Are you seriously intending to enter the trade? Get yourself an assistant’s job with a dealer.

Study your collection. For me, that meant learning German and learning facts and details about the social and economical climate of the period I collect. If you’re studying Roman coins, you may want to consider being familiar with the reigns of Roman emperors and regents who issued the coins. Learn how long they reigned and lived. That will allow you to determine the rarity of certain Roman coins as well. The shorter the reign, chances are you won’t find as many coins from that particular ruler.

Take care of your collection. Find what’s the best way to preserve it. There is a right and a wrong way to hold a coin. I learned to wash my hands before handling my pieces, since they’re mostly made up of paper.

As for valuing, remember that valuing coins and collectibles are very very subjective. You can purchase coin catalogs that give you the most up to date value of coins, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re piece will sell for that much. If you have to sell it in a hurry (dealers often do around tax time to lessen their inventory) you probably won’t get as much. Also economics effect pricing. A coin can be worth $ 280 but during tough economic times, people won’t have that money to spend and their interests shift. Right now, people’s interests are with gold. Also the discovery of coin hoards will also effect pricing. And condition of a coin effects the pricing. There are some Roman coins worth nothing because they’re common and the piece is nothing more than a corrosion byproduct.

Those who appraise coins typically narrow their field to one or two different types. And they normally collect that type themselves. A guy who appraises colonial currency probably collects it himself. This does several things for him. First, he’s familiar with pieces enough that he can identify unique varieties that can effect pricing. They are familiar with the average grade of an item. For example, I collect inflation currency. I know that when someone brings me a wrinkly old Reichbanknote, they’ve been ripped off if they paid more than $ 3, unless the piece is particularly scarce. That’s because generally Reichbanknotes are in good condition. They can also be particularly apt at detecting counterfeit. Likely, they’ve spent enough time with the real stuff, the fake ones can be easily spotted.

Above all NEVER BUY COINS FROM CHINA. Never ever. They like to counterfeit coins.