A Young Collector Finds a Silver Lining

My name is Joshua Lockard, I'm 19 years old, and I’m currently working as a numismatist at the American Precious Metals Exchange (APMEX) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. I’ve been involved in the industry as both a collector and a dealer for the past five years. Since a young age, I’ve always had an entrepreneurial mindset and an interest in collecting items that have a story to tell.

My journey into the vast world of coins began at my local flea market, where I purchased my first Morgan Dollar, a visually “stunning,” incredibly “lustrous,” and “extremely rare” piece, so the vest pocket dealer on the opposite side of the table said… Unfortunately, it was just my luck that I'd been duped. Once I realized that I ended up paying double the fair market price for a cleaned and circulated 1886 common-date example, I vowed to study up and learn all I could about the history and value of each U.S. coin series. Soon enough, I took my newly acquired knowledge to my first local coin show and began trading, reaping the rewards of my work in the form of ever-so-sweet cash.

Slowly but surely, I honed my skills to become proficient in both grading and negotiating, which brought in a steady monthly income by the age of 16. Soon after, I found myself working as an intern at Heritage Auctions. This gave me valuable experience and propelled my pursuit of what became a career. After my tenure at Heritage, I started devoting my efforts to building connections with dealers across the U.S. by traveling to different tradeshows and establishing my presence within the Instagram coin community on my profile @comet_coins. Through the relationships I formed with some of the nicest people in the industry, I began to learn the tricks of the trade.

Moving forward, I started my search to gain work experience at a major company – APMEX first crossed my mind, and the rest was history. My collecting interest was first piqued by the ever-popular Morgan Dollar, so I first began collecting toned Morgan Dollars. Each coin is a unique piece of art, painted by Mother Nature’s hand. My collecting objectives have changed over the past couple of years. My current focus is to build the finest type set of U.S. Colonial issues and medals my wallet can afford. The highlights of my present collection include a Bronze Libertas Americana Medal, an Original Copper William Washington at Cowpens Medal, and a stunning silver Castorland Medal.

From the places I’ve been to the treasures I’ve seen and the people I've met, numismatics has been an amazing blessing in my life. My hope is to build a legacy remembered, and a legacy aspiring to drive numismatics toward a bright future.