The Newbie's Lament: What Should I Collect?

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The Newbie's Lament: What Should I Collect?

For new collectors of vintage United States gold coins, one of the most puzzling questions to ask is: what should I collect. The answer, of course, depends on your budget, but it also depends on which sort of collection you are going to build: a set with a focused beginning, middle, and end, or a more random approach.

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Why is the Dated Gold Market Holding its Own?

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Rare date gold seems to be “where the action is” in the 2016 coin market and I, for one, am glad I don’t have an inventory full of Gem type coins or other less interesting numismatic items.

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What are Coins with Character?

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What are Coins with Character?

On the front page of my website (www.raregoldcoins.com) you will see the tagline Coins with Character. This has been the official motto of Douglas Winter Numismatics for many years, and I am often asked by collectors "what are coins with character?" There is no simple answer, but I feel that the coins I sell are blessed with one or more of the following characteristics which makes them special.

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A Dozen Undervalued United States Gold Coins Priced Below $7,500: The 2015 Edition

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A Dozen Undervalued United States Gold Coins Priced Below $7,500: The 2015 Edition

It’s been quite a while since I wrote an article about the topic of affordable, undervalued 19th century U.S. gold coins, and I think it’s time to do a more current version of this article. I’m going to change things up ever so slightly this time and include some market overviews on each denomination, and make some suggestions which include multiple coins as opposed to “singles.”

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The Newest Level of Rarity: The Appearance, or Eye Appeal, Rarity

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The Newest Level of Rarity: The Appearance, or Eye Appeal, Rarity

If you’ve been around the coin market for a while, you know that there are many different types of rarity. In this blog, I’m going to discuss the types of rarity you might already be familiar with, and one which you might not: the eye appeal or “appearance” rarity.

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How Consistent Does Your Set Need to Be?

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I had an interesting email exchange with collector M.N. who asked me, in a nutshell, if his technique was “wrong” because the set which he was building had a broad range of grades. After I gave him my answer (which was basically “there is no wrong way to build your specific set since the coins you are searching for are all rare to very rare”) it got me thinking about the consistency of a set of coins when it comes to grade and appearance.

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Ten Reasons Why Fives Are the New Tens, or: A Love Letter to Half Eagles

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Ten Reasons Why Fives Are the New Tens, or: A Love Letter to Half Eagles

In my opinion, the size of this coin is just about perfect (confession: when it comes to silver, I like the quarter dollar as the “right” size). In the early gold series I like the size of the half eagle better than the quarter eagle or the eagle, and in the Liberty Head series, I like the size and the collectability factors. In the 20th century, I like the Indian Head half eagle both for its unique incuse design and its challenge of completability.

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Is There A "Best Time" to Buy Coins?

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As a dealer, I know there are certain times of the year during which I am able to buy more coins than others. As someone who does the majority of his buying at shows, the two most fertile times of the year for me are at the FUN show in January (this is a show which I tend to come to with few coins and loads of cash) and the summer ANA show in August (the traditional “best” show of the year).

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