Читать книгу Coin Collecting For Dummies - Neil S. Berman - Страница 14

Sure, you could rush out to the nearest coin dealer and fork over a bunch of cash for the first shiny coin you see. But in the trade, a common expression is “Buy the book before you buy the coin.” I recommend getting familiar with what’s out there first. Maybe ancient Greek or Roman coins or coins from the biblical period suit your fancy. Maybe you’re blown away by coins from the Byzantine Empire or mowed down by medieval European coins. You have unlimited choices in these areas alone; turn to Chapter 5 for the lowdown.

On the other hand, maybe you’re more interested in modern U.S. coins. If so, you’re not alone. The U.S. Mint has sold coins to millions of people in the past few years. That’s a lot of collectors, so you can count on meeting all kinds of new people and making friends as you build your U.S. coin collection. For more on U.S. coins, check out Chapter 6.

Maybe you’re more interested in collecting coins from around the world than you are in sticking with the red, white, and blue. You can collect by country, by denomination, by date, by size, or by topic. Coins go in and out of style, too — maybe not as fast as fashion trends brands of blue jeans, but there are trends in coin collecting, and as a collector, you should be aware of them. You can find more on this topic in Chapter 7.

Finally, even though you may not think of the word wild when you think of coin collecting, trust me: Numismatics has a definite wild side. If you fancy yourself to be a bit of a rebel, or if you like to tread the road less traveled, all those rare, expensive, odd, and curious forms of money may be just right for you. In Chapter 8, I fill you in on what’s out there, touching on collecting the coins in the best of conditions and investigating all manner of tokens and dies along the way.