A Happy Medium

Not everyone wants to spend time learning about coins, but everyone wants to maximize the chances of making a profit. A compromise can be effected by learning something, not everything, about coins. Learning just the basic facts will help immeasurably. Indeed, reading this text will repay its cost many times over if you utilize its contents. It won't tell you everything you need to know, but it will go a long way in the right direction. Beyond this text, if you place your want list or business with a carefully-selected professional coin dealer, or perhaps two or three dealers, and at the same time keep abreast of market trends and prices, your chances for success will be improved measurably.

A nifty little secret: A quick, enjoyable, and effective way to learn about coins - a shortcut to becoming a numismatist - is to read all you can on just one limited series such as Morgan dollars, commemoratives, large cents, or some other single area of interest. Learning just about Morgan dollars (for example) is easier than learning about everything from half cents to double eagles. Once you have familiarized yourself with all that you can find in print about Morgan dollars, you will be very knowledgeable. I guarantee it! Then, as time and inclination permit, go into another specialized series and learn about it. Soon, all of American numismatics will make sense.