If you receive any solicitation about investing in coins, keep these points in mind.

Check the grades of any coins you buy with an independent source. Be cautious about grading certificates and "slabs," especially those furnished by coin dealers. Many of the third-party grading services encapsulate or "slab" a coin in an acrylic holder with a grading number. This can protect the coin from further damage and reduce the chances of having a coin of a lesser grade substituted for one of a higher grade. If you use a grading certificate or slab as a second opinion, be sure you understand what they represent. Grading is not an exact science, and a certificate or slab represents no more than the opinion of the certification or grading service. Find out if the grading service is indeed independent of the dealer, what grading standards the service used, and what is the service's reputation in the industry. Also because grading standards vary, coins certified by different services will be worth more or less than other coins of the same grade. Weekly periodicals or sight-unseen trading networks list prices for coins that have been certified by various services. Check the prices for those coins you are considering.

* Comparison shop. You need to be concerned not only with grades, but with prices as well. Consult several dealers before buying. Check prices in leading coin publications or sight-unseen trading network lists to make sure you are not being overcharged. Sight-unseen coin trading networks offer only the lowest-priced bids being offered for coins. Several publications list representative wholesale values for fine coins of various issues and grades. These values generally are higher than the prices consumers can expect to receive if they were to immediately sell their coins, and lower than the retail prices consumers may be charged to buy the coins. Consult such publications prior to trusting dealers' representations about the current value of coins. If a dealer's advertised price is much lower than the price listed in these publications, then the dealer may be misrepresenting the quality or grade of the coin.

* Take possession of any coins you purchase to ensure they exist and to be sure that they are properly stored.

* As with any consumer purchase, be wary about giving your credit card number to strangers, especially over the telephone.

Compare different web sites about coins to learn as much as possible before investing in gold coins.