We all know that a good wine gets better with age, and a good coin is likely to get more valuable with age, too…if it is cared for correctly. Proper care of you collection will protect your old coin values.What Gives an Old Coin Value?

 

There are four characteristics that give an old coin value: condition, rarity, demand, and historical value. You can find out what your old coin’s value is by looking it up in the Blue Book, which is a book of wholesale values of US coins. If it’s not a US coin, there is a Black Book that gives current values of world coins.

Rarity and demand are fixed characteristics. If only a few coins were minted, or if a lot of people want it, an old coin has more value.

Historical value is more individual, and your old coin may have value only to people interested in that particular historical era. For instance, Civil War buffs may place a higher value on old coins from the Confederacy than others will.

The most variable factor in determining an old coin’s value is its condition. The Sheldon Scale is a 70-point scale that coin dealers use to evaluate the condition of a coin. It’s still a subjective evaluation, but at least it is a guideline for determining the condition—and value—of an old coin. Coins in mint condition are in the best condition, and coins that are so worn you can’t see the date or images are in the worst condition.

Protecting Coin Values

You can’t always control what condition an old coin is in when you get it, but you can protect it so that its condition doesn’t deteriorate while it’s in your possession.

To maintain an old coin’s value, always handle it by its edges. Never touch the surface of the coin with your fingers. The oils and acids on human skin will corrode the coin and decrease a coin’s value.

Don’t clean your coins. Cleaning exposes them to chemicals and environmental substances that can corrode them. Of course, if you dug the coin up out of the ground, it is all right to wash the dirt off gently with soap and water. But don’t polish your coin to make it nice and shiny. That damages it.

Store your coins correctly. Coins should never be stored in plastic or acidic paper envelopes or flips. The acid in paper is corrosive, so if you put coins in an envelope, make sure the envelope is made of acid-free paper. The PVC in those little plastic flips will also corrode coins and give them a greenish coating. Coins need to be protected as much as possible from light, air, and temperature extremes.

Proper care is essential to retaining an old coin’s value. Proper handling, no cleaning, and proper storage will keep your old coin’s condition as good as possible.

 

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Putting Rare Coin Market Cycles to Work for You…

Until recently many people believed U.S. stocks would go up forever.

However, recent crashes in high tech stocks and the overall stock market correction left many investors with huge losses. Clearly, market cycles are changing.

The return of high inflation, combined with a slowing economy, suggests it’s more important than ever to move into safer, more profitable investments in the coming market cycle.

Balance and Diversify Your Portfolio - We believe you can profit handsomely by diversifying your portfolio with investments currently undervalued. Everyone agrees gold, hard assets, and commodities have been out of favor in the past decade. For many reasons, we feel these sectors are most likely to be top performers in the next market cycle.

Move To Hard Assets in Bad Economic Climates - For that reason, it’s important to consider moving into hard assets, gold, and U.S. Rare Coins. Prices are attractively low today compared with past market highs. The table below details recent cycles for the U.S. Rare Coin Market showing increases ranging from 348% to 1,195%.

$1,000 Invested in Rare Coins Worth $57,977 - Collectors Universe researched the U.S. Rare Coin Market carefully based on a study of 3000 Rare Coins. The graph above shows $1,000 invested in rare coins in 1970 would be worth $57,977. The conclusion is that U.S. Rare Coins have produced superior profits over gold bullion or Dow Stocks.

Buy Rare Coins During Market Lulls - Since January of 1970, the U.S. Rare Coin Market has had eight very definitive market cycles. There have been three complete Bull and Bear Market cycles since 1970. To maximize profits, collectors prefer to acquire coins that are currently undervalued. They hold their coins and wait until a Bull Market when investors move in and bid up coin prices- then they sell and take their profits.

The most profitable period for the U.S. Rare Coin Market showed increases of 1,195% from December of 1975 through March of 1980. This market cycle parallels a time of high inflation in the U.S., rising gold prices, and a very weak economy- a market cycle that appears to be on the horizon ahead.

Other Rare Coin Market cycles since 1970 showed increases of 665% and 348%. Past performance is no guarantee of future value, but it is an indication of just how volatile and profitable collecting U.S. Rare Coins can be in uncertain economic climates when there’s a flight to safety from stocks to hard assets.

Steve is the ceo of cashgcards-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

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Grading coins

The condition of a coin is commonly summarized by a grade. Because the value of collectible coins often varies dramatically with grade and overly generous grading is not uncommon, reasonable grading proficiency is an important skill for collectors. The material presented here is intended only as an introduction to the subject. Grading is a skill that can only be developed over time through referrals to grading guides, consultation with experienced collectors and dealers, and lots of practice.

Published standards set objective criteria for grading, yet some amount of subjectivity is inevitable — even expert graders will often assign slightly different grades to the same coin. While you can often ask an experienced grader for an opinion, being able to make your own reasonable assessment of grade is your best protection.

An overview of American Numismatic Association standards follows. ANA standards are widely used in the U.S. but are not the only system used. Much of the rest of the world uses the grades Fair, Fine, Very Fine, Extremely Fine, Uncirculated and Fleur-de-coin.

Numerals used in coin grades have been taken from the Sheldon scale (see Glossary).

Uncirculated Coins

Coins with no wear at all are referred to as uncirculated or in mint state (MS). Grades from MS-60 to MS-70 in one point increments are used for mint state coins. Criteria include luster; the number, size and location of contact marks; the number, size and location of any hairlines, and the quality of the strike and overall eye appeal..

An MS-60 coin may have dull luster and numerous contact marks in prime focal areas, as long as there is no wear. To merit MS-65, a coin should have brilliant cartwheel luster (attractive toning is permissible), at most a few inconspicuous contact marks, no hairlines, and nearly complete striking details. Grades from MS-61 to MS-64 cover intermediate parts of this range. Truly exceptional coins may be graded MS-66, MS-67 or, if absolutely flawless, as high as the theoretical maximum of MS-70. Many numismatists consider MS-70 to be an unobtainable ideal.

Terms such as brilliant uncirculated (BU), choice BU, gem BU, select BU and premium BU are still used in lieu of numerical grades by some dealers, auctioneers and others. Correlations between these terms and the numeric MS grades are difficult at best, because of inconsistent usage and in some cases overgrading.

Market values for many uncirculated coins vary dramatically from one grade to the next. Remember that whether a coin is described with a numerical or an adjectival grade, it’s only someone’s opinion. Until you are comfortable with your ability to grade uncirculated coins, make liberal use of other opinions, such as those available with slabbed coins or from experienced collectors and dealers you trust, or concentrate on circulated coins.

Circulated Coins

For circulated coins the grade is primarily an indication of how much wear has occurred and generally does not take into account the presence or absence of dings, scratches, toning, dirt and other foreign substances (though such information may also be noted).

ANA grading standards recognize 11 grades for circulated coins (listed here with brief, generic descriptions):

AU-58, very choice about uncirculated: just traces of wear on a coin with nearly full luster and no major detracting contact marks

AU-55, choice about uncirculated: small traces of wear visible on the highest points

AU-50, about uncirculated: very light wear on the highest points; still has at least half of the original mint luster

EF-45 or XF-45, choice extremely fine: all design details are sharp; some mint luster remains, though perhaps only in “protected areas”

EF-40 or XF-40, extremely fine: slightly more wear than a “45″; traces of mint luster may show

VF-30, choice very fine: light even wear on high points, all lettering and design details are sharp

VF-20, very fine: most details are still well defined; high points are smooth

F-12, fine: major elements are still clear but details are worn away

VG-8, very good: major design elements, letters and numerals are worn but clear

G-4, good: major design elements are outlined but details are gone; for some series the date may not be sharp and the rim may not be complete.

AG-3, about good: heavily worn; date may be barely discernable
While coins more worn than AG are rarely collected, two additional grades are nevertheless used to characterize them:

F-2, fair — very heavily worn; major portions may be completely smooth

P-1, poor, filler or cull — barely recognizable
While not included in the ANA standards, intermediate grades like AU-53,
VF-35, F-15 and G-6 are used by some dealers and grading services. When a grader believes a coin is better than the minimum requirements but not nice enough for the next higher grade “+” or “PQ” may be included (e.g. MS64PQ or VG+) or a range may be given (e.g. F-VF).

Split Grades

When there are significant differences between the obverse and reverse sides, a split grade may be assigned. Split grades are denoted with a “/”. For example, “F/VF” means that the obverse is F and the reverse is VF.

The overall grade is often determined by the obverse. An intermediate value may be appropriate when the difference is significant, especially if the reverse is lower. A coin graded MS-60/61 would be considered to have an overall grade of MS-60, and another at MS-65/63 could be considered to have an overall grade of MS-64.

Steve is the ceo of cashgcards-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

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