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.

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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.
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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...