Now What?: Beyond Beginner

Ok. You've read through my website, maybe you've done a little outside reading from the Recommended Reading list, and you've got a bunch of coins. Maybe you've been collecting for a while but your interest is lagging. Or perhaps you're coming back to the hobby after some time off from it. What's the next step? How do you carry the hobby further or renew your interest? There are many directions you can take to cross the border from "newbie" into the intermediate or to renew your interest in the hobby:

The collection itself can always be expanded, completed, or improved. Take a closer look at your collection:
Is it totally random, with no theme behind it? Try specializing in a particular type of coin.
Do you have one example of each type of coin? Good, now try for all the years that coin was made, all the mint marks for each year.
Is it all one type of coin or all from the same time period or country? Try branching out to other types of coins, other time periods, or other countries.
Are some of the coins in bad shape? Try to find a better example of the coin that's within your budget.

Supplies and reference materials periodically need to be updated.
How are the coins stored? Is there a more organized method or a better way of protecting them?
Do you have any books for identifying or pricing coins? How old are they? Maybe there's a newer, more complete edition out.

Do some research in areas related to coin collecting- the history of specific coins or of coins in general can be fascinating depending on the coin and the time period. Go to a mint to see coins made or try to find museum exhibits of coins from other time periods.

Learning how to grade coins is an extremely absorbing task but a very worthwhile skill. There are many factors to consider. See the FAQ:How do experts decide what a coin is worth? to get an idea of what needs to be considered when grading a coin. Being able to accurately grade a coin will be very useful when you want to add to your collection.

Meet other people in the coin collecting field: fellow collectors, dealers, appraisers, etc. Advanced collectors usually have an extensive network of contacts that helps them answer questions and buy and sell their coins. For more info on meeting people in the coin collecting field, go to the FAQ:Where can I find more information?.

Subscribe to a magazine : They have in-depth articles on topics within the coin collecting field and keep you up-to-date on news in the community, including new coin releases, scams to watch out for, shows in your area, and more.

Any one of these methods alone can be enough to renew your interest; trying to do a little of all of them will help keep your enthusiam for coin collecting going strong for a long time.