I initially joined this site to use the awesome collection feature to organize and track my US Quarter and small coin collection. I've since been hooked snagging any world coins I can find.
My Girlfriend and I have been working on finding key years for our family as well as anything with a Plant or Animal featured.
I picked up a bulk bag on ebay and we got some interesting things. But that's where I figured I needed to pump the brakes and make sure that wasn't a bad idea.
I would like to pick up a bulk bag or random supply every few weeks just so we have something to dig through, but I'm concerned that these kind of “deals” on ebay are mostly junk and coins no one would want and that I would be wasting my time even adding them to my collection and sharing here.
Is this a valid concern?
and also, does anyone have any suggestions on the best way to get lots of coins that are not total garbage to pick through? Or the best way to not over pay for junk coins?
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost." - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
Hello! Here in Spain, and in most of Europe, we can go to a bank to exchange €50 bills for 25 €2 coins. I don't know if you can exchange this and other smaller coins at a local bank in the US.
Hello! Here in Spain, and in most of Europe, we can go to a bank to exchange €50 bills for 25 €2 coins. I don't know if you can exchange this and other smaller coins at a local bank in the US.
We can but only for U.S currency.
It's a little more difficult to find coins from around the world in bulk and I'm a novice so It's pretty easy to get swindled by these bulk deals and I was hoping that those who have been in my shoes before might have some advice.
My current plan is to offer up any of my duplicate U.S. Quarters for trade here as I complete my albums and any extra uncirculated coins I get from the US Mint programs.
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost." - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
I occasionally plunge and buy a mixed bag, mainly to look for variants and possible errors it can be a painstaking task at times but a tenner for a bag of coins is neither here nor there. My most notable find was the three variants of the George VI Indian 1 pice holed coin in one bag, but I guess that’s why we do it.
Thank you!, this site is amazing and I can already tell that I like this Daniel person :) This is exactly what I had in mind with the binder we started.
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost." - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
I occasionally plunge and buy a mixed bag, mainly to look for variants and possible errors it can be a painstaking task at times but a tenner for a bag of coins is neither here nor there. My most notable find was the three variants of the George VI Indian 1 pice holed coin in one bag, but I guess that’s why we do it.
That's re-assuring. I think a big part of my anxiety is that I just have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to figuring out what grade a coin should be and that has given me some anxiety about future trades with some of you pro's here. I make up for this lack of experience with photo's and hopefully everyone is understanding that I'm just a novice.
I've been reading a lot of archived posts and learning quite a bit and I think I've got the basics down. So between going back and trying to apply a grade to each coin in my swap list and working on my "World Coin Zoo Book" that should keep me pretty busy.
I guess tossing 10-15 bucks a week on a bag of random coins isn't really too much of a loss either way, and hopefully everything hasn't been cherry picked.
Do you have a place that you suggest buying the mixed bags, or a preferred seller on ebay? So far i've just been buying the random bags from wohobby and I've enjoyed the process of picking through them.
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost." - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
I occasionally plunge and buy a mixed bag, mainly to look for variants and possible errors it can be a painstaking task at times but a tenner for a bag of coins is neither here nor there. My most notable find was the three variants of the George VI Indian 1 pice holed coin in one bag, but I guess that’s why we do it.
That's re-assuring. I think a big part of my anxiety is that I just have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to figuring out what grade a coin should be and that has given me some anxiety about future trades with some of you pro's here. I make up for this lack of experience with photo's and hopefully everyone is understanding that I'm just a novice.
I've been reading a lot of archived posts and learning quite a bit and I think I've got the basics down. So between going back and trying to apply a grade to each coin in my swap list and working on my "World Coin Zoo Book" that should keep me pretty busy.
I guess tossing 10-15 bucks a week on a bag of random coins isn't really too much of a loss either way, and hopefully everything hasn't been cherry picked.
Do you have a place that you suggest buying the mixed bags, or a preferred seller on ebay? So far i've just been buying the random bags from wohobby and I've enjoyed the process of picking through them.
No specific place I’ve had a couple off eBay but regardless of what the seller says they have already been sorted through.
You can try your local coin stores, as well. They will have picked through them, but that doesn't make it junk. A Bahamian 1 cent piece of which there are hundreds of millions won't be valuable, but my be just what you need for your set, for example. With my LCS, too, they know the value and I'm only paying 10-15 cents (CAD) per piece.
Check your area for coin shows, too. Might make for an exciting outing and a lot of vendors will have bulk lots.
And of course, keep reaching out here for swaps. It's an excellent community for building both knowledge and collections.
I occasionally plunge and buy a mixed bag, mainly to look for variants and possible errors it can be a painstaking task at times but a tenner for a bag of coins is neither here nor there. My most notable find was the three variants of the George VI Indian 1 pice holed coin in one bag, but I guess that’s why we do it.
That's re-assuring. I think a big part of my anxiety is that I just have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to figuring out what grade a coin should be and that has given me some anxiety about future trades with some of you pro's here. I make up for this lack of experience with photo's and hopefully everyone is understanding that I'm just a novice.
I've been reading a lot of archived posts and learning quite a bit and I think I've got the basics down. So between going back and trying to apply a grade to each coin in my swap list and working on my "World Coin Zoo Book" that should keep me pretty busy.
I guess tossing 10-15 bucks a week on a bag of random coins isn't really too much of a loss either way, and hopefully everything hasn't been cherry picked.
Do you have a place that you suggest buying the mixed bags, or a preferred seller on ebay? So far i've just been buying the random bags from wohobby and I've enjoyed the process of picking through them.
You can also ask your friends and relatives who might have some coins from abroad (if you haven't done this already). Or you can tell your colleagues at work about your hobby so they can ask their relatives and acquintences (if you don't want to keep your collection a secret of course😉). It might be surprising how many world coins can be obtained this way and people are usually glad that their coins can make someone happy. Plus, these coins are usually not sorted in any way, which could be an advantage. You probably won't get any treasure this way, but it is good enough for a start.
You can try your local coin stores, as well. They will have picked through them, but that doesn't make it junk. A Bahamian 1 cent piece of which there are hundreds of millions won't be valuable, but my be just what you need for your set, for example. With my LCS, too, they know the value and I'm only paying 10-15 cents (CAD) per piece.
Check your area for coin shows, too. Might make for an exciting outing and a lot of vendors will have bulk lots.
And of course, keep reaching out here for swaps. It's an excellent community for building both knowledge and collections.
Happy hunting!
👍 My local coin store has a bin of world coins at 20 cents each. As mentioned by coin_goblin, that way you can just pick the coins that fit your collecting themes, and let the others go.
Thanks everyone for the great advice. I'm excited to grow the collection, mostly just for the fun of it. I think that's why making the “zoo book” is appealing to me.
I'm going to swing by my LCS tomorrow and see what they have in stock. I'm also pretty excited and waiting on a coin show near me. I've never been to one but I imagine It will be a lot of fun.
I picked up a few books on world coins that should arrive later this week. I also picked up a guide on grading. I've been trying to use a few online charts with descriptions and samples but all the samples are of morgans or us quarters/pennies and I'm not sure how that translates. I've been having fun with this as well. I've already had to go back and downgrade or raise an estimated grade on a few coins based on new knowledge.
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost." - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
What have you done to me you have stirred my curiosity 🤣🤣 I’ve just ordered a box full of coins to look through, there looks to be a nice ike dollar in the box photo, so I’ll see when it arrives
What have you done to me you have stirred my curiosity 🤣🤣 I’ve just ordered a box full of coins to look through, there looks to be a nice ike dollar in the box photo, so I’ll see when it arrives
Oh man, lets hope they send whats in the photo. I've seen so many listings using stock photos that I just know it's people selling the scraps/culls. I'm just looking for someone who really hates animal coins and wants to get rid of all of them in their collection.
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost." - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
Sometimes you just can be lucky: a few years ago I bought a lot with 300 animal coins, all XF/Unc and some silver in it, for 168 € (average of 0.56 €/piece) at a beginning auction house.
Sometimes you just can be lucky: a few years ago I bought a lot with 300 animal coins, all XF/Unc and some silver in it, for 168 € (average of 0.56 €/piece) at a beginning auction house.
Oh wow. Those look so nice. I just ordered a 200 coin lot, all UNC/XF (according to the seller) and every coin from a unique country. for 75USD.
I've purchased from this seller before and the coins I got were for the most part in good condition so I'm optimistic this will be a fun box to dig through. Plus it will help me color in my map some more :)
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost." - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
I initially joined this site to use the awesome collection feature to organize and track my US Quarter and small coin collection. I've since been hooked snagging any world coins I can find.
My Girlfriend and I have been working on finding key years for our family as well as anything with a Plant or Animal featured.
I picked up a bulk bag on ebay and we got some interesting things. But that's where I figured I needed to pump the brakes and make sure that wasn't a bad idea.
I would like to pick up a bulk bag or random supply every few weeks just so we have something to dig through, but I'm concerned that these kind of “deals” on ebay are mostly junk and coins no one would want and that I would be wasting my time even adding them to my collection and sharing here.
Is this a valid concern?
and also, does anyone have any suggestions on the best way to get lots of coins that are not total garbage to pick through? Or the best way to not over pay for junk coins?
Personally, I think they might have some good coins in them, coins that would be hard to get on their own, but it is somewhat of a gamble whether you get them or not. Part of the price you should consider is the fun of looking through the coins as well.
Sometimes you just can be lucky: a few years ago I bought a lot with 300 animal coins, all XF/Unc and some silver in it, for 168 € (average of 0.56 €/piece) at a beginning auction house.
Oh wow. Those look so nice. I just ordered a 200 coin lot, all UNC/XF (according to the seller) and every coin from a unique country. for 75USD.
I've purchased from this seller before and the coins I got were for the most part in good condition so I'm optimistic this will be a fun box to dig through. Plus it will help me color in my map some more :)
The package for my bulk buy arrived this morning, there is a 1971 ike dollar a couple of decimal crowns and a really good selection of world coins some in better grades, I will be adding a lot to my swaps list quite soon.
It sounds like you need to seek an LCS (Local Coin Store) those often carries bulk world and national currencies
I've been working on that, I have two in my City and the one that is most likely to have bulk world coins is currently closed for a month while the owner takes vacation with his family.
The other place leans more heavy into gold/silver bullion and gave me a strange look when I asked if they had any bulk bins of world/foreign currency. I'm just waiting on the other shop to re-open to see what they have.
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost." - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
It sounds like you need to seek an LCS (Local Coin Store) those often carries bulk world and national currencies
I've been working on that, I have two in my City and the one that is most likely to have bulk world coins is currently closed for a month while the owner takes vacation with his family.
The other place leans more heavy into gold/silver bullion and gave me a strange look when I asked if they had any bulk bins of world/foreign currency. I'm just waiting on the other shop to re-open to see what they have.
Great to hear always build up an good repetour with you LCS they are your best tool to get what you collect after all
