In the previous section, we covered some of the top coin myths related to investing, performance data, grading, and predictability in the coin market today. In Part 2, our focus will shift to cover the myths related to more basic coin problems and the links to building coin collections with metal detectors.
Myth #1: Never clean a corner!
Cleaning coins is never recommended unless you know what you are dealing with. True collector (specimen) coins should not be cleaned. There are several classes of coins that proper cleaning techniques will enhance and generally improve their markability. Ancient coins are not graded to the same standards as our current coins and excavated coins will generally benefit from proper cleaning. Many dug-out corners of modern times can handle a bit of cleaning. I toss thousands of coins into my coin glass every year. Most are coins that are quite rough in appearance and just to put into circulation or use in trade, cleanliness is a must. I also clean 90% of my nickel finds as five hundred excavated pieces are almost always darkened and will improve with proper cleaning techniques. I have never cleaned and never will clean fine and better coins of copper, nickel, silver or gold. Cleaning a rare or valuable collectible could cost you thousands of dollars in resale potential.
Myth #2: Never buy a coin on sight without seeing it.
A few years ago this was probably the best practice. Times have changed in the coin market. With the advent and development of various quality grading services, rolled coins are fairly safe purchases for collectors who are not interested in only having top-tier coins in their collection. Pedigree coins need to be examined to make sure you are getting the best coin for a lot of money. eBay and other sources of sale now have quality listings with quality details and images, making your purchase a safe thing to do. I have had to return some coins for refunds from these sources. But the process is much easier than in the days of mail order magazines and coin newspapers. I still like to take my coins to coin shows to sell them, as well as being able to get a close look at the coins I’d like to buy. July 4th weekend always means the Clearwater, FL Coin Club Show. I made a nice profit on a $20 1908. 00 Gold piece with a nice heavy bezel. I paid $500 and sold it for $930. But the fun of the show was buying the last coin I needed to complete my collection of Indian pennies. I found both the 1908 S and the 1877 cent with metal detectors. I asked all the dealers there if they had a 1909 S. Only five dealers had one or more of this date. This is a coin I would not buy on sight, and due to the many frauds to this date, I recommend only coins that have been carved by a major grading service. It is easy to be taken in this coin. I used my profit (and a bit more) from the gold coin to come up with a VG 10 that looks like a Fine 12, rated by America’s oldest ANACS grading service.
Coin Myth #3: Coin dealers cannot be trusted.
I don’t trust all the dealers I know, but the good ones outnumber the bad ones. I have favorites that trust has been established over many years of buying and selling. A good way to check them is to take a coin you have priced to several different dealers and check their offer to buy your coin. If the offer is for at least 65% of the coin’s value, the dealer is likely to agree. Another way I review them is to take my gold or sterling silver metal detector finds and see what each offers. They need at least a five percent margin on that day’s purchase price. If 14K gold is $900 that day and the trader says he’ll give you $840 or more, he’s probably an honest trader. A five percent margin that day would make your 14K gold ounce worth about $855 at most. Good, honest, and trustworthy merchants will want to establish a relationship with you, the buyer/seller. My all time favorite is a dealer named Dale. I made my first purchase with him in the early 70’s, and even though he was in mid-retirement and moved 50+ miles north, I sold him my gold piece and bezel without comparing other offers at the Clearwater coin show. Her wife scoured the show floor with the other dealers to find a special silver bezel she needed as she sold the coin and bezel to her husband. Great customer service from a great dealer!
Coin Myth #5: Quality coins are impossible to find.
Although it may seem more difficult to find certain types of coins, many unusual and buggy coins are the product of billions of coins minted to meet the buying and selling needs of consumers. I found a 2004 Roosevelt Dime error coin last year in money given for the children’s ministry missions project. It was copper on the obverse as the final layer was missing. Many of this type of bug coin have fetched over $250 on eBay recently. I got a 1976 proof half off a roll I picked up from a local bank recently. The 50 state coin series has many very interesting coin errors. This facilitates the collection of varieties of the same dates. Finding MS 66 and higher grade coins is not difficult when checking early release date exchanges. I bought a number of 1995 penny rolls and found over 20 varieties. This was a fad purchase and although I did well then, beware of those offering high prices for these rolls, boxes or bags. The price of these varieties has fallen by around 85%. It is still nice to find different varieties of this and other coins, and occasionally someone finds a new variety that can be minted and is worth a premium price to buyers.
Coin Myth #5: You can’t find silver and gold coins today.
Don’t tell me it’s hard or impossible to find silver and gold coins. As a metal detector user with over 15,000 silver and gold coin finds from 1868 and 1915, I know there are still millions of fine finds like this buried and within reach of my search coils. The research pays off well in this, the only hobby that pays you to participate. I have over 30,000 wheat cents, nearly a thousand Indian heads, and over six thousand mercury dimes, just to name a few of my most valuable modern coins drawn from the newest “circulation,” Mother Earth. This is probably one of the biggest coin myths today. Take a look at a treasure magazine like, Western and Eastern treasures, and see the amazing finds being made daily.