Coin Collecting

Coin Collecting - Starting Your Collection

Collecting coins as a hobby is fun and easy. You just look through your change everyday and pick out the ones that interest you. Or the ones that are different or unique.

Everyone knows wheat pennies are old and so are buffalo head nickels. And if you look closely, you can still find them being spent everyday. But, if you're interested in coin collecting for profit or as an investment, there's more to it than just looking through your pocket change.

Coin collecting is a very serious business for a lot of people. People all over the world make their living with it. Coin collecting has been a business for generations. And there's the very real chance of losing a good chunk of money if you just jump in with both feet without knowing what you're doing.

When you're first starting out, take it slow. Do your homework. There're many different areas of coin collecting to get into.
Look around and find a specific niche that interests you. If you just jump in and start buying everything that catches your interest, your collection will have no order or consistency.

Then later on when you do began to concentrate on one particular area, you'll just have to sell the other coins to make room for what you're really interested in. And this could result in financial losses.
You could start by visiting a local coin shop or attending a coin show. That'll give you an idea of what's out there.
Read more...

Coin Buying Tips

Set a limit and stick to it

- It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of finding a coin (or two) you've been looking for and spending more than you should. If you set a limit on how much you're going to spend before going to a coin show or into a coin shop it'll be easier to stay within your budget.

Don't invest more money than you can afford to lose. Nothing is guaranteed to go up in value.

Look for coins graded by a major grading service

- There's lots of grading services but not all of them are reputable. Become familiar with the major services and stick with them.

Buy from established dealers or shops

- You wouldn't buy stocks from just anyone and you shouldn't buy coins from just anyone either. At least not unless you're a long time expert. Buying from reputable dealers or shops gives you the ability to return the coin if you decide you're not happy with it.

If it sounds too good to be true

- Yep, it probably is. Nobody's giving coins away, so that unbelievably cheap coin is probably just that-cheap.

Major coin shows can be a great place to find both a large selection and a large variety. The dealers come from all over the country and they're very knowledgeable. And they're usually quite willing to share their knowledge.

Buy a good book on coin grading, then you can learn about the grading for the coins you're interested in before you buy them. Read more...

Handling Your Collection

When it comes to collectable coins, the less they get handled, the better. They're best kept in a coin holder, with as little contact as possible. The better the quality of the coins, the more important it is to handle them properly.

If you have to handle them, it's best to hold the coins on their edges. The less contact with your skin, the better. Fingerprints will quickly lower the value of uncirculated coins.

You also need to keep the coins away from your mouth. The moisture from your breath can eventually cause spots on the coin. Some collectors and dealers wear gloves and masks when handling coins.

If you need to place your coins on a surface, a clean, soft velvet cloth or pad is best. Don't drag the coins across any surface. Scratches will greatly reduce the value.

Cleaning is another easy way to reduce the value of a coin, sometimes by as much as half. A shinny coin is only good when it's the original shine. If a cleaning is absolutely necessary, the services of a professionally is strongly recommended.

Tarnishing's a natural process called toning. When it looks good, tarnishing can increase the value of the coin.

If there's dirt on your coins, you may be able to remove it by soaking them for a few days in soapy water or olive oil, then thoroughly rinsing with water. Don't dry them by rubbing them. Rubbing the coin, even with a soft cloth will cause scratches. Read more...

What Type Of Collection To Start ?

Many collectors have a particular theme for their collection. The very real possibility of completing the collection makes collecting exciting for many collectors.

Some themes are of course, easier complete than others. As well as less costly.

Country

Collecting coins from a particular country, or a collection of coins from every country that issues them.

Year

One of the most popular methods of collecting. Collecting a particular coin from every year it was issued. The Lincoln penny is a good example. You can purchase books that are designed especially to catalog this type of collection.

Period

This group includes coins from a particular period in history. It also includes coins from a particular century. Or those issued during a particular civilization or monarch's reign.

Subject

Coins usually depict something. A collection can be of coins depicting the same or similar subjects.

Composition

Collecting coins based on what type of metal their made of is a popular category.

Variety

When thousands or even millions of one particular coin is issued there's usually more than one die. These dies often have slight differences. More differences are found in older coins since the dies were hand carved. An interesting collection could consist of a coin from each die.

Mintmarks

The mint mark tells where the coin was made. With several different locations minting coins and in different quantities thereby making some mint marks rarer than others, collecting the different mint marks makes for an interesting collection.

Read more...

Who Collects Coins?

There are basically 4 groups of coin collectors. While maybe not every coin collector fits into one or more of these categories, most do. The categories are inheritor, hobbyist, investor and hoarder.

The majority of coin collectors start out in the inheritor category. Some coins are passed on to them from a relative. Or maybe they were given to them by a friend or the coins were just found in their change.

However the coins came into their possession, the new collector didn't purchase them and usually has no knowledge of coin collecting. Once in their possession, if these coins spark an interest, the inheritor becomes a collector.

The hobbyist collects coins for their artistic or historic appeal. They enjoy the challenge of trying to obtain all the coins in their chosen categories. The hobbyist can easily move into the investor category.

The investor sees the opportunity to increase their original investment in coins. They can appreciate the artist appeal of the coins, and may get a lot of personal pleasure in the process of completing their collection, but their main reason for collecting is the potential return on their investment.

Then there's the hoarder. They collect coins just for the value of the coins. Their collections usually include everything they can get. They have no interest in the artistic or historic appeal of the coins. For them the value of the coin is the face value or the value of the material the coin is made from.
Read more...

Hoarding Or Collecting

To some people there's little distinction between hoarding and collecting coins. Both have been going on for centuries and both result in the owner having an abundance of coins.

But hoarding is generally done for either the face value of the coin itself or the value of the materials the coin is made from. And collecting is done for the artistic value of the coin.

Hoarding coins has been around longer than coin collecting. For as long as coins have been minted, people have been hoarding them.

Coin collecting as we know it today, is thought to have originated around the 14th century. It was once referred to as the hobby of kings. Probably because only kings could afford to keep coins for their artistic appeal and not worry about their monetary value.

At that time in history, most people were too busy trying to feed and cloth themselves and their families to worry about a coins artistic value.

Today, coin collecting is something everyone can participate in. Although cost is a factor, small or specialized collections can be easily affordable.

The government has even made coin collecting easy for the average person. The state quarters are collectable coins that can be acquired for no more than 25 cents a piece.

They can be found everyday in anyone's pocket change. The more recent issuance of the presidential coins is another easily collectable coin. The U.S. government began issuing these coins in 2007 and they're easy to find. Read more...

Common Coin Collecting

Coin collecting used to be a hobby for the rich. They were the only ones that were able to consider coins art. Everyone else had to use their coins to buy food, clothes and other essentials of life.

But time changes everything and now coin collecting is something anyone can do. Everyone from all economic levels can afford to collect some type of coins. Coins pass through our hands everyday.

What could be easier to collect than something you come into contact with so often?

Old wheat pennies are still in circulation. Buffalo nickels and silver dimes still get used as change everyday. Foreign coins seem to make their way into everyone's pocket at one time or another. Coins with mint dates that span the century are as common as rain.

Even non-monetary tokens are considered acceptable subjects for coin collections. Instead of wondering what to do with that left over bus token or amusement park token, start collecting them.

Casino chips make colorful collectable items. Start taking those wooden nickels. Add them to your collection of coins with no monetary value.

If you're looking for a collecting hobby to start, but don't have a lot of cash to put into it, coin collecting can be the perfect choice. A few dollars worth of change can get you a nice start on a great coin collection.

And the best part is, you may not even have to go any further than into your pocket to start it. Read more...

Collecting Coins

How do people start collecting coins? Do they just wake up one morning and say hmm, I think I'll start a coin collection? Well, maybe, but for most collectors, it starts with a gift.

Maybe a friend or relative has a hodgepodge collection of old coins. Nothing special, just some they'd been holding onto for years.

This collection gets passed on, and that sparks an interest. Maybe an interest in the coins themselves and their history, or maybe the potential earnings is what catches the new owner's interest.

Some people realize the profit potential of coin collecting. And that potential is all they need to get started on their collection.

Other people just start finding coins that interest them and start their collection that way. There are even some that decide they want to start a collection and then decide on coins.

Coin collecting has a lot going for it. You can start with little or no investment. Pretty much just the currency value of the coin is all the initial investment you have to make.

You come across a wheat penny, buffalo head nickel or an old dime and decide to put it aside and your collection has started.

Or you could start with the state quarters that are being issued, or the newer presidential $1 coins. Whichever you choose, these coins are easily obtainable. You can make the effort to find them, or you can just make it a daily habit to look through your pocket change. Read more...