Ron Guth

Ron Guth is a jack-of-all-trades and master of one — numismatics. Ron is a certified public accountant (CPA), a licensed auctioneer, and a writer, but the bulk of his time is spent on his true love — coin collecting and dealing. Ron’s battle with coin fever began when he was 12 years old, and he’s never gotten over it. After a decade of collecting, Ron went professional in 1976, when he began working for a local coin shop in Tampa, Florida. In 1978, he partnered with David Goldsmith and purchased the Bay Area Coin Exchange in Tampa. Ron and Dave blasted through the silver boom, and then split up in 1981, when Ron moved to Evansville, Indiana (his wife’s hometown), where he set up shop on First Avenue. In 1984, Ron formed Mid-American Rare Coin Auctions with Jeff Garrett of Lexington, Kentucky. The company quickly established itself as an innovative leader in the industry and, within the first year, became the fifth largest rare coin auction company in America. In 1988, Ron sold his interest in the company, went back to school to finish his bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance, and has since become a numismatic consultant and a major dealer in German coins.
In 1984, Ron won the American Numismatic Association’s Wayte and Olga Raymond and Heath Literary awards. He has written many coin-related articles and is listed as a contributor to several books, including Walter Breen’s Encyclopedia of United States Coins, Krause Publications’s Standard Catalog of German Coins, Roger S. Cohen’s American Half Cents, Walter Breen’s Encyclopedia of United States Half Cents, and others. Ron has served as a numismatic consultant for many rare-coin companies, including major firms such as the Professional Coin Grading Services, Heritage Numismatic Auctions, and Early American History Auctions.

Articles & Books From Ron Guth

Article / Updated 03-26-2016
When you’re ready to buy or sell coins, a price guide is essential. By subscribing to NumisMedia (phone: 949-362-3786), you get weekly updates on price and availability. When you decide that you’re serious about U.S. coins, Coin Dealers Newsletter (phone: 310-515-7369) becomes a must-have as well. Most professional coin dealers and serious collectors get both.
Article / Updated 04-23-2021
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.
Article / Updated 04-23-2021
Forty years ago, your spare change might yield all kinds of things: Indian-head cents, buffalo nickels, Mercury dimes, Standing Liberty quarters, Walking Liberty half dollars, and plenty of the more modern silver coins that had been discontinued a few years earlier. These are all but gone, but recent developments have brought all kinds of people back to coin collecting, and budding numismatists are searching their spare change for treasure.
Article / Updated 11-04-2021
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).
Article / Updated 11-04-2021
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.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
Most coin collectors read at least one trade publication to see what’s happening in the industry, who has coins or currency for sale that may interest them, who’s buying what, timely coin prices, coin show and auction schedules, and similar current information and news. The following list contains links and some info about the periodicals you’ll want to add to your reading list: Coin Prices is published six times per year.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
The more you know about coins, the more interesting and fun coin collecting is. The easiest place to look for information is on the Web. And then coin collecting is just a hop, skip, and a mouse-click from being as profitable as it is interesting. Some Web sites to start with include the following: CoinFacts.com: CoinFacts.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
Many rare and valuable coins are traded through auction houses. The auction houses in the following list are some of the most respected. Contact at least several of these places, and then go to a live coin auction and follow the excitement and action yourself! Heritage Galleries (phone: 800-872-6467) Stack
Article / Updated 11-04-2021
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.