11. Common Mistakes
I have made most of these mistakes myself. "Act in haste, repeat in leisure". I hope these lessons learned will help you.
a) Buying low grade coins to "quickly fill the holes" is always a mistake as low grade coins have poor eye appeal and have practically no resale value. If you are compulsive and impatient like me you can fall into this trap.
b) Not returning a coin with some problem as it is a "hassle" to repackage and mail. Believe me, it is a bigger hassle to be stuck with a doggy coin and face the necessity of upgrading it later. Ship it back to the dealer and don’t look back!
c) Buying for profit. Type coin collecting is for fun, and a collection acquired over many years can sometimes but not always be sold for gain. Most circulated type coins bring only 30-60% of retail. If you seek profit from type collecting buy only P.C.G.S or N.G.C. certified coins in mint state 63 and higher. Even for these coins profit is not guaranteed. The coin market is extremely cyclical with constant switching of "hot" and "slow" series. An advantage for the type collector is his intrinsic diversification by possessing many different series.
d) Impulse buying. Always have a short list of coins you wish to add in the next several months, their range of conditions, and expected price ranges. If the next morning you have delayed sticker shock, return the coin immediately. Repenting is always in leisure.
e) Going off the track. If you wish to enjoy collecting to the fullest, you should focus on at most two collecting specialties at a time. Doing otherwise will squander money and time on what will look like a mishmash with no theme. This collector in addition to U.S. type coins also has a small collection of political hard times tokens.