Coin appraisal: from a collectors experience
Coin appraisal: Coin collecting is one of the most common hobbies in the world today; there are many different types, values all the way from priceless to the six or maybe even seven figures. I am going to discuss my experience with appraisals for the coins I have collected over the years.
First I want to explain how the coin dealers calculate the value, the way coins are appraised are by a grading system that was created, the grading system was created because there are factors that make the value go up, then other factors that make the value go down (dents, holes, chips, etc..) so this seemed like a more uniform way across the board to have accurate appraising. One of the most important things that determines the grade of the coin is the condition that it is in, there are two more very important factors for grading a coin, those being the rarity of the coin and what kind of demand is currently out there for the coin. The grading system goes as follows- extremely fine, very Fine, fine, very good, good and about good.
The coin dealers can be very picky, for instance I was looking to sell a rare coin that I had and the demand was medium level, but had the potential to jump very soon, the coin dealer would not purchase the coin, simply because I only had one, it would have been more valuable to the dealer to buy them in bulk and when the demand went up, they would turn a much bigger profit, of course this does not happen all of the time, but it does happen. The truth is there is not much profit for holding onto coins for a short time, the value usually grows with time, for example if you have an Indian head penny from the late 1800's it most likely will be worth less then ancient roman coin, it all depends.
During one of my experiences of having my coins appraised, I learned how to spot a fake, it turns out I was a victim of this; new coin collectors are the most at risk for this action. A counterfeit coin is often a much lesser quality then a real coin, different material, I would recommend trying to bend the coin and tap on it with your finger, because they can sound different as well. After a while of trying and collecting, you will know the difference right away.
Coin collecting is a great hobby, even if you are not collecting to get rich; it is a great thing to learn about all of the different types of coins and the appraising of them..