Antiques & Collectibles: Expert Guides and Resources

Five steps for starting your card collection Set your budget: Extending beyond your budget is one of the easiest mistakes to make in the hobby. Set a strict budget, and remember that your overall financial health is more important than any card. Find your taste: Explore the hobby and all the exciting designs and concepts it has to offer.

The fine and fun hobby of collecting coins has a long history and no doubt a long future as well. If you’re collecting in the here and now, though, you need info on grading services, price guides, and auction houses, not to mention helpful magazines and websites.Professional grading servicesThe two industry-recognized professional coin grading services are Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC).

Unlike so many hobbies and pastimes that kids can participate in, coin collecting can last a lifetime. Your niece, the avid skateboarder, isn't going to be doing a kickflip when she's 50. And your son, who's totally into video games, isn't going to be staring at that TV screen for the next 30 years (despite what all signs point to today).

Throughout the years, people all around the world have experimented with a variety of items to denote value. The natives of Papua New Guinea valued the dried carcasses of the bird of paradise. The early Chinese created copper money in the shape of knives. Native Americans made and used wampum (clam shells, handmade into beads, polished, drilled, and strung on strands of leather) as a medium of exchange.

You're going to spend some money on furniture and accessories, so you may as well buy something that can hold its value after you use it. Antiques often have a greater chance of retaining value than new machine-made furniture. Plus, antiques add a sense of warmth, history, and character to your house.Whether you are purchasing antiques because of their beauty, or because you simply love older things, or because you are hoping that they will hold their value, the best rule is to buy what you like — and to keep your "RADAR" out for values.

The most important choice you make as a coin collector is deciding on which dealers to do business with. Certainly there are more good dealers than just the ones in the following list, but these offer a few good places to start: Heritage Auction Galleries (phone: 800-872-6467): Home of numismatists James Halperin and Steve Ivy, Heritage sells as many coins to collectors as anyone.

Because money is a limiting factor, no matter how much of it you have, figure out how much you want to budget for your collection and then decide where to spend it. Here are some suggestions for interesting and challenging ways to collect coins: Denomination: Try putting together a complete set of all the different denominations issued by the United States.