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BRONZE LEVEL: CAN I MAKE MONEY COLLECTING COINS?
by Andrew Patton
COPPER LEVEL
Welcome to the wide world of coin investments! Our purpose, at this level, is to make a profit, ANY profit! If we buy a coin for $1.00 and sell it for $1.05, fantastic! It would take a year in a bank account to make that same nickel that you can make in five minutes! Extrapolate that 5% gain in five minutes over a year and you're a billionaire! Of course I'm being facetious, but I think you get my point.
Probably the most famous numismatist living today is Q. David Bowers, author, dealer, collector, extraordinare. I was fortunate enough to be a class he taught at the ANA Summer Seminar in Colorado Springs. This extremely successful dealer got his start as a teenage coin dealer - it's never too earlier or too late to began collecting coins for profit.
The first step in your Copper Level investor life is to learn anything you can related to Coin collecting (Numismatics), and soak up the knowledge like a sponge. In coin collecting, like many other endeavors, knowledge is power. The first book you should reach for -considered the Bible of Numismatics - is "A Guide Book of United States Coins", by R.S. Yeoman. This tome, commonly referred to as "The Red Book", is currently in its 61st Edition.
It's the best buy on the market and a MUST for anyone collecting coins - especially the beginner. In "The Red Book" you will find retail prices and mintages of every major U.S. coin. It also provides rudimentary guides to grading coins. This book is the basic guide of coin values, mint dates, and grades. Remember, knowledge is power! And when collecting for profit - make sure you know as much as or more than the person you're buying the coins from.
The second step is into the front door of the bank that you deal with. For our younger collectors - your parent's bank or the one where you keep a passbook savings account. In fact, go to every branch of this bank - heck, any bank! (NOTE: It Never Hurts To Ask - the most successful people in the world ASK for what they want).
Explain to the teller or bank manager that you're beginning to collect coins and trying to fill some holes in your collection, or simply ask general questions about coins. "Excuse me, do you have any old-looking rolls of half dollars that a customer has turned in?" "Have you seen any coins or bills with letters or numbers missing or shifted?" I think you get the general idea. These bank employees are most open to helping an honest, earnest, friendly person that respects them. Kill them with kindness!
Here are two true stories.
I was working a retail job when I went to crack open a roll of dimes. As I dumped them into the register, my eyes popped open! Silver! Every single one of them, uncirculated 1963 Roosevelt Dimes! I couldn't believe my luck! I purchased that roll....and SIX more rolls of uncirculated 1963 dimes, for $35. I resold them for about $320 (They would be worth significantly more today), a 900% profit in two weeks!
At the same job, I received a ten dollar bill in the register. Something didn't seem right. Upon closer examination, the serial number and seal were shifted up and to the left. So I swapped out an uncollectible ten dollar bill for the "collectible" ten dollar bill. I sold it on Ebay 10 days later for $62.00. That's a 500+% profit! Wouldn't Wall Street love a gain like that?
I personally had those two experiences, plus dozens more.
It does take a little work, a little luck, and a little Knowledge to profit from these situations, but you can do it! You're still reading this - so I know you have the same desire I had in the beginning.
While the "Copper Level" is an introduction into the world of commerce and coin collecting, if applied correctly and diligently, it offers an opportunity to get started in the business of making money in numismatics.
Next: Silver Level
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THE HOT SPOT!
Mercury Dimes 1916-1945
Bringing Big Bucks
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