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.

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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...