Coin Exchange FAQ

Written by Ioannis Androulakis & Marcel Zumstein

Maintained and Hosted by

Ioannis Androulakis

Last updated on October 7, 2008


Introduction

This document describes what you need to do in order to exchange coins with other coin collectors worldwide. It addresses some of the most common problems you are bound to face and provides useful information that simplify and accelarate the process. The answers to various questions are valid for amateur coin collectors exchanging low value/circulated coins. The guidelines below are pretty long, but you probably won't need to read all of them. I am trying to keep the content of this FAQ to the bare minimum, however issues that require our attention keep coming up.

The original idea behind this FAQ came from a not-so-patient friend of mine, who was waiting for the coins he had agreed on exchanging. He was feeling quite frustrated, because the other person waited to receive the coins first and then sent his own. It was then that I felt the need for some unofficial rules when exchanging coins. I searched for a related FAQ online, but since I could not find one I decided to spend some time to form this document. If you feel the content of this FAQ is reasonable and you maintain a site about coins, please provide a link to it. You may use the following code:

<a href="https://www.fleur-de-coin.com/exchange/tradefaq.html">Coin Exchange FAQ</a>

Alternatively, you may simply copy this file and provide it as is -that is without modifications- from your site.

This material is updated periodically and you can always find the most recent version at https://www.fleur-de-coin.com/exchange/tradefaq.html. Comments, suggestions, and/or corrections to this document are welcomed. If you would like to change this document in some way, please make the desired modifications to a copy of the posting, and then e-mail it to me. Suggestions for additional topics are also welcomed, especially if you're willing to write a response to the question. Contributors will be acknowledged in the FAQ.


Table of Contents

Introduction

Finding other Coin Collectors

1. Where can I find more Coin Collectors to trade?

2. Where can I find a list of people I should avoid exchanging with?

Exchanging

3. What do I need before I start contacting other people?

4. What is considered 'good manners' when exchanging?

5. Building a list with the coins you offer

6. What is considered 'bad manners' when exchanging?

Packaging

7. How should I pack the coins?

Mailing Services

8. Should I send the coins as 'Express' or 'registered' mail?

Acknowledgements

9. Individuals who contributed


1. Where can I find more Coin Collectors to trade?

Several websites created by coin collectors worldwide contain lists of people eager to exchange coins. In most cases you can include yourself by filling out a form with your name, e-mail address and comments about the coins you collect, or other useful information (e.g. your homepage -if available- etc). A simple search in the most popular search engines such as Google, Altavista or Yahoo will reveal most of them. Below, I have compiled a list with the largest websites available today, in alphabetical order.

[If your site is missing, please let me know and I will add it to the list as soon as possible.]

2. Where can I find a list of people I should avoid exchanging coins with?

It is really unfortunate that a handful of coin collectors cannot agree on a universally accepted list of malicious people. In numerous cases, coin collectors have expressed their complaints about certain individuals in their homepages, but nobody -as far as I know- has compiled a formal 'black list'. I should point out however, that some of the people included in such 'black lists' may have been added unjustly (e.g.. personal differences with the website's owner) or by mistake (e.g. often packages are simply lost). On the other hand, finding someone's name in several different lists is a serious indication that he is not to be trusted. Below I have included the largest websites available today, in alphabetical order.

[If your site is missing, please let me know and I will add it to the list as soon as possible.]

Only two words come to my mind when I review the situation today; fragmentation and disorganisation. In order to effectively protect ourselves, we should merge all available lists and form a single, universally accepted and well documented list of bad coin collectors. In my hubble opion the new list should follow the guidelines included below:

3. What do I need before I start contacting other people?

Although exchanging coins doesn't require any particular/special qualifications, there are some things -that most take for granted- which simplify the whole process. Assuming you have an Internet account and some coins to trade, you should really consider forming a list with the coins you offer. It is absolutely necessary to have one, as it will make your life -and ours- easier and faster.

The language barrier is probably your first obstacle in a coin exchange. Some times, you will be contacting people who speak the same language, in most cases however this will not be true. This means you must have a working knowledge of a wide-spread language (e.g. English). Mentioning such a requirement may sound unnecessary or even excessive to most, but the truth is I have been contacted by people with such a poor knowledge of the English language, that communication was almost impossible. Alternatively, you may try an online translation service which is offered for free. Unfortunately, the resulting text is often unreadable, so some guessing is usually required to understand what it really means. Take a look at:

[If you know of another translation service worth mentioning, please contact me as soon as possible.]

You must also have a Latin version of your home address, that is without the special characters of your language's alphabet. For instance, although I am Greek I do not assume that all computers have the proper fonts installed to display the Greek alphabet. The same limitations apply to other languages that contain non-Latin characters. This is a minor annoyance which will probably be eliminated in the future. In summary, all you need are the following simple things:

In most cases, a web-based e-mail account is preferable to the e-mail address provided by your ISP, for reasons listed below. Take a look at e-mail Addresses for a complete list of all free, web-based e-mail providers worldwide. Of course these free accounts have a series of disadvantages too:

Web-based emails
+ -
Changing ISPs doesn't change your e-mail address,
so your address remains valid in the various collectors lists
Web-based e-mail accounts are often slow,
e.g.. hotmail is giving me a hard time with large attachments
You can trade coins without an Internet account, by simply checking your e-mails from a friend's computer or Net cafe
(not advisable)
Your e-mails are limited to a certain webspace,
e.g.. hotmail allocates only 2MB for e-mails
Vacation replies
You can set up an automatic response when you are on holidays, informing people when you will be returning
Spam !
Large numbers of unsolicitated e-mails,
that waste your time and precious webspace.
It's Free! Your e-mail account can expire,
e.g.. hotmail, if you don't log-in for 30 days

For those who think that web-e-mails are too slow, a mail forwarding service might serve the same purpose even better.

4. What is considered 'good manners' when exchanging?

This topic is highly subjective depending on your unique personality. In general, I should think the following practices are considered 'good manners' or at least acceptable:

Contacting the other Party:

During the Negotiations:

After the Negotiations:

5. Building a list with the coins you offer

First of all, you really must have one. It will simplify and speed things up considerably.

6. What is considered 'bad manners' when exchanging?

When you are exchanging coins, you are taking a risk. A small -depending on the value of the coins-, calculated risk. You are exchanging goods with an individual you have never met and you know nothing about. That said, you have to realize you must place some trust in order to make such a transaction possible. You have to believe that you are exchanging with an honest person who has no intention of cheating you. It is a compromise that both parties are making, so don't feel in a disadvantage. You have your doubts and the person lying some thousands miles away has the exact same fears. Here is a list of practices I have encountered and consider 'bad manners':

7. How should I pack the coins?

Coins should be packaged securely for shipping. The reason is two-fold. First and foremost you will want to protect your coins when they are jostled during shipping (and they will be jostled). Secondly, any package that reveals it contains coins is an open invitation to unscrupulous people to steal the package or try to remove some of its contents: Improperly packaged in an envelope, a coin's outline can show through the envelope once it has been "pressed" between other envelopes or packages. Any package that rattles with the sound of coins jingling is a theft just waiting to happen.

8. Should I send the coins as 'Express' or 'registered' mail?

Although this is a topic that the two parties can easily agree upon, I would say none of the two are -in most cases- required. In general, I would send the coins express or as registered mail, in the following circumstances:

I don't think I have to point out however, that because of the extra expenses these two services entail, it is only logical that both parties make use of them.

9. Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the following individuals who have helped and contributed to this document:


The Coin Exchange FAQ maintained and hosted by

Ioannis Androulakis