How to Collect Coins for Profit

Whether you are a collector or dealer, coin collecting can be both a fun hobby and a profitable investment. To make money collecting coins, you must know what you are buying and selling and have the necessary tools for the job.

Those tools include coin magnifiers and loupes, coin scales and tongs, coin calipers, coin storage containers, testing supplies, safe handling chemicals, metal acid tests and more. You also need a reference book such as the Red Book, which lists mintage numbers and key dates that greatly influence a coin’s price. These books are invaluable and should be one of the first purchases a beginner makes.

A serious collector can also make a profit by cherrypicking certain rare coins from regular-issue sets. This type of collecting is most common with silver dollar varieties, where one coin from each year of the series may be worth significantly more than the rest. Successful cherrypickers earn a good amount of money and, in many cases, bragging rights. Cherrypicking stories often appear in Coin World and other numismatic publications.

It’s best to avoid the temptation to go on a buying binge when starting a collection. Rushing to fill gaps in a set is a recipe for disaster. A more sensible approach is to hone in on a specific area of interest and become an expert in it. This gives you a greater understanding of the market and helps to prevent the tendency to overpay for a coin.