Welcome to the second tier of rare coin investment! This is the level where most of us will find ourselves, probably 95% of investors will never go past this level, and for good reason. Once you get past the Silver Level, the risks and rewards increase drastically. I would think at the Silver Level, you could easily make, with just a little drive and ambition, between 10 and 20 thousand dollars a year, depending on general coin market factors, and your own level of commitment and ambition.

Hopefully you're already doing those steps we discussed in the Copper Level. Maybe you've already got a few bucks you've made, and a small, but nice collection going. I think one of the secrets at this level is diversity; have different avenues of revenue flowing towards you at all times. Just because you are 20 or older, you can still check out rolls of change at the bank!

The first step at the Silver Level, is, once again, into a library or a bookstore. It's important to keep on top of the current trends in the market, especially the prices of precious metals. Check out papers like Coin World and Numismatic News, and magazines like Coin Values, Coins, and Coinage.

As important as the articles are, especially check out the advertisements. These ads will tell you what certain items are currently selling for, which is much more accurate than prices quoted in books that are printed yearly.

Let's say you see an ad for a roll of Indian Head cents for $69.00, with shipping, probably $75.00, or $1.50 each. This gives you a base retail value to establish what you will pay wholesale for these coins. In addition, in the back of Numismatic News and Coin World, you will find dealers who offer to buy coins; check out what they are paying. Now for our Indian Head cents, I wouldn't pay wholesale more than 75 cents each, preferably 50 cents each for the common stuff. You probably will not be able to sell them for $1.50 like a major dealer in a numismatic publication, but you very well could sell them for $1.10 each. 100% markup is a beautiful thing!

Which leads us to the second step; How do we get the coins in the first place? Well, there are no pennies from Heaven, friends! But there are ways to get the merchandise that you will need to sell. The first one is the one we've already covered, banks. The other four, from worst to first, are: 1) EBAY 2) FLEA MARKETS 3) ESTATE SALES 4) LOCAL ADVERTISEMENT

EBAY: If you're not signed up on Ebay, do it now. Stop reading this, immediately, and go type in www.ebay.com The world's largest marketplace, and the place of choice for most casual numismatists to do their coin hunting(Full Disclosure: I own stock in Ebay, so I have a somewhat vested interest to see it do well!).

It is a great venue, and sometimes the only one, to sell coins relatively inexpensively. There are other places, for sure, but for overall exposure, no one beats Ebay. But as Silver Level Investors, we find ourselves in a situation. Can we buy coins inexpensively enough online to resell online? The answer is yes, sometimes. You can find the bargain coin collection on Ebay occasionally, but you have to work hard to locate them. There are so many people with the same idea that you are only going to find that great deal every once in awhile. Look for auctions ending at odd times, or mislisted in the wrong catagory. Use the market info you found from your research to determine what your cost would be per coin. Unfortunately, all too often the price runs up over what you should be willing to pay. Once I bought up a big lot of State Quarters that didn't have a lot of appeal to me at the time. But there were also some commemoratives, mint sets, and proof sets that I definitely wanted! I cashed in the quarters at the bank, then relisted the other items. A quick $250 profit on one lot! Check ebay periodically, and track selected auctions, but don't spend too much time on it trying to buy. Hopefully you'll be using it to sell later!

FLEA MARKETS: Yes, you may scoff, but there are deals to be had on coins at flea markets, more so than ebay, in my opinion. And let me reiterate, open your eyes! You might have to dig around and get a little dirty, but there are numismatic jewels out there! Not just coins, but numismatic related items, like coin boards, albums, and even coin books (A 1947 Red Book can be worth over $1000!). You will not find them often, but when you do, the results can be fantastic!

ESTATE SALES: Estate sales are a mixture of flea market and auction, all rolled up into one. It's an environment where a little knowledge goes a long way. Sometimes they are bundled in lots, so you're sort of buying a pig in a poke. But researching the type on coin and the demand for it might give you an edge.

REMEMBER - YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF COINS IS THE ONLY ROAD TO COIN COLLECTING SUCCESS. Click HERE (opens in a new window) and Bookmark Our Recommended Coin Collecting Books.

When you can look at the coins individually, make sure to note the condition, type, and mink marks. An uncirculated 1916 Mercury dime, $50.00. An uncirculated 1916-D dime, $20,000.00! When you find something that really excites you, don't spend too much time looking at it! You might attract undue attention to the item. I had a friend who went to an estate sale where there were uncirculated Morgan Dollars, in lots of 10. They were going for about $160.00 per lot, on average. Mixed in with the common date Morgans, was an 1882-CC, uncirculated, a $250.00 coin by itself! The bidding for this particular lot went past $160.00, and he ended up getting the lot for $195.00! Some of the people snickered at this rube who overpaid for his lot of 10 coins, but he knew his lot was worth over $400.00 Knowledge is Power!

LOCAL ADVERTISEMENT: Without a doubt, the one most important thing you can do to make money at the Silver Level is to advertise locally. If you don't have enough time to do anything else, do this! Here is where you can control all aspects of the transactions, where you dictate the price of what you want when you want. One could write a book on all the avenues available for free or nearly free advertising. This is a place where ingenuity counts for a lot. Here's a few tried and true ideas to get you started. Business Cards: Remember our friends, the bank tellers? Every one of them should have a business card with your name, phone number, and subject on it. " R.D.P. Coin's 555-5555 Buying All U.S. Coins", you get the idea. You should hand these out and tack them up where ever you find a bulletin board or community service board. Classifieds: Either free papers, local music scene papers, or online avenues like craigslist.com, all of these give you a way to get the message out. BUYING ALL U.S. COINS, PAYING TOP DOLLAR! The more startling your prose, the better! I HAVE $10,000 TO PAY YOU TODAY! (Even you don't have 10,000 yen, you have to get their interest!) Its all about getting the message out. Word of Mouth: Announce what your doing!

Tell people that you're "collecting" coins (People are more receptive in they think that you are going to be keeping the coins, not reselling them), people at school, church, work, wherever! They might be looking to make a little quick cash, and you're there to help them out! Special: Once again, creativity goes a long way at this level.

You should come up with your own style of presentation. Let me share one of mine with you. I keep a wallet full of two dollar bills. Whenever I pay cash for something, I always try to use them. Of course the girl at the drive-thru, or the guy at he convenience store will look at it oddly. Then you can segue into your pitch about being a collector. Trust me, it works!