Coin collecting forums are composed of an “online community” of coin collectors who meet over the internet to discuss numismatic topics. Sometimes called a coin collecting message board, it aims to enrich the social ties among coin collectors as they post various topics on what else but coins.

Coin collecting user groups aim to provide a worthwhile exchange of ideas among their members.  Most common topics may include:

•    Questions (members asking about a certain coin, where to buy this and that, etc.)
•    Comparisons ( comparing prices and grades, and so on)
•    Polls (members’ opinion on investing in certain bullions, etc.)
•    Updates (new coin issues, prices of gold, silver, etc.)
•    Buying, trading and selling

If it is your first time to visit a coin collecting forum, you may encounter these terms:

•    member – a person who has registered in the user group
•    post – an electronic message that contains the topic, user’s details, date and time it was made
•    thread – a series of posts started by the first post or original message
•    moderator – or simply, the mod is the moderators of the discussion. They can delete posts that do not follow forum’s the guidelines
•    administrator – or the admin, overseer the site’s technical details. The highest in the hierarchy of the web-based forums

Registration

Just like any of its kind in the internet, coin collecting forums require their users to register. Users usually undergo a verification process and are made to agree on the terms and conditions provided by the forum administrators.

Once registered, they become members and are required to have a username and password that he or she uses to log in. Sometimes, members are asked to make a little biography or profile. However, forum guests (those who were not registered to the user group) are free to view the members’ posts but they cannot participate.

Forum rules

Coin collecting forums are governed by certain rules and regulations to make sure all will go perfectly well for members during the discussion. General codes of conducts when posting a thread or in forum interactions include but do not limit to the following:

•    no using of foul language
•    be polite in group discussions, avoid personal attacks
•    no posting of unrelated topics, pictures, and links. Post numismatic topics only
•    no spamming