You are looking for that special coin to finish a collection, or you are one of the millions buying the statehood quarters. How do you make sure you are getting what you want without getting ripped off?

Many newcomers to the coin collecting hobby make a very common mistake. They see a great "deal" online, something like -Delaware quarter, MS70-in 2x2 Holder! Bargain Priced!

First and foremost, no body in the coin selling business would take a MS70, or any MS graded coin and place it into a 2x2 holder!

To avoid common scams like this remember what you are buying--if you are looking for an average circulated coin, taken from someone's pocket change, or a coin which someone who buys a roll of coins and takes each one and sticks it into a plastic envelope, thats is what you will get----and they are seldom worth what you are paying. The best way to buy a coin for display in one of those fold out displays, or a coin book where you pop the coin into a small circle/holder is to look for someone who is selling them for that purpose, in other words, those sellers who offer them in the little envelopes----if you are looking for a beautiful, uncirculated example, one that you dont need to worry about, buy a mint set-A mint set is a specially manufacterd set of coins from the US Mint. traditionally, the statehood quarters are each encased in a clear plastic sleeve, with all the quarters from that year included-and as a bonus, you get the penny, nickle(s) dime, half dollar, and even the dollar coin, when one was issued that year. Before you open the sleeve, and "play and fondle" those beautiful coins, STOP!!  use a pair of white cotton gloves!! The oils on your hands can permanently destroy a coin!! Handle each coin with care, and place gently into your albumn! If you are looking for a complete set of coins, one of each mint state, one of each proof, and one of the Cadillac of coins, the silver proof, you will need to buy one of each of those three sets. A mint set, a proof set (usually now sold in a blue colored box, with various designs, made by the US Mint) and the silver proof set, (sold in a red box, also with various designs, and made by the US Mint)--Where do you buy these?  If you arent lucky enough to go to the US Mint's website--(YES, anyone can buy from the mint!! You can buy online, or call them at a toll free number!!) and buy them, then look online for a dealer who has a good amount of positive feedback ratings--now of course we all strive to have a 100% positive rating-but the old adage goes, you cant please all the people, all the time---so dont let one or two upset customers ruin your hopes of a good price from someone with a 99% rating!! You can sell to 20,000 people, and have 19,999 happy customers, and one, who has no idea of what or why they are upset, but they leave a negative, that one person takes a reputable sellers score to 99%!! A reputable seller will state his, or her affiliation with some of the various numismatic/coin related associations, such as The A.N.A.--this is the company that own NGC-one of the premier coin grading services, or P.C.G.S.---another of the highest ranking premier graders! These type of sellers, who list their memberships, or affiliations with these and other associations are actually bound by these organizations to be fair, honest, and reputable in their sales, and if they are not, you may simply report them-no seller wants to loose their affiliation/status with these associations, and will normally take care of any problem that arises. Look online at coin prices------you can even look daily at the stock exchange! They list rare coins as investments, and they give their approximate value every day! If you are serious about your new hobby, or investment strategy--take a subscription, either online, or in a magazine/newpaper that you receive weekly---such as Coin World---these companies do nothing but track the values of coins, and report them so you can avoid a rip-off!! Now, if you are a more serious collector--then avoid those little "push the coin into the hole" books, and go with a certified / graded example of the coin you are wanting. Again, steer away from the "3rd rate" grading services--stay with the top services, some examples are NGC, PCGS, IGC---if you buy one that has been certified, or graded, buy what you can afford----mint state coins, those taken from the mint sets I described above, will have the letters MS followed by a number-these numbers, generally, will go from 60 through 70---the higher the number, the more perfect the grading service has found the coin to be-but it is also more expensive the higher you go-A MS70 coin, while valued higher than a MS69, is really for the very serious, high end collector---the average coin collector will find a MS69 graded coin a much more affordable example, and the MS69 is only an eyelash, or blink away from perfect, and the average collector, (one without a high powered micrscope or magnifying system) will not be able to tell the difference. If you are looking for the proof coins, the same applies, but instead of them having the letters MS, they will have either PF or PR followed by the same numbers as above. And the same thing applies as far as cost per grade----there are, as I said earlier, two types of proof coins, the "Clad" proof, which is generally the more affordable, but are only clad, or encased in silver, over a copper, or zinc core-you can tell the difference easily on most coins by looking along the edge, if you see a copper colored line, it is a clad coin---the other version is the silver proof-and for most accounts, it is a silver version of the coin---being silver it is more expensive that the clad versions. Then you will find the various notations along with the PR or PF grade/number--such words as Ultra cameo, or Deep cameo refer to the way the portrait of the person on the coin looks. If the view of the face on the coin appears to be a frosty, more satiny look, while the background, (the area surrounding the portrait) is highly polished, that is a cameo coin---think of a cameo coin as you would the jewelry that they call a cameo---you see the outline, or face of the object, in a different finish than the background---typically a cameo coin will be struck very early in the run of coins being produced for the year. The newer the die, the more sharp the images are----that only makes sense, as when a coin is made, they dies are pushed into the coin blank with extremely high pressure, over and over this die is subjected to this extremely high pressure, and they wear out. When a die wears out, and the wear is not immediately caught by the operator of the machine being used to make the coin, sometimes the die will break, or a chip will come off of it--when the coin is produced with this die, and not caught by the high degree of quality control at the mint, then you end up with an error coin----we wont be discussing those here, as there is just too much information to present in this limited space-but you may feel free to email me, and I will try and answer your questions. In closing-remember, buy from a reputable seller, look at their feedback---read the description carefully-if they are saying it is a MS70, or PR/PF70, and yet the coin has not been graded or certified by one of the popular grading services, you are relying upon the sellers knowledge only-and many who are selling coins on Ebay, havent any clue as to how to grade a coin---to learn how to grade a coin takes many years, and many hours of supervision-not something someone selling a coiu for 2.00 is likely to have done!!If you are still unsure of what is being sold, ask the seller a question----if he says its a perfect MS or PR coin, ask him who has detrmined this?  If he says he has sold coins for years and can tell what grade a coin is by looking-run away!!! Enjoy your new hobby, or investments-----learn as you go along-but if it sounds too good to be true, or was found under a floor board, or in an old mason jar in someones attic-----well----look at it this way-if you found a jar of old coins in the attic, would you sell them for pennies, or would you try and find out what they are worth first?  Would you not look through them?  These sellers who claim their huge mounds of coins are unsearched--well-perhaps they havent looked-but in all reality-someone has looked-and have taken the really good ones away-to be sold at the premiums they fetch--Enjoy-be careful, have fun!!