimated by the American Numismatic Association to include as many as 7-10 million coin buyers in the United States alone. Typically, the coin collector collects coins for their rarity and historical value. Collectors view their coins as rare art and as the tangible remnants of the cultural and economic forces that created them.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The investor begins from a different starting point--the fact that coins of proven rarity have shown remarkably high rates of appreciation. He sees the economic results of the pleasures of collecting and makes his original purchases with profits as his only motive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;However, we have found that the line between those of our clients that are collectors and those that are investors has become increasingly blurred. Collectors can't help but be pleased when coins that they sell bring an attractive profit. Investors begin to see their coins as works of art and become knowledgeable about the circumstances of their minting and the era in which they were circulated.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Both collector and investor come to realize that their intellectual curiosity, aesthetic sensibilities and enjoyment in our country's past can be used to create a collection that becomes an important store of value, a way to accumulate wealth that can be passed on to future generations--or used to fund their own retirements.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Steve is the ceo of cashcards-goldlynks rare/gold coin club he was the best isp in 1997 check out his about us page at http://goldlynks.tripod.com this article is free for distribution you can sign up for a free email course on buying and selling rare/gold coins for profit by sending email to goldcoinsinfo@yahoo.com membership of the coins club is free to join at http://goldlynks.tripod.com&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/articles/&gt;coin collecting - your #1 reference guide to collecting coins - coin collecting articles&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/addlink.html&gt;coin collecting - your #1 reference guide to collecting coins - add url&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../articles/&gt;coin collecting - your #1 reference guide to collecting coins - coin collecting articles&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-113130957804650343?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/113130957804650343/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=113130957804650343' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113130957804650343'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113130957804650343'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/11/why-you-need-to-buy-and-sell-gold_06.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-113125140494770236</id><published>2005-11-05T20:30:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2005-11-05T20:30:05.006-08:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So you want to become a successful coin collector. Well you have some simple concepts that you must learn in order for you to become a good coin collector, and let�s face it, if you don't learn some key rules for collecting coins, you are not going to enjoy collecting coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Well I would say that EDUCATION would be the most important factor for anyone to be a successful coin collector. Learn as much as you can about this wonderful hobby. Buy as many books and reading material on all aspects of coin collecting that you can get your hands on. This may even include subscribing to a few coin collecting magazines like Coin World. There are many online organizations, some listed on this site, and you can read about just about anything that there is to know about the hobby of collecting coins. &lt;BR&gt;�Learn to be a coin collector. A true collector collects coins for the right reasons. It is what he loves, it�s a true passion for him. It is what interests them the most and they study the market and learn what it is they are purchasing. Most collectors build collections for not only the feel of the hobby, but to make money as well. A true collector is building an investment and knows what he wants out of his collection. &lt;BR&gt;�Make sure you know where to get the information you need to succeed in hobby. Coin magazines, brokers, and newsletters in the hobby are a great way to keep up with what is going on in the coin industry. In my opinion the greatest place to find information on the coins that you are looking to collect are from dealers and other collectors. Working with your local coin dealer, who is established and well informed would be one of your greatest relationships that you will have in your hobby. &lt;BR&gt;�Another asset in &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; is learning to grade your coins. Knowing how to grade coins will not only help you purchase your coins more accurately, but it will help you to identify with your coins to know their true grade and getting a better understanding of what your coins are worth. Lots of money is spent on purchasing coins without the knowledge of knowing what the true grade of the coin is. The coin collector assumes the person or dealer that he is buying the coin from is knowledgeable himself and trust him. This is not a very trusting practice, and in the end it could result in your spending lots of money on your coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;�In the hobby of coin collecting, you will learn patience. Coin collections are built over many years, and beginner collectors will most often rush into collecting coins, with out learning the hobby first. This is a long term hobby, and some of the best and successful coin collectors are collectors having 10+ years under them. If you are planning on collecting coins for profit. It is advisable to buy your coins with the intention that you are going to keep them for at least 10 years. This will insure that you will get a reasonable return on your coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Having long and short term goals is the key to being successful in anything that you do. Well this holds true with coin collecting. Make sure you know what, where, how, and when, when it comes to &lt;A href="�http://www.thecoinalley.com�"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt;. Knowing your goals will help you become a successful coin collector and make your hobby more enjoyable.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit the site for more information on the wonderful Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../uscoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - us coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../whitmancoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - whitman coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../worldcoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - world coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../addcat.html&gt;coin collecting - your #1 reference guide to collecting coins - add url&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../lfastcoin.html&gt;the hobby of kings!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-113125140494770236?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/113125140494770236/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=113125140494770236' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113125140494770236'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113125140494770236'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/11/successful-coin-collector-successful_05.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-113116485066361603</id><published>2005-11-04T20:27:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2005-11-04T20:27:30.670-08:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; The value of a particular coin, is determined by the grade that it is in. Coins that are in common circulation deteriorate over time and start to loose their detail. Coin grading will help you get to the coins current value, and a properly graded coin will determine more accurately what the exact worth of the coin.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collectors use a numbering system to give collectors an accurate measure of the condition a coin is in. This numbering system ranges between 1 and 70. "1" being the worst possible condition of a coin, and 70 meaning flawless. The numbers tell collectors many things, like how much wear is on the coin and if there are any damaging marks on the coin. There are very few coins out there with a 70 grade on them. It is very rare, and most coins minted have flaws, even if they are ever so slight.&lt;BR&gt;Grading coins is a science, and once you learn that science, putting a grade and a value on that coin will become much easier for you. Plus you will be able to accurately grade coins at auctions, coin dealers, and private collectors, so you will not get ripped off if someone is trying to sell you something at a higher price than it is worth. So coin grading is very important in the hobby of coin collecting, and learning this practice will greatly enhance your skills in the hobby and make you much more aware or current prices and rates that certain coins are going for.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.coingrading.com"&gt;How to Grade US Coins&lt;/A&gt; is a great starter for hobbyist trying to learn the art of coin grading. This book will go over all the different aspects of coin grading, and all the different grades of coins. It is a great reference to any hobbyist, and comes highly recommended.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.pcgs.com"&gt;Professional Coin Grading Service&lt;/A&gt; is a great service for those who either have had a hard time learning the fine art, or need a professional grading service to grade a particular rare coin. They also come highly recommended, and for some of your more finer specimens, a professional coin grading service is the way to go, to get a more accurately graded coin. &lt;BR&gt;So check out our coin grading button, and learn the different types of grades for your coins, read the recommended reading on grading your US coins, or have a professional coin grading service do the work for you. Either way, accurately having your coins graded will easily put a value on your collection, and could quite save you a lot of money in the buying of coins for your collection. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt;, visit the website to learn all about the wonderful world of coin collecting.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../foreigncoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - foreign coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../foreigncoincollectingsupplies/&gt;coin collecting - foreign coin collecting supplies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../freecoincollectingkids/&gt;coin collecting - free coin collecting kids&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../freecoincollectingsoftware/&gt;coin collecting - free coin collecting software&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../giftcoincollectorcollecting/&gt;coin collecting - gift coin collector collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-113116485066361603?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/113116485066361603/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=113116485066361603' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113116485066361603'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113116485066361603'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/11/coin-grading-coin-grading-author-jon_04.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-113107803114340487</id><published>2005-11-03T20:20:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2005-11-03T20:20:31.460-08:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Why Collect Coins?&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why Collect Coins?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So why collect coins? Answer is simple really. Coin Collectors, sometimes called Numismatists, enjoy collecting coins on various levels. Some collect coins for their rarity, some collect coins in the hope that one day their collection will be worth a value. Some just do it for the sure pleasure of having a hobby that is easy to do. Doing a little research and starting off small is the greatest way to get started in this hobby. Learn all you can about coin collecting basics. There are many &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;Coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; books and websites (like this one) out there, that will try to put a clearer understanding of what coin collecting is all about, and we are hear to teach you what you need to know about coin collecting. Coins have a history about them, when they were struck, why was the design chosen for that time period. There are no reasons etched in stone that says you have to collect coins in any particular way. You collect the way you want to, if you want to only collect pennies, then only collect pennies, if you want to collect complete sets of each of the denominations of coins, then do that, or you can just collect the coins that interest you. You decide what, when, and how to collect.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collecting basics is this, start small. Decide what types of coins you would like to collect. What would you like your collection to consist of? Pennies, Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, Half-Dollars, Dollars, Gold, Silver, Paper Money. It doesn't matter. Maybe you want to just collect coins from a certain time period that interest you. Whatever your decision, stick with it and work to completing your collection. Also remember that coins that were struck at different places have different mint marks. A mint mark is a letter that tells us where the coin was struck. Each of the coins that you wish to collect will have different mint marks, to complete a set you will want to have each of the mint marks for that coin. Subscribe to a coin magazine, Coin World is a good one. They have a wealth of knowledge pertaining to collecting coins. Also visit a local coin dealer, not only will you be able to look at a variety of coins that the dealer will be selling, they also can answer questions that you may have, they are there to help you build and understand coin collecting basics. Use that to your advantage. I guess you will need a nice place to put your newly acquired coins. Find yourself a coin folder to display your coins. And once you get into the hobby more you can get some coin sleeves to house your collection and store them the way you would want. The possibilities are endless with coin collecting, and learning coin collecting basics is the first real step in the progression of building a great coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;Building a coin collection, is a long process. It doesn't happen over night, it doesn't happen in a week, and unless you are filthy rich, it won't happen in a year. Collecting takes time, effort, and persistence, and the fact of the matter is, there are so many different types of coins to collect that it takes time to study and learn about each of the prospects. The United States have produced many different varieties of coins from the penny to the gold dollar. They have produced commemorative coins celebrating a historic event or an anniversary. What ever you chose to collect I am sure that with a little effort on your part, that your collection will be something that you can pass on to your children, or build a small nest egg for your retirement, or whatever you choose to start coin collecting for. Learning coin collecting basics is a healthy start to building a wonderful coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit www.thecoinalley.com to view other related information on the wonder Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingsoftwarefree/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting software free&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingstarterkit/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting starter kit&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingsupplies/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting supplies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingsuppliesuk/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting supplies uk&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingsupply/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting supply&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-113107803114340487?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/113107803114340487/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=113107803114340487' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113107803114340487'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113107803114340487'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/11/why-collect-coins-why-coll_113107803114340487.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-113099150062640129</id><published>2005-11-02T20:18:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2005-11-02T20:18:20.713-08:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Daniel J. Goevert &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Okay, let�s get something straight� I do not advocate the purchase of United States coins strictly for investment purposes. Like most traditional collectors, I believe coins are to be primarily appreciated for their artistic beauty, historical connections, and the joy of pursuing them. However, it should be no secret that a significant number of us do add to our numismatic holdings while simultaneously peeking at the payback angle, too.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;In truth, there are probably substantial numbers of traditional collectors who prefer to acquire coins destined to increase in esteem and value over time; treasured heirlooms and a source of pride to be passed from one generation to the next. On the flip side of this equation, it seems implausible that anyone would buy a coin with the hope or expectation to see it stagnate or decrease in value. Indeed, any commentator who suggests the words �investment� and �coins� should never appear in close proximity to one another is ignoring a heavily populated segment of our hobby.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Now that we�ve established that it�s not numismatic heresy to seek coins with strong upside possibilities, let�s get down to basics. The guiding principle is simple: Any coin that has demonstrated solid, consistent gains over a long period of time is likely to show continued growth in the years ahead. Easily said, but as we shall soon see, not so easily put into practice.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;So exactly how does a one identify coins with a potentially bullish future? The best clues are revealed by analyzing the retail value trends over a long period of time for a given coin. Observing current prices alone does not yield enough information to correctly evaluate prospective price movements. What was the coin selling for two or three years ago compared to today? Dig deeper, and find the market price for the same coin 5-10 years ago. While you�re at it, get something from 20-30 years or more in the past, too. The more good data researched, the more reliable will be your final conclusions. Now whip out your spreadsheet and chart the numbers, or compute annualized rates of return. Flat or negative trends are bad. Positive trends are good. Steep positive trends are best. Any coin displaying a proven annualized growth pattern of at least 5-10% over a span of many years qualifies as an attractive option for the collector desiring coins headed for much higher price levels a few years down the road.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;During the course of my lengthy numismatic career, I�ve researched the long term value trends of most collectible US coins. Thanks to my trusty computer, I�ve calculated annualized compounded percentage return rates and honed in on a handful of coins that have consistently beaten the overall coin market averages. Unfortunately, the blue-chippers are scarcely encountered. Perhaps it is this fact that explains why so many well-intentioned hobby purists scorn the idea of blending coin collecting with the profit motive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Individuals whose objective is to satisfy their numismatic pleasure by assembling a collection certain to be the envy of tomorrow�s collectors must do their homework today. Remember to research historic value trends and evaluate growth potential based on previous performance. One last word of advice� never loose sight of the fact that you are handling artifacts of America�s past, and that all of us are merely their temporary custodians. Respect these coins and the history they represent, and you�ll always discover new avenues of adventure not found in most other investment opportunities.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Author Daniel J. Goevert is the webmaster of &lt;A href="http://www.us-coin-values-advisor.com"&gt;US Coin Values Advisor&lt;/A&gt;. This site specializes in US coin value trends, plus offers detailed coin collecting advice as well as an illustrated history of the United States and the US Mint.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingmagazines/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting magazines&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingmarketvalues/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting  market values&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingmeritbadge/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting merit badge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingnews/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting news&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingonlinepurchasesites/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting online purchase sites&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-113099150062640129?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/113099150062640129/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=113099150062640129' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113099150062640129'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113099150062640129'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/11/identifying-us-coins-with-bullish.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-113084591940625551</id><published>2005-11-01T03:51:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2005-11-01T03:51:59.463-08:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So you want to become a successful coin collector. Well you have some simple concepts that you must learn in order for you to become a good coin collector, and let�s face it, if you don't learn some key rules for collecting coins, you are not going to enjoy collecting coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Well I would say that EDUCATION would be the most important factor for anyone to be a successful coin collector. Learn as much as you can about this wonderful hobby. Buy as many books and reading material on all aspects of coin collecting that you can get your hands on. This may even include subscribing to a few coin collecting magazines like Coin World. There are many online organizations, some listed on this site, and you can read about just about anything that there is to know about the hobby of collecting coins. &lt;BR&gt;�Learn to be a coin collector. A true collector collects coins for the right reasons. It is what he loves, it�s a true passion for him. It is what interests them the most and they study the market and learn what it is they are purchasing. Most collectors build collections for not only the feel of the hobby, but to make money as well. A true collector is building an investment and knows what he wants out of his collection. &lt;BR&gt;�Make sure you know where to get the information you need to succeed in hobby. Coin magazines, brokers, and newsletters in the hobby are a great way to keep up with what is going on in the coin industry. In my opinion the greatest place to find information on the coins that you are looking to collect are from dealers and other collectors. Working with your local coin dealer, who is established and well informed would be one of your greatest relationships that you will have in your hobby. &lt;BR&gt;�Another asset in &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; is learning to grade your coins. Knowing how to grade coins will not only help you purchase your coins more accurately, but it will help you to identify with your coins to know their true grade and getting a better understanding of what your coins are worth. Lots of money is spent on purchasing coins without the knowledge of knowing what the true grade of the coin is. The coin collector assumes the person or dealer that he is buying the coin from is knowledgeable himself and trust him. This is not a very trusting practice, and in the end it could result in your spending lots of money on your coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;�In the hobby of coin collecting, you will learn patience. Coin collections are built over many years, and beginner collectors will most often rush into collecting coins, with out learning the hobby first. This is a long term hobby, and some of the best and successful coin collectors are collectors having 10+ years under them. If you are planning on collecting coins for profit. It is advisable to buy your coins with the intention that you are going to keep them for at least 10 years. This will insure that you will get a reasonable return on your coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Having long and short term goals is the key to being successful in anything that you do. Well this holds true with coin collecting. Make sure you know what, where, how, and when, when it comes to &lt;A href="�http://www.thecoinalley.com�"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt;. Knowing your goals will help you become a successful coin collector and make your hobby more enjoyable.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit the site for more information on the wonderful Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingasahobby/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting as a hobby&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingassociation/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting association&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingbook/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting book&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingbooks/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting books&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingbuysell/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting buy&amp;sell&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-113084591940625551?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/113084591940625551/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=113084591940625551' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113084591940625551'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113084591940625551'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/11/successful-coin-collector-successful.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-113063926973785667</id><published>2005-10-29T19:27:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-29T19:27:49.800-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Daniel J. Goevert &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Okay, let�s get something straight� I do not advocate the purchase of United States coins strictly for investment purposes. Like most traditional collectors, I believe coins are to be primarily appreciated for their artistic beauty, historical connections, and the joy of pursuing them. However, it should be no secret that a significant number of us do add to our numismatic holdings while simultaneously peeking at the payback angle, too.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;In truth, there are probably substantial numbers of traditional collectors who prefer to acquire coins destined to increase in esteem and value over time; treasured heirlooms and a source of pride to be passed from one generation to the next. On the flip side of this equation, it seems implausible that anyone would buy a coin with the hope or expectation to see it stagnate or decrease in value. Indeed, any commentator who suggests the words �investment� and �coins� should never appear in close proximity to one another is ignoring a heavily populated segment of our hobby.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Now that we�ve established that it�s not numismatic heresy to seek coins with strong upside possibilities, let�s get down to basics. The guiding principle is simple: Any coin that has demonstrated solid, consistent gains over a long period of time is likely to show continued growth in the years ahead. Easily said, but as we shall soon see, not so easily put into practice.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;So exactly how does a one identify coins with a potentially bullish future? The best clues are revealed by analyzing the retail value trends over a long period of time for a given coin. Observing current prices alone does not yield enough information to correctly evaluate prospective price movements. What was the coin selling for two or three years ago compared to today? Dig deeper, and find the market price for the same coin 5-10 years ago. While you�re at it, get something from 20-30 years or more in the past, too. The more good data researched, the more reliable will be your final conclusions. Now whip out your spreadsheet and chart the numbers, or compute annualized rates of return. Flat or negative trends are bad. Positive trends are good. Steep positive trends are best. Any coin displaying a proven annualized growth pattern of at least 5-10% over a span of many years qualifies as an attractive option for the collector desiring coins headed for much higher price levels a few years down the road.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;During the course of my lengthy numismatic career, I�ve researched the long term value trends of most collectible US coins. Thanks to my trusty computer, I�ve calculated annualized compounded percentage return rates and honed in on a handful of coins that have consistently beaten the overall coin market averages. Unfortunately, the blue-chippers are scarcely encountered. Perhaps it is this fact that explains why so many well-intentioned hobby purists scorn the idea of blending coin collecting with the profit motive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Individuals whose objective is to satisfy their numismatic pleasure by assembling a collection certain to be the envy of tomorrow�s collectors must do their homework today. Remember to research historic value trends and evaluate growth potential based on previous performance. One last word of advice� never loose sight of the fact that you are handling artifacts of America�s past, and that all of us are merely their temporary custodians. Respect these coins and the history they represent, and you�ll always discover new avenues of adventure not found in most other investment opportunities.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Author Daniel J. Goevert is the webmaster of &lt;A href="http://www.us-coin-values-advisor.com"&gt;US Coin Values Advisor&lt;/A&gt;. This site specializes in US coin value trends, plus offers detailed coin collecting advice as well as an illustrated history of the United States and the US Mint.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../mexicancoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - mexican coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../rarecoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - rare coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../rarecoincollectingsupply/&gt;coin collecting - rare coin collecting supply&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../theofficialredbooktocoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - the official redbook to coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../ukcoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - uk coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-113063926973785667?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/113063926973785667/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=113063926973785667' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113063926973785667'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113063926973785667'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/identifying-us-coins-with-bullish_29.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-113046447525591851</id><published>2005-10-27T18:54:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-27T18:54:35.320-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So you want to become a successful coin collector. Well you have some simple concepts that you must learn in order for you to become a good coin collector, and let�s face it, if you don't learn some key rules for collecting coins, you are not going to enjoy collecting coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Well I would say that EDUCATION would be the most important factor for anyone to be a successful coin collector. Learn as much as you can about this wonderful hobby. Buy as many books and reading material on all aspects of coin collecting that you can get your hands on. This may even include subscribing to a few coin collecting magazines like Coin World. There are many online organizations, some listed on this site, and you can read about just about anything that there is to know about the hobby of collecting coins. &lt;BR&gt;�Learn to be a coin collector. A true collector collects coins for the right reasons. It is what he loves, it�s a true passion for him. It is what interests them the most and they study the market and learn what it is they are purchasing. Most collectors build collections for not only the feel of the hobby, but to make money as well. A true collector is building an investment and knows what he wants out of his collection. &lt;BR&gt;�Make sure you know where to get the information you need to succeed in hobby. Coin magazines, brokers, and newsletters in the hobby are a great way to keep up with what is going on in the coin industry. In my opinion the greatest place to find information on the coins that you are looking to collect are from dealers and other collectors. Working with your local coin dealer, who is established and well informed would be one of your greatest relationships that you will have in your hobby. &lt;BR&gt;�Another asset in &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; is learning to grade your coins. Knowing how to grade coins will not only help you purchase your coins more accurately, but it will help you to identify with your coins to know their true grade and getting a better understanding of what your coins are worth. Lots of money is spent on purchasing coins without the knowledge of knowing what the true grade of the coin is. The coin collector assumes the person or dealer that he is buying the coin from is knowledgeable himself and trust him. This is not a very trusting practice, and in the end it could result in your spending lots of money on your coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;�In the hobby of coin collecting, you will learn patience. Coin collections are built over many years, and beginner collectors will most often rush into collecting coins, with out learning the hobby first. This is a long term hobby, and some of the best and successful coin collectors are collectors having 10+ years under them. If you are planning on collecting coins for profit. It is advisable to buy your coins with the intention that you are going to keep them for at least 10 years. This will insure that you will get a reasonable return on your coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Having long and short term goals is the key to being successful in anything that you do. Well this holds true with coin collecting. Make sure you know what, where, how, and when, when it comes to &lt;A href="�http://www.thecoinalley.com�"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt;. Knowing your goals will help you become a successful coin collector and make your hobby more enjoyable.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit the site for more information on the wonderful Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingquarters/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting quarters&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingreferencebooks/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting reference books&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectings/&gt;coin collecting - coin collectings&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingsilverdollars/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting silver dollars&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingsoftware/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting software&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-113046447525591851?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/113046447525591851/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=113046447525591851' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113046447525591851'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113046447525591851'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/successful-coin-collector-successful_27.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-113043360862571347</id><published>2005-10-27T10:20:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-27T10:20:08.736-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Daniel J. Goevert &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Okay, let�s get something straight� I do not advocate the purchase of United States coins strictly for investment purposes. Like most traditional collectors, I believe coins are to be primarily appreciated for their artistic beauty, historical connections, and the joy of pursuing them. However, it should be no secret that a significant number of us do add to our numismatic holdings while simultaneously peeking at the payback angle, too.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;In truth, there are probably substantial numbers of traditional collectors who prefer to acquire coins destined to increase in esteem and value over time; treasured heirlooms and a source of pride to be passed from one generation to the next. On the flip side of this equation, it seems implausible that anyone would buy a coin with the hope or expectation to see it stagnate or decrease in value. Indeed, any commentator who suggests the words �investment� and �coins� should never appear in close proximity to one another is ignoring a heavily populated segment of our hobby.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Now that we�ve established that it�s not numismatic heresy to seek coins with strong upside possibilities, let�s get down to basics. The guiding principle is simple: Any coin that has demonstrated solid, consistent gains over a long period of time is likely to show continued growth in the years ahead. Easily said, but as we shall soon see, not so easily put into practice.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;So exactly how does a one identify coins with a potentially bullish future? The best clues are revealed by analyzing the retail value trends over a long period of time for a given coin. Observing current prices alone does not yield enough information to correctly evaluate prospective price movements. What was the coin selling for two or three years ago compared to today? Dig deeper, and find the market price for the same coin 5-10 years ago. While you�re at it, get something from 20-30 years or more in the past, too. The more good data researched, the more reliable will be your final conclusions. Now whip out your spreadsheet and chart the numbers, or compute annualized rates of return. Flat or negative trends are bad. Positive trends are good. Steep positive trends are best. Any coin displaying a proven annualized growth pattern of at least 5-10% over a span of many years qualifies as an attractive option for the collector desiring coins headed for much higher price levels a few years down the road.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;During the course of my lengthy numismatic career, I�ve researched the long term value trends of most collectible US coins. Thanks to my trusty computer, I�ve calculated annualized compounded percentage return rates and honed in on a handful of coins that have consistently beaten the overall coin market averages. Unfortunately, the blue-chippers are scarcely encountered. Perhaps it is this fact that explains why so many well-intentioned hobby purists scorn the idea of blending coin collecting with the profit motive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Individuals whose objective is to satisfy their numismatic pleasure by assembling a collection certain to be the envy of tomorrow�s collectors must do their homework today. Remember to research historic value trends and evaluate growth potential based on previous performance. One last word of advice� never loose sight of the fact that you are handling artifacts of America�s past, and that all of us are merely their temporary custodians. Respect these coins and the history they represent, and you�ll always discover new avenues of adventure not found in most other investment opportunities.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Author Daniel J. Goevert is the webmaster of &lt;A href="http://www.us-coin-values-advisor.com"&gt;US Coin Values Advisor&lt;/A&gt;. This site specializes in US coin value trends, plus offers detailed coin collecting advice as well as an illustrated history of the United States and the US Mint.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingpennies/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting pennies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingphotography/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting &amp; photography&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingpriceguides/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting price guides&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingpricelist/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting price list&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingprices/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting prices&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-113043360862571347?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/113043360862571347/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=113043360862571347' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113043360862571347'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113043360862571347'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/identifying-us-coins-with-bullish_27.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-113040204306808978</id><published>2005-10-27T01:34:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-27T01:34:03.123-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; The value of a particular coin, is determined by the grade that it is in. Coins that are in common circulation deteriorate over time and start to loose their detail. Coin grading will help you get to the coins current value, and a properly graded coin will determine more accurately what the exact worth of the coin.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collectors use a numbering system to give collectors an accurate measure of the condition a coin is in. This numbering system ranges between 1 and 70. "1" being the worst possible condition of a coin, and 70 meaning flawless. The numbers tell collectors many things, like how much wear is on the coin and if there are any damaging marks on the coin. There are very few coins out there with a 70 grade on them. It is very rare, and most coins minted have flaws, even if they are ever so slight.&lt;BR&gt;Grading coins is a science, and once you learn that science, putting a grade and a value on that coin will become much easier for you. Plus you will be able to accurately grade coins at auctions, coin dealers, and private collectors, so you will not get ripped off if someone is trying to sell you something at a higher price than it is worth. So coin grading is very important in the hobby of coin collecting, and learning this practice will greatly enhance your skills in the hobby and make you much more aware or current prices and rates that certain coins are going for.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.coingrading.com"&gt;How to Grade US Coins&lt;/A&gt; is a great starter for hobbyist trying to learn the art of coin grading. This book will go over all the different aspects of coin grading, and all the different grades of coins. It is a great reference to any hobbyist, and comes highly recommended.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.pcgs.com"&gt;Professional Coin Grading Service&lt;/A&gt; is a great service for those who either have had a hard time learning the fine art, or need a professional grading service to grade a particular rare coin. They also come highly recommended, and for some of your more finer specimens, a professional coin grading service is the way to go, to get a more accurately graded coin. &lt;BR&gt;So check out our coin grading button, and learn the different types of grades for your coins, read the recommended reading on grading your US coins, or have a professional coin grading service do the work for you. Either way, accurately having your coins graded will easily put a value on your collection, and could quite save you a lot of money in the buying of coins for your collection. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt;, visit the website to learn all about the wonderful world of coin collecting.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingmagazines/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting magazines&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingmarketvalues/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting  market values&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingmeritbadge/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting merit badge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingnews/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting news&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingonlinepurchasesites/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting online purchase sites&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-113040204306808978?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/113040204306808978/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=113040204306808978' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113040204306808978'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113040204306808978'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/coin-grading-coin-grading-author-jon_27.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-113031117214975695</id><published>2005-10-26T00:19:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-26T00:19:32.190-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Why Collect Coins?&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why Collect Coins?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So why collect coins? Answer is simple really. Coin Collectors, sometimes called Numismatists, enjoy collecting coins on various levels. Some collect coins for their rarity, some collect coins in the hope that one day their collection will be worth a value. Some just do it for the sure pleasure of having a hobby that is easy to do. Doing a little research and starting off small is the greatest way to get started in this hobby. Learn all you can about coin collecting basics. There are many &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;Coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; books and websites (like this one) out there, that will try to put a clearer understanding of what coin collecting is all about, and we are hear to teach you what you need to know about coin collecting. Coins have a history about them, when they were struck, why was the design chosen for that time period. There are no reasons etched in stone that says you have to collect coins in any particular way. You collect the way you want to, if you want to only collect pennies, then only collect pennies, if you want to collect complete sets of each of the denominations of coins, then do that, or you can just collect the coins that interest you. You decide what, when, and how to collect.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collecting basics is this, start small. Decide what types of coins you would like to collect. What would you like your collection to consist of? Pennies, Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, Half-Dollars, Dollars, Gold, Silver, Paper Money. It doesn't matter. Maybe you want to just collect coins from a certain time period that interest you. Whatever your decision, stick with it and work to completing your collection. Also remember that coins that were struck at different places have different mint marks. A mint mark is a letter that tells us where the coin was struck. Each of the coins that you wish to collect will have different mint marks, to complete a set you will want to have each of the mint marks for that coin. Subscribe to a coin magazine, Coin World is a good one. They have a wealth of knowledge pertaining to collecting coins. Also visit a local coin dealer, not only will you be able to look at a variety of coins that the dealer will be selling, they also can answer questions that you may have, they are there to help you build and understand coin collecting basics. Use that to your advantage. I guess you will need a nice place to put your newly acquired coins. Find yourself a coin folder to display your coins. And once you get into the hobby more you can get some coin sleeves to house your collection and store them the way you would want. The possibilities are endless with coin collecting, and learning coin collecting basics is the first real step in the progression of building a great coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;Building a coin collection, is a long process. It doesn't happen over night, it doesn't happen in a week, and unless you are filthy rich, it won't happen in a year. Collecting takes time, effort, and persistence, and the fact of the matter is, there are so many different types of coins to collect that it takes time to study and learn about each of the prospects. The United States have produced many different varieties of coins from the penny to the gold dollar. They have produced commemorative coins celebrating a historic event or an anniversary. What ever you chose to collect I am sure that with a little effort on your part, that your collection will be something that you can pass on to your children, or build a small nest egg for your retirement, or whatever you choose to start coin collecting for. Learning coin collecting basics is a healthy start to building a wonderful coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit www.thecoinalley.com to view other related information on the wonder Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingcleaning/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting cleaning&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingclub/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting club&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingcoinvalues/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting coin values&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingcompanies/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting companies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingdatabase/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting database&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-113031117214975695?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/113031117214975695/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=113031117214975695' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113031117214975695'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113031117214975695'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/why-collect-coins-why-collect-coins_26.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-113010445966305891</id><published>2005-10-23T14:54:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-23T14:54:19.743-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 4)&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 4)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; steve renner &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Throughout history, many coin collections have produced substantial long-term profits for their owners. This is particularly true for coin collectors of this century. Indeed, Harold Bareford reportedly purchased a collection of U.S. gold coins for $13,832 in the early 1950s which was resold at auction in 1978 for $1.2 million. A more substantial collector, Louis Eliasberg, built a collection that cost about $300,000. In 1982, it brought $12.4 million at auction.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;This investment performance has been well documented by sources as diverse as The Wall Street Journal, Consumer Reports and a host of industry periodicals and guidesheets. What these reports have shown is that carefully selected portfolios of rare coins have had a high rate of long-term appreciation.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Of course, past performance is no guarantee of future results and investments in rare coins do involve risk. While the market performance of different coins varies substantially and no representation can be made that an individual investor's portfolio will enjoy results similar to those that have been documented in the various independent reports and surveys, those reports and surveys illustrate the impressive returns that carefully selected rare U.S. coins can produce.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Tax Benefits&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Capital gains on coins can only be taxed at liquidation, when the profits are actually realized. There is no taxation on phantom or undistributed profits as there are with some investments. And unlike most other investments, there is no federal income tax liability on so-called "wash sales" or like-kind exchanges which enable investors to trade their rare coins for other rare coins of equal or greater value&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Intrinsic Value&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Unlike paper investments, rare U.S. coins have real tangible value you can feel each time you hold one in your hand. Therefore, they offer two ways to build wealth. Carefully selected coins truly offer the best of bullion and numismatics in one investment. They contain the intrinsic security of bullion and can also offer extraordinary profit potential regardless of what precious metal spot prices do. Still, precious metal content is only a relatively small factor in determining the value of many rare U.S. coins whose value is almost solely based on condition, demand and rarity&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Historically Significant Beauty&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Rare U.S. coins are a part of our history--direct links to America's rich heritage--as timeless and valuable as history itself. For two centuries, U.S. coins have been symbols of American stability, as well as reflections of national pride. Throughout our nation's history, coins have spotlighted our national heroes, paid tribute to our great achievements and commemorated significant events. These truly historic works of art commemorate past sacrifices made in the name of freedom.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Rare U.S. coins acquaint investors with historical figures and events, no matter how far removed by time. The satisfaction of actually owning a piece of history from a bygone era makes investing in rare U.S. coins truly unique. Each coin has traveled a different path through history. As a result, each is a unique embodiment of the hopes and dreams of our founding fathers&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Condition&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The overwhelming majority of U.S. coins ever minted were circulated. Many coins were lost through attrition and others were damaged by use, thus eliminating any potential for numismatic value. The few surviving uncirculated coins are in a much more pristine condition.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Investment quality coins are primarily those coins rated in the 11 uncirculated grades, 60 and above, on the American Numismatic Association's 70 point grading scale. A coin's grade is a measure of its condition or state of preservation. The higher the grade, the better the condition.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Uncirculated coins fall into two broad categories: Proof (PF or PR) and Mint State (MS). Mint State coins were originally meant for circulation but never were circulated, so they remain in the same condition today as when they were minted. Proof coins were never meant for circulation, thus they received very careful handling and were specially struck at least twice on highly polished planchets.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The beauty of a coin can attract collectors as well as investors, and hence increase demand for a particular coin or set. This increased demand can result in rising values. Eye appeal is affected by several factors including the beauty of a coin's design, the minting process used, the fullness and sharpness of its strike, the toning, the brilliance of its luster and the amount of wear and number of blemishes on the coin's surface&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Portfolios or Collections?&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The age-old description of coin collecting as the "Hobby of Kings" is both accurate and misleading... accurate in conveying the outdated perception that coin collecting is restricted only to the very wealthy, misleading in that the number of collectors has steadily increased and has been estimated by the American Numismatic Association to include as many as 7-10 million coin buyers in the United States alone. Typically, the coin collector collects coins for their rarity and historical value. Collectors view their coins as rare art and as the tangible remnants of the cultural and economic forces that created them.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The investor begins from a different starting point--the fact that coins of proven rarity have shown remarkably high rates of appreciation. He sees the economic results of the pleasures of collecting and makes his original purchases with profits as his only motive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;However, we have found that the line between those of our clients that are collectors and those that are investors has become increasingly blurred. Collectors can't help but be pleased when coins that they sell bring an attractive profit. Investors begin to see their coins as works of art and become knowledgeable about the circumstances of their minting and the era in which they were circulated.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Both collector and investor come to realize that their intellectual curiosity, aesthetic sensibilities and enjoyment in our country's past can be used to create a collection that becomes an important store of value, a way to accumulate wealth that can be passed on to future generations--or used to fund their own retirements.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Steve is the ceo of cashcards-goldlynks rare/gold coin club he was the best isp in 1997 check out his about us page at http://goldlynks.tripod.com this article is free for distribution you can sign up for a free email course on buying and selling rare/gold coins for profit by sending email to goldcoinsinfo@yahoo.com membership of the coins club is free to join at http://goldlynks.tripod.com&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/articles/&gt;coin collecting - your #1 reference guide to collecting coins - coin collecting articles&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/addlink.html&gt;coin collecting - your #1 reference guide to collecting coins - add url&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../articles/&gt;coin collecting - your #1 reference guide to collecting coins - coin collecting articles&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-113010445966305891?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/113010445966305891/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=113010445966305891' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113010445966305891'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113010445966305891'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/why-you-need-to-buy-and-sell-gold_23.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-113007555287419935</id><published>2005-10-23T06:52:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-23T06:52:32.946-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Why Collect Coins?&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why Collect Coins?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So why collect coins? Answer is simple really. Coin Collectors, sometimes called Numismatists, enjoy collecting coins on various levels. Some collect coins for their rarity, some collect coins in the hope that one day their collection will be worth a value. Some just do it for the sure pleasure of having a hobby that is easy to do. Doing a little research and starting off small is the greatest way to get started in this hobby. Learn all you can about coin collecting basics. There are many &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;Coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; books and websites (like this one) out there, that will try to put a clearer understanding of what coin collecting is all about, and we are hear to teach you what you need to know about coin collecting. Coins have a history about them, when they were struck, why was the design chosen for that time period. There are no reasons etched in stone that says you have to collect coins in any particular way. You collect the way you want to, if you want to only collect pennies, then only collect pennies, if you want to collect complete sets of each of the denominations of coins, then do that, or you can just collect the coins that interest you. You decide what, when, and how to collect.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collecting basics is this, start small. Decide what types of coins you would like to collect. What would you like your collection to consist of? Pennies, Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, Half-Dollars, Dollars, Gold, Silver, Paper Money. It doesn't matter. Maybe you want to just collect coins from a certain time period that interest you. Whatever your decision, stick with it and work to completing your collection. Also remember that coins that were struck at different places have different mint marks. A mint mark is a letter that tells us where the coin was struck. Each of the coins that you wish to collect will have different mint marks, to complete a set you will want to have each of the mint marks for that coin. Subscribe to a coin magazine, Coin World is a good one. They have a wealth of knowledge pertaining to collecting coins. Also visit a local coin dealer, not only will you be able to look at a variety of coins that the dealer will be selling, they also can answer questions that you may have, they are there to help you build and understand coin collecting basics. Use that to your advantage. I guess you will need a nice place to put your newly acquired coins. Find yourself a coin folder to display your coins. And once you get into the hobby more you can get some coin sleeves to house your collection and store them the way you would want. The possibilities are endless with coin collecting, and learning coin collecting basics is the first real step in the progression of building a great coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;Building a coin collection, is a long process. It doesn't happen over night, it doesn't happen in a week, and unless you are filthy rich, it won't happen in a year. Collecting takes time, effort, and persistence, and the fact of the matter is, there are so many different types of coins to collect that it takes time to study and learn about each of the prospects. The United States have produced many different varieties of coins from the penny to the gold dollar. They have produced commemorative coins celebrating a historic event or an anniversary. What ever you chose to collect I am sure that with a little effort on your part, that your collection will be something that you can pass on to your children, or build a small nest egg for your retirement, or whatever you choose to start coin collecting for. Learning coin collecting basics is a healthy start to building a wonderful coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit www.thecoinalley.com to view other related information on the wonder Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-113007555287419935?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/113007555287419935/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=113007555287419935' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113007555287419935'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113007555287419935'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/why-collect-coins-why-collect-coins_23.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-113004674301832887</id><published>2005-10-22T22:52:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-22T22:52:23.070-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So you want to become a successful coin collector. Well you have some simple concepts that you must learn in order for you to become a good coin collector, and let�s face it, if you don't learn some key rules for collecting coins, you are not going to enjoy collecting coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Well I would say that EDUCATION would be the most important factor for anyone to be a successful coin collector. Learn as much as you can about this wonderful hobby. Buy as many books and reading material on all aspects of coin collecting that you can get your hands on. This may even include subscribing to a few coin collecting magazines like Coin World. There are many online organizations, some listed on this site, and you can read about just about anything that there is to know about the hobby of collecting coins. &lt;BR&gt;�Learn to be a coin collector. A true collector collects coins for the right reasons. It is what he loves, it�s a true passion for him. It is what interests them the most and they study the market and learn what it is they are purchasing. Most collectors build collections for not only the feel of the hobby, but to make money as well. A true collector is building an investment and knows what he wants out of his collection. &lt;BR&gt;�Make sure you know where to get the information you need to succeed in hobby. Coin magazines, brokers, and newsletters in the hobby are a great way to keep up with what is going on in the coin industry. In my opinion the greatest place to find information on the coins that you are looking to collect are from dealers and other collectors. Working with your local coin dealer, who is established and well informed would be one of your greatest relationships that you will have in your hobby. &lt;BR&gt;�Another asset in &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; is learning to grade your coins. Knowing how to grade coins will not only help you purchase your coins more accurately, but it will help you to identify with your coins to know their true grade and getting a better understanding of what your coins are worth. Lots of money is spent on purchasing coins without the knowledge of knowing what the true grade of the coin is. The coin collector assumes the person or dealer that he is buying the coin from is knowledgeable himself and trust him. This is not a very trusting practice, and in the end it could result in your spending lots of money on your coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;�In the hobby of coin collecting, you will learn patience. Coin collections are built over many years, and beginner collectors will most often rush into collecting coins, with out learning the hobby first. This is a long term hobby, and some of the best and successful coin collectors are collectors having 10+ years under them. If you are planning on collecting coins for profit. It is advisable to buy your coins with the intention that you are going to keep them for at least 10 years. This will insure that you will get a reasonable return on your coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Having long and short term goals is the key to being successful in anything that you do. Well this holds true with coin collecting. Make sure you know what, where, how, and when, when it comes to &lt;A href="�http://www.thecoinalley.com�"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt;. Knowing your goals will help you become a successful coin collector and make your hobby more enjoyable.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit the site for more information on the wonderful Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../uscoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - us coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../whitmancoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - whitman coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../worldcoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - world coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../addcat.html&gt;coin collecting - your #1 reference guide to collecting coins - add url&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../lfastcoin.html&gt;the hobby of kings!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-113004674301832887?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/113004674301832887/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=113004674301832887' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113004674301832887'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/113004674301832887'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/successful-coin-collector-successful_22.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112998306485802280</id><published>2005-10-22T05:11:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-22T05:11:04.926-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; The value of a particular coin, is determined by the grade that it is in. Coins that are in common circulation deteriorate over time and start to loose their detail. Coin grading will help you get to the coins current value, and a properly graded coin will determine more accurately what the exact worth of the coin.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collectors use a numbering system to give collectors an accurate measure of the condition a coin is in. This numbering system ranges between 1 and 70. "1" being the worst possible condition of a coin, and 70 meaning flawless. The numbers tell collectors many things, like how much wear is on the coin and if there are any damaging marks on the coin. There are very few coins out there with a 70 grade on them. It is very rare, and most coins minted have flaws, even if they are ever so slight.&lt;BR&gt;Grading coins is a science, and once you learn that science, putting a grade and a value on that coin will become much easier for you. Plus you will be able to accurately grade coins at auctions, coin dealers, and private collectors, so you will not get ripped off if someone is trying to sell you something at a higher price than it is worth. So coin grading is very important in the hobby of coin collecting, and learning this practice will greatly enhance your skills in the hobby and make you much more aware or current prices and rates that certain coins are going for.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.coingrading.com"&gt;How to Grade US Coins&lt;/A&gt; is a great starter for hobbyist trying to learn the art of coin grading. This book will go over all the different aspects of coin grading, and all the different grades of coins. It is a great reference to any hobbyist, and comes highly recommended.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.pcgs.com"&gt;Professional Coin Grading Service&lt;/A&gt; is a great service for those who either have had a hard time learning the fine art, or need a professional grading service to grade a particular rare coin. They also come highly recommended, and for some of your more finer specimens, a professional coin grading service is the way to go, to get a more accurately graded coin. &lt;BR&gt;So check out our coin grading button, and learn the different types of grades for your coins, read the recommended reading on grading your US coins, or have a professional coin grading service do the work for you. Either way, accurately having your coins graded will easily put a value on your collection, and could quite save you a lot of money in the buying of coins for your collection. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt;, visit the website to learn all about the wonderful world of coin collecting.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../goldcoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - gold coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../graysheetforcoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - gray sheet for coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../historyofcoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - history of coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../iraqcoincollectingsupplies/&gt;coin collecting - iraq coin collecting supplies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../kidscoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - kids coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112998306485802280?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112998306485802280/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112998306485802280' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112998306485802280'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112998306485802280'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/coin-grading-coin-grading-author-jon_22.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112992023841151934</id><published>2005-10-21T11:43:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-21T11:43:58.490-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 4)&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 4)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; steve renner &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Throughout history, many coin collections have produced substantial long-term profits for their owners. This is particularly true for coin collectors of this century. Indeed, Harold Bareford reportedly purchased a collection of U.S. gold coins for $13,832 in the early 1950s which was resold at auction in 1978 for $1.2 million. A more substantial collector, Louis Eliasberg, built a collection that cost about $300,000. In 1982, it brought $12.4 million at auction.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;This investment performance has been well documented by sources as diverse as The Wall Street Journal, Consumer Reports and a host of industry periodicals and guidesheets. What these reports have shown is that carefully selected portfolios of rare coins have had a high rate of long-term appreciation.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Of course, past performance is no guarantee of future results and investments in rare coins do involve risk. While the market performance of different coins varies substantially and no representation can be made that an individual investor's portfolio will enjoy results similar to those that have been documented in the various independent reports and surveys, those reports and surveys illustrate the impressive returns that carefully selected rare U.S. coins can produce.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Tax Benefits&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Capital gains on coins can only be taxed at liquidation, when the profits are actually realized. There is no taxation on phantom or undistributed profits as there are with some investments. And unlike most other investments, there is no federal income tax liability on so-called "wash sales" or like-kind exchanges which enable investors to trade their rare coins for other rare coins of equal or greater value&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Intrinsic Value&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Unlike paper investments, rare U.S. coins have real tangible value you can feel each time you hold one in your hand. Therefore, they offer two ways to build wealth. Carefully selected coins truly offer the best of bullion and numismatics in one investment. They contain the intrinsic security of bullion and can also offer extraordinary profit potential regardless of what precious metal spot prices do. Still, precious metal content is only a relatively small factor in determining the value of many rare U.S. coins whose value is almost solely based on condition, demand and rarity&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Historically Significant Beauty&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Rare U.S. coins are a part of our history--direct links to America's rich heritage--as timeless and valuable as history itself. For two centuries, U.S. coins have been symbols of American stability, as well as reflections of national pride. Throughout our nation's history, coins have spotlighted our national heroes, paid tribute to our great achievements and commemorated significant events. These truly historic works of art commemorate past sacrifices made in the name of freedom.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Rare U.S. coins acquaint investors with historical figures and events, no matter how far removed by time. The satisfaction of actually owning a piece of history from a bygone era makes investing in rare U.S. coins truly unique. Each coin has traveled a different path through history. As a result, each is a unique embodiment of the hopes and dreams of our founding fathers&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Condition&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The overwhelming majority of U.S. coins ever minted were circulated. Many coins were lost through attrition and others were damaged by use, thus eliminating any potential for numismatic value. The few surviving uncirculated coins are in a much more pristine condition.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Investment quality coins are primarily those coins rated in the 11 uncirculated grades, 60 and above, on the American Numismatic Association's 70 point grading scale. A coin's grade is a measure of its condition or state of preservation. The higher the grade, the better the condition.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Uncirculated coins fall into two broad categories: Proof (PF or PR) and Mint State (MS). Mint State coins were originally meant for circulation but never were circulated, so they remain in the same condition today as when they were minted. Proof coins were never meant for circulation, thus they received very careful handling and were specially struck at least twice on highly polished planchets.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The beauty of a coin can attract collectors as well as investors, and hence increase demand for a particular coin or set. This increased demand can result in rising values. Eye appeal is affected by several factors including the beauty of a coin's design, the minting process used, the fullness and sharpness of its strike, the toning, the brilliance of its luster and the amount of wear and number of blemishes on the coin's surface&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Portfolios or Collections?&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The age-old description of coin collecting as the "Hobby of Kings" is both accurate and misleading... accurate in conveying the outdated perception that coin collecting is restricted only to the very wealthy, misleading in that the number of collectors has steadily increased and has been estimated by the American Numismatic Association to include as many as 7-10 million coin buyers in the United States alone. Typically, the coin collector collects coins for their rarity and historical value. Collectors view their coins as rare art and as the tangible remnants of the cultural and economic forces that created them.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The investor begins from a different starting point--the fact that coins of proven rarity have shown remarkably high rates of appreciation. He sees the economic results of the pleasures of collecting and makes his original purchases with profits as his only motive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;However, we have found that the line between those of our clients that are collectors and those that are investors has become increasingly blurred. Collectors can't help but be pleased when coins that they sell bring an attractive profit. Investors begin to see their coins as works of art and become knowledgeable about the circumstances of their minting and the era in which they were circulated.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Both collector and investor come to realize that their intellectual curiosity, aesthetic sensibilities and enjoyment in our country's past can be used to create a collection that becomes an important store of value, a way to accumulate wealth that can be passed on to future generations--or used to fund their own retirements.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Steve is the ceo of cashcards-goldlynks rare/gold coin club he was the best isp in 1997 check out his about us page at http://goldlynks.tripod.com this article is free for distribution you can sign up for a free email course on buying and selling rare/gold coins for profit by sending email to goldcoinsinfo@yahoo.com membership of the coins club is free to join at http://goldlynks.tripod.com&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coinquarterscollecting/&gt;coin collecting - coin quarters collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coinrollcollecting/&gt;coin collecting - coin roll collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../collectingcoinsilverspoons/&gt;coin collecting - collecting coin silver spoons&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../discountcoincollectingsupplies/&gt;coin collecting - discount coin collecting supplies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../eurocoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - euro coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112992023841151934?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112992023841151934/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112992023841151934' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112992023841151934'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112992023841151934'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/why-you-need-to-buy-and-sell-gold_21.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112989089165071851</id><published>2005-10-21T03:34:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-21T03:34:51.730-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Why Collect Coins?&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why Collect Coins?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So why collect coins? Answer is simple really. Coin Collectors, sometimes called Numismatists, enjoy collecting coins on various levels. Some collect coins for their rarity, some collect coins in the hope that one day their collection will be worth a value. Some just do it for the sure pleasure of having a hobby that is easy to do. Doing a little research and starting off small is the greatest way to get started in this hobby. Learn all you can about coin collecting basics. There are many &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;Coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; books and websites (like this one) out there, that will try to put a clearer understanding of what coin collecting is all about, and we are hear to teach you what you need to know about coin collecting. Coins have a history about them, when they were struck, why was the design chosen for that time period. There are no reasons etched in stone that says you have to collect coins in any particular way. You collect the way you want to, if you want to only collect pennies, then only collect pennies, if you want to collect complete sets of each of the denominations of coins, then do that, or you can just collect the coins that interest you. You decide what, when, and how to collect.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collecting basics is this, start small. Decide what types of coins you would like to collect. What would you like your collection to consist of? Pennies, Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, Half-Dollars, Dollars, Gold, Silver, Paper Money. It doesn't matter. Maybe you want to just collect coins from a certain time period that interest you. Whatever your decision, stick with it and work to completing your collection. Also remember that coins that were struck at different places have different mint marks. A mint mark is a letter that tells us where the coin was struck. Each of the coins that you wish to collect will have different mint marks, to complete a set you will want to have each of the mint marks for that coin. Subscribe to a coin magazine, Coin World is a good one. They have a wealth of knowledge pertaining to collecting coins. Also visit a local coin dealer, not only will you be able to look at a variety of coins that the dealer will be selling, they also can answer questions that you may have, they are there to help you build and understand coin collecting basics. Use that to your advantage. I guess you will need a nice place to put your newly acquired coins. Find yourself a coin folder to display your coins. And once you get into the hobby more you can get some coin sleeves to house your collection and store them the way you would want. The possibilities are endless with coin collecting, and learning coin collecting basics is the first real step in the progression of building a great coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;Building a coin collection, is a long process. It doesn't happen over night, it doesn't happen in a week, and unless you are filthy rich, it won't happen in a year. Collecting takes time, effort, and persistence, and the fact of the matter is, there are so many different types of coins to collect that it takes time to study and learn about each of the prospects. The United States have produced many different varieties of coins from the penny to the gold dollar. They have produced commemorative coins celebrating a historic event or an anniversary. What ever you chose to collect I am sure that with a little effort on your part, that your collection will be something that you can pass on to your children, or build a small nest egg for your retirement, or whatever you choose to start coin collecting for. Learning coin collecting basics is a healthy start to building a wonderful coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit www.thecoinalley.com to view other related information on the wonder Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingterms/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting terms&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingtips/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting tips&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectinguk/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting uk&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingvalue/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting value&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingvalues/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting values&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112989089165071851?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112989089165071851/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112989089165071851' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112989089165071851'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112989089165071851'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/why-collect-coins-why-collect-coins_21.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112986188361207411</id><published>2005-10-20T19:31:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-20T19:31:23.690-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So you want to become a successful coin collector. Well you have some simple concepts that you must learn in order for you to become a good coin collector, and let�s face it, if you don't learn some key rules for collecting coins, you are not going to enjoy collecting coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Well I would say that EDUCATION would be the most important factor for anyone to be a successful coin collector. Learn as much as you can about this wonderful hobby. Buy as many books and reading material on all aspects of coin collecting that you can get your hands on. This may even include subscribing to a few coin collecting magazines like Coin World. There are many online organizations, some listed on this site, and you can read about just about anything that there is to know about the hobby of collecting coins. &lt;BR&gt;�Learn to be a coin collector. A true collector collects coins for the right reasons. It is what he loves, it�s a true passion for him. It is what interests them the most and they study the market and learn what it is they are purchasing. Most collectors build collections for not only the feel of the hobby, but to make money as well. A true collector is building an investment and knows what he wants out of his collection. &lt;BR&gt;�Make sure you know where to get the information you need to succeed in hobby. Coin magazines, brokers, and newsletters in the hobby are a great way to keep up with what is going on in the coin industry. In my opinion the greatest place to find information on the coins that you are looking to collect are from dealers and other collectors. Working with your local coin dealer, who is established and well informed would be one of your greatest relationships that you will have in your hobby. &lt;BR&gt;�Another asset in &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; is learning to grade your coins. Knowing how to grade coins will not only help you purchase your coins more accurately, but it will help you to identify with your coins to know their true grade and getting a better understanding of what your coins are worth. Lots of money is spent on purchasing coins without the knowledge of knowing what the true grade of the coin is. The coin collector assumes the person or dealer that he is buying the coin from is knowledgeable himself and trust him. This is not a very trusting practice, and in the end it could result in your spending lots of money on your coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;�In the hobby of coin collecting, you will learn patience. Coin collections are built over many years, and beginner collectors will most often rush into collecting coins, with out learning the hobby first. This is a long term hobby, and some of the best and successful coin collectors are collectors having 10+ years under them. If you are planning on collecting coins for profit. It is advisable to buy your coins with the intention that you are going to keep them for at least 10 years. This will insure that you will get a reasonable return on your coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Having long and short term goals is the key to being successful in anything that you do. Well this holds true with coin collecting. Make sure you know what, where, how, and when, when it comes to &lt;A href="�http://www.thecoinalley.com�"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt;. Knowing your goals will help you become a successful coin collector and make your hobby more enjoyable.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit the site for more information on the wonderful Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingsoftwarefree/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting software free&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingstarterkit/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting starter kit&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingsupplies/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting supplies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingsuppliesuk/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting supplies uk&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingsupply/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting supply&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112986188361207411?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112986188361207411/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112986188361207411' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112986188361207411'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112986188361207411'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/successful-coin-collector-successful_20.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112983287157465808</id><published>2005-10-20T11:27:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-20T11:27:51.643-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Daniel J. Goevert &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Okay, let�s get something straight� I do not advocate the purchase of United States coins strictly for investment purposes. Like most traditional collectors, I believe coins are to be primarily appreciated for their artistic beauty, historical connections, and the joy of pursuing them. However, it should be no secret that a significant number of us do add to our numismatic holdings while simultaneously peeking at the payback angle, too.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;In truth, there are probably substantial numbers of traditional collectors who prefer to acquire coins destined to increase in esteem and value over time; treasured heirlooms and a source of pride to be passed from one generation to the next. On the flip side of this equation, it seems implausible that anyone would buy a coin with the hope or expectation to see it stagnate or decrease in value. Indeed, any commentator who suggests the words �investment� and �coins� should never appear in close proximity to one another is ignoring a heavily populated segment of our hobby.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Now that we�ve established that it�s not numismatic heresy to seek coins with strong upside possibilities, let�s get down to basics. The guiding principle is simple: Any coin that has demonstrated solid, consistent gains over a long period of time is likely to show continued growth in the years ahead. Easily said, but as we shall soon see, not so easily put into practice.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;So exactly how does a one identify coins with a potentially bullish future? The best clues are revealed by analyzing the retail value trends over a long period of time for a given coin. Observing current prices alone does not yield enough information to correctly evaluate prospective price movements. What was the coin selling for two or three years ago compared to today? Dig deeper, and find the market price for the same coin 5-10 years ago. While you�re at it, get something from 20-30 years or more in the past, too. The more good data researched, the more reliable will be your final conclusions. Now whip out your spreadsheet and chart the numbers, or compute annualized rates of return. Flat or negative trends are bad. Positive trends are good. Steep positive trends are best. Any coin displaying a proven annualized growth pattern of at least 5-10% over a span of many years qualifies as an attractive option for the collector desiring coins headed for much higher price levels a few years down the road.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;During the course of my lengthy numismatic career, I�ve researched the long term value trends of most collectible US coins. Thanks to my trusty computer, I�ve calculated annualized compounded percentage return rates and honed in on a handful of coins that have consistently beaten the overall coin market averages. Unfortunately, the blue-chippers are scarcely encountered. Perhaps it is this fact that explains why so many well-intentioned hobby purists scorn the idea of blending coin collecting with the profit motive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Individuals whose objective is to satisfy their numismatic pleasure by assembling a collection certain to be the envy of tomorrow�s collectors must do their homework today. Remember to research historic value trends and evaluate growth potential based on previous performance. One last word of advice� never loose sight of the fact that you are handling artifacts of America�s past, and that all of us are merely their temporary custodians. Respect these coins and the history they represent, and you�ll always discover new avenues of adventure not found in most other investment opportunities.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Author Daniel J. Goevert is the webmaster of &lt;A href="http://www.us-coin-values-advisor.com"&gt;US Coin Values Advisor&lt;/A&gt;. This site specializes in US coin value trends, plus offers detailed coin collecting advice as well as an illustrated history of the United States and the US Mint.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingquarters/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting quarters&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingreferencebooks/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting reference books&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectings/&gt;coin collecting - coin collectings&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingsilverdollars/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting silver dollars&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingsoftware/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting software&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112983287157465808?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112983287157465808/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112983287157465808' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112983287157465808'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112983287157465808'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/identifying-us-coins-with-bullish_20.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112980315461976226</id><published>2005-10-20T03:12:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-20T03:12:34.683-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; The value of a particular coin, is determined by the grade that it is in. Coins that are in common circulation deteriorate over time and start to loose their detail. Coin grading will help you get to the coins current value, and a properly graded coin will determine more accurately what the exact worth of the coin.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collectors use a numbering system to give collectors an accurate measure of the condition a coin is in. This numbering system ranges between 1 and 70. "1" being the worst possible condition of a coin, and 70 meaning flawless. The numbers tell collectors many things, like how much wear is on the coin and if there are any damaging marks on the coin. There are very few coins out there with a 70 grade on them. It is very rare, and most coins minted have flaws, even if they are ever so slight.&lt;BR&gt;Grading coins is a science, and once you learn that science, putting a grade and a value on that coin will become much easier for you. Plus you will be able to accurately grade coins at auctions, coin dealers, and private collectors, so you will not get ripped off if someone is trying to sell you something at a higher price than it is worth. So coin grading is very important in the hobby of coin collecting, and learning this practice will greatly enhance your skills in the hobby and make you much more aware or current prices and rates that certain coins are going for.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.coingrading.com"&gt;How to Grade US Coins&lt;/A&gt; is a great starter for hobbyist trying to learn the art of coin grading. This book will go over all the different aspects of coin grading, and all the different grades of coins. It is a great reference to any hobbyist, and comes highly recommended.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.pcgs.com"&gt;Professional Coin Grading Service&lt;/A&gt; is a great service for those who either have had a hard time learning the fine art, or need a professional grading service to grade a particular rare coin. They also come highly recommended, and for some of your more finer specimens, a professional coin grading service is the way to go, to get a more accurately graded coin. &lt;BR&gt;So check out our coin grading button, and learn the different types of grades for your coins, read the recommended reading on grading your US coins, or have a professional coin grading service do the work for you. Either way, accurately having your coins graded will easily put a value on your collection, and could quite save you a lot of money in the buying of coins for your collection. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt;, visit the website to learn all about the wonderful world of coin collecting.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingpennies/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting pennies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingphotography/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting &amp; photography&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingpriceguides/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting price guides&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingpricelist/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting price list&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingprices/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting prices&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112980315461976226?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112980315461976226/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112980315461976226' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112980315461976226'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112980315461976226'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/coin-grading-coin-grading-author-jon_20.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112974333929647252</id><published>2005-10-19T10:35:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-19T10:35:39.356-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 4)&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 4)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; steve renner &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Throughout history, many coin collections have produced substantial long-term profits for their owners. This is particularly true for coin collectors of this century. Indeed, Harold Bareford reportedly purchased a collection of U.S. gold coins for $13,832 in the early 1950s which was resold at auction in 1978 for $1.2 million. A more substantial collector, Louis Eliasberg, built a collection that cost about $300,000. In 1982, it brought $12.4 million at auction.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;This investment performance has been well documented by sources as diverse as The Wall Street Journal, Consumer Reports and a host of industry periodicals and guidesheets. What these reports have shown is that carefully selected portfolios of rare coins have had a high rate of long-term appreciation.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Of course, past performance is no guarantee of future results and investments in rare coins do involve risk. While the market performance of different coins varies substantially and no representation can be made that an individual investor's portfolio will enjoy results similar to those that have been documented in the various independent reports and surveys, those reports and surveys illustrate the impressive returns that carefully selected rare U.S. coins can produce.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Tax Benefits&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Capital gains on coins can only be taxed at liquidation, when the profits are actually realized. There is no taxation on phantom or undistributed profits as there are with some investments. And unlike most other investments, there is no federal income tax liability on so-called "wash sales" or like-kind exchanges which enable investors to trade their rare coins for other rare coins of equal or greater value&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Intrinsic Value&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Unlike paper investments, rare U.S. coins have real tangible value you can feel each time you hold one in your hand. Therefore, they offer two ways to build wealth. Carefully selected coins truly offer the best of bullion and numismatics in one investment. They contain the intrinsic security of bullion and can also offer extraordinary profit potential regardless of what precious metal spot prices do. Still, precious metal content is only a relatively small factor in determining the value of many rare U.S. coins whose value is almost solely based on condition, demand and rarity&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Historically Significant Beauty&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Rare U.S. coins are a part of our history--direct links to America's rich heritage--as timeless and valuable as history itself. For two centuries, U.S. coins have been symbols of American stability, as well as reflections of national pride. Throughout our nation's history, coins have spotlighted our national heroes, paid tribute to our great achievements and commemorated significant events. These truly historic works of art commemorate past sacrifices made in the name of freedom.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Rare U.S. coins acquaint investors with historical figures and events, no matter how far removed by time. The satisfaction of actually owning a piece of history from a bygone era makes investing in rare U.S. coins truly unique. Each coin has traveled a different path through history. As a result, each is a unique embodiment of the hopes and dreams of our founding fathers&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Condition&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The overwhelming majority of U.S. coins ever minted were circulated. Many coins were lost through attrition and others were damaged by use, thus eliminating any potential for numismatic value. The few surviving uncirculated coins are in a much more pristine condition.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Investment quality coins are primarily those coins rated in the 11 uncirculated grades, 60 and above, on the American Numismatic Association's 70 point grading scale. A coin's grade is a measure of its condition or state of preservation. The higher the grade, the better the condition.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Uncirculated coins fall into two broad categories: Proof (PF or PR) and Mint State (MS). Mint State coins were originally meant for circulation but never were circulated, so they remain in the same condition today as when they were minted. Proof coins were never meant for circulation, thus they received very careful handling and were specially struck at least twice on highly polished planchets.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The beauty of a coin can attract collectors as well as investors, and hence increase demand for a particular coin or set. This increased demand can result in rising values. Eye appeal is affected by several factors including the beauty of a coin's design, the minting process used, the fullness and sharpness of its strike, the toning, the brilliance of its luster and the amount of wear and number of blemishes on the coin's surface&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Portfolios or Collections?&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The age-old description of coin collecting as the "Hobby of Kings" is both accurate and misleading... accurate in conveying the outdated perception that coin collecting is restricted only to the very wealthy, misleading in that the number of collectors has steadily increased and has been estimated by the American Numismatic Association to include as many as 7-10 million coin buyers in the United States alone. Typically, the coin collector collects coins for their rarity and historical value. Collectors view their coins as rare art and as the tangible remnants of the cultural and economic forces that created them.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The investor begins from a different starting point--the fact that coins of proven rarity have shown remarkably high rates of appreciation. He sees the economic results of the pleasures of collecting and makes his original purchases with profits as his only motive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;However, we have found that the line between those of our clients that are collectors and those that are investors has become increasingly blurred. Collectors can't help but be pleased when coins that they sell bring an attractive profit. Investors begin to see their coins as works of art and become knowledgeable about the circumstances of their minting and the era in which they were circulated.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Both collector and investor come to realize that their intellectual curiosity, aesthetic sensibilities and enjoyment in our country's past can be used to create a collection that becomes an important store of value, a way to accumulate wealth that can be passed on to future generations--or used to fund their own retirements.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Steve is the ceo of cashcards-goldlynks rare/gold coin club he was the best isp in 1997 check out his about us page at http://goldlynks.tripod.com this article is free for distribution you can sign up for a free email course on buying and selling rare/gold coins for profit by sending email to goldcoinsinfo@yahoo.com membership of the coins club is free to join at http://goldlynks.tripod.com&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingforbeginners/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting for beginners&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingfordummies/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting for dummies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingforkids/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting for kids&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingguide/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting guide&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingmagazine/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting magazine&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112974333929647252?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112974333929647252/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112974333929647252' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112974333929647252'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112974333929647252'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/why-you-need-to-buy-and-sell-gold_19.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112971420106140092</id><published>2005-10-19T02:30:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-19T02:30:03.816-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Why Collect Coins?&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why Collect Coins?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So why collect coins? Answer is simple really. Coin Collectors, sometimes called Numismatists, enjoy collecting coins on various levels. Some collect coins for their rarity, some collect coins in the hope that one day their collection will be worth a value. Some just do it for the sure pleasure of having a hobby that is easy to do. Doing a little research and starting off small is the greatest way to get started in this hobby. Learn all you can about coin collecting basics. There are many &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;Coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; books and websites (like this one) out there, that will try to put a clearer understanding of what coin collecting is all about, and we are hear to teach you what you need to know about coin collecting. Coins have a history about them, when they were struck, why was the design chosen for that time period. There are no reasons etched in stone that says you have to collect coins in any particular way. You collect the way you want to, if you want to only collect pennies, then only collect pennies, if you want to collect complete sets of each of the denominations of coins, then do that, or you can just collect the coins that interest you. You decide what, when, and how to collect.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collecting basics is this, start small. Decide what types of coins you would like to collect. What would you like your collection to consist of? Pennies, Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, Half-Dollars, Dollars, Gold, Silver, Paper Money. It doesn't matter. Maybe you want to just collect coins from a certain time period that interest you. Whatever your decision, stick with it and work to completing your collection. Also remember that coins that were struck at different places have different mint marks. A mint mark is a letter that tells us where the coin was struck. Each of the coins that you wish to collect will have different mint marks, to complete a set you will want to have each of the mint marks for that coin. Subscribe to a coin magazine, Coin World is a good one. They have a wealth of knowledge pertaining to collecting coins. Also visit a local coin dealer, not only will you be able to look at a variety of coins that the dealer will be selling, they also can answer questions that you may have, they are there to help you build and understand coin collecting basics. Use that to your advantage. I guess you will need a nice place to put your newly acquired coins. Find yourself a coin folder to display your coins. And once you get into the hobby more you can get some coin sleeves to house your collection and store them the way you would want. The possibilities are endless with coin collecting, and learning coin collecting basics is the first real step in the progression of building a great coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;Building a coin collection, is a long process. It doesn't happen over night, it doesn't happen in a week, and unless you are filthy rich, it won't happen in a year. Collecting takes time, effort, and persistence, and the fact of the matter is, there are so many different types of coins to collect that it takes time to study and learn about each of the prospects. The United States have produced many different varieties of coins from the penny to the gold dollar. They have produced commemorative coins celebrating a historic event or an anniversary. What ever you chose to collect I am sure that with a little effort on your part, that your collection will be something that you can pass on to your children, or build a small nest egg for your retirement, or whatever you choose to start coin collecting for. Learning coin collecting basics is a healthy start to building a wonderful coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit www.thecoinalley.com to view other related information on the wonder Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingdealers/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting dealers&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingdimes/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting dimes&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingdisplaycases/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting display cases&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingfaq/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting faq&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingfolders/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting folders&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112971420106140092?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112971420106140092/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112971420106140092' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112971420106140092'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112971420106140092'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/why-collect-coins-why-collect-coins_19.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112968531706876443</id><published>2005-10-18T18:28:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-18T18:28:37.110-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So you want to become a successful coin collector. Well you have some simple concepts that you must learn in order for you to become a good coin collector, and let�s face it, if you don't learn some key rules for collecting coins, you are not going to enjoy collecting coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Well I would say that EDUCATION would be the most important factor for anyone to be a successful coin collector. Learn as much as you can about this wonderful hobby. Buy as many books and reading material on all aspects of coin collecting that you can get your hands on. This may even include subscribing to a few coin collecting magazines like Coin World. There are many online organizations, some listed on this site, and you can read about just about anything that there is to know about the hobby of collecting coins. &lt;BR&gt;�Learn to be a coin collector. A true collector collects coins for the right reasons. It is what he loves, it�s a true passion for him. It is what interests them the most and they study the market and learn what it is they are purchasing. Most collectors build collections for not only the feel of the hobby, but to make money as well. A true collector is building an investment and knows what he wants out of his collection. &lt;BR&gt;�Make sure you know where to get the information you need to succeed in hobby. Coin magazines, brokers, and newsletters in the hobby are a great way to keep up with what is going on in the coin industry. In my opinion the greatest place to find information on the coins that you are looking to collect are from dealers and other collectors. Working with your local coin dealer, who is established and well informed would be one of your greatest relationships that you will have in your hobby. &lt;BR&gt;�Another asset in &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; is learning to grade your coins. Knowing how to grade coins will not only help you purchase your coins more accurately, but it will help you to identify with your coins to know their true grade and getting a better understanding of what your coins are worth. Lots of money is spent on purchasing coins without the knowledge of knowing what the true grade of the coin is. The coin collector assumes the person or dealer that he is buying the coin from is knowledgeable himself and trust him. This is not a very trusting practice, and in the end it could result in your spending lots of money on your coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;�In the hobby of coin collecting, you will learn patience. Coin collections are built over many years, and beginner collectors will most often rush into collecting coins, with out learning the hobby first. This is a long term hobby, and some of the best and successful coin collectors are collectors having 10+ years under them. If you are planning on collecting coins for profit. It is advisable to buy your coins with the intention that you are going to keep them for at least 10 years. This will insure that you will get a reasonable return on your coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Having long and short term goals is the key to being successful in anything that you do. Well this holds true with coin collecting. Make sure you know what, where, how, and when, when it comes to &lt;A href="�http://www.thecoinalley.com�"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt;. Knowing your goals will help you become a successful coin collector and make your hobby more enjoyable.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit the site for more information on the wonderful Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingcleaning/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting cleaning&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingclub/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting club&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingcoinvalues/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting coin values&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingcompanies/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting companies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingdatabase/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting database&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112968531706876443?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112968531706876443/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112968531706876443' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112968531706876443'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112968531706876443'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/successful-coin-collector-successful_18.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112965635362838726</id><published>2005-10-18T10:25:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-18T10:25:53.683-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Daniel J. Goevert &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Okay, let�s get something straight� I do not advocate the purchase of United States coins strictly for investment purposes. Like most traditional collectors, I believe coins are to be primarily appreciated for their artistic beauty, historical connections, and the joy of pursuing them. However, it should be no secret that a significant number of us do add to our numismatic holdings while simultaneously peeking at the payback angle, too.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;In truth, there are probably substantial numbers of traditional collectors who prefer to acquire coins destined to increase in esteem and value over time; treasured heirlooms and a source of pride to be passed from one generation to the next. On the flip side of this equation, it seems implausible that anyone would buy a coin with the hope or expectation to see it stagnate or decrease in value. Indeed, any commentator who suggests the words �investment� and �coins� should never appear in close proximity to one another is ignoring a heavily populated segment of our hobby.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Now that we�ve established that it�s not numismatic heresy to seek coins with strong upside possibilities, let�s get down to basics. The guiding principle is simple: Any coin that has demonstrated solid, consistent gains over a long period of time is likely to show continued growth in the years ahead. Easily said, but as we shall soon see, not so easily put into practice.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;So exactly how does a one identify coins with a potentially bullish future? The best clues are revealed by analyzing the retail value trends over a long period of time for a given coin. Observing current prices alone does not yield enough information to correctly evaluate prospective price movements. What was the coin selling for two or three years ago compared to today? Dig deeper, and find the market price for the same coin 5-10 years ago. While you�re at it, get something from 20-30 years or more in the past, too. The more good data researched, the more reliable will be your final conclusions. Now whip out your spreadsheet and chart the numbers, or compute annualized rates of return. Flat or negative trends are bad. Positive trends are good. Steep positive trends are best. Any coin displaying a proven annualized growth pattern of at least 5-10% over a span of many years qualifies as an attractive option for the collector desiring coins headed for much higher price levels a few years down the road.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;During the course of my lengthy numismatic career, I�ve researched the long term value trends of most collectible US coins. Thanks to my trusty computer, I�ve calculated annualized compounded percentage return rates and honed in on a handful of coins that have consistently beaten the overall coin market averages. Unfortunately, the blue-chippers are scarcely encountered. Perhaps it is this fact that explains why so many well-intentioned hobby purists scorn the idea of blending coin collecting with the profit motive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Individuals whose objective is to satisfy their numismatic pleasure by assembling a collection certain to be the envy of tomorrow�s collectors must do their homework today. Remember to research historic value trends and evaluate growth potential based on previous performance. One last word of advice� never loose sight of the fact that you are handling artifacts of America�s past, and that all of us are merely their temporary custodians. Respect these coins and the history they represent, and you�ll always discover new avenues of adventure not found in most other investment opportunities.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Author Daniel J. Goevert is the webmaster of &lt;A href="http://www.us-coin-values-advisor.com"&gt;US Coin Values Advisor&lt;/A&gt;. This site specializes in US coin value trends, plus offers detailed coin collecting advice as well as an illustrated history of the United States and the US Mint.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingcamerasoftware/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting camera software&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingcanada/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting canada&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingcanadian/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting canadian&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingcards/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting cards&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingchecklists/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting check lists&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112965635362838726?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112965635362838726/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112965635362838726' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112965635362838726'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112965635362838726'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/identifying-us-coins-with-bullish_18.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112962716111191565</id><published>2005-10-18T02:19:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-18T02:19:25.596-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; The value of a particular coin, is determined by the grade that it is in. Coins that are in common circulation deteriorate over time and start to loose their detail. Coin grading will help you get to the coins current value, and a properly graded coin will determine more accurately what the exact worth of the coin.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collectors use a numbering system to give collectors an accurate measure of the condition a coin is in. This numbering system ranges between 1 and 70. "1" being the worst possible condition of a coin, and 70 meaning flawless. The numbers tell collectors many things, like how much wear is on the coin and if there are any damaging marks on the coin. There are very few coins out there with a 70 grade on them. It is very rare, and most coins minted have flaws, even if they are ever so slight.&lt;BR&gt;Grading coins is a science, and once you learn that science, putting a grade and a value on that coin will become much easier for you. Plus you will be able to accurately grade coins at auctions, coin dealers, and private collectors, so you will not get ripped off if someone is trying to sell you something at a higher price than it is worth. So coin grading is very important in the hobby of coin collecting, and learning this practice will greatly enhance your skills in the hobby and make you much more aware or current prices and rates that certain coins are going for.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.coingrading.com"&gt;How to Grade US Coins&lt;/A&gt; is a great starter for hobbyist trying to learn the art of coin grading. This book will go over all the different aspects of coin grading, and all the different grades of coins. It is a great reference to any hobbyist, and comes highly recommended.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.pcgs.com"&gt;Professional Coin Grading Service&lt;/A&gt; is a great service for those who either have had a hard time learning the fine art, or need a professional grading service to grade a particular rare coin. They also come highly recommended, and for some of your more finer specimens, a professional coin grading service is the way to go, to get a more accurately graded coin. &lt;BR&gt;So check out our coin grading button, and learn the different types of grades for your coins, read the recommended reading on grading your US coins, or have a professional coin grading service do the work for you. Either way, accurately having your coins graded will easily put a value on your collection, and could quite save you a lot of money in the buying of coins for your collection. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt;, visit the website to learn all about the wonderful world of coin collecting.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingasahobby/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting as a hobby&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingassociation/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting association&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingbook/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting book&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingbooks/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting books&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingbuysell/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting buy&amp;sell&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112962716111191565?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112962716111191565/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112962716111191565' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112962716111191565'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112962716111191565'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/coin-grading-coin-grading-author-jon_18.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112959805640223298</id><published>2005-10-17T18:14:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-17T18:14:16.460-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; The value of a particular coin, is determined by the grade that it is in. Coins that are in common circulation deteriorate over time and start to loose their detail. Coin grading will help you get to the coins current value, and a properly graded coin will determine more accurately what the exact worth of the coin.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collectors use a numbering system to give collectors an accurate measure of the condition a coin is in. This numbering system ranges between 1 and 70. "1" being the worst possible condition of a coin, and 70 meaning flawless. The numbers tell collectors many things, like how much wear is on the coin and if there are any damaging marks on the coin. There are very few coins out there with a 70 grade on them. It is very rare, and most coins minted have flaws, even if they are ever so slight.&lt;BR&gt;Grading coins is a science, and once you learn that science, putting a grade and a value on that coin will become much easier for you. Plus you will be able to accurately grade coins at auctions, coin dealers, and private collectors, so you will not get ripped off if someone is trying to sell you something at a higher price than it is worth. So coin grading is very important in the hobby of coin collecting, and learning this practice will greatly enhance your skills in the hobby and make you much more aware or current prices and rates that certain coins are going for.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.coingrading.com"&gt;How to Grade US Coins&lt;/A&gt; is a great starter for hobbyist trying to learn the art of coin grading. This book will go over all the different aspects of coin grading, and all the different grades of coins. It is a great reference to any hobbyist, and comes highly recommended.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.pcgs.com"&gt;Professional Coin Grading Service&lt;/A&gt; is a great service for those who either have had a hard time learning the fine art, or need a professional grading service to grade a particular rare coin. They also come highly recommended, and for some of your more finer specimens, a professional coin grading service is the way to go, to get a more accurately graded coin. &lt;BR&gt;So check out our coin grading button, and learn the different types of grades for your coins, read the recommended reading on grading your US coins, or have a professional coin grading service do the work for you. Either way, accurately having your coins graded will easily put a value on your collection, and could quite save you a lot of money in the buying of coins for your collection. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt;, visit the website to learn all about the wonderful world of coin collecting.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingaccessories/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting accessories&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingalbums/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting albums&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingandvalue/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting and value&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingappraisal/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting appraisal&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingappraising/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting appraising&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112959805640223298?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112959805640223298/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112959805640223298' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112959805640223298'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112959805640223298'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/coin-grading-coin-grading-author-jon_17.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112952254203004651</id><published>2005-10-16T21:15:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-16T21:15:42.090-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 4)&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 4)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; steve renner &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Throughout history, many coin collections have produced substantial long-term profits for their owners. This is particularly true for coin collectors of this century. Indeed, Harold Bareford reportedly purchased a collection of U.S. gold coins for $13,832 in the early 1950s which was resold at auction in 1978 for $1.2 million. A more substantial collector, Louis Eliasberg, built a collection that cost about $300,000. In 1982, it brought $12.4 million at auction.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;This investment performance has been well documented by sources as diverse as The Wall Street Journal, Consumer Reports and a host of industry periodicals and guidesheets. What these reports have shown is that carefully selected portfolios of rare coins have had a high rate of long-term appreciation.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Of course, past performance is no guarantee of future results and investments in rare coins do involve risk. While the market performance of different coins varies substantially and no representation can be made that an individual investor's portfolio will enjoy results similar to those that have been documented in the various independent reports and surveys, those reports and surveys illustrate the impressive returns that carefully selected rare U.S. coins can produce.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Tax Benefits&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Capital gains on coins can only be taxed at liquidation, when the profits are actually realized. There is no taxation on phantom or undistributed profits as there are with some investments. And unlike most other investments, there is no federal income tax liability on so-called "wash sales" or like-kind exchanges which enable investors to trade their rare coins for other rare coins of equal or greater value&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Intrinsic Value&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Unlike paper investments, rare U.S. coins have real tangible value you can feel each time you hold one in your hand. Therefore, they offer two ways to build wealth. Carefully selected coins truly offer the best of bullion and numismatics in one investment. They contain the intrinsic security of bullion and can also offer extraordinary profit potential regardless of what precious metal spot prices do. Still, precious metal content is only a relatively small factor in determining the value of many rare U.S. coins whose value is almost solely based on condition, demand and rarity&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Historically Significant Beauty&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Rare U.S. coins are a part of our history--direct links to America's rich heritage--as timeless and valuable as history itself. For two centuries, U.S. coins have been symbols of American stability, as well as reflections of national pride. Throughout our nation's history, coins have spotlighted our national heroes, paid tribute to our great achievements and commemorated significant events. These truly historic works of art commemorate past sacrifices made in the name of freedom.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Rare U.S. coins acquaint investors with historical figures and events, no matter how far removed by time. The satisfaction of actually owning a piece of history from a bygone era makes investing in rare U.S. coins truly unique. Each coin has traveled a different path through history. As a result, each is a unique embodiment of the hopes and dreams of our founding fathers&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Condition&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The overwhelming majority of U.S. coins ever minted were circulated. Many coins were lost through attrition and others were damaged by use, thus eliminating any potential for numismatic value. The few surviving uncirculated coins are in a much more pristine condition.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Investment quality coins are primarily those coins rated in the 11 uncirculated grades, 60 and above, on the American Numismatic Association's 70 point grading scale. A coin's grade is a measure of its condition or state of preservation. The higher the grade, the better the condition.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Uncirculated coins fall into two broad categories: Proof (PF or PR) and Mint State (MS). Mint State coins were originally meant for circulation but never were circulated, so they remain in the same condition today as when they were minted. Proof coins were never meant for circulation, thus they received very careful handling and were specially struck at least twice on highly polished planchets.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The beauty of a coin can attract collectors as well as investors, and hence increase demand for a particular coin or set. This increased demand can result in rising values. Eye appeal is affected by several factors including the beauty of a coin's design, the minting process used, the fullness and sharpness of its strike, the toning, the brilliance of its luster and the amount of wear and number of blemishes on the coin's surface&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Portfolios or Collections?&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The age-old description of coin collecting as the "Hobby of Kings" is both accurate and misleading... accurate in conveying the outdated perception that coin collecting is restricted only to the very wealthy, misleading in that the number of collectors has steadily increased and has been estimated by the American Numismatic Association to include as many as 7-10 million coin buyers in the United States alone. Typically, the coin collector collects coins for their rarity and historical value. Collectors view their coins as rare art and as the tangible remnants of the cultural and economic forces that created them.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The investor begins from a different starting point--the fact that coins of proven rarity have shown remarkably high rates of appreciation. He sees the economic results of the pleasures of collecting and makes his original purchases with profits as his only motive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;However, we have found that the line between those of our clients that are collectors and those that are investors has become increasingly blurred. Collectors can't help but be pleased when coins that they sell bring an attractive profit. Investors begin to see their coins as works of art and become knowledgeable about the circumstances of their minting and the era in which they were circulated.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Both collector and investor come to realize that their intellectual curiosity, aesthetic sensibilities and enjoyment in our country's past can be used to create a collection that becomes an important store of value, a way to accumulate wealth that can be passed on to future generations--or used to fund their own retirements.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Steve is the ceo of cashcards-goldlynks rare/gold coin club he was the best isp in 1997 check out his about us page at http://goldlynks.tripod.com this article is free for distribution you can sign up for a free email course on buying and selling rare/gold coins for profit by sending email to goldcoinsinfo@yahoo.com membership of the coins club is free to join at http://goldlynks.tripod.com&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../addlink.html&gt;coin collecting - your #1 reference guide to collecting coins - add url&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../americancoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - american coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../americancoincollectingvalues1840/&gt;coin collecting - american coin collecting values 1840&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../ancientcoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - ancient coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../bestcoincollectingsoftware/&gt;coin collecting - best coin collecting software&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112952254203004651?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112952254203004651/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112952254203004651' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112952254203004651'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112952254203004651'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/why-you-need-to-buy-and-sell-gold_16.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112949373303093463</id><published>2005-10-16T13:15:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-16T13:15:33.090-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Why Collect Coins?&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why Collect Coins?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So why collect coins? Answer is simple really. Coin Collectors, sometimes called Numismatists, enjoy collecting coins on various levels. Some collect coins for their rarity, some collect coins in the hope that one day their collection will be worth a value. Some just do it for the sure pleasure of having a hobby that is easy to do. Doing a little research and starting off small is the greatest way to get started in this hobby. Learn all you can about coin collecting basics. There are many &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;Coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; books and websites (like this one) out there, that will try to put a clearer understanding of what coin collecting is all about, and we are hear to teach you what you need to know about coin collecting. Coins have a history about them, when they were struck, why was the design chosen for that time period. There are no reasons etched in stone that says you have to collect coins in any particular way. You collect the way you want to, if you want to only collect pennies, then only collect pennies, if you want to collect complete sets of each of the denominations of coins, then do that, or you can just collect the coins that interest you. You decide what, when, and how to collect.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collecting basics is this, start small. Decide what types of coins you would like to collect. What would you like your collection to consist of? Pennies, Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, Half-Dollars, Dollars, Gold, Silver, Paper Money. It doesn't matter. Maybe you want to just collect coins from a certain time period that interest you. Whatever your decision, stick with it and work to completing your collection. Also remember that coins that were struck at different places have different mint marks. A mint mark is a letter that tells us where the coin was struck. Each of the coins that you wish to collect will have different mint marks, to complete a set you will want to have each of the mint marks for that coin. Subscribe to a coin magazine, Coin World is a good one. They have a wealth of knowledge pertaining to collecting coins. Also visit a local coin dealer, not only will you be able to look at a variety of coins that the dealer will be selling, they also can answer questions that you may have, they are there to help you build and understand coin collecting basics. Use that to your advantage. I guess you will need a nice place to put your newly acquired coins. Find yourself a coin folder to display your coins. And once you get into the hobby more you can get some coin sleeves to house your collection and store them the way you would want. The possibilities are endless with coin collecting, and learning coin collecting basics is the first real step in the progression of building a great coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;Building a coin collection, is a long process. It doesn't happen over night, it doesn't happen in a week, and unless you are filthy rich, it won't happen in a year. Collecting takes time, effort, and persistence, and the fact of the matter is, there are so many different types of coins to collect that it takes time to study and learn about each of the prospects. The United States have produced many different varieties of coins from the penny to the gold dollar. They have produced commemorative coins celebrating a historic event or an anniversary. What ever you chose to collect I am sure that with a little effort on your part, that your collection will be something that you can pass on to your children, or build a small nest egg for your retirement, or whatever you choose to start coin collecting for. Learning coin collecting basics is a healthy start to building a wonderful coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit www.thecoinalley.com to view other related information on the wonder Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/articles/&gt;coin collecting - your #1 reference guide to collecting coins - coin collecting articles&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/addlink.html&gt;coin collecting - your #1 reference guide to collecting coins - add url&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../articles/&gt;coin collecting - your #1 reference guide to collecting coins - coin collecting articles&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112949373303093463?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112949373303093463/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112949373303093463' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112949373303093463'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112949373303093463'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/why-collect-coins-why-collect-coins_16.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112946492811698428</id><published>2005-10-16T05:15:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-16T05:15:28.206-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So you want to become a successful coin collector. Well you have some simple concepts that you must learn in order for you to become a good coin collector, and let�s face it, if you don't learn some key rules for collecting coins, you are not going to enjoy collecting coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Well I would say that EDUCATION would be the most important factor for anyone to be a successful coin collector. Learn as much as you can about this wonderful hobby. Buy as many books and reading material on all aspects of coin collecting that you can get your hands on. This may even include subscribing to a few coin collecting magazines like Coin World. There are many online organizations, some listed on this site, and you can read about just about anything that there is to know about the hobby of collecting coins. &lt;BR&gt;�Learn to be a coin collector. A true collector collects coins for the right reasons. It is what he loves, it�s a true passion for him. It is what interests them the most and they study the market and learn what it is they are purchasing. Most collectors build collections for not only the feel of the hobby, but to make money as well. A true collector is building an investment and knows what he wants out of his collection. &lt;BR&gt;�Make sure you know where to get the information you need to succeed in hobby. Coin magazines, brokers, and newsletters in the hobby are a great way to keep up with what is going on in the coin industry. In my opinion the greatest place to find information on the coins that you are looking to collect are from dealers and other collectors. Working with your local coin dealer, who is established and well informed would be one of your greatest relationships that you will have in your hobby. &lt;BR&gt;�Another asset in &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; is learning to grade your coins. Knowing how to grade coins will not only help you purchase your coins more accurately, but it will help you to identify with your coins to know their true grade and getting a better understanding of what your coins are worth. Lots of money is spent on purchasing coins without the knowledge of knowing what the true grade of the coin is. The coin collector assumes the person or dealer that he is buying the coin from is knowledgeable himself and trust him. This is not a very trusting practice, and in the end it could result in your spending lots of money on your coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;�In the hobby of coin collecting, you will learn patience. Coin collections are built over many years, and beginner collectors will most often rush into collecting coins, with out learning the hobby first. This is a long term hobby, and some of the best and successful coin collectors are collectors having 10+ years under them. If you are planning on collecting coins for profit. It is advisable to buy your coins with the intention that you are going to keep them for at least 10 years. This will insure that you will get a reasonable return on your coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Having long and short term goals is the key to being successful in anything that you do. Well this holds true with coin collecting. Make sure you know what, where, how, and when, when it comes to &lt;A href="�http://www.thecoinalley.com�"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt;. Knowing your goals will help you become a successful coin collector and make your hobby more enjoyable.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit the site for more information on the wonderful Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112946492811698428?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112946492811698428/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112946492811698428' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112946492811698428'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112946492811698428'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/successful-coin-collector-successful_16.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112943524737206981</id><published>2005-10-15T21:00:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-15T21:00:47.433-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Daniel J. Goevert &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Okay, let�s get something straight� I do not advocate the purchase of United States coins strictly for investment purposes. Like most traditional collectors, I believe coins are to be primarily appreciated for their artistic beauty, historical connections, and the joy of pursuing them. However, it should be no secret that a significant number of us do add to our numismatic holdings while simultaneously peeking at the payback angle, too.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;In truth, there are probably substantial numbers of traditional collectors who prefer to acquire coins destined to increase in esteem and value over time; treasured heirlooms and a source of pride to be passed from one generation to the next. On the flip side of this equation, it seems implausible that anyone would buy a coin with the hope or expectation to see it stagnate or decrease in value. Indeed, any commentator who suggests the words �investment� and �coins� should never appear in close proximity to one another is ignoring a heavily populated segment of our hobby.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Now that we�ve established that it�s not numismatic heresy to seek coins with strong upside possibilities, let�s get down to basics. The guiding principle is simple: Any coin that has demonstrated solid, consistent gains over a long period of time is likely to show continued growth in the years ahead. Easily said, but as we shall soon see, not so easily put into practice.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;So exactly how does a one identify coins with a potentially bullish future? The best clues are revealed by analyzing the retail value trends over a long period of time for a given coin. Observing current prices alone does not yield enough information to correctly evaluate prospective price movements. What was the coin selling for two or three years ago compared to today? Dig deeper, and find the market price for the same coin 5-10 years ago. While you�re at it, get something from 20-30 years or more in the past, too. The more good data researched, the more reliable will be your final conclusions. Now whip out your spreadsheet and chart the numbers, or compute annualized rates of return. Flat or negative trends are bad. Positive trends are good. Steep positive trends are best. Any coin displaying a proven annualized growth pattern of at least 5-10% over a span of many years qualifies as an attractive option for the collector desiring coins headed for much higher price levels a few years down the road.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;During the course of my lengthy numismatic career, I�ve researched the long term value trends of most collectible US coins. Thanks to my trusty computer, I�ve calculated annualized compounded percentage return rates and honed in on a handful of coins that have consistently beaten the overall coin market averages. Unfortunately, the blue-chippers are scarcely encountered. Perhaps it is this fact that explains why so many well-intentioned hobby purists scorn the idea of blending coin collecting with the profit motive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Individuals whose objective is to satisfy their numismatic pleasure by assembling a collection certain to be the envy of tomorrow�s collectors must do their homework today. Remember to research historic value trends and evaluate growth potential based on previous performance. One last word of advice� never loose sight of the fact that you are handling artifacts of America�s past, and that all of us are merely their temporary custodians. Respect these coins and the history they represent, and you�ll always discover new avenues of adventure not found in most other investment opportunities.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Author Daniel J. Goevert is the webmaster of &lt;A href="http://www.us-coin-values-advisor.com"&gt;US Coin Values Advisor&lt;/A&gt;. This site specializes in US coin value trends, plus offers detailed coin collecting advice as well as an illustrated history of the United States and the US Mint.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../uscoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - us coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../whitmancoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - whitman coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../worldcoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - world coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../addcat.html&gt;coin collecting - your #1 reference guide to collecting coins - add url&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../lfastcoin.html&gt;the hobby of kings!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112943524737206981?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112943524737206981/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112943524737206981' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112943524737206981'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112943524737206981'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/identifying-us-coins-with-bullish_15.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112940529791884161</id><published>2005-10-15T12:41:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-15T12:41:37.973-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; The value of a particular coin, is determined by the grade that it is in. Coins that are in common circulation deteriorate over time and start to loose their detail. Coin grading will help you get to the coins current value, and a properly graded coin will determine more accurately what the exact worth of the coin.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collectors use a numbering system to give collectors an accurate measure of the condition a coin is in. This numbering system ranges between 1 and 70. "1" being the worst possible condition of a coin, and 70 meaning flawless. The numbers tell collectors many things, like how much wear is on the coin and if there are any damaging marks on the coin. There are very few coins out there with a 70 grade on them. It is very rare, and most coins minted have flaws, even if they are ever so slight.&lt;BR&gt;Grading coins is a science, and once you learn that science, putting a grade and a value on that coin will become much easier for you. Plus you will be able to accurately grade coins at auctions, coin dealers, and private collectors, so you will not get ripped off if someone is trying to sell you something at a higher price than it is worth. So coin grading is very important in the hobby of coin collecting, and learning this practice will greatly enhance your skills in the hobby and make you much more aware or current prices and rates that certain coins are going for.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.coingrading.com"&gt;How to Grade US Coins&lt;/A&gt; is a great starter for hobbyist trying to learn the art of coin grading. This book will go over all the different aspects of coin grading, and all the different grades of coins. It is a great reference to any hobbyist, and comes highly recommended.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.pcgs.com"&gt;Professional Coin Grading Service&lt;/A&gt; is a great service for those who either have had a hard time learning the fine art, or need a professional grading service to grade a particular rare coin. They also come highly recommended, and for some of your more finer specimens, a professional coin grading service is the way to go, to get a more accurately graded coin. &lt;BR&gt;So check out our coin grading button, and learn the different types of grades for your coins, read the recommended reading on grading your US coins, or have a professional coin grading service do the work for you. Either way, accurately having your coins graded will easily put a value on your collection, and could quite save you a lot of money in the buying of coins for your collection. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt;, visit the website to learn all about the wonderful world of coin collecting.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../mexicancoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - mexican coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../rarecoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - rare coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../rarecoincollectingsupply/&gt;coin collecting - rare coin collecting supply&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../theofficialredbooktocoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - the official redbook to coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../ukcoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - uk coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112940529791884161?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112940529791884161/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112940529791884161' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112940529791884161'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112940529791884161'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/coin-grading-coin-grading-author-jon_15.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112934740147370027</id><published>2005-10-14T20:36:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-14T20:36:41.536-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 4)&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 4)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; steve renner &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Throughout history, many coin collections have produced substantial long-term profits for their owners. This is particularly true for coin collectors of this century. Indeed, Harold Bareford reportedly purchased a collection of U.S. gold coins for $13,832 in the early 1950s which was resold at auction in 1978 for $1.2 million. A more substantial collector, Louis Eliasberg, built a collection that cost about $300,000. In 1982, it brought $12.4 million at auction.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;This investment performance has been well documented by sources as diverse as The Wall Street Journal, Consumer Reports and a host of industry periodicals and guidesheets. What these reports have shown is that carefully selected portfolios of rare coins have had a high rate of long-term appreciation.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Of course, past performance is no guarantee of future results and investments in rare coins do involve risk. While the market performance of different coins varies substantially and no representation can be made that an individual investor's portfolio will enjoy results similar to those that have been documented in the various independent reports and surveys, those reports and surveys illustrate the impressive returns that carefully selected rare U.S. coins can produce.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Tax Benefits&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Capital gains on coins can only be taxed at liquidation, when the profits are actually realized. There is no taxation on phantom or undistributed profits as there are with some investments. And unlike most other investments, there is no federal income tax liability on so-called "wash sales" or like-kind exchanges which enable investors to trade their rare coins for other rare coins of equal or greater value&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Intrinsic Value&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Unlike paper investments, rare U.S. coins have real tangible value you can feel each time you hold one in your hand. Therefore, they offer two ways to build wealth. Carefully selected coins truly offer the best of bullion and numismatics in one investment. They contain the intrinsic security of bullion and can also offer extraordinary profit potential regardless of what precious metal spot prices do. Still, precious metal content is only a relatively small factor in determining the value of many rare U.S. coins whose value is almost solely based on condition, demand and rarity&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Historically Significant Beauty&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Rare U.S. coins are a part of our history--direct links to America's rich heritage--as timeless and valuable as history itself. For two centuries, U.S. coins have been symbols of American stability, as well as reflections of national pride. Throughout our nation's history, coins have spotlighted our national heroes, paid tribute to our great achievements and commemorated significant events. These truly historic works of art commemorate past sacrifices made in the name of freedom.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Rare U.S. coins acquaint investors with historical figures and events, no matter how far removed by time. The satisfaction of actually owning a piece of history from a bygone era makes investing in rare U.S. coins truly unique. Each coin has traveled a different path through history. As a result, each is a unique embodiment of the hopes and dreams of our founding fathers&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Condition&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The overwhelming majority of U.S. coins ever minted were circulated. Many coins were lost through attrition and others were damaged by use, thus eliminating any potential for numismatic value. The few surviving uncirculated coins are in a much more pristine condition.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Investment quality coins are primarily those coins rated in the 11 uncirculated grades, 60 and above, on the American Numismatic Association's 70 point grading scale. A coin's grade is a measure of its condition or state of preservation. The higher the grade, the better the condition.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Uncirculated coins fall into two broad categories: Proof (PF or PR) and Mint State (MS). Mint State coins were originally meant for circulation but never were circulated, so they remain in the same condition today as when they were minted. Proof coins were never meant for circulation, thus they received very careful handling and were specially struck at least twice on highly polished planchets.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The beauty of a coin can attract collectors as well as investors, and hence increase demand for a particular coin or set. This increased demand can result in rising values. Eye appeal is affected by several factors including the beauty of a coin's design, the minting process used, the fullness and sharpness of its strike, the toning, the brilliance of its luster and the amount of wear and number of blemishes on the coin's surface&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Portfolios or Collections?&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The age-old description of coin collecting as the "Hobby of Kings" is both accurate and misleading... accurate in conveying the outdated perception that coin collecting is restricted only to the very wealthy, misleading in that the number of collectors has steadily increased and has been estimated by the American Numismatic Association to include as many as 7-10 million coin buyers in the United States alone. Typically, the coin collector collects coins for their rarity and historical value. Collectors view their coins as rare art and as the tangible remnants of the cultural and economic forces that created them.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The investor begins from a different starting point--the fact that coins of proven rarity have shown remarkably high rates of appreciation. He sees the economic results of the pleasures of collecting and makes his original purchases with profits as his only motive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;However, we have found that the line between those of our clients that are collectors and those that are investors has become increasingly blurred. Collectors can't help but be pleased when coins that they sell bring an attractive profit. Investors begin to see their coins as works of art and become knowledgeable about the circumstances of their minting and the era in which they were circulated.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Both collector and investor come to realize that their intellectual curiosity, aesthetic sensibilities and enjoyment in our country's past can be used to create a collection that becomes an important store of value, a way to accumulate wealth that can be passed on to future generations--or used to fund their own retirements.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Steve is the ceo of cashcards-goldlynks rare/gold coin club he was the best isp in 1997 check out his about us page at http://goldlynks.tripod.com this article is free for distribution you can sign up for a free email course on buying and selling rare/gold coins for profit by sending email to goldcoinsinfo@yahoo.com membership of the coins club is free to join at http://goldlynks.tripod.com&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../foreigncoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - foreign coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../foreigncoincollectingsupplies/&gt;coin collecting - foreign coin collecting supplies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../freecoincollectingkids/&gt;coin collecting - free coin collecting kids&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../freecoincollectingsoftware/&gt;coin collecting - free coin collecting software&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../giftcoincollectorcollecting/&gt;coin collecting - gift coin collector collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112934740147370027?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112934740147370027/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112934740147370027' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112934740147370027'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112934740147370027'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/why-you-need-to-buy-and-sell-gold_14.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112931854700034065</id><published>2005-10-14T12:35:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-14T12:35:50.333-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Why Collect Coins?&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why Collect Coins?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So why collect coins? Answer is simple really. Coin Collectors, sometimes called Numismatists, enjoy collecting coins on various levels. Some collect coins for their rarity, some collect coins in the hope that one day their collection will be worth a value. Some just do it for the sure pleasure of having a hobby that is easy to do. Doing a little research and starting off small is the greatest way to get started in this hobby. Learn all you can about coin collecting basics. There are many &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;Coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; books and websites (like this one) out there, that will try to put a clearer understanding of what coin collecting is all about, and we are hear to teach you what you need to know about coin collecting. Coins have a history about them, when they were struck, why was the design chosen for that time period. There are no reasons etched in stone that says you have to collect coins in any particular way. You collect the way you want to, if you want to only collect pennies, then only collect pennies, if you want to collect complete sets of each of the denominations of coins, then do that, or you can just collect the coins that interest you. You decide what, when, and how to collect.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collecting basics is this, start small. Decide what types of coins you would like to collect. What would you like your collection to consist of? Pennies, Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, Half-Dollars, Dollars, Gold, Silver, Paper Money. It doesn't matter. Maybe you want to just collect coins from a certain time period that interest you. Whatever your decision, stick with it and work to completing your collection. Also remember that coins that were struck at different places have different mint marks. A mint mark is a letter that tells us where the coin was struck. Each of the coins that you wish to collect will have different mint marks, to complete a set you will want to have each of the mint marks for that coin. Subscribe to a coin magazine, Coin World is a good one. They have a wealth of knowledge pertaining to collecting coins. Also visit a local coin dealer, not only will you be able to look at a variety of coins that the dealer will be selling, they also can answer questions that you may have, they are there to help you build and understand coin collecting basics. Use that to your advantage. I guess you will need a nice place to put your newly acquired coins. Find yourself a coin folder to display your coins. And once you get into the hobby more you can get some coin sleeves to house your collection and store them the way you would want. The possibilities are endless with coin collecting, and learning coin collecting basics is the first real step in the progression of building a great coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;Building a coin collection, is a long process. It doesn't happen over night, it doesn't happen in a week, and unless you are filthy rich, it won't happen in a year. Collecting takes time, effort, and persistence, and the fact of the matter is, there are so many different types of coins to collect that it takes time to study and learn about each of the prospects. The United States have produced many different varieties of coins from the penny to the gold dollar. They have produced commemorative coins celebrating a historic event or an anniversary. What ever you chose to collect I am sure that with a little effort on your part, that your collection will be something that you can pass on to your children, or build a small nest egg for your retirement, or whatever you choose to start coin collecting for. Learning coin collecting basics is a healthy start to building a wonderful coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit www.thecoinalley.com to view other related information on the wonder Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coinquarterscollecting/&gt;coin collecting - coin quarters collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coinrollcollecting/&gt;coin collecting - coin roll collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../collectingcoinsilverspoons/&gt;coin collecting - collecting coin silver spoons&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../discountcoincollectingsupplies/&gt;coin collecting - discount coin collecting supplies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../eurocoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - euro coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112931854700034065?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112931854700034065/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112931854700034065' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112931854700034065'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112931854700034065'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/why-collect-coins-why-collect-coins_14.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112928899621248079</id><published>2005-10-14T04:23:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-14T04:23:16.283-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So you want to become a successful coin collector. Well you have some simple concepts that you must learn in order for you to become a good coin collector, and let�s face it, if you don't learn some key rules for collecting coins, you are not going to enjoy collecting coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Well I would say that EDUCATION would be the most important factor for anyone to be a successful coin collector. Learn as much as you can about this wonderful hobby. Buy as many books and reading material on all aspects of coin collecting that you can get your hands on. This may even include subscribing to a few coin collecting magazines like Coin World. There are many online organizations, some listed on this site, and you can read about just about anything that there is to know about the hobby of collecting coins. &lt;BR&gt;�Learn to be a coin collector. A true collector collects coins for the right reasons. It is what he loves, it�s a true passion for him. It is what interests them the most and they study the market and learn what it is they are purchasing. Most collectors build collections for not only the feel of the hobby, but to make money as well. A true collector is building an investment and knows what he wants out of his collection. &lt;BR&gt;�Make sure you know where to get the information you need to succeed in hobby. Coin magazines, brokers, and newsletters in the hobby are a great way to keep up with what is going on in the coin industry. In my opinion the greatest place to find information on the coins that you are looking to collect are from dealers and other collectors. Working with your local coin dealer, who is established and well informed would be one of your greatest relationships that you will have in your hobby. &lt;BR&gt;�Another asset in &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; is learning to grade your coins. Knowing how to grade coins will not only help you purchase your coins more accurately, but it will help you to identify with your coins to know their true grade and getting a better understanding of what your coins are worth. Lots of money is spent on purchasing coins without the knowledge of knowing what the true grade of the coin is. The coin collector assumes the person or dealer that he is buying the coin from is knowledgeable himself and trust him. This is not a very trusting practice, and in the end it could result in your spending lots of money on your coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;�In the hobby of coin collecting, you will learn patience. Coin collections are built over many years, and beginner collectors will most often rush into collecting coins, with out learning the hobby first. This is a long term hobby, and some of the best and successful coin collectors are collectors having 10+ years under them. If you are planning on collecting coins for profit. It is advisable to buy your coins with the intention that you are going to keep them for at least 10 years. This will insure that you will get a reasonable return on your coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Having long and short term goals is the key to being successful in anything that you do. Well this holds true with coin collecting. Make sure you know what, where, how, and when, when it comes to &lt;A href="�http://www.thecoinalley.com�"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt;. Knowing your goals will help you become a successful coin collector and make your hobby more enjoyable.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit the site for more information on the wonderful Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingterms/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting terms&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingtips/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting tips&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectinguk/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting uk&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingvalue/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting value&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingvalues/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting values&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112928899621248079?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112928899621248079/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112928899621248079' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112928899621248079'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112928899621248079'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/successful-coin-collector-successful_14.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112926010215720723</id><published>2005-10-13T20:21:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-13T20:21:42.246-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Daniel J. Goevert &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Okay, let�s get something straight� I do not advocate the purchase of United States coins strictly for investment purposes. Like most traditional collectors, I believe coins are to be primarily appreciated for their artistic beauty, historical connections, and the joy of pursuing them. However, it should be no secret that a significant number of us do add to our numismatic holdings while simultaneously peeking at the payback angle, too.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;In truth, there are probably substantial numbers of traditional collectors who prefer to acquire coins destined to increase in esteem and value over time; treasured heirlooms and a source of pride to be passed from one generation to the next. On the flip side of this equation, it seems implausible that anyone would buy a coin with the hope or expectation to see it stagnate or decrease in value. Indeed, any commentator who suggests the words �investment� and �coins� should never appear in close proximity to one another is ignoring a heavily populated segment of our hobby.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Now that we�ve established that it�s not numismatic heresy to seek coins with strong upside possibilities, let�s get down to basics. The guiding principle is simple: Any coin that has demonstrated solid, consistent gains over a long period of time is likely to show continued growth in the years ahead. Easily said, but as we shall soon see, not so easily put into practice.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;So exactly how does a one identify coins with a potentially bullish future? The best clues are revealed by analyzing the retail value trends over a long period of time for a given coin. Observing current prices alone does not yield enough information to correctly evaluate prospective price movements. What was the coin selling for two or three years ago compared to today? Dig deeper, and find the market price for the same coin 5-10 years ago. While you�re at it, get something from 20-30 years or more in the past, too. The more good data researched, the more reliable will be your final conclusions. Now whip out your spreadsheet and chart the numbers, or compute annualized rates of return. Flat or negative trends are bad. Positive trends are good. Steep positive trends are best. Any coin displaying a proven annualized growth pattern of at least 5-10% over a span of many years qualifies as an attractive option for the collector desiring coins headed for much higher price levels a few years down the road.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;During the course of my lengthy numismatic career, I�ve researched the long term value trends of most collectible US coins. Thanks to my trusty computer, I�ve calculated annualized compounded percentage return rates and honed in on a handful of coins that have consistently beaten the overall coin market averages. Unfortunately, the blue-chippers are scarcely encountered. Perhaps it is this fact that explains why so many well-intentioned hobby purists scorn the idea of blending coin collecting with the profit motive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Individuals whose objective is to satisfy their numismatic pleasure by assembling a collection certain to be the envy of tomorrow�s collectors must do their homework today. Remember to research historic value trends and evaluate growth potential based on previous performance. One last word of advice� never loose sight of the fact that you are handling artifacts of America�s past, and that all of us are merely their temporary custodians. Respect these coins and the history they represent, and you�ll always discover new avenues of adventure not found in most other investment opportunities.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Author Daniel J. Goevert is the webmaster of &lt;A href="http://www.us-coin-values-advisor.com"&gt;US Coin Values Advisor&lt;/A&gt;. This site specializes in US coin value trends, plus offers detailed coin collecting advice as well as an illustrated history of the United States and the US Mint.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingsoftwarefree/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting software free&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingstarterkit/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting starter kit&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingsupplies/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting supplies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingsuppliesuk/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting supplies uk&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingsupply/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting supply&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112926010215720723?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112926010215720723/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112926010215720723' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112926010215720723'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112926010215720723'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/identifying-us-coins-with-bullish_13.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112922771334121278</id><published>2005-10-13T11:21:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-13T11:21:53.410-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; The value of a particular coin, is determined by the grade that it is in. Coins that are in common circulation deteriorate over time and start to loose their detail. Coin grading will help you get to the coins current value, and a properly graded coin will determine more accurately what the exact worth of the coin.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collectors use a numbering system to give collectors an accurate measure of the condition a coin is in. This numbering system ranges between 1 and 70. "1" being the worst possible condition of a coin, and 70 meaning flawless. The numbers tell collectors many things, like how much wear is on the coin and if there are any damaging marks on the coin. There are very few coins out there with a 70 grade on them. It is very rare, and most coins minted have flaws, even if they are ever so slight.&lt;BR&gt;Grading coins is a science, and once you learn that science, putting a grade and a value on that coin will become much easier for you. Plus you will be able to accurately grade coins at auctions, coin dealers, and private collectors, so you will not get ripped off if someone is trying to sell you something at a higher price than it is worth. So coin grading is very important in the hobby of coin collecting, and learning this practice will greatly enhance your skills in the hobby and make you much more aware or current prices and rates that certain coins are going for.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.coingrading.com"&gt;How to Grade US Coins&lt;/A&gt; is a great starter for hobbyist trying to learn the art of coin grading. This book will go over all the different aspects of coin grading, and all the different grades of coins. It is a great reference to any hobbyist, and comes highly recommended.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.pcgs.com"&gt;Professional Coin Grading Service&lt;/A&gt; is a great service for those who either have had a hard time learning the fine art, or need a professional grading service to grade a particular rare coin. They also come highly recommended, and for some of your more finer specimens, a professional coin grading service is the way to go, to get a more accurately graded coin. &lt;BR&gt;So check out our coin grading button, and learn the different types of grades for your coins, read the recommended reading on grading your US coins, or have a professional coin grading service do the work for you. Either way, accurately having your coins graded will easily put a value on your collection, and could quite save you a lot of money in the buying of coins for your collection. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt;, visit the website to learn all about the wonderful world of coin collecting.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingquarters/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting quarters&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingreferencebooks/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting reference books&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectings/&gt;coin collecting - coin collectings&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingsilverdollars/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting silver dollars&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingsoftware/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting software&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112922771334121278?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112922771334121278/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112922771334121278' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112922771334121278'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112922771334121278'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/coin-grading-coin-grading-author-jon_13.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112916985205254452</id><published>2005-10-12T19:17:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-12T19:17:32.126-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 4)&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 4)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; steve renner &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Throughout history, many coin collections have produced substantial long-term profits for their owners. This is particularly true for coin collectors of this century. Indeed, Harold Bareford reportedly purchased a collection of U.S. gold coins for $13,832 in the early 1950s which was resold at auction in 1978 for $1.2 million. A more substantial collector, Louis Eliasberg, built a collection that cost about $300,000. In 1982, it brought $12.4 million at auction.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;This investment performance has been well documented by sources as diverse as The Wall Street Journal, Consumer Reports and a host of industry periodicals and guidesheets. What these reports have shown is that carefully selected portfolios of rare coins have had a high rate of long-term appreciation.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Of course, past performance is no guarantee of future results and investments in rare coins do involve risk. While the market performance of different coins varies substantially and no representation can be made that an individual investor's portfolio will enjoy results similar to those that have been documented in the various independent reports and surveys, those reports and surveys illustrate the impressive returns that carefully selected rare U.S. coins can produce.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Tax Benefits&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Capital gains on coins can only be taxed at liquidation, when the profits are actually realized. There is no taxation on phantom or undistributed profits as there are with some investments. And unlike most other investments, there is no federal income tax liability on so-called "wash sales" or like-kind exchanges which enable investors to trade their rare coins for other rare coins of equal or greater value&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Intrinsic Value&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Unlike paper investments, rare U.S. coins have real tangible value you can feel each time you hold one in your hand. Therefore, they offer two ways to build wealth. Carefully selected coins truly offer the best of bullion and numismatics in one investment. They contain the intrinsic security of bullion and can also offer extraordinary profit potential regardless of what precious metal spot prices do. Still, precious metal content is only a relatively small factor in determining the value of many rare U.S. coins whose value is almost solely based on condition, demand and rarity&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Historically Significant Beauty&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Rare U.S. coins are a part of our history--direct links to America's rich heritage--as timeless and valuable as history itself. For two centuries, U.S. coins have been symbols of American stability, as well as reflections of national pride. Throughout our nation's history, coins have spotlighted our national heroes, paid tribute to our great achievements and commemorated significant events. These truly historic works of art commemorate past sacrifices made in the name of freedom.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Rare U.S. coins acquaint investors with historical figures and events, no matter how far removed by time. The satisfaction of actually owning a piece of history from a bygone era makes investing in rare U.S. coins truly unique. Each coin has traveled a different path through history. As a result, each is a unique embodiment of the hopes and dreams of our founding fathers&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Condition&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The overwhelming majority of U.S. coins ever minted were circulated. Many coins were lost through attrition and others were damaged by use, thus eliminating any potential for numismatic value. The few surviving uncirculated coins are in a much more pristine condition.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Investment quality coins are primarily those coins rated in the 11 uncirculated grades, 60 and above, on the American Numismatic Association's 70 point grading scale. A coin's grade is a measure of its condition or state of preservation. The higher the grade, the better the condition.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Uncirculated coins fall into two broad categories: Proof (PF or PR) and Mint State (MS). Mint State coins were originally meant for circulation but never were circulated, so they remain in the same condition today as when they were minted. Proof coins were never meant for circulation, thus they received very careful handling and were specially struck at least twice on highly polished planchets.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The beauty of a coin can attract collectors as well as investors, and hence increase demand for a particular coin or set. This increased demand can result in rising values. Eye appeal is affected by several factors including the beauty of a coin's design, the minting process used, the fullness and sharpness of its strike, the toning, the brilliance of its luster and the amount of wear and number of blemishes on the coin's surface&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Portfolios or Collections?&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The age-old description of coin collecting as the "Hobby of Kings" is both accurate and misleading... accurate in conveying the outdated perception that coin collecting is restricted only to the very wealthy, misleading in that the number of collectors has steadily increased and has been estimated by the American Numismatic Association to include as many as 7-10 million coin buyers in the United States alone. Typically, the coin collector collects coins for their rarity and historical value. Collectors view their coins as rare art and as the tangible remnants of the cultural and economic forces that created them.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The investor begins from a different starting point--the fact that coins of proven rarity have shown remarkably high rates of appreciation. He sees the economic results of the pleasures of collecting and makes his original purchases with profits as his only motive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;However, we have found that the line between those of our clients that are collectors and those that are investors has become increasingly blurred. Collectors can't help but be pleased when coins that they sell bring an attractive profit. Investors begin to see their coins as works of art and become knowledgeable about the circumstances of their minting and the era in which they were circulated.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Both collector and investor come to realize that their intellectual curiosity, aesthetic sensibilities and enjoyment in our country's past can be used to create a collection that becomes an important store of value, a way to accumulate wealth that can be passed on to future generations--or used to fund their own retirements.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Steve is the ceo of cashcards-goldlynks rare/gold coin club he was the best isp in 1997 check out his about us page at http://goldlynks.tripod.com this article is free for distribution you can sign up for a free email course on buying and selling rare/gold coins for profit by sending email to goldcoinsinfo@yahoo.com membership of the coins club is free to join at http://goldlynks.tripod.com&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingmagazines/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting magazines&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingmarketvalues/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting  market values&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingmeritbadge/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting merit badge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingnews/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting news&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingonlinepurchasesites/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting online purchase sites&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112916985205254452?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112916985205254452/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112916985205254452' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112916985205254452'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112916985205254452'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/why-you-need-to-buy-and-sell-gold_12.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112913706374084821</id><published>2005-10-12T10:11:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-12T10:11:03.806-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Why Collect Coins?&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why Collect Coins?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So why collect coins? Answer is simple really. Coin Collectors, sometimes called Numismatists, enjoy collecting coins on various levels. Some collect coins for their rarity, some collect coins in the hope that one day their collection will be worth a value. Some just do it for the sure pleasure of having a hobby that is easy to do. Doing a little research and starting off small is the greatest way to get started in this hobby. Learn all you can about coin collecting basics. There are many &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;Coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; books and websites (like this one) out there, that will try to put a clearer understanding of what coin collecting is all about, and we are hear to teach you what you need to know about coin collecting. Coins have a history about them, when they were struck, why was the design chosen for that time period. There are no reasons etched in stone that says you have to collect coins in any particular way. You collect the way you want to, if you want to only collect pennies, then only collect pennies, if you want to collect complete sets of each of the denominations of coins, then do that, or you can just collect the coins that interest you. You decide what, when, and how to collect.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collecting basics is this, start small. Decide what types of coins you would like to collect. What would you like your collection to consist of? Pennies, Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, Half-Dollars, Dollars, Gold, Silver, Paper Money. It doesn't matter. Maybe you want to just collect coins from a certain time period that interest you. Whatever your decision, stick with it and work to completing your collection. Also remember that coins that were struck at different places have different mint marks. A mint mark is a letter that tells us where the coin was struck. Each of the coins that you wish to collect will have different mint marks, to complete a set you will want to have each of the mint marks for that coin. Subscribe to a coin magazine, Coin World is a good one. They have a wealth of knowledge pertaining to collecting coins. Also visit a local coin dealer, not only will you be able to look at a variety of coins that the dealer will be selling, they also can answer questions that you may have, they are there to help you build and understand coin collecting basics. Use that to your advantage. I guess you will need a nice place to put your newly acquired coins. Find yourself a coin folder to display your coins. And once you get into the hobby more you can get some coin sleeves to house your collection and store them the way you would want. The possibilities are endless with coin collecting, and learning coin collecting basics is the first real step in the progression of building a great coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;Building a coin collection, is a long process. It doesn't happen over night, it doesn't happen in a week, and unless you are filthy rich, it won't happen in a year. Collecting takes time, effort, and persistence, and the fact of the matter is, there are so many different types of coins to collect that it takes time to study and learn about each of the prospects. The United States have produced many different varieties of coins from the penny to the gold dollar. They have produced commemorative coins celebrating a historic event or an anniversary. What ever you chose to collect I am sure that with a little effort on your part, that your collection will be something that you can pass on to your children, or build a small nest egg for your retirement, or whatever you choose to start coin collecting for. Learning coin collecting basics is a healthy start to building a wonderful coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit www.thecoinalley.com to view other related information on the wonder Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingforbeginners/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting for beginners&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingfordummies/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting for dummies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingforkids/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting for kids&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingguide/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting guide&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingmagazine/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting magazine&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112913706374084821?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112913706374084821/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112913706374084821' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112913706374084821'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112913706374084821'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/why-collect-coins-why-collect-coins_12.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112910763275577591</id><published>2005-10-12T02:00:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-12T02:00:32.810-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So you want to become a successful coin collector. Well you have some simple concepts that you must learn in order for you to become a good coin collector, and let�s face it, if you don't learn some key rules for collecting coins, you are not going to enjoy collecting coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Well I would say that EDUCATION would be the most important factor for anyone to be a successful coin collector. Learn as much as you can about this wonderful hobby. Buy as many books and reading material on all aspects of coin collecting that you can get your hands on. This may even include subscribing to a few coin collecting magazines like Coin World. There are many online organizations, some listed on this site, and you can read about just about anything that there is to know about the hobby of collecting coins. &lt;BR&gt;�Learn to be a coin collector. A true collector collects coins for the right reasons. It is what he loves, it�s a true passion for him. It is what interests them the most and they study the market and learn what it is they are purchasing. Most collectors build collections for not only the feel of the hobby, but to make money as well. A true collector is building an investment and knows what he wants out of his collection. &lt;BR&gt;�Make sure you know where to get the information you need to succeed in hobby. Coin magazines, brokers, and newsletters in the hobby are a great way to keep up with what is going on in the coin industry. In my opinion the greatest place to find information on the coins that you are looking to collect are from dealers and other collectors. Working with your local coin dealer, who is established and well informed would be one of your greatest relationships that you will have in your hobby. &lt;BR&gt;�Another asset in &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; is learning to grade your coins. Knowing how to grade coins will not only help you purchase your coins more accurately, but it will help you to identify with your coins to know their true grade and getting a better understanding of what your coins are worth. Lots of money is spent on purchasing coins without the knowledge of knowing what the true grade of the coin is. The coin collector assumes the person or dealer that he is buying the coin from is knowledgeable himself and trust him. This is not a very trusting practice, and in the end it could result in your spending lots of money on your coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;�In the hobby of coin collecting, you will learn patience. Coin collections are built over many years, and beginner collectors will most often rush into collecting coins, with out learning the hobby first. This is a long term hobby, and some of the best and successful coin collectors are collectors having 10+ years under them. If you are planning on collecting coins for profit. It is advisable to buy your coins with the intention that you are going to keep them for at least 10 years. This will insure that you will get a reasonable return on your coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Having long and short term goals is the key to being successful in anything that you do. Well this holds true with coin collecting. Make sure you know what, where, how, and when, when it comes to &lt;A href="�http://www.thecoinalley.com�"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt;. Knowing your goals will help you become a successful coin collector and make your hobby more enjoyable.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit the site for more information on the wonderful Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingdealers/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting dealers&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingdimes/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting dimes&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingdisplaycases/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting display cases&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingfaq/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting faq&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingfolders/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting folders&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112910763275577591?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112910763275577591/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112910763275577591' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112910763275577591'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112910763275577591'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/successful-coin-collector-successful_12.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>3</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112907852966591127</id><published>2005-10-11T17:55:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-11T17:55:29.723-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Daniel J. Goevert &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Okay, let�s get something straight� I do not advocate the purchase of United States coins strictly for investment purposes. Like most traditional collectors, I believe coins are to be primarily appreciated for their artistic beauty, historical connections, and the joy of pursuing them. However, it should be no secret that a significant number of us do add to our numismatic holdings while simultaneously peeking at the payback angle, too.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;In truth, there are probably substantial numbers of traditional collectors who prefer to acquire coins destined to increase in esteem and value over time; treasured heirlooms and a source of pride to be passed from one generation to the next. On the flip side of this equation, it seems implausible that anyone would buy a coin with the hope or expectation to see it stagnate or decrease in value. Indeed, any commentator who suggests the words �investment� and �coins� should never appear in close proximity to one another is ignoring a heavily populated segment of our hobby.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Now that we�ve established that it�s not numismatic heresy to seek coins with strong upside possibilities, let�s get down to basics. The guiding principle is simple: Any coin that has demonstrated solid, consistent gains over a long period of time is likely to show continued growth in the years ahead. Easily said, but as we shall soon see, not so easily put into practice.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;So exactly how does a one identify coins with a potentially bullish future? The best clues are revealed by analyzing the retail value trends over a long period of time for a given coin. Observing current prices alone does not yield enough information to correctly evaluate prospective price movements. What was the coin selling for two or three years ago compared to today? Dig deeper, and find the market price for the same coin 5-10 years ago. While you�re at it, get something from 20-30 years or more in the past, too. The more good data researched, the more reliable will be your final conclusions. Now whip out your spreadsheet and chart the numbers, or compute annualized rates of return. Flat or negative trends are bad. Positive trends are good. Steep positive trends are best. Any coin displaying a proven annualized growth pattern of at least 5-10% over a span of many years qualifies as an attractive option for the collector desiring coins headed for much higher price levels a few years down the road.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;During the course of my lengthy numismatic career, I�ve researched the long term value trends of most collectible US coins. Thanks to my trusty computer, I�ve calculated annualized compounded percentage return rates and honed in on a handful of coins that have consistently beaten the overall coin market averages. Unfortunately, the blue-chippers are scarcely encountered. Perhaps it is this fact that explains why so many well-intentioned hobby purists scorn the idea of blending coin collecting with the profit motive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Individuals whose objective is to satisfy their numismatic pleasure by assembling a collection certain to be the envy of tomorrow�s collectors must do their homework today. Remember to research historic value trends and evaluate growth potential based on previous performance. One last word of advice� never loose sight of the fact that you are handling artifacts of America�s past, and that all of us are merely their temporary custodians. Respect these coins and the history they represent, and you�ll always discover new avenues of adventure not found in most other investment opportunities.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Author Daniel J. Goevert is the webmaster of &lt;A href="http://www.us-coin-values-advisor.com"&gt;US Coin Values Advisor&lt;/A&gt;. This site specializes in US coin value trends, plus offers detailed coin collecting advice as well as an illustrated history of the United States and the US Mint.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingcleaning/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting cleaning&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingclub/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting club&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingcoinvalues/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting coin values&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingcompanies/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting companies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingdatabase/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting database&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112907852966591127?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112907852966591127/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112907852966591127' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112907852966591127'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112907852966591127'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/identifying-us-coins-with-_112907852966591127.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112904910158657587</id><published>2005-10-11T09:45:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-11T09:45:02.890-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Daniel J. Goevert &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Okay, let�s get something straight� I do not advocate the purchase of United States coins strictly for investment purposes. Like most traditional collectors, I believe coins are to be primarily appreciated for their artistic beauty, historical connections, and the joy of pursuing them. However, it should be no secret that a significant number of us do add to our numismatic holdings while simultaneously peeking at the payback angle, too.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;In truth, there are probably substantial numbers of traditional collectors who prefer to acquire coins destined to increase in esteem and value over time; treasured heirlooms and a source of pride to be passed from one generation to the next. On the flip side of this equation, it seems implausible that anyone would buy a coin with the hope or expectation to see it stagnate or decrease in value. Indeed, any commentator who suggests the words �investment� and �coins� should never appear in close proximity to one another is ignoring a heavily populated segment of our hobby.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Now that we�ve established that it�s not numismatic heresy to seek coins with strong upside possibilities, let�s get down to basics. The guiding principle is simple: Any coin that has demonstrated solid, consistent gains over a long period of time is likely to show continued growth in the years ahead. Easily said, but as we shall soon see, not so easily put into practice.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;So exactly how does a one identify coins with a potentially bullish future? The best clues are revealed by analyzing the retail value trends over a long period of time for a given coin. Observing current prices alone does not yield enough information to correctly evaluate prospective price movements. What was the coin selling for two or three years ago compared to today? Dig deeper, and find the market price for the same coin 5-10 years ago. While you�re at it, get something from 20-30 years or more in the past, too. The more good data researched, the more reliable will be your final conclusions. Now whip out your spreadsheet and chart the numbers, or compute annualized rates of return. Flat or negative trends are bad. Positive trends are good. Steep positive trends are best. Any coin displaying a proven annualized growth pattern of at least 5-10% over a span of many years qualifies as an attractive option for the collector desiring coins headed for much higher price levels a few years down the road.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;During the course of my lengthy numismatic career, I�ve researched the long term value trends of most collectible US coins. Thanks to my trusty computer, I�ve calculated annualized compounded percentage return rates and honed in on a handful of coins that have consistently beaten the overall coin market averages. Unfortunately, the blue-chippers are scarcely encountered. Perhaps it is this fact that explains why so many well-intentioned hobby purists scorn the idea of blending coin collecting with the profit motive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Individuals whose objective is to satisfy their numismatic pleasure by assembling a collection certain to be the envy of tomorrow�s collectors must do their homework today. Remember to research historic value trends and evaluate growth potential based on previous performance. One last word of advice� never loose sight of the fact that you are handling artifacts of America�s past, and that all of us are merely their temporary custodians. Respect these coins and the history they represent, and you�ll always discover new avenues of adventure not found in most other investment opportunities.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Author Daniel J. Goevert is the webmaster of &lt;A href="http://www.us-coin-values-advisor.com"&gt;US Coin Values Advisor&lt;/A&gt;. This site specializes in US coin value trends, plus offers detailed coin collecting advice as well as an illustrated history of the United States and the US Mint.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingcamerasoftware/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting camera software&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingcanada/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting canada&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingcanadian/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting canadian&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingcards/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting cards&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingchecklists/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting check lists&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112904910158657587?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112904910158657587/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112904910158657587' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112904910158657587'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112904910158657587'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/identifying-us-coins-with-bullish_11.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112901982722537401</id><published>2005-10-11T01:37:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-11T01:37:07.276-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; The value of a particular coin, is determined by the grade that it is in. Coins that are in common circulation deteriorate over time and start to loose their detail. Coin grading will help you get to the coins current value, and a properly graded coin will determine more accurately what the exact worth of the coin.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collectors use a numbering system to give collectors an accurate measure of the condition a coin is in. This numbering system ranges between 1 and 70. "1" being the worst possible condition of a coin, and 70 meaning flawless. The numbers tell collectors many things, like how much wear is on the coin and if there are any damaging marks on the coin. There are very few coins out there with a 70 grade on them. It is very rare, and most coins minted have flaws, even if they are ever so slight.&lt;BR&gt;Grading coins is a science, and once you learn that science, putting a grade and a value on that coin will become much easier for you. Plus you will be able to accurately grade coins at auctions, coin dealers, and private collectors, so you will not get ripped off if someone is trying to sell you something at a higher price than it is worth. So coin grading is very important in the hobby of coin collecting, and learning this practice will greatly enhance your skills in the hobby and make you much more aware or current prices and rates that certain coins are going for.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.coingrading.com"&gt;How to Grade US Coins&lt;/A&gt; is a great starter for hobbyist trying to learn the art of coin grading. This book will go over all the different aspects of coin grading, and all the different grades of coins. It is a great reference to any hobbyist, and comes highly recommended.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.pcgs.com"&gt;Professional Coin Grading Service&lt;/A&gt; is a great service for those who either have had a hard time learning the fine art, or need a professional grading service to grade a particular rare coin. They also come highly recommended, and for some of your more finer specimens, a professional coin grading service is the way to go, to get a more accurately graded coin. &lt;BR&gt;So check out our coin grading button, and learn the different types of grades for your coins, read the recommended reading on grading your US coins, or have a professional coin grading service do the work for you. Either way, accurately having your coins graded will easily put a value on your collection, and could quite save you a lot of money in the buying of coins for your collection. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt;, visit the website to learn all about the wonderful world of coin collecting.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingasahobby/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting as a hobby&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingassociation/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting association&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingbook/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting book&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingbooks/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting books&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingbuysell/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting buy&amp;sell&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112901982722537401?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112901982722537401/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112901982722537401' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112901982722537401'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112901982722537401'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/coin-grading-coin-grading-author-jon_11.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112895910065196758</id><published>2005-10-10T08:45:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-10T08:45:00.700-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 4)&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 4)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; steve renner &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Throughout history, many coin collections have produced substantial long-term profits for their owners. This is particularly true for coin collectors of this century. Indeed, Harold Bareford reportedly purchased a collection of U.S. gold coins for $13,832 in the early 1950s which was resold at auction in 1978 for $1.2 million. A more substantial collector, Louis Eliasberg, built a collection that cost about $300,000. In 1982, it brought $12.4 million at auction.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;This investment performance has been well documented by sources as diverse as The Wall Street Journal, Consumer Reports and a host of industry periodicals and guidesheets. What these reports have shown is that carefully selected portfolios of rare coins have had a high rate of long-term appreciation.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Of course, past performance is no guarantee of future results and investments in rare coins do involve risk. While the market performance of different coins varies substantially and no representation can be made that an individual investor's portfolio will enjoy results similar to those that have been documented in the various independent reports and surveys, those reports and surveys illustrate the impressive returns that carefully selected rare U.S. coins can produce.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Tax Benefits&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Capital gains on coins can only be taxed at liquidation, when the profits are actually realized. There is no taxation on phantom or undistributed profits as there are with some investments. And unlike most other investments, there is no federal income tax liability on so-called "wash sales" or like-kind exchanges which enable investors to trade their rare coins for other rare coins of equal or greater value&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Intrinsic Value&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Unlike paper investments, rare U.S. coins have real tangible value you can feel each time you hold one in your hand. Therefore, they offer two ways to build wealth. Carefully selected coins truly offer the best of bullion and numismatics in one investment. They contain the intrinsic security of bullion and can also offer extraordinary profit potential regardless of what precious metal spot prices do. Still, precious metal content is only a relatively small factor in determining the value of many rare U.S. coins whose value is almost solely based on condition, demand and rarity&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Historically Significant Beauty&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Rare U.S. coins are a part of our history--direct links to America's rich heritage--as timeless and valuable as history itself. For two centuries, U.S. coins have been symbols of American stability, as well as reflections of national pride. Throughout our nation's history, coins have spotlighted our national heroes, paid tribute to our great achievements and commemorated significant events. These truly historic works of art commemorate past sacrifices made in the name of freedom.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Rare U.S. coins acquaint investors with historical figures and events, no matter how far removed by time. The satisfaction of actually owning a piece of history from a bygone era makes investing in rare U.S. coins truly unique. Each coin has traveled a different path through history. As a result, each is a unique embodiment of the hopes and dreams of our founding fathers&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Condition&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The overwhelming majority of U.S. coins ever minted were circulated. Many coins were lost through attrition and others were damaged by use, thus eliminating any potential for numismatic value. The few surviving uncirculated coins are in a much more pristine condition.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Investment quality coins are primarily those coins rated in the 11 uncirculated grades, 60 and above, on the American Numismatic Association's 70 point grading scale. A coin's grade is a measure of its condition or state of preservation. The higher the grade, the better the condition.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Uncirculated coins fall into two broad categories: Proof (PF or PR) and Mint State (MS). Mint State coins were originally meant for circulation but never were circulated, so they remain in the same condition today as when they were minted. Proof coins were never meant for circulation, thus they received very careful handling and were specially struck at least twice on highly polished planchets.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The beauty of a coin can attract collectors as well as investors, and hence increase demand for a particular coin or set. This increased demand can result in rising values. Eye appeal is affected by several factors including the beauty of a coin's design, the minting process used, the fullness and sharpness of its strike, the toning, the brilliance of its luster and the amount of wear and number of blemishes on the coin's surface&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Portfolios or Collections?&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The age-old description of coin collecting as the "Hobby of Kings" is both accurate and misleading... accurate in conveying the outdated perception that coin collecting is restricted only to the very wealthy, misleading in that the number of collectors has steadily increased and has been estimated by the American Numismatic Association to include as many as 7-10 million coin buyers in the United States alone. Typically, the coin collector collects coins for their rarity and historical value. Collectors view their coins as rare art and as the tangible remnants of the cultural and economic forces that created them.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The investor begins from a different starting point--the fact that coins of proven rarity have shown remarkably high rates of appreciation. He sees the economic results of the pleasures of collecting and makes his original purchases with profits as his only motive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;However, we have found that the line between those of our clients that are collectors and those that are investors has become increasingly blurred. Collectors can't help but be pleased when coins that they sell bring an attractive profit. Investors begin to see their coins as works of art and become knowledgeable about the circumstances of their minting and the era in which they were circulated.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Both collector and investor come to realize that their intellectual curiosity, aesthetic sensibilities and enjoyment in our country's past can be used to create a collection that becomes an important store of value, a way to accumulate wealth that can be passed on to future generations--or used to fund their own retirements.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Steve is the ceo of cashcards-goldlynks rare/gold coin club he was the best isp in 1997 check out his about us page at http://goldlynks.tripod.com this article is free for distribution you can sign up for a free email course on buying and selling rare/gold coins for profit by sending email to goldcoinsinfo@yahoo.com membership of the coins club is free to join at http://goldlynks.tripod.com&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../boyscoutcoincollectingbadge/&gt;coin collecting - boy scout coin collecting badge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../cameracoincollectingsoftware/&gt;coin collecting - camera coin collecting software&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../canadiancoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - canadian coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../cleaningcoins/&gt;coin collecting - cleaning coins&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coinandcurrencycollecting/&gt;coin collecting - coin and currency collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112895910065196758?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112895910065196758/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112895910065196758' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112895910065196758'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112895910065196758'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/why-you-need-to-buy-and-sell-gold_10.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112892866872334670</id><published>2005-10-10T00:17:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-10T00:17:48.850-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Why Collect Coins?&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why Collect Coins?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So why collect coins? Answer is simple really. Coin Collectors, sometimes called Numismatists, enjoy collecting coins on various levels. Some collect coins for their rarity, some collect coins in the hope that one day their collection will be worth a value. Some just do it for the sure pleasure of having a hobby that is easy to do. Doing a little research and starting off small is the greatest way to get started in this hobby. Learn all you can about coin collecting basics. There are many &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;Coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; books and websites (like this one) out there, that will try to put a clearer understanding of what coin collecting is all about, and we are hear to teach you what you need to know about coin collecting. Coins have a history about them, when they were struck, why was the design chosen for that time period. There are no reasons etched in stone that says you have to collect coins in any particular way. You collect the way you want to, if you want to only collect pennies, then only collect pennies, if you want to collect complete sets of each of the denominations of coins, then do that, or you can just collect the coins that interest you. You decide what, when, and how to collect.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collecting basics is this, start small. Decide what types of coins you would like to collect. What would you like your collection to consist of? Pennies, Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, Half-Dollars, Dollars, Gold, Silver, Paper Money. It doesn't matter. Maybe you want to just collect coins from a certain time period that interest you. Whatever your decision, stick with it and work to completing your collection. Also remember that coins that were struck at different places have different mint marks. A mint mark is a letter that tells us where the coin was struck. Each of the coins that you wish to collect will have different mint marks, to complete a set you will want to have each of the mint marks for that coin. Subscribe to a coin magazine, Coin World is a good one. They have a wealth of knowledge pertaining to collecting coins. Also visit a local coin dealer, not only will you be able to look at a variety of coins that the dealer will be selling, they also can answer questions that you may have, they are there to help you build and understand coin collecting basics. Use that to your advantage. I guess you will need a nice place to put your newly acquired coins. Find yourself a coin folder to display your coins. And once you get into the hobby more you can get some coin sleeves to house your collection and store them the way you would want. The possibilities are endless with coin collecting, and learning coin collecting basics is the first real step in the progression of building a great coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;Building a coin collection, is a long process. It doesn't happen over night, it doesn't happen in a week, and unless you are filthy rich, it won't happen in a year. Collecting takes time, effort, and persistence, and the fact of the matter is, there are so many different types of coins to collect that it takes time to study and learn about each of the prospects. The United States have produced many different varieties of coins from the penny to the gold dollar. They have produced commemorative coins celebrating a historic event or an anniversary. What ever you chose to collect I am sure that with a little effort on your part, that your collection will be something that you can pass on to your children, or build a small nest egg for your retirement, or whatever you choose to start coin collecting for. Learning coin collecting basics is a healthy start to building a wonderful coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit www.thecoinalley.com to view other related information on the wonder Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../addlink.html&gt;coin collecting - your #1 reference guide to collecting coins - add url&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../americancoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - american coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../americancoincollectingvalues1840/&gt;coin collecting - american coin collecting values 1840&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../ancientcoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - ancient coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../bestcoincollectingsoftware/&gt;coin collecting - best coin collecting software&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112892866872334670?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112892866872334670/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112892866872334670' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112892866872334670'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112892866872334670'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/why-collect-coins-why-collect-coins_10.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112889977339699404</id><published>2005-10-09T16:16:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-09T16:16:13.446-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So you want to become a successful coin collector. Well you have some simple concepts that you must learn in order for you to become a good coin collector, and let�s face it, if you don't learn some key rules for collecting coins, you are not going to enjoy collecting coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Well I would say that EDUCATION would be the most important factor for anyone to be a successful coin collector. Learn as much as you can about this wonderful hobby. Buy as many books and reading material on all aspects of coin collecting that you can get your hands on. This may even include subscribing to a few coin collecting magazines like Coin World. There are many online organizations, some listed on this site, and you can read about just about anything that there is to know about the hobby of collecting coins. &lt;BR&gt;�Learn to be a coin collector. A true collector collects coins for the right reasons. It is what he loves, it�s a true passion for him. It is what interests them the most and they study the market and learn what it is they are purchasing. Most collectors build collections for not only the feel of the hobby, but to make money as well. A true collector is building an investment and knows what he wants out of his collection. &lt;BR&gt;�Make sure you know where to get the information you need to succeed in hobby. Coin magazines, brokers, and newsletters in the hobby are a great way to keep up with what is going on in the coin industry. In my opinion the greatest place to find information on the coins that you are looking to collect are from dealers and other collectors. Working with your local coin dealer, who is established and well informed would be one of your greatest relationships that you will have in your hobby. &lt;BR&gt;�Another asset in &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; is learning to grade your coins. Knowing how to grade coins will not only help you purchase your coins more accurately, but it will help you to identify with your coins to know their true grade and getting a better understanding of what your coins are worth. Lots of money is spent on purchasing coins without the knowledge of knowing what the true grade of the coin is. The coin collector assumes the person or dealer that he is buying the coin from is knowledgeable himself and trust him. This is not a very trusting practice, and in the end it could result in your spending lots of money on your coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;�In the hobby of coin collecting, you will learn patience. Coin collections are built over many years, and beginner collectors will most often rush into collecting coins, with out learning the hobby first. This is a long term hobby, and some of the best and successful coin collectors are collectors having 10+ years under them. If you are planning on collecting coins for profit. It is advisable to buy your coins with the intention that you are going to keep them for at least 10 years. This will insure that you will get a reasonable return on your coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Having long and short term goals is the key to being successful in anything that you do. Well this holds true with coin collecting. Make sure you know what, where, how, and when, when it comes to &lt;A href="�http://www.thecoinalley.com�"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt;. Knowing your goals will help you become a successful coin collector and make your hobby more enjoyable.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit the site for more information on the wonderful Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/articles/&gt;coin collecting - your #1 reference guide to collecting coins - coin collecting articles&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/addlink.html&gt;coin collecting - your #1 reference guide to collecting coins - add url&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../articles/&gt;coin collecting - your #1 reference guide to collecting coins - coin collecting articles&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112889977339699404?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112889977339699404/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112889977339699404' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112889977339699404'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112889977339699404'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/successful-coin-collector-successful_09.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112886821284063950</id><published>2005-10-09T07:30:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-09T07:30:12.883-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Daniel J. Goevert &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Okay, let�s get something straight� I do not advocate the purchase of United States coins strictly for investment purposes. Like most traditional collectors, I believe coins are to be primarily appreciated for their artistic beauty, historical connections, and the joy of pursuing them. However, it should be no secret that a significant number of us do add to our numismatic holdings while simultaneously peeking at the payback angle, too.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;In truth, there are probably substantial numbers of traditional collectors who prefer to acquire coins destined to increase in esteem and value over time; treasured heirlooms and a source of pride to be passed from one generation to the next. On the flip side of this equation, it seems implausible that anyone would buy a coin with the hope or expectation to see it stagnate or decrease in value. Indeed, any commentator who suggests the words �investment� and �coins� should never appear in close proximity to one another is ignoring a heavily populated segment of our hobby.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Now that we�ve established that it�s not numismatic heresy to seek coins with strong upside possibilities, let�s get down to basics. The guiding principle is simple: Any coin that has demonstrated solid, consistent gains over a long period of time is likely to show continued growth in the years ahead. Easily said, but as we shall soon see, not so easily put into practice.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;So exactly how does a one identify coins with a potentially bullish future? The best clues are revealed by analyzing the retail value trends over a long period of time for a given coin. Observing current prices alone does not yield enough information to correctly evaluate prospective price movements. What was the coin selling for two or three years ago compared to today? Dig deeper, and find the market price for the same coin 5-10 years ago. While you�re at it, get something from 20-30 years or more in the past, too. The more good data researched, the more reliable will be your final conclusions. Now whip out your spreadsheet and chart the numbers, or compute annualized rates of return. Flat or negative trends are bad. Positive trends are good. Steep positive trends are best. Any coin displaying a proven annualized growth pattern of at least 5-10% over a span of many years qualifies as an attractive option for the collector desiring coins headed for much higher price levels a few years down the road.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;During the course of my lengthy numismatic career, I�ve researched the long term value trends of most collectible US coins. Thanks to my trusty computer, I�ve calculated annualized compounded percentage return rates and honed in on a handful of coins that have consistently beaten the overall coin market averages. Unfortunately, the blue-chippers are scarcely encountered. Perhaps it is this fact that explains why so many well-intentioned hobby purists scorn the idea of blending coin collecting with the profit motive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Individuals whose objective is to satisfy their numismatic pleasure by assembling a collection certain to be the envy of tomorrow�s collectors must do their homework today. Remember to research historic value trends and evaluate growth potential based on previous performance. One last word of advice� never loose sight of the fact that you are handling artifacts of America�s past, and that all of us are merely their temporary custodians. Respect these coins and the history they represent, and you�ll always discover new avenues of adventure not found in most other investment opportunities.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Author Daniel J. Goevert is the webmaster of &lt;A href="http://www.us-coin-values-advisor.com"&gt;US Coin Values Advisor&lt;/A&gt;. This site specializes in US coin value trends, plus offers detailed coin collecting advice as well as an illustrated history of the United States and the US Mint.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112886821284063950?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112886821284063950/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112886821284063950' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112886821284063950'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112886821284063950'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/identifying-us-coins-with-bullish_09.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112883939731683189</id><published>2005-10-08T23:29:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-08T23:29:57.356-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; The value of a particular coin, is determined by the grade that it is in. Coins that are in common circulation deteriorate over time and start to loose their detail. Coin grading will help you get to the coins current value, and a properly graded coin will determine more accurately what the exact worth of the coin.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collectors use a numbering system to give collectors an accurate measure of the condition a coin is in. This numbering system ranges between 1 and 70. "1" being the worst possible condition of a coin, and 70 meaning flawless. The numbers tell collectors many things, like how much wear is on the coin and if there are any damaging marks on the coin. There are very few coins out there with a 70 grade on them. It is very rare, and most coins minted have flaws, even if they are ever so slight.&lt;BR&gt;Grading coins is a science, and once you learn that science, putting a grade and a value on that coin will become much easier for you. Plus you will be able to accurately grade coins at auctions, coin dealers, and private collectors, so you will not get ripped off if someone is trying to sell you something at a higher price than it is worth. So coin grading is very important in the hobby of coin collecting, and learning this practice will greatly enhance your skills in the hobby and make you much more aware or current prices and rates that certain coins are going for.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.coingrading.com"&gt;How to Grade US Coins&lt;/A&gt; is a great starter for hobbyist trying to learn the art of coin grading. This book will go over all the different aspects of coin grading, and all the different grades of coins. It is a great reference to any hobbyist, and comes highly recommended.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.pcgs.com"&gt;Professional Coin Grading Service&lt;/A&gt; is a great service for those who either have had a hard time learning the fine art, or need a professional grading service to grade a particular rare coin. They also come highly recommended, and for some of your more finer specimens, a professional coin grading service is the way to go, to get a more accurately graded coin. &lt;BR&gt;So check out our coin grading button, and learn the different types of grades for your coins, read the recommended reading on grading your US coins, or have a professional coin grading service do the work for you. Either way, accurately having your coins graded will easily put a value on your collection, and could quite save you a lot of money in the buying of coins for your collection. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt;, visit the website to learn all about the wonderful world of coin collecting.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../uscoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - us coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../whitmancoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - whitman coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../worldcoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - world coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../addcat.html&gt;coin collecting - your #1 reference guide to collecting coins - add url&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../lfastcoin.html&gt;the hobby of kings!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112883939731683189?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112883939731683189/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112883939731683189' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112883939731683189'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112883939731683189'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/coin-grading-coin-grading-author-jon_08.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112878160645719288</id><published>2005-10-08T07:26:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-08T07:26:46.513-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 4)&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 4)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; steve renner &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Throughout history, many coin collections have produced substantial long-term profits for their owners. This is particularly true for coin collectors of this century. Indeed, Harold Bareford reportedly purchased a collection of U.S. gold coins for $13,832 in the early 1950s which was resold at auction in 1978 for $1.2 million. A more substantial collector, Louis Eliasberg, built a collection that cost about $300,000. In 1982, it brought $12.4 million at auction.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;This investment performance has been well documented by sources as diverse as The Wall Street Journal, Consumer Reports and a host of industry periodicals and guidesheets. What these reports have shown is that carefully selected portfolios of rare coins have had a high rate of long-term appreciation.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Of course, past performance is no guarantee of future results and investments in rare coins do involve risk. While the market performance of different coins varies substantially and no representation can be made that an individual investor's portfolio will enjoy results similar to those that have been documented in the various independent reports and surveys, those reports and surveys illustrate the impressive returns that carefully selected rare U.S. coins can produce.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Tax Benefits&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Capital gains on coins can only be taxed at liquidation, when the profits are actually realized. There is no taxation on phantom or undistributed profits as there are with some investments. And unlike most other investments, there is no federal income tax liability on so-called "wash sales" or like-kind exchanges which enable investors to trade their rare coins for other rare coins of equal or greater value&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Intrinsic Value&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Unlike paper investments, rare U.S. coins have real tangible value you can feel each time you hold one in your hand. Therefore, they offer two ways to build wealth. Carefully selected coins truly offer the best of bullion and numismatics in one investment. They contain the intrinsic security of bullion and can also offer extraordinary profit potential regardless of what precious metal spot prices do. Still, precious metal content is only a relatively small factor in determining the value of many rare U.S. coins whose value is almost solely based on condition, demand and rarity&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Historically Significant Beauty&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Rare U.S. coins are a part of our history--direct links to America's rich heritage--as timeless and valuable as history itself. For two centuries, U.S. coins have been symbols of American stability, as well as reflections of national pride. Throughout our nation's history, coins have spotlighted our national heroes, paid tribute to our great achievements and commemorated significant events. These truly historic works of art commemorate past sacrifices made in the name of freedom.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Rare U.S. coins acquaint investors with historical figures and events, no matter how far removed by time. The satisfaction of actually owning a piece of history from a bygone era makes investing in rare U.S. coins truly unique. Each coin has traveled a different path through history. As a result, each is a unique embodiment of the hopes and dreams of our founding fathers&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Condition&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The overwhelming majority of U.S. coins ever minted were circulated. Many coins were lost through attrition and others were damaged by use, thus eliminating any potential for numismatic value. The few surviving uncirculated coins are in a much more pristine condition.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Investment quality coins are primarily those coins rated in the 11 uncirculated grades, 60 and above, on the American Numismatic Association's 70 point grading scale. A coin's grade is a measure of its condition or state of preservation. The higher the grade, the better the condition.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Uncirculated coins fall into two broad categories: Proof (PF or PR) and Mint State (MS). Mint State coins were originally meant for circulation but never were circulated, so they remain in the same condition today as when they were minted. Proof coins were never meant for circulation, thus they received very careful handling and were specially struck at least twice on highly polished planchets.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The beauty of a coin can attract collectors as well as investors, and hence increase demand for a particular coin or set. This increased demand can result in rising values. Eye appeal is affected by several factors including the beauty of a coin's design, the minting process used, the fullness and sharpness of its strike, the toning, the brilliance of its luster and the amount of wear and number of blemishes on the coin's surface&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Portfolios or Collections?&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The age-old description of coin collecting as the "Hobby of Kings" is both accurate and misleading... accurate in conveying the outdated perception that coin collecting is restricted only to the very wealthy, misleading in that the number of collectors has steadily increased and has been estimated by the American Numismatic Association to include as many as 7-10 million coin buyers in the United States alone. Typically, the coin collector collects coins for their rarity and historical value. Collectors view their coins as rare art and as the tangible remnants of the cultural and economic forces that created them.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The investor begins from a different starting point--the fact that coins of proven rarity have shown remarkably high rates of appreciation. He sees the economic results of the pleasures of collecting and makes his original purchases with profits as his only motive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;However, we have found that the line between those of our clients that are collectors and those that are investors has become increasingly blurred. Collectors can't help but be pleased when coins that they sell bring an attractive profit. Investors begin to see their coins as works of art and become knowledgeable about the circumstances of their minting and the era in which they were circulated.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Both collector and investor come to realize that their intellectual curiosity, aesthetic sensibilities and enjoyment in our country's past can be used to create a collection that becomes an important store of value, a way to accumulate wealth that can be passed on to future generations--or used to fund their own retirements.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Steve is the ceo of cashcards-goldlynks rare/gold coin club he was the best isp in 1997 check out his about us page at http://goldlynks.tripod.com this article is free for distribution you can sign up for a free email course on buying and selling rare/gold coins for profit by sending email to goldcoinsinfo@yahoo.com membership of the coins club is free to join at http://goldlynks.tripod.com&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../goldcoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - gold coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../graysheetforcoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - gray sheet for coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../historyofcoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - history of coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../iraqcoincollectingsupplies/&gt;coin collecting - iraq coin collecting supplies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../kidscoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - kids coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112878160645719288?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112878160645719288/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112878160645719288' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112878160645719288'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112878160645719288'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/why-you-need-to-buy-and-sell-gold_08.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112875277876172503</id><published>2005-10-07T23:26:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-07T23:26:18.813-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Why Collect Coins?&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why Collect Coins?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So why collect coins? Answer is simple really. Coin Collectors, sometimes called Numismatists, enjoy collecting coins on various levels. Some collect coins for their rarity, some collect coins in the hope that one day their collection will be worth a value. Some just do it for the sure pleasure of having a hobby that is easy to do. Doing a little research and starting off small is the greatest way to get started in this hobby. Learn all you can about coin collecting basics. There are many &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;Coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; books and websites (like this one) out there, that will try to put a clearer understanding of what coin collecting is all about, and we are hear to teach you what you need to know about coin collecting. Coins have a history about them, when they were struck, why was the design chosen for that time period. There are no reasons etched in stone that says you have to collect coins in any particular way. You collect the way you want to, if you want to only collect pennies, then only collect pennies, if you want to collect complete sets of each of the denominations of coins, then do that, or you can just collect the coins that interest you. You decide what, when, and how to collect.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collecting basics is this, start small. Decide what types of coins you would like to collect. What would you like your collection to consist of? Pennies, Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, Half-Dollars, Dollars, Gold, Silver, Paper Money. It doesn't matter. Maybe you want to just collect coins from a certain time period that interest you. Whatever your decision, stick with it and work to completing your collection. Also remember that coins that were struck at different places have different mint marks. A mint mark is a letter that tells us where the coin was struck. Each of the coins that you wish to collect will have different mint marks, to complete a set you will want to have each of the mint marks for that coin. Subscribe to a coin magazine, Coin World is a good one. They have a wealth of knowledge pertaining to collecting coins. Also visit a local coin dealer, not only will you be able to look at a variety of coins that the dealer will be selling, they also can answer questions that you may have, they are there to help you build and understand coin collecting basics. Use that to your advantage. I guess you will need a nice place to put your newly acquired coins. Find yourself a coin folder to display your coins. And once you get into the hobby more you can get some coin sleeves to house your collection and store them the way you would want. The possibilities are endless with coin collecting, and learning coin collecting basics is the first real step in the progression of building a great coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;Building a coin collection, is a long process. It doesn't happen over night, it doesn't happen in a week, and unless you are filthy rich, it won't happen in a year. Collecting takes time, effort, and persistence, and the fact of the matter is, there are so many different types of coins to collect that it takes time to study and learn about each of the prospects. The United States have produced many different varieties of coins from the penny to the gold dollar. They have produced commemorative coins celebrating a historic event or an anniversary. What ever you chose to collect I am sure that with a little effort on your part, that your collection will be something that you can pass on to your children, or build a small nest egg for your retirement, or whatever you choose to start coin collecting for. Learning coin collecting basics is a healthy start to building a wonderful coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit www.thecoinalley.com to view other related information on the wonder Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../foreigncoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - foreign coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../foreigncoincollectingsupplies/&gt;coin collecting - foreign coin collecting supplies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../freecoincollectingkids/&gt;coin collecting - free coin collecting kids&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../freecoincollectingsoftware/&gt;coin collecting - free coin collecting software&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../giftcoincollectorcollecting/&gt;coin collecting - gift coin collector collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112875277876172503?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112875277876172503/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112875277876172503' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112875277876172503'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112875277876172503'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/why-collect-coins-why-collect-coins_07.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112872065358286434</id><published>2005-10-07T14:30:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-07T14:30:53.636-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So you want to become a successful coin collector. Well you have some simple concepts that you must learn in order for you to become a good coin collector, and let�s face it, if you don't learn some key rules for collecting coins, you are not going to enjoy collecting coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Well I would say that EDUCATION would be the most important factor for anyone to be a successful coin collector. Learn as much as you can about this wonderful hobby. Buy as many books and reading material on all aspects of coin collecting that you can get your hands on. This may even include subscribing to a few coin collecting magazines like Coin World. There are many online organizations, some listed on this site, and you can read about just about anything that there is to know about the hobby of collecting coins. &lt;BR&gt;�Learn to be a coin collector. A true collector collects coins for the right reasons. It is what he loves, it�s a true passion for him. It is what interests them the most and they study the market and learn what it is they are purchasing. Most collectors build collections for not only the feel of the hobby, but to make money as well. A true collector is building an investment and knows what he wants out of his collection. &lt;BR&gt;�Make sure you know where to get the information you need to succeed in hobby. Coin magazines, brokers, and newsletters in the hobby are a great way to keep up with what is going on in the coin industry. In my opinion the greatest place to find information on the coins that you are looking to collect are from dealers and other collectors. Working with your local coin dealer, who is established and well informed would be one of your greatest relationships that you will have in your hobby. &lt;BR&gt;�Another asset in &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; is learning to grade your coins. Knowing how to grade coins will not only help you purchase your coins more accurately, but it will help you to identify with your coins to know their true grade and getting a better understanding of what your coins are worth. Lots of money is spent on purchasing coins without the knowledge of knowing what the true grade of the coin is. The coin collector assumes the person or dealer that he is buying the coin from is knowledgeable himself and trust him. This is not a very trusting practice, and in the end it could result in your spending lots of money on your coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;�In the hobby of coin collecting, you will learn patience. Coin collections are built over many years, and beginner collectors will most often rush into collecting coins, with out learning the hobby first. This is a long term hobby, and some of the best and successful coin collectors are collectors having 10+ years under them. If you are planning on collecting coins for profit. It is advisable to buy your coins with the intention that you are going to keep them for at least 10 years. This will insure that you will get a reasonable return on your coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Having long and short term goals is the key to being successful in anything that you do. Well this holds true with coin collecting. Make sure you know what, where, how, and when, when it comes to &lt;A href="�http://www.thecoinalley.com�"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt;. Knowing your goals will help you become a successful coin collector and make your hobby more enjoyable.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit the site for more information on the wonderful Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coinquarterscollecting/&gt;coin collecting - coin quarters collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coinrollcollecting/&gt;coin collecting - coin roll collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../collectingcoinsilverspoons/&gt;coin collecting - collecting coin silver spoons&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../discountcoincollectingsupplies/&gt;coin collecting - discount coin collecting supplies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../eurocoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - euro coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112872065358286434?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112872065358286434/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112872065358286434' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112872065358286434'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112872065358286434'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/successful-coin-collector-successful_07.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112868795523527199</id><published>2005-10-07T05:25:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-07T05:25:55.320-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Daniel J. Goevert &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Okay, let�s get something straight� I do not advocate the purchase of United States coins strictly for investment purposes. Like most traditional collectors, I believe coins are to be primarily appreciated for their artistic beauty, historical connections, and the joy of pursuing them. However, it should be no secret that a significant number of us do add to our numismatic holdings while simultaneously peeking at the payback angle, too.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;In truth, there are probably substantial numbers of traditional collectors who prefer to acquire coins destined to increase in esteem and value over time; treasured heirlooms and a source of pride to be passed from one generation to the next. On the flip side of this equation, it seems implausible that anyone would buy a coin with the hope or expectation to see it stagnate or decrease in value. Indeed, any commentator who suggests the words �investment� and �coins� should never appear in close proximity to one another is ignoring a heavily populated segment of our hobby.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Now that we�ve established that it�s not numismatic heresy to seek coins with strong upside possibilities, let�s get down to basics. The guiding principle is simple: Any coin that has demonstrated solid, consistent gains over a long period of time is likely to show continued growth in the years ahead. Easily said, but as we shall soon see, not so easily put into practice.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;So exactly how does a one identify coins with a potentially bullish future? The best clues are revealed by analyzing the retail value trends over a long period of time for a given coin. Observing current prices alone does not yield enough information to correctly evaluate prospective price movements. What was the coin selling for two or three years ago compared to today? Dig deeper, and find the market price for the same coin 5-10 years ago. While you�re at it, get something from 20-30 years or more in the past, too. The more good data researched, the more reliable will be your final conclusions. Now whip out your spreadsheet and chart the numbers, or compute annualized rates of return. Flat or negative trends are bad. Positive trends are good. Steep positive trends are best. Any coin displaying a proven annualized growth pattern of at least 5-10% over a span of many years qualifies as an attractive option for the collector desiring coins headed for much higher price levels a few years down the road.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;During the course of my lengthy numismatic career, I�ve researched the long term value trends of most collectible US coins. Thanks to my trusty computer, I�ve calculated annualized compounded percentage return rates and honed in on a handful of coins that have consistently beaten the overall coin market averages. Unfortunately, the blue-chippers are scarcely encountered. Perhaps it is this fact that explains why so many well-intentioned hobby purists scorn the idea of blending coin collecting with the profit motive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Individuals whose objective is to satisfy their numismatic pleasure by assembling a collection certain to be the envy of tomorrow�s collectors must do their homework today. Remember to research historic value trends and evaluate growth potential based on previous performance. One last word of advice� never loose sight of the fact that you are handling artifacts of America�s past, and that all of us are merely their temporary custodians. Respect these coins and the history they represent, and you�ll always discover new avenues of adventure not found in most other investment opportunities.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Author Daniel J. Goevert is the webmaster of &lt;A href="http://www.us-coin-values-advisor.com"&gt;US Coin Values Advisor&lt;/A&gt;. This site specializes in US coin value trends, plus offers detailed coin collecting advice as well as an illustrated history of the United States and the US Mint.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingterms/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting terms&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingtips/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting tips&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectinguk/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting uk&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingvalue/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting value&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingvalues/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting values&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112868795523527199?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112868795523527199/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112868795523527199' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112868795523527199'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112868795523527199'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/identifying-us-coins-with-bullish_07.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112865872272240091</id><published>2005-10-06T21:18:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-06T21:18:42.780-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; The value of a particular coin, is determined by the grade that it is in. Coins that are in common circulation deteriorate over time and start to loose their detail. Coin grading will help you get to the coins current value, and a properly graded coin will determine more accurately what the exact worth of the coin.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collectors use a numbering system to give collectors an accurate measure of the condition a coin is in. This numbering system ranges between 1 and 70. "1" being the worst possible condition of a coin, and 70 meaning flawless. The numbers tell collectors many things, like how much wear is on the coin and if there are any damaging marks on the coin. There are very few coins out there with a 70 grade on them. It is very rare, and most coins minted have flaws, even if they are ever so slight.&lt;BR&gt;Grading coins is a science, and once you learn that science, putting a grade and a value on that coin will become much easier for you. Plus you will be able to accurately grade coins at auctions, coin dealers, and private collectors, so you will not get ripped off if someone is trying to sell you something at a higher price than it is worth. So coin grading is very important in the hobby of coin collecting, and learning this practice will greatly enhance your skills in the hobby and make you much more aware or current prices and rates that certain coins are going for.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.coingrading.com"&gt;How to Grade US Coins&lt;/A&gt; is a great starter for hobbyist trying to learn the art of coin grading. This book will go over all the different aspects of coin grading, and all the different grades of coins. It is a great reference to any hobbyist, and comes highly recommended.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.pcgs.com"&gt;Professional Coin Grading Service&lt;/A&gt; is a great service for those who either have had a hard time learning the fine art, or need a professional grading service to grade a particular rare coin. They also come highly recommended, and for some of your more finer specimens, a professional coin grading service is the way to go, to get a more accurately graded coin. &lt;BR&gt;So check out our coin grading button, and learn the different types of grades for your coins, read the recommended reading on grading your US coins, or have a professional coin grading service do the work for you. Either way, accurately having your coins graded will easily put a value on your collection, and could quite save you a lot of money in the buying of coins for your collection. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt;, visit the website to learn all about the wonderful world of coin collecting.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingsoftwarefree/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting software free&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingstarterkit/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting starter kit&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingsupplies/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting supplies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingsuppliesuk/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting supplies uk&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingsupply/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting supply&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112865872272240091?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112865872272240091/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112865872272240091' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112865872272240091'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112865872272240091'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/coin-grading-coin-grading-author-jon_06.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112859813352735158</id><published>2005-10-06T04:28:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-06T04:28:53.583-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 4)&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 4)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; steve renner &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Throughout history, many coin collections have produced substantial long-term profits for their owners. This is particularly true for coin collectors of this century. Indeed, Harold Bareford reportedly purchased a collection of U.S. gold coins for $13,832 in the early 1950s which was resold at auction in 1978 for $1.2 million. A more substantial collector, Louis Eliasberg, built a collection that cost about $300,000. In 1982, it brought $12.4 million at auction.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;This investment performance has been well documented by sources as diverse as The Wall Street Journal, Consumer Reports and a host of industry periodicals and guidesheets. What these reports have shown is that carefully selected portfolios of rare coins have had a high rate of long-term appreciation.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Of course, past performance is no guarantee of future results and investments in rare coins do involve risk. While the market performance of different coins varies substantially and no representation can be made that an individual investor's portfolio will enjoy results similar to those that have been documented in the various independent reports and surveys, those reports and surveys illustrate the impressive returns that carefully selected rare U.S. coins can produce.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Tax Benefits&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Capital gains on coins can only be taxed at liquidation, when the profits are actually realized. There is no taxation on phantom or undistributed profits as there are with some investments. And unlike most other investments, there is no federal income tax liability on so-called "wash sales" or like-kind exchanges which enable investors to trade their rare coins for other rare coins of equal or greater value&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Intrinsic Value&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Unlike paper investments, rare U.S. coins have real tangible value you can feel each time you hold one in your hand. Therefore, they offer two ways to build wealth. Carefully selected coins truly offer the best of bullion and numismatics in one investment. They contain the intrinsic security of bullion and can also offer extraordinary profit potential regardless of what precious metal spot prices do. Still, precious metal content is only a relatively small factor in determining the value of many rare U.S. coins whose value is almost solely based on condition, demand and rarity&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Historically Significant Beauty&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Rare U.S. coins are a part of our history--direct links to America's rich heritage--as timeless and valuable as history itself. For two centuries, U.S. coins have been symbols of American stability, as well as reflections of national pride. Throughout our nation's history, coins have spotlighted our national heroes, paid tribute to our great achievements and commemorated significant events. These truly historic works of art commemorate past sacrifices made in the name of freedom.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Rare U.S. coins acquaint investors with historical figures and events, no matter how far removed by time. The satisfaction of actually owning a piece of history from a bygone era makes investing in rare U.S. coins truly unique. Each coin has traveled a different path through history. As a result, each is a unique embodiment of the hopes and dreams of our founding fathers&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Condition&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The overwhelming majority of U.S. coins ever minted were circulated. Many coins were lost through attrition and others were damaged by use, thus eliminating any potential for numismatic value. The few surviving uncirculated coins are in a much more pristine condition.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Investment quality coins are primarily those coins rated in the 11 uncirculated grades, 60 and above, on the American Numismatic Association's 70 point grading scale. A coin's grade is a measure of its condition or state of preservation. The higher the grade, the better the condition.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Uncirculated coins fall into two broad categories: Proof (PF or PR) and Mint State (MS). Mint State coins were originally meant for circulation but never were circulated, so they remain in the same condition today as when they were minted. Proof coins were never meant for circulation, thus they received very careful handling and were specially struck at least twice on highly polished planchets.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The beauty of a coin can attract collectors as well as investors, and hence increase demand for a particular coin or set. This increased demand can result in rising values. Eye appeal is affected by several factors including the beauty of a coin's design, the minting process used, the fullness and sharpness of its strike, the toning, the brilliance of its luster and the amount of wear and number of blemishes on the coin's surface&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Portfolios or Collections?&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The age-old description of coin collecting as the "Hobby of Kings" is both accurate and misleading... accurate in conveying the outdated perception that coin collecting is restricted only to the very wealthy, misleading in that the number of collectors has steadily increased and has been estimated by the American Numismatic Association to include as many as 7-10 million coin buyers in the United States alone. Typically, the coin collector collects coins for their rarity and historical value. Collectors view their coins as rare art and as the tangible remnants of the cultural and economic forces that created them.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The investor begins from a different starting point--the fact that coins of proven rarity have shown remarkably high rates of appreciation. He sees the economic results of the pleasures of collecting and makes his original purchases with profits as his only motive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;However, we have found that the line between those of our clients that are collectors and those that are investors has become increasingly blurred. Collectors can't help but be pleased when coins that they sell bring an attractive profit. Investors begin to see their coins as works of art and become knowledgeable about the circumstances of their minting and the era in which they were circulated.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Both collector and investor come to realize that their intellectual curiosity, aesthetic sensibilities and enjoyment in our country's past can be used to create a collection that becomes an important store of value, a way to accumulate wealth that can be passed on to future generations--or used to fund their own retirements.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Steve is the ceo of cashcards-goldlynks rare/gold coin club he was the best isp in 1997 check out his about us page at http://goldlynks.tripod.com this article is free for distribution you can sign up for a free email course on buying and selling rare/gold coins for profit by sending email to goldcoinsinfo@yahoo.com membership of the coins club is free to join at http://goldlynks.tripod.com&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingpennies/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting pennies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingphotography/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting &amp; photography&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingpriceguides/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting price guides&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingpricelist/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting price list&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingprices/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting prices&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112859813352735158?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112859813352735158/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112859813352735158' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112859813352735158'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112859813352735158'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/why-you-need-to-buy-and-sell-gold_06.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112856813070133145</id><published>2005-10-05T20:08:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-05T20:08:50.756-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Why Collect Coins?&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why Collect Coins?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So why collect coins? Answer is simple really. Coin Collectors, sometimes called Numismatists, enjoy collecting coins on various levels. Some collect coins for their rarity, some collect coins in the hope that one day their collection will be worth a value. Some just do it for the sure pleasure of having a hobby that is easy to do. Doing a little research and starting off small is the greatest way to get started in this hobby. Learn all you can about coin collecting basics. There are many &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;Coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; books and websites (like this one) out there, that will try to put a clearer understanding of what coin collecting is all about, and we are hear to teach you what you need to know about coin collecting. Coins have a history about them, when they were struck, why was the design chosen for that time period. There are no reasons etched in stone that says you have to collect coins in any particular way. You collect the way you want to, if you want to only collect pennies, then only collect pennies, if you want to collect complete sets of each of the denominations of coins, then do that, or you can just collect the coins that interest you. You decide what, when, and how to collect.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collecting basics is this, start small. Decide what types of coins you would like to collect. What would you like your collection to consist of? Pennies, Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, Half-Dollars, Dollars, Gold, Silver, Paper Money. It doesn't matter. Maybe you want to just collect coins from a certain time period that interest you. Whatever your decision, stick with it and work to completing your collection. Also remember that coins that were struck at different places have different mint marks. A mint mark is a letter that tells us where the coin was struck. Each of the coins that you wish to collect will have different mint marks, to complete a set you will want to have each of the mint marks for that coin. Subscribe to a coin magazine, Coin World is a good one. They have a wealth of knowledge pertaining to collecting coins. Also visit a local coin dealer, not only will you be able to look at a variety of coins that the dealer will be selling, they also can answer questions that you may have, they are there to help you build and understand coin collecting basics. Use that to your advantage. I guess you will need a nice place to put your newly acquired coins. Find yourself a coin folder to display your coins. And once you get into the hobby more you can get some coin sleeves to house your collection and store them the way you would want. The possibilities are endless with coin collecting, and learning coin collecting basics is the first real step in the progression of building a great coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;Building a coin collection, is a long process. It doesn't happen over night, it doesn't happen in a week, and unless you are filthy rich, it won't happen in a year. Collecting takes time, effort, and persistence, and the fact of the matter is, there are so many different types of coins to collect that it takes time to study and learn about each of the prospects. The United States have produced many different varieties of coins from the penny to the gold dollar. They have produced commemorative coins celebrating a historic event or an anniversary. What ever you chose to collect I am sure that with a little effort on your part, that your collection will be something that you can pass on to your children, or build a small nest egg for your retirement, or whatever you choose to start coin collecting for. Learning coin collecting basics is a healthy start to building a wonderful coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit www.thecoinalley.com to view other related information on the wonder Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingmagazines/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting magazines&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingmarketvalues/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting  market values&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingmeritbadge/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting merit badge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingnews/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting news&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingonlinepurchasesites/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting online purchase sites&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112856813070133145?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112856813070133145/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112856813070133145' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112856813070133145'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112856813070133145'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/why-collect-coins-why-collect-coins_05.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112853353926089646</id><published>2005-10-05T10:32:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-05T10:32:19.310-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So you want to become a successful coin collector. Well you have some simple concepts that you must learn in order for you to become a good coin collector, and let�s face it, if you don't learn some key rules for collecting coins, you are not going to enjoy collecting coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Well I would say that EDUCATION would be the most important factor for anyone to be a successful coin collector. Learn as much as you can about this wonderful hobby. Buy as many books and reading material on all aspects of coin collecting that you can get your hands on. This may even include subscribing to a few coin collecting magazines like Coin World. There are many online organizations, some listed on this site, and you can read about just about anything that there is to know about the hobby of collecting coins. &lt;BR&gt;�Learn to be a coin collector. A true collector collects coins for the right reasons. It is what he loves, it�s a true passion for him. It is what interests them the most and they study the market and learn what it is they are purchasing. Most collectors build collections for not only the feel of the hobby, but to make money as well. A true collector is building an investment and knows what he wants out of his collection. &lt;BR&gt;�Make sure you know where to get the information you need to succeed in hobby. Coin magazines, brokers, and newsletters in the hobby are a great way to keep up with what is going on in the coin industry. In my opinion the greatest place to find information on the coins that you are looking to collect are from dealers and other collectors. Working with your local coin dealer, who is established and well informed would be one of your greatest relationships that you will have in your hobby. &lt;BR&gt;�Another asset in &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; is learning to grade your coins. Knowing how to grade coins will not only help you purchase your coins more accurately, but it will help you to identify with your coins to know their true grade and getting a better understanding of what your coins are worth. Lots of money is spent on purchasing coins without the knowledge of knowing what the true grade of the coin is. The coin collector assumes the person or dealer that he is buying the coin from is knowledgeable himself and trust him. This is not a very trusting practice, and in the end it could result in your spending lots of money on your coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;�In the hobby of coin collecting, you will learn patience. Coin collections are built over many years, and beginner collectors will most often rush into collecting coins, with out learning the hobby first. This is a long term hobby, and some of the best and successful coin collectors are collectors having 10+ years under them. If you are planning on collecting coins for profit. It is advisable to buy your coins with the intention that you are going to keep them for at least 10 years. This will insure that you will get a reasonable return on your coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Having long and short term goals is the key to being successful in anything that you do. Well this holds true with coin collecting. Make sure you know what, where, how, and when, when it comes to &lt;A href="�http://www.thecoinalley.com�"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt;. Knowing your goals will help you become a successful coin collector and make your hobby more enjoyable.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit the site for more information on the wonderful Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingforbeginners/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting for beginners&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingfordummies/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting for dummies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingforkids/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting for kids&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingguide/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting guide&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingmagazine/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting magazine&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112853353926089646?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112853353926089646/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112853353926089646' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112853353926089646'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112853353926089646'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/successful-coin-collector-successful_05.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112849720897662633</id><published>2005-10-05T00:26:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-05T00:26:49.023-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Daniel J. Goevert &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Okay, let�s get something straight� I do not advocate the purchase of United States coins strictly for investment purposes. Like most traditional collectors, I believe coins are to be primarily appreciated for their artistic beauty, historical connections, and the joy of pursuing them. However, it should be no secret that a significant number of us do add to our numismatic holdings while simultaneously peeking at the payback angle, too.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;In truth, there are probably substantial numbers of traditional collectors who prefer to acquire coins destined to increase in esteem and value over time; treasured heirlooms and a source of pride to be passed from one generation to the next. On the flip side of this equation, it seems implausible that anyone would buy a coin with the hope or expectation to see it stagnate or decrease in value. Indeed, any commentator who suggests the words �investment� and �coins� should never appear in close proximity to one another is ignoring a heavily populated segment of our hobby.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Now that we�ve established that it�s not numismatic heresy to seek coins with strong upside possibilities, let�s get down to basics. The guiding principle is simple: Any coin that has demonstrated solid, consistent gains over a long period of time is likely to show continued growth in the years ahead. Easily said, but as we shall soon see, not so easily put into practice.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;So exactly how does a one identify coins with a potentially bullish future? The best clues are revealed by analyzing the retail value trends over a long period of time for a given coin. Observing current prices alone does not yield enough information to correctly evaluate prospective price movements. What was the coin selling for two or three years ago compared to today? Dig deeper, and find the market price for the same coin 5-10 years ago. While you�re at it, get something from 20-30 years or more in the past, too. The more good data researched, the more reliable will be your final conclusions. Now whip out your spreadsheet and chart the numbers, or compute annualized rates of return. Flat or negative trends are bad. Positive trends are good. Steep positive trends are best. Any coin displaying a proven annualized growth pattern of at least 5-10% over a span of many years qualifies as an attractive option for the collector desiring coins headed for much higher price levels a few years down the road.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;During the course of my lengthy numismatic career, I�ve researched the long term value trends of most collectible US coins. Thanks to my trusty computer, I�ve calculated annualized compounded percentage return rates and honed in on a handful of coins that have consistently beaten the overall coin market averages. Unfortunately, the blue-chippers are scarcely encountered. Perhaps it is this fact that explains why so many well-intentioned hobby purists scorn the idea of blending coin collecting with the profit motive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Individuals whose objective is to satisfy their numismatic pleasure by assembling a collection certain to be the envy of tomorrow�s collectors must do their homework today. Remember to research historic value trends and evaluate growth potential based on previous performance. One last word of advice� never loose sight of the fact that you are handling artifacts of America�s past, and that all of us are merely their temporary custodians. Respect these coins and the history they represent, and you�ll always discover new avenues of adventure not found in most other investment opportunities.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Author Daniel J. Goevert is the webmaster of &lt;A href="http://www.us-coin-values-advisor.com"&gt;US Coin Values Advisor&lt;/A&gt;. This site specializes in US coin value trends, plus offers detailed coin collecting advice as well as an illustrated history of the United States and the US Mint.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingdealers/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting dealers&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingdimes/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting dimes&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingdisplaycases/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting display cases&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingfaq/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting faq&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingfolders/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting folders&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112849720897662633?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112849720897662633/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112849720897662633' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112849720897662633'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112849720897662633'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/identifying-us-coins-with-bullish_05.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112846820831759278</id><published>2005-10-04T16:23:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-04T16:23:28.363-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; The value of a particular coin, is determined by the grade that it is in. Coins that are in common circulation deteriorate over time and start to loose their detail. Coin grading will help you get to the coins current value, and a properly graded coin will determine more accurately what the exact worth of the coin.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collectors use a numbering system to give collectors an accurate measure of the condition a coin is in. This numbering system ranges between 1 and 70. "1" being the worst possible condition of a coin, and 70 meaning flawless. The numbers tell collectors many things, like how much wear is on the coin and if there are any damaging marks on the coin. There are very few coins out there with a 70 grade on them. It is very rare, and most coins minted have flaws, even if they are ever so slight.&lt;BR&gt;Grading coins is a science, and once you learn that science, putting a grade and a value on that coin will become much easier for you. Plus you will be able to accurately grade coins at auctions, coin dealers, and private collectors, so you will not get ripped off if someone is trying to sell you something at a higher price than it is worth. So coin grading is very important in the hobby of coin collecting, and learning this practice will greatly enhance your skills in the hobby and make you much more aware or current prices and rates that certain coins are going for.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.coingrading.com"&gt;How to Grade US Coins&lt;/A&gt; is a great starter for hobbyist trying to learn the art of coin grading. This book will go over all the different aspects of coin grading, and all the different grades of coins. It is a great reference to any hobbyist, and comes highly recommended.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.pcgs.com"&gt;Professional Coin Grading Service&lt;/A&gt; is a great service for those who either have had a hard time learning the fine art, or need a professional grading service to grade a particular rare coin. They also come highly recommended, and for some of your more finer specimens, a professional coin grading service is the way to go, to get a more accurately graded coin. &lt;BR&gt;So check out our coin grading button, and learn the different types of grades for your coins, read the recommended reading on grading your US coins, or have a professional coin grading service do the work for you. Either way, accurately having your coins graded will easily put a value on your collection, and could quite save you a lot of money in the buying of coins for your collection. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt;, visit the website to learn all about the wonderful world of coin collecting.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingcleaning/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting cleaning&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingclub/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting club&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingcoinvalues/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting coin values&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingcompanies/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting companies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingdatabase/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting database&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112846820831759278?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112846820831759278/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112846820831759278' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112846820831759278'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112846820831759278'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/coin-grading-coin-grading-author-jon_04.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112840789549418132</id><published>2005-10-03T23:38:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-03T23:38:15.526-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 4)&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 4)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; steve renner &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Throughout history, many coin collections have produced substantial long-term profits for their owners. This is particularly true for coin collectors of this century. Indeed, Harold Bareford reportedly purchased a collection of U.S. gold coins for $13,832 in the early 1950s which was resold at auction in 1978 for $1.2 million. A more substantial collector, Louis Eliasberg, built a collection that cost about $300,000. In 1982, it brought $12.4 million at auction.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;This investment performance has been well documented by sources as diverse as The Wall Street Journal, Consumer Reports and a host of industry periodicals and guidesheets. What these reports have shown is that carefully selected portfolios of rare coins have had a high rate of long-term appreciation.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Of course, past performance is no guarantee of future results and investments in rare coins do involve risk. While the market performance of different coins varies substantially and no representation can be made that an individual investor's portfolio will enjoy results similar to those that have been documented in the various independent reports and surveys, those reports and surveys illustrate the impressive returns that carefully selected rare U.S. coins can produce.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Tax Benefits&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Capital gains on coins can only be taxed at liquidation, when the profits are actually realized. There is no taxation on phantom or undistributed profits as there are with some investments. And unlike most other investments, there is no federal income tax liability on so-called "wash sales" or like-kind exchanges which enable investors to trade their rare coins for other rare coins of equal or greater value&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Intrinsic Value&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Unlike paper investments, rare U.S. coins have real tangible value you can feel each time you hold one in your hand. Therefore, they offer two ways to build wealth. Carefully selected coins truly offer the best of bullion and numismatics in one investment. They contain the intrinsic security of bullion and can also offer extraordinary profit potential regardless of what precious metal spot prices do. Still, precious metal content is only a relatively small factor in determining the value of many rare U.S. coins whose value is almost solely based on condition, demand and rarity&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Historically Significant Beauty&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Rare U.S. coins are a part of our history--direct links to America's rich heritage--as timeless and valuable as history itself. For two centuries, U.S. coins have been symbols of American stability, as well as reflections of national pride. Throughout our nation's history, coins have spotlighted our national heroes, paid tribute to our great achievements and commemorated significant events. These truly historic works of art commemorate past sacrifices made in the name of freedom.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Rare U.S. coins acquaint investors with historical figures and events, no matter how far removed by time. The satisfaction of actually owning a piece of history from a bygone era makes investing in rare U.S. coins truly unique. Each coin has traveled a different path through history. As a result, each is a unique embodiment of the hopes and dreams of our founding fathers&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Condition&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The overwhelming majority of U.S. coins ever minted were circulated. Many coins were lost through attrition and others were damaged by use, thus eliminating any potential for numismatic value. The few surviving uncirculated coins are in a much more pristine condition.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Investment quality coins are primarily those coins rated in the 11 uncirculated grades, 60 and above, on the American Numismatic Association's 70 point grading scale. A coin's grade is a measure of its condition or state of preservation. The higher the grade, the better the condition.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Uncirculated coins fall into two broad categories: Proof (PF or PR) and Mint State (MS). Mint State coins were originally meant for circulation but never were circulated, so they remain in the same condition today as when they were minted. Proof coins were never meant for circulation, thus they received very careful handling and were specially struck at least twice on highly polished planchets.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The beauty of a coin can attract collectors as well as investors, and hence increase demand for a particular coin or set. This increased demand can result in rising values. Eye appeal is affected by several factors including the beauty of a coin's design, the minting process used, the fullness and sharpness of its strike, the toning, the brilliance of its luster and the amount of wear and number of blemishes on the coin's surface&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Portfolios or Collections?&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The age-old description of coin collecting as the "Hobby of Kings" is both accurate and misleading... accurate in conveying the outdated perception that coin collecting is restricted only to the very wealthy, misleading in that the number of collectors has steadily increased and has been estimated by the American Numismatic Association to include as many as 7-10 million coin buyers in the United States alone. Typically, the coin collector collects coins for their rarity and historical value. Collectors view their coins as rare art and as the tangible remnants of the cultural and economic forces that created them.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The investor begins from a different starting point--the fact that coins of proven rarity have shown remarkably high rates of appreciation. He sees the economic results of the pleasures of collecting and makes his original purchases with profits as his only motive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;However, we have found that the line between those of our clients that are collectors and those that are investors has become increasingly blurred. Collectors can't help but be pleased when coins that they sell bring an attractive profit. Investors begin to see their coins as works of art and become knowledgeable about the circumstances of their minting and the era in which they were circulated.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Both collector and investor come to realize that their intellectual curiosity, aesthetic sensibilities and enjoyment in our country's past can be used to create a collection that becomes an important store of value, a way to accumulate wealth that can be passed on to future generations--or used to fund their own retirements.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Steve is the ceo of cashcards-goldlynks rare/gold coin club he was the best isp in 1997 check out his about us page at http://goldlynks.tripod.com this article is free for distribution you can sign up for a free email course on buying and selling rare/gold coins for profit by sending email to goldcoinsinfo@yahoo.com membership of the coins club is free to join at http://goldlynks.tripod.com&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingasahobby/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting as a hobby&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingassociation/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting association&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingbook/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting book&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingbooks/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting books&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingbuysell/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting buy&amp;sell&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112840789549418132?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112840789549418132/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112840789549418132' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112840789549418132'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112840789549418132'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/why-you-need-to-buy-and-sell-gold_03.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112837909216389544</id><published>2005-10-03T15:38:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-03T15:38:12.210-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Why Collect Coins?&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why Collect Coins?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So why collect coins? Answer is simple really. Coin Collectors, sometimes called Numismatists, enjoy collecting coins on various levels. Some collect coins for their rarity, some collect coins in the hope that one day their collection will be worth a value. Some just do it for the sure pleasure of having a hobby that is easy to do. Doing a little research and starting off small is the greatest way to get started in this hobby. Learn all you can about coin collecting basics. There are many &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;Coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; books and websites (like this one) out there, that will try to put a clearer understanding of what coin collecting is all about, and we are hear to teach you what you need to know about coin collecting. Coins have a history about them, when they were struck, why was the design chosen for that time period. There are no reasons etched in stone that says you have to collect coins in any particular way. You collect the way you want to, if you want to only collect pennies, then only collect pennies, if you want to collect complete sets of each of the denominations of coins, then do that, or you can just collect the coins that interest you. You decide what, when, and how to collect.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collecting basics is this, start small. Decide what types of coins you would like to collect. What would you like your collection to consist of? Pennies, Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, Half-Dollars, Dollars, Gold, Silver, Paper Money. It doesn't matter. Maybe you want to just collect coins from a certain time period that interest you. Whatever your decision, stick with it and work to completing your collection. Also remember that coins that were struck at different places have different mint marks. A mint mark is a letter that tells us where the coin was struck. Each of the coins that you wish to collect will have different mint marks, to complete a set you will want to have each of the mint marks for that coin. Subscribe to a coin magazine, Coin World is a good one. They have a wealth of knowledge pertaining to collecting coins. Also visit a local coin dealer, not only will you be able to look at a variety of coins that the dealer will be selling, they also can answer questions that you may have, they are there to help you build and understand coin collecting basics. Use that to your advantage. I guess you will need a nice place to put your newly acquired coins. Find yourself a coin folder to display your coins. And once you get into the hobby more you can get some coin sleeves to house your collection and store them the way you would want. The possibilities are endless with coin collecting, and learning coin collecting basics is the first real step in the progression of building a great coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;Building a coin collection, is a long process. It doesn't happen over night, it doesn't happen in a week, and unless you are filthy rich, it won't happen in a year. Collecting takes time, effort, and persistence, and the fact of the matter is, there are so many different types of coins to collect that it takes time to study and learn about each of the prospects. The United States have produced many different varieties of coins from the penny to the gold dollar. They have produced commemorative coins celebrating a historic event or an anniversary. What ever you chose to collect I am sure that with a little effort on your part, that your collection will be something that you can pass on to your children, or build a small nest egg for your retirement, or whatever you choose to start coin collecting for. Learning coin collecting basics is a healthy start to building a wonderful coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit www.thecoinalley.com to view other related information on the wonder Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingaccessories/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting accessories&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingalbums/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting albums&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingandvalue/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting and value&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingappraisal/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting appraisal&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingappraising/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting appraising&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112837909216389544?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112837909216389544/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112837909216389544' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112837909216389544'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112837909216389544'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/why-collect-coins-why-collect-coins_03.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112834975801133493</id><published>2005-10-03T07:29:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-03T07:29:18.050-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So you want to become a successful coin collector. Well you have some simple concepts that you must learn in order for you to become a good coin collector, and let�s face it, if you don't learn some key rules for collecting coins, you are not going to enjoy collecting coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Well I would say that EDUCATION would be the most important factor for anyone to be a successful coin collector. Learn as much as you can about this wonderful hobby. Buy as many books and reading material on all aspects of coin collecting that you can get your hands on. This may even include subscribing to a few coin collecting magazines like Coin World. There are many online organizations, some listed on this site, and you can read about just about anything that there is to know about the hobby of collecting coins. &lt;BR&gt;�Learn to be a coin collector. A true collector collects coins for the right reasons. It is what he loves, it�s a true passion for him. It is what interests them the most and they study the market and learn what it is they are purchasing. Most collectors build collections for not only the feel of the hobby, but to make money as well. A true collector is building an investment and knows what he wants out of his collection. &lt;BR&gt;�Make sure you know where to get the information you need to succeed in hobby. Coin magazines, brokers, and newsletters in the hobby are a great way to keep up with what is going on in the coin industry. In my opinion the greatest place to find information on the coins that you are looking to collect are from dealers and other collectors. Working with your local coin dealer, who is established and well informed would be one of your greatest relationships that you will have in your hobby. &lt;BR&gt;�Another asset in &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; is learning to grade your coins. Knowing how to grade coins will not only help you purchase your coins more accurately, but it will help you to identify with your coins to know their true grade and getting a better understanding of what your coins are worth. Lots of money is spent on purchasing coins without the knowledge of knowing what the true grade of the coin is. The coin collector assumes the person or dealer that he is buying the coin from is knowledgeable himself and trust him. This is not a very trusting practice, and in the end it could result in your spending lots of money on your coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;�In the hobby of coin collecting, you will learn patience. Coin collections are built over many years, and beginner collectors will most often rush into collecting coins, with out learning the hobby first. This is a long term hobby, and some of the best and successful coin collectors are collectors having 10+ years under them. If you are planning on collecting coins for profit. It is advisable to buy your coins with the intention that you are going to keep them for at least 10 years. This will insure that you will get a reasonable return on your coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Having long and short term goals is the key to being successful in anything that you do. Well this holds true with coin collecting. Make sure you know what, where, how, and when, when it comes to &lt;A href="�http://www.thecoinalley.com�"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt;. Knowing your goals will help you become a successful coin collector and make your hobby more enjoyable.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit the site for more information on the wonderful Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../boyscoutcoincollectingbadge/&gt;coin collecting - boy scout coin collecting badge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../cameracoincollectingsoftware/&gt;coin collecting - camera coin collecting software&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../canadiancoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - canadian coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../cleaningcoins/&gt;coin collecting - cleaning coins&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coinandcurrencycollecting/&gt;coin collecting - coin and currency collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112834975801133493?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112834975801133493/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112834975801133493' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112834975801133493'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112834975801133493'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/successful-coin-collector-successful.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112831698164086941</id><published>2005-10-02T22:23:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-02T22:23:01.680-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Daniel J. Goevert &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Okay, let�s get something straight� I do not advocate the purchase of United States coins strictly for investment purposes. Like most traditional collectors, I believe coins are to be primarily appreciated for their artistic beauty, historical connections, and the joy of pursuing them. However, it should be no secret that a significant number of us do add to our numismatic holdings while simultaneously peeking at the payback angle, too.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;In truth, there are probably substantial numbers of traditional collectors who prefer to acquire coins destined to increase in esteem and value over time; treasured heirlooms and a source of pride to be passed from one generation to the next. On the flip side of this equation, it seems implausible that anyone would buy a coin with the hope or expectation to see it stagnate or decrease in value. Indeed, any commentator who suggests the words �investment� and �coins� should never appear in close proximity to one another is ignoring a heavily populated segment of our hobby.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Now that we�ve established that it�s not numismatic heresy to seek coins with strong upside possibilities, let�s get down to basics. The guiding principle is simple: Any coin that has demonstrated solid, consistent gains over a long period of time is likely to show continued growth in the years ahead. Easily said, but as we shall soon see, not so easily put into practice.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;So exactly how does a one identify coins with a potentially bullish future? The best clues are revealed by analyzing the retail value trends over a long period of time for a given coin. Observing current prices alone does not yield enough information to correctly evaluate prospective price movements. What was the coin selling for two or three years ago compared to today? Dig deeper, and find the market price for the same coin 5-10 years ago. While you�re at it, get something from 20-30 years or more in the past, too. The more good data researched, the more reliable will be your final conclusions. Now whip out your spreadsheet and chart the numbers, or compute annualized rates of return. Flat or negative trends are bad. Positive trends are good. Steep positive trends are best. Any coin displaying a proven annualized growth pattern of at least 5-10% over a span of many years qualifies as an attractive option for the collector desiring coins headed for much higher price levels a few years down the road.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;During the course of my lengthy numismatic career, I�ve researched the long term value trends of most collectible US coins. Thanks to my trusty computer, I�ve calculated annualized compounded percentage return rates and honed in on a handful of coins that have consistently beaten the overall coin market averages. Unfortunately, the blue-chippers are scarcely encountered. Perhaps it is this fact that explains why so many well-intentioned hobby purists scorn the idea of blending coin collecting with the profit motive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Individuals whose objective is to satisfy their numismatic pleasure by assembling a collection certain to be the envy of tomorrow�s collectors must do their homework today. Remember to research historic value trends and evaluate growth potential based on previous performance. One last word of advice� never loose sight of the fact that you are handling artifacts of America�s past, and that all of us are merely their temporary custodians. Respect these coins and the history they represent, and you�ll always discover new avenues of adventure not found in most other investment opportunities.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Author Daniel J. Goevert is the webmaster of &lt;A href="http://www.us-coin-values-advisor.com"&gt;US Coin Values Advisor&lt;/A&gt;. This site specializes in US coin value trends, plus offers detailed coin collecting advice as well as an illustrated history of the United States and the US Mint.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../addlink.html&gt;coin collecting - your #1 reference guide to collecting coins - add url&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../americancoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - american coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../americancoincollectingvalues1840/&gt;coin collecting - american coin collecting values 1840&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../ancientcoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - ancient coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../bestcoincollectingsoftware/&gt;coin collecting - best coin collecting software&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112831698164086941?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112831698164086941/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112831698164086941' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112831698164086941'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112831698164086941'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/identifying-us-coins-with-bullish.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112828735637146100</id><published>2005-10-02T14:09:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-02T14:09:16.410-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; The value of a particular coin, is determined by the grade that it is in. Coins that are in common circulation deteriorate over time and start to loose their detail. Coin grading will help you get to the coins current value, and a properly graded coin will determine more accurately what the exact worth of the coin.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collectors use a numbering system to give collectors an accurate measure of the condition a coin is in. This numbering system ranges between 1 and 70. "1" being the worst possible condition of a coin, and 70 meaning flawless. The numbers tell collectors many things, like how much wear is on the coin and if there are any damaging marks on the coin. There are very few coins out there with a 70 grade on them. It is very rare, and most coins minted have flaws, even if they are ever so slight.&lt;BR&gt;Grading coins is a science, and once you learn that science, putting a grade and a value on that coin will become much easier for you. Plus you will be able to accurately grade coins at auctions, coin dealers, and private collectors, so you will not get ripped off if someone is trying to sell you something at a higher price than it is worth. So coin grading is very important in the hobby of coin collecting, and learning this practice will greatly enhance your skills in the hobby and make you much more aware or current prices and rates that certain coins are going for.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.coingrading.com"&gt;How to Grade US Coins&lt;/A&gt; is a great starter for hobbyist trying to learn the art of coin grading. This book will go over all the different aspects of coin grading, and all the different grades of coins. It is a great reference to any hobbyist, and comes highly recommended.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.pcgs.com"&gt;Professional Coin Grading Service&lt;/A&gt; is a great service for those who either have had a hard time learning the fine art, or need a professional grading service to grade a particular rare coin. They also come highly recommended, and for some of your more finer specimens, a professional coin grading service is the way to go, to get a more accurately graded coin. &lt;BR&gt;So check out our coin grading button, and learn the different types of grades for your coins, read the recommended reading on grading your US coins, or have a professional coin grading service do the work for you. Either way, accurately having your coins graded will easily put a value on your collection, and could quite save you a lot of money in the buying of coins for your collection. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt;, visit the website to learn all about the wonderful world of coin collecting.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/articles/&gt;coin collecting - your #1 reference guide to collecting coins - coin collecting articles&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/addlink.html&gt;coin collecting - your #1 reference guide to collecting coins - add url&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../articles/&gt;coin collecting - your #1 reference guide to collecting coins - coin collecting articles&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112828735637146100?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112828735637146100/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112828735637146100' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112828735637146100'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112828735637146100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/coin-grading-coin-grading-author-jon.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112821544956425711</id><published>2005-10-01T18:10:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-01T18:10:49.596-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 4)&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 4)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; steve renner &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Throughout history, many coin collections have produced substantial long-term profits for their owners. This is particularly true for coin collectors of this century. Indeed, Harold Bareford reportedly purchased a collection of U.S. gold coins for $13,832 in the early 1950s which was resold at auction in 1978 for $1.2 million. A more substantial collector, Louis Eliasberg, built a collection that cost about $300,000. In 1982, it brought $12.4 million at auction.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;This investment performance has been well documented by sources as diverse as The Wall Street Journal, Consumer Reports and a host of industry periodicals and guidesheets. What these reports have shown is that carefully selected portfolios of rare coins have had a high rate of long-term appreciation.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Of course, past performance is no guarantee of future results and investments in rare coins do involve risk. While the market performance of different coins varies substantially and no representation can be made that an individual investor's portfolio will enjoy results similar to those that have been documented in the various independent reports and surveys, those reports and surveys illustrate the impressive returns that carefully selected rare U.S. coins can produce.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Tax Benefits&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Capital gains on coins can only be taxed at liquidation, when the profits are actually realized. There is no taxation on phantom or undistributed profits as there are with some investments. And unlike most other investments, there is no federal income tax liability on so-called "wash sales" or like-kind exchanges which enable investors to trade their rare coins for other rare coins of equal or greater value&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Intrinsic Value&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Unlike paper investments, rare U.S. coins have real tangible value you can feel each time you hold one in your hand. Therefore, they offer two ways to build wealth. Carefully selected coins truly offer the best of bullion and numismatics in one investment. They contain the intrinsic security of bullion and can also offer extraordinary profit potential regardless of what precious metal spot prices do. Still, precious metal content is only a relatively small factor in determining the value of many rare U.S. coins whose value is almost solely based on condition, demand and rarity&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Historically Significant Beauty&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Rare U.S. coins are a part of our history--direct links to America's rich heritage--as timeless and valuable as history itself. For two centuries, U.S. coins have been symbols of American stability, as well as reflections of national pride. Throughout our nation's history, coins have spotlighted our national heroes, paid tribute to our great achievements and commemorated significant events. These truly historic works of art commemorate past sacrifices made in the name of freedom.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Rare U.S. coins acquaint investors with historical figures and events, no matter how far removed by time. The satisfaction of actually owning a piece of history from a bygone era makes investing in rare U.S. coins truly unique. Each coin has traveled a different path through history. As a result, each is a unique embodiment of the hopes and dreams of our founding fathers&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Condition&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The overwhelming majority of U.S. coins ever minted were circulated. Many coins were lost through attrition and others were damaged by use, thus eliminating any potential for numismatic value. The few surviving uncirculated coins are in a much more pristine condition.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Investment quality coins are primarily those coins rated in the 11 uncirculated grades, 60 and above, on the American Numismatic Association's 70 point grading scale. A coin's grade is a measure of its condition or state of preservation. The higher the grade, the better the condition.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Uncirculated coins fall into two broad categories: Proof (PF or PR) and Mint State (MS). Mint State coins were originally meant for circulation but never were circulated, so they remain in the same condition today as when they were minted. Proof coins were never meant for circulation, thus they received very careful handling and were specially struck at least twice on highly polished planchets.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The beauty of a coin can attract collectors as well as investors, and hence increase demand for a particular coin or set. This increased demand can result in rising values. Eye appeal is affected by several factors including the beauty of a coin's design, the minting process used, the fullness and sharpness of its strike, the toning, the brilliance of its luster and the amount of wear and number of blemishes on the coin's surface&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Portfolios or Collections?&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The age-old description of coin collecting as the "Hobby of Kings" is both accurate and misleading... accurate in conveying the outdated perception that coin collecting is restricted only to the very wealthy, misleading in that the number of collectors has steadily increased and has been estimated by the American Numismatic Association to include as many as 7-10 million coin buyers in the United States alone. Typically, the coin collector collects coins for their rarity and historical value. Collectors view their coins as rare art and as the tangible remnants of the cultural and economic forces that created them.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The investor begins from a different starting point--the fact that coins of proven rarity have shown remarkably high rates of appreciation. He sees the economic results of the pleasures of collecting and makes his original purchases with profits as his only motive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;However, we have found that the line between those of our clients that are collectors and those that are investors has become increasingly blurred. Collectors can't help but be pleased when coins that they sell bring an attractive profit. Investors begin to see their coins as works of art and become knowledgeable about the circumstances of their minting and the era in which they were circulated.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Both collector and investor come to realize that their intellectual curiosity, aesthetic sensibilities and enjoyment in our country's past can be used to create a collection that becomes an important store of value, a way to accumulate wealth that can be passed on to future generations--or used to fund their own retirements.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Steve is the ceo of cashcards-goldlynks rare/gold coin club he was the best isp in 1997 check out his about us page at http://goldlynks.tripod.com this article is free for distribution you can sign up for a free email course on buying and selling rare/gold coins for profit by sending email to goldcoinsinfo@yahoo.com membership of the coins club is free to join at http://goldlynks.tripod.com&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../uscoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - us coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../whitmancoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - whitman coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../worldcoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - world coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../addcat.html&gt;coin collecting - your #1 reference guide to collecting coins - add url&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../lfastcoin.html&gt;the hobby of kings!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112821544956425711?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112821544956425711/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112821544956425711' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112821544956425711'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112821544956425711'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/why-you-need-to-buy-and-sell-gold.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112817297965243195</id><published>2005-10-01T06:22:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-10-01T06:22:59.710-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Why Collect Coins?&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why Collect Coins?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So why collect coins? Answer is simple really. Coin Collectors, sometimes called Numismatists, enjoy collecting coins on various levels. Some collect coins for their rarity, some collect coins in the hope that one day their collection will be worth a value. Some just do it for the sure pleasure of having a hobby that is easy to do. Doing a little research and starting off small is the greatest way to get started in this hobby. Learn all you can about coin collecting basics. There are many &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;Coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; books and websites (like this one) out there, that will try to put a clearer understanding of what coin collecting is all about, and we are hear to teach you what you need to know about coin collecting. Coins have a history about them, when they were struck, why was the design chosen for that time period. There are no reasons etched in stone that says you have to collect coins in any particular way. You collect the way you want to, if you want to only collect pennies, then only collect pennies, if you want to collect complete sets of each of the denominations of coins, then do that, or you can just collect the coins that interest you. You decide what, when, and how to collect.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collecting basics is this, start small. Decide what types of coins you would like to collect. What would you like your collection to consist of? Pennies, Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, Half-Dollars, Dollars, Gold, Silver, Paper Money. It doesn't matter. Maybe you want to just collect coins from a certain time period that interest you. Whatever your decision, stick with it and work to completing your collection. Also remember that coins that were struck at different places have different mint marks. A mint mark is a letter that tells us where the coin was struck. Each of the coins that you wish to collect will have different mint marks, to complete a set you will want to have each of the mint marks for that coin. Subscribe to a coin magazine, Coin World is a good one. They have a wealth of knowledge pertaining to collecting coins. Also visit a local coin dealer, not only will you be able to look at a variety of coins that the dealer will be selling, they also can answer questions that you may have, they are there to help you build and understand coin collecting basics. Use that to your advantage. I guess you will need a nice place to put your newly acquired coins. Find yourself a coin folder to display your coins. And once you get into the hobby more you can get some coin sleeves to house your collection and store them the way you would want. The possibilities are endless with coin collecting, and learning coin collecting basics is the first real step in the progression of building a great coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;Building a coin collection, is a long process. It doesn't happen over night, it doesn't happen in a week, and unless you are filthy rich, it won't happen in a year. Collecting takes time, effort, and persistence, and the fact of the matter is, there are so many different types of coins to collect that it takes time to study and learn about each of the prospects. The United States have produced many different varieties of coins from the penny to the gold dollar. They have produced commemorative coins celebrating a historic event or an anniversary. What ever you chose to collect I am sure that with a little effort on your part, that your collection will be something that you can pass on to your children, or build a small nest egg for your retirement, or whatever you choose to start coin collecting for. Learning coin collecting basics is a healthy start to building a wonderful coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit www.thecoinalley.com to view other related information on the wonder Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../mexicancoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - mexican coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../rarecoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - rare coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../rarecoincollectingsupply/&gt;coin collecting - rare coin collecting supply&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../theofficialredbooktocoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - the official redbook to coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../ukcoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - uk coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112817297965243195?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112817297965243195/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112817297965243195' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112817297965243195'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112817297965243195'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/10/why-collect-coins-why-collect-coins.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112813024471020526</id><published>2005-09-30T18:30:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-09-30T18:30:44.756-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So you want to become a successful coin collector. Well you have some simple concepts that you must learn in order for you to become a good coin collector, and let�s face it, if you don't learn some key rules for collecting coins, you are not going to enjoy collecting coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Well I would say that EDUCATION would be the most important factor for anyone to be a successful coin collector. Learn as much as you can about this wonderful hobby. Buy as many books and reading material on all aspects of coin collecting that you can get your hands on. This may even include subscribing to a few coin collecting magazines like Coin World. There are many online organizations, some listed on this site, and you can read about just about anything that there is to know about the hobby of collecting coins. &lt;BR&gt;�Learn to be a coin collector. A true collector collects coins for the right reasons. It is what he loves, it�s a true passion for him. It is what interests them the most and they study the market and learn what it is they are purchasing. Most collectors build collections for not only the feel of the hobby, but to make money as well. A true collector is building an investment and knows what he wants out of his collection. &lt;BR&gt;�Make sure you know where to get the information you need to succeed in hobby. Coin magazines, brokers, and newsletters in the hobby are a great way to keep up with what is going on in the coin industry. In my opinion the greatest place to find information on the coins that you are looking to collect are from dealers and other collectors. Working with your local coin dealer, who is established and well informed would be one of your greatest relationships that you will have in your hobby. &lt;BR&gt;�Another asset in &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; is learning to grade your coins. Knowing how to grade coins will not only help you purchase your coins more accurately, but it will help you to identify with your coins to know their true grade and getting a better understanding of what your coins are worth. Lots of money is spent on purchasing coins without the knowledge of knowing what the true grade of the coin is. The coin collector assumes the person or dealer that he is buying the coin from is knowledgeable himself and trust him. This is not a very trusting practice, and in the end it could result in your spending lots of money on your coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;�In the hobby of coin collecting, you will learn patience. Coin collections are built over many years, and beginner collectors will most often rush into collecting coins, with out learning the hobby first. This is a long term hobby, and some of the best and successful coin collectors are collectors having 10+ years under them. If you are planning on collecting coins for profit. It is advisable to buy your coins with the intention that you are going to keep them for at least 10 years. This will insure that you will get a reasonable return on your coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Having long and short term goals is the key to being successful in anything that you do. Well this holds true with coin collecting. Make sure you know what, where, how, and when, when it comes to &lt;A href="�http://www.thecoinalley.com�"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt;. Knowing your goals will help you become a successful coin collector and make your hobby more enjoyable.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit the site for more information on the wonderful Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../goldcoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - gold coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../graysheetforcoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - gray sheet for coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../historyofcoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - history of coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../iraqcoincollectingsupplies/&gt;coin collecting - iraq coin collecting supplies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../kidscoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - kids coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112813024471020526?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112813024471020526/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112813024471020526' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112813024471020526'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112813024471020526'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/09/successful-coin-collector-successful_30.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112809486572891483</id><published>2005-09-30T08:41:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-09-30T08:41:05.780-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Daniel J. Goevert &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Okay, let�s get something straight� I do not advocate the purchase of United States coins strictly for investment purposes. Like most traditional collectors, I believe coins are to be primarily appreciated for their artistic beauty, historical connections, and the joy of pursuing them. However, it should be no secret that a significant number of us do add to our numismatic holdings while simultaneously peeking at the payback angle, too.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;In truth, there are probably substantial numbers of traditional collectors who prefer to acquire coins destined to increase in esteem and value over time; treasured heirlooms and a source of pride to be passed from one generation to the next. On the flip side of this equation, it seems implausible that anyone would buy a coin with the hope or expectation to see it stagnate or decrease in value. Indeed, any commentator who suggests the words �investment� and �coins� should never appear in close proximity to one another is ignoring a heavily populated segment of our hobby.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Now that we�ve established that it�s not numismatic heresy to seek coins with strong upside possibilities, let�s get down to basics. The guiding principle is simple: Any coin that has demonstrated solid, consistent gains over a long period of time is likely to show continued growth in the years ahead. Easily said, but as we shall soon see, not so easily put into practice.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;So exactly how does a one identify coins with a potentially bullish future? The best clues are revealed by analyzing the retail value trends over a long period of time for a given coin. Observing current prices alone does not yield enough information to correctly evaluate prospective price movements. What was the coin selling for two or three years ago compared to today? Dig deeper, and find the market price for the same coin 5-10 years ago. While you�re at it, get something from 20-30 years or more in the past, too. The more good data researched, the more reliable will be your final conclusions. Now whip out your spreadsheet and chart the numbers, or compute annualized rates of return. Flat or negative trends are bad. Positive trends are good. Steep positive trends are best. Any coin displaying a proven annualized growth pattern of at least 5-10% over a span of many years qualifies as an attractive option for the collector desiring coins headed for much higher price levels a few years down the road.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;During the course of my lengthy numismatic career, I�ve researched the long term value trends of most collectible US coins. Thanks to my trusty computer, I�ve calculated annualized compounded percentage return rates and honed in on a handful of coins that have consistently beaten the overall coin market averages. Unfortunately, the blue-chippers are scarcely encountered. Perhaps it is this fact that explains why so many well-intentioned hobby purists scorn the idea of blending coin collecting with the profit motive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Individuals whose objective is to satisfy their numismatic pleasure by assembling a collection certain to be the envy of tomorrow�s collectors must do their homework today. Remember to research historic value trends and evaluate growth potential based on previous performance. One last word of advice� never loose sight of the fact that you are handling artifacts of America�s past, and that all of us are merely their temporary custodians. Respect these coins and the history they represent, and you�ll always discover new avenues of adventure not found in most other investment opportunities.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Author Daniel J. Goevert is the webmaster of &lt;A href="http://www.us-coin-values-advisor.com"&gt;US Coin Values Advisor&lt;/A&gt;. This site specializes in US coin value trends, plus offers detailed coin collecting advice as well as an illustrated history of the United States and the US Mint.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../foreigncoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - foreign coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../foreigncoincollectingsupplies/&gt;coin collecting - foreign coin collecting supplies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../freecoincollectingkids/&gt;coin collecting - free coin collecting kids&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../freecoincollectingsoftware/&gt;coin collecting - free coin collecting software&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../giftcoincollectorcollecting/&gt;coin collecting - gift coin collector collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112809486572891483?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112809486572891483/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112809486572891483' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112809486572891483'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112809486572891483'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/09/identifying-us-coins-with-bullish_30.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112806354913967345</id><published>2005-09-29T23:59:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-09-29T23:59:09.193-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; The value of a particular coin, is determined by the grade that it is in. Coins that are in common circulation deteriorate over time and start to loose their detail. Coin grading will help you get to the coins current value, and a properly graded coin will determine more accurately what the exact worth of the coin.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collectors use a numbering system to give collectors an accurate measure of the condition a coin is in. This numbering system ranges between 1 and 70. "1" being the worst possible condition of a coin, and 70 meaning flawless. The numbers tell collectors many things, like how much wear is on the coin and if there are any damaging marks on the coin. There are very few coins out there with a 70 grade on them. It is very rare, and most coins minted have flaws, even if they are ever so slight.&lt;BR&gt;Grading coins is a science, and once you learn that science, putting a grade and a value on that coin will become much easier for you. Plus you will be able to accurately grade coins at auctions, coin dealers, and private collectors, so you will not get ripped off if someone is trying to sell you something at a higher price than it is worth. So coin grading is very important in the hobby of coin collecting, and learning this practice will greatly enhance your skills in the hobby and make you much more aware or current prices and rates that certain coins are going for.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.coingrading.com"&gt;How to Grade US Coins&lt;/A&gt; is a great starter for hobbyist trying to learn the art of coin grading. This book will go over all the different aspects of coin grading, and all the different grades of coins. It is a great reference to any hobbyist, and comes highly recommended.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.pcgs.com"&gt;Professional Coin Grading Service&lt;/A&gt; is a great service for those who either have had a hard time learning the fine art, or need a professional grading service to grade a particular rare coin. They also come highly recommended, and for some of your more finer specimens, a professional coin grading service is the way to go, to get a more accurately graded coin. &lt;BR&gt;So check out our coin grading button, and learn the different types of grades for your coins, read the recommended reading on grading your US coins, or have a professional coin grading service do the work for you. Either way, accurately having your coins graded will easily put a value on your collection, and could quite save you a lot of money in the buying of coins for your collection. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt;, visit the website to learn all about the wonderful world of coin collecting.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coinquarterscollecting/&gt;coin collecting - coin quarters collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coinrollcollecting/&gt;coin collecting - coin roll collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../collectingcoinsilverspoons/&gt;coin collecting - collecting coin silver spoons&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../discountcoincollectingsupplies/&gt;coin collecting - discount coin collecting supplies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../eurocoincollecting/&gt;coin collecting - euro coin collecting&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112806354913967345?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112806354913967345/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112806354913967345' title='4 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112806354913967345'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112806354913967345'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/09/coin-grading-coin-grading-author-jon_29.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>4</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112799532434540904</id><published>2005-09-29T05:02:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-09-29T05:02:04.400-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 4)&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 4)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; steve renner &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Throughout history, many coin collections have produced substantial long-term profits for their owners. This is particularly true for coin collectors of this century. Indeed, Harold Bareford reportedly purchased a collection of U.S. gold coins for $13,832 in the early 1950s which was resold at auction in 1978 for $1.2 million. A more substantial collector, Louis Eliasberg, built a collection that cost about $300,000. In 1982, it brought $12.4 million at auction.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;This investment performance has been well documented by sources as diverse as The Wall Street Journal, Consumer Reports and a host of industry periodicals and guidesheets. What these reports have shown is that carefully selected portfolios of rare coins have had a high rate of long-term appreciation.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Of course, past performance is no guarantee of future results and investments in rare coins do involve risk. While the market performance of different coins varies substantially and no representation can be made that an individual investor's portfolio will enjoy results similar to those that have been documented in the various independent reports and surveys, those reports and surveys illustrate the impressive returns that carefully selected rare U.S. coins can produce.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Tax Benefits&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Capital gains on coins can only be taxed at liquidation, when the profits are actually realized. There is no taxation on phantom or undistributed profits as there are with some investments. And unlike most other investments, there is no federal income tax liability on so-called "wash sales" or like-kind exchanges which enable investors to trade their rare coins for other rare coins of equal or greater value&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Intrinsic Value&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Unlike paper investments, rare U.S. coins have real tangible value you can feel each time you hold one in your hand. Therefore, they offer two ways to build wealth. Carefully selected coins truly offer the best of bullion and numismatics in one investment. They contain the intrinsic security of bullion and can also offer extraordinary profit potential regardless of what precious metal spot prices do. Still, precious metal content is only a relatively small factor in determining the value of many rare U.S. coins whose value is almost solely based on condition, demand and rarity&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Historically Significant Beauty&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Rare U.S. coins are a part of our history--direct links to America's rich heritage--as timeless and valuable as history itself. For two centuries, U.S. coins have been symbols of American stability, as well as reflections of national pride. Throughout our nation's history, coins have spotlighted our national heroes, paid tribute to our great achievements and commemorated significant events. These truly historic works of art commemorate past sacrifices made in the name of freedom.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Rare U.S. coins acquaint investors with historical figures and events, no matter how far removed by time. The satisfaction of actually owning a piece of history from a bygone era makes investing in rare U.S. coins truly unique. Each coin has traveled a different path through history. As a result, each is a unique embodiment of the hopes and dreams of our founding fathers&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Condition&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The overwhelming majority of U.S. coins ever minted were circulated. Many coins were lost through attrition and others were damaged by use, thus eliminating any potential for numismatic value. The few surviving uncirculated coins are in a much more pristine condition.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Investment quality coins are primarily those coins rated in the 11 uncirculated grades, 60 and above, on the American Numismatic Association's 70 point grading scale. A coin's grade is a measure of its condition or state of preservation. The higher the grade, the better the condition.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Uncirculated coins fall into two broad categories: Proof (PF or PR) and Mint State (MS). Mint State coins were originally meant for circulation but never were circulated, so they remain in the same condition today as when they were minted. Proof coins were never meant for circulation, thus they received very careful handling and were specially struck at least twice on highly polished planchets.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The beauty of a coin can attract collectors as well as investors, and hence increase demand for a particular coin or set. This increased demand can result in rising values. Eye appeal is affected by several factors including the beauty of a coin's design, the minting process used, the fullness and sharpness of its strike, the toning, the brilliance of its luster and the amount of wear and number of blemishes on the coin's surface&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Portfolios or Collections?&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The age-old description of coin collecting as the "Hobby of Kings" is both accurate and misleading... accurate in conveying the outdated perception that coin collecting is restricted only to the very wealthy, misleading in that the number of collectors has steadily increased and has been estimated by the American Numismatic Association to include as many as 7-10 million coin buyers in the United States alone. Typically, the coin collector collects coins for their rarity and historical value. Collectors view their coins as rare art and as the tangible remnants of the cultural and economic forces that created them.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The investor begins from a different starting point--the fact that coins of proven rarity have shown remarkably high rates of appreciation. He sees the economic results of the pleasures of collecting and makes his original purchases with profits as his only motive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;However, we have found that the line between those of our clients that are collectors and those that are investors has become increasingly blurred. Collectors can't help but be pleased when coins that they sell bring an attractive profit. Investors begin to see their coins as works of art and become knowledgeable about the circumstances of their minting and the era in which they were circulated.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Both collector and investor come to realize that their intellectual curiosity, aesthetic sensibilities and enjoyment in our country's past can be used to create a collection that becomes an important store of value, a way to accumulate wealth that can be passed on to future generations--or used to fund their own retirements.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Steve is the ceo of cashcards-goldlynks rare/gold coin club he was the best isp in 1997 check out his about us page at http://goldlynks.tripod.com this article is free for distribution you can sign up for a free email course on buying and selling rare/gold coins for profit by sending email to goldcoinsinfo@yahoo.com membership of the coins club is free to join at http://goldlynks.tripod.com&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingsoftwarefree/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting software free&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingstarterkit/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting starter kit&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingsupplies/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting supplies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingsuppliesuk/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting supplies uk&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingsupply/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting supply&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112799532434540904?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112799532434540904/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112799532434540904' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112799532434540904'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112799532434540904'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/09/why-you-need-to-buy-and-sell-gold_29.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112796622540807674</id><published>2005-09-28T20:57:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-09-28T20:57:05.460-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Why Collect Coins?&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why Collect Coins?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So why collect coins? Answer is simple really. Coin Collectors, sometimes called Numismatists, enjoy collecting coins on various levels. Some collect coins for their rarity, some collect coins in the hope that one day their collection will be worth a value. Some just do it for the sure pleasure of having a hobby that is easy to do. Doing a little research and starting off small is the greatest way to get started in this hobby. Learn all you can about coin collecting basics. There are many &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;Coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; books and websites (like this one) out there, that will try to put a clearer understanding of what coin collecting is all about, and we are hear to teach you what you need to know about coin collecting. Coins have a history about them, when they were struck, why was the design chosen for that time period. There are no reasons etched in stone that says you have to collect coins in any particular way. You collect the way you want to, if you want to only collect pennies, then only collect pennies, if you want to collect complete sets of each of the denominations of coins, then do that, or you can just collect the coins that interest you. You decide what, when, and how to collect.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collecting basics is this, start small. Decide what types of coins you would like to collect. What would you like your collection to consist of? Pennies, Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, Half-Dollars, Dollars, Gold, Silver, Paper Money. It doesn't matter. Maybe you want to just collect coins from a certain time period that interest you. Whatever your decision, stick with it and work to completing your collection. Also remember that coins that were struck at different places have different mint marks. A mint mark is a letter that tells us where the coin was struck. Each of the coins that you wish to collect will have different mint marks, to complete a set you will want to have each of the mint marks for that coin. Subscribe to a coin magazine, Coin World is a good one. They have a wealth of knowledge pertaining to collecting coins. Also visit a local coin dealer, not only will you be able to look at a variety of coins that the dealer will be selling, they also can answer questions that you may have, they are there to help you build and understand coin collecting basics. Use that to your advantage. I guess you will need a nice place to put your newly acquired coins. Find yourself a coin folder to display your coins. And once you get into the hobby more you can get some coin sleeves to house your collection and store them the way you would want. The possibilities are endless with coin collecting, and learning coin collecting basics is the first real step in the progression of building a great coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;Building a coin collection, is a long process. It doesn't happen over night, it doesn't happen in a week, and unless you are filthy rich, it won't happen in a year. Collecting takes time, effort, and persistence, and the fact of the matter is, there are so many different types of coins to collect that it takes time to study and learn about each of the prospects. The United States have produced many different varieties of coins from the penny to the gold dollar. They have produced commemorative coins celebrating a historic event or an anniversary. What ever you chose to collect I am sure that with a little effort on your part, that your collection will be something that you can pass on to your children, or build a small nest egg for your retirement, or whatever you choose to start coin collecting for. Learning coin collecting basics is a healthy start to building a wonderful coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit www.thecoinalley.com to view other related information on the wonder Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingquarters/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting quarters&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingreferencebooks/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting reference books&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectings/&gt;coin collecting - coin collectings&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingsilverdollars/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting silver dollars&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingsoftware/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting software&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112796622540807674?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112796622540807674/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112796622540807674' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112796622540807674'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112796622540807674'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/09/why-collect-coins-why-collect-coins_28.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112792988172308385</id><published>2005-09-28T10:51:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-09-28T10:51:21.760-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Successful Coin Collector&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; So you want to become a successful coin collector. Well you have some simple concepts that you must learn in order for you to become a good coin collector, and let�s face it, if you don't learn some key rules for collecting coins, you are not going to enjoy collecting coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Well I would say that EDUCATION would be the most important factor for anyone to be a successful coin collector. Learn as much as you can about this wonderful hobby. Buy as many books and reading material on all aspects of coin collecting that you can get your hands on. This may even include subscribing to a few coin collecting magazines like Coin World. There are many online organizations, some listed on this site, and you can read about just about anything that there is to know about the hobby of collecting coins. &lt;BR&gt;�Learn to be a coin collector. A true collector collects coins for the right reasons. It is what he loves, it�s a true passion for him. It is what interests them the most and they study the market and learn what it is they are purchasing. Most collectors build collections for not only the feel of the hobby, but to make money as well. A true collector is building an investment and knows what he wants out of his collection. &lt;BR&gt;�Make sure you know where to get the information you need to succeed in hobby. Coin magazines, brokers, and newsletters in the hobby are a great way to keep up with what is going on in the coin industry. In my opinion the greatest place to find information on the coins that you are looking to collect are from dealers and other collectors. Working with your local coin dealer, who is established and well informed would be one of your greatest relationships that you will have in your hobby. &lt;BR&gt;�Another asset in &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt; is learning to grade your coins. Knowing how to grade coins will not only help you purchase your coins more accurately, but it will help you to identify with your coins to know their true grade and getting a better understanding of what your coins are worth. Lots of money is spent on purchasing coins without the knowledge of knowing what the true grade of the coin is. The coin collector assumes the person or dealer that he is buying the coin from is knowledgeable himself and trust him. This is not a very trusting practice, and in the end it could result in your spending lots of money on your coin collection.&lt;BR&gt;�In the hobby of coin collecting, you will learn patience. Coin collections are built over many years, and beginner collectors will most often rush into collecting coins, with out learning the hobby first. This is a long term hobby, and some of the best and successful coin collectors are collectors having 10+ years under them. If you are planning on collecting coins for profit. It is advisable to buy your coins with the intention that you are going to keep them for at least 10 years. This will insure that you will get a reasonable return on your coins.&lt;BR&gt;�Having long and short term goals is the key to being successful in anything that you do. Well this holds true with coin collecting. Make sure you know what, where, how, and when, when it comes to &lt;A href="�http://www.thecoinalley.com�"&gt;coin collecting&lt;/A&gt;. Knowing your goals will help you become a successful coin collector and make your hobby more enjoyable.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at &lt;A href="http://www.thecoinalley.com"&gt;The Coin Alley&lt;/A&gt; Visit the site for more information on the wonderful Hobby of Kings.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingpennies/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting pennies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingphotography/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting &amp; photography&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingpriceguides/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting price guides&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingpricelist/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting price list&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingprices/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting prices&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112792988172308385?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112792988172308385/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112792988172308385' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112792988172308385'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112792988172308385'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/09/successful-coin-collector-successful_28.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112789915791862043</id><published>2005-09-28T02:19:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-09-28T02:19:17.973-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Daniel J. Goevert &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Okay, let�s get something straight� I do not advocate the purchase of United States coins strictly for investment purposes. Like most traditional collectors, I believe coins are to be primarily appreciated for their artistic beauty, historical connections, and the joy of pursuing them. However, it should be no secret that a significant number of us do add to our numismatic holdings while simultaneously peeking at the payback angle, too.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;In truth, there are probably substantial numbers of traditional collectors who prefer to acquire coins destined to increase in esteem and value over time; treasured heirlooms and a source of pride to be passed from one generation to the next. On the flip side of this equation, it seems implausible that anyone would buy a coin with the hope or expectation to see it stagnate or decrease in value. Indeed, any commentator who suggests the words �investment� and �coins� should never appear in close proximity to one another is ignoring a heavily populated segment of our hobby.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Now that we�ve established that it�s not numismatic heresy to seek coins with strong upside possibilities, let�s get down to basics. The guiding principle is simple: Any coin that has demonstrated solid, consistent gains over a long period of time is likely to show continued growth in the years ahead. Easily said, but as we shall soon see, not so easily put into practice.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;So exactly how does a one identify coins with a potentially bullish future? The best clues are revealed by analyzing the retail value trends over a long period of time for a given coin. Observing current prices alone does not yield enough information to correctly evaluate prospective price movements. What was the coin selling for two or three years ago compared to today? Dig deeper, and find the market price for the same coin 5-10 years ago. While you�re at it, get something from 20-30 years or more in the past, too. The more good data researched, the more reliable will be your final conclusions. Now whip out your spreadsheet and chart the numbers, or compute annualized rates of return. Flat or negative trends are bad. Positive trends are good. Steep positive trends are best. Any coin displaying a proven annualized growth pattern of at least 5-10% over a span of many years qualifies as an attractive option for the collector desiring coins headed for much higher price levels a few years down the road.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;During the course of my lengthy numismatic career, I�ve researched the long term value trends of most collectible US coins. Thanks to my trusty computer, I�ve calculated annualized compounded percentage return rates and honed in on a handful of coins that have consistently beaten the overall coin market averages. Unfortunately, the blue-chippers are scarcely encountered. Perhaps it is this fact that explains why so many well-intentioned hobby purists scorn the idea of blending coin collecting with the profit motive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Individuals whose objective is to satisfy their numismatic pleasure by assembling a collection certain to be the envy of tomorrow�s collectors must do their homework today. Remember to research historic value trends and evaluate growth potential based on previous performance. One last word of advice� never loose sight of the fact that you are handling artifacts of America�s past, and that all of us are merely their temporary custodians. Respect these coins and the history they represent, and you�ll always discover new avenues of adventure not found in most other investment opportunities.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;H1&gt;About the Author&lt;/H1&gt;&lt;P&gt;Author Daniel J. Goevert is the webmaster of &lt;A href="http://www.us-coin-values-advisor.com"&gt;US Coin Values Advisor&lt;/A&gt;. This site specializes in US coin value trends, plus offers detailed coin collecting advice as well as an illustrated history of the United States and the US Mint.&lt;/P&gt; ...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingmagazines/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting magazines&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingmarketvalues/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting  market values&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingmeritbadge/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting merit badge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingnews/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting news&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.coincollectingguide.com/coincollecting/../coincollectingonlinepurchasesites/&gt;coin collecting - coin collecting online purchase sites&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14106594-112789915791862043?l=coincollectingguide.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/feeds/112789915791862043/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=14106594&amp;postID=112789915791862043' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112789915791862043'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/14106594/posts/default/112789915791862043'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://coincollectingguide.blogspot.com/2005/09/identifying-us-coins-with-bullish_28.html' title=''/><author><name>Magou</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14106594.post-112785697451316836</id><published>2005-09-27T14:36:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2005-09-27T14:36:14.553-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;html&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;title&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/title&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="keywords" content="coin + collecting"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="rating" content="general"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;meta name="robots" content="index,follow"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Coin Grading&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Author:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=brown&gt; Jon Gammon &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt; The value of a particular coin, is determined by the grade that it is in. Coins that are in common circulation deteriorate over time and start to loose their detail. Coin grading will help you get to the coins current value, and a properly graded coin will determine more accurately what the exact worth of the coin.&lt;BR&gt;Coin collectors use a numbering system to give collectors an accurate measure of the condition a coin is in. This numbering system ranges between 1 and 70. "1" being the worst possible condition of a coin, and 70 meaning flawless. The numbers tell collectors many things, like how much wear is on the coin and if there are any damaging marks on the coin. There are very few coins out there with a 70 grade on them. It is very rare, and most coins minted have flaws, even if they are ever so slight.&lt;BR&gt;Grading coins is a science, and once you learn that science, putting a grade and a value on that coin will become much easier for you. Plus you will be able to accurately grade coins at auctions, coin dealers, and private collectors, so you will not get ripped off if someone is trying to sell you something at a higher price than it is worth. So 
