Refining & Upgrading

Once you have begun to understand how coins are graded, evaluated, and classified—and, for that matter, this works for almost anything that can be collected, including leaves that have fallen from trees—it’s time to begin to focus on certain elements you consider key.

To further your knowledge and to see what other people are doing, we would suggest looking at the ANA’s “Reading Room” project, where you will find people writing about a broad variety of coin-related issues. Note which articles you’re drawn to. Does that offer you more focus for your collection?

You’re probably also at the point where you would like to know more about the details of coins and how/why they matter, where they fit into the category you’re collecting.

It might also be time to question your goal in collecting. Do you want the very best coin? Or do you want a solid set that includes many of the kind of coin you’re collecting. In other words, are you for the breadth of coins, regardless of quality, or would you like one perfect coin? Our foundation is indebted to a man who managed both a comprehensive collection as well as a very fine collection, but when he began it was not that way. He was interested in finding a coin that was worth 5 cents and selling it for a few dollars, and over the years he had many coin collections that he sold before he began collecting the large cents he is known for. 

Your answers to the questions above will shape the evolution of your collection. No matter your focus or answer, if you have decided that you want to upgrade, then you need a lot of knowledge. This article from the ANA lists the 10 rules of successful coin collecting and is a great place to start. As that page stresses, it’s key to know the market and to judge when to sell your coins. 

All this sounds great, but let’s say you love coins but you’re cash-strapped or you’re young and don’t have an income except for dog-walking or baby sitting, we suggest this advice from the Royal Mint (yes, as in the UK), or you could create virtual collections (we will have a post on how to do this, at a later date) that you discuss and share with friends. It might be obvious to someone to have a virtual collection of finest known coins, but maybe it would be interesting to create a collection of coins that have an “imperfection.” See the image on this page for Walt’s very favorite coin, which has a striking imperfection.

There is no doubt that part of the delight of coin collecting is finding something rare and lovely that others have overlooked. That is the hunt that collectors of almost everything love. We here to say that as people collect, curiosity grows, knowledge deepens. We’d call that a success, no matter the collection you have.