New to collecting

[Remington332-migration]

Hi everyone,

 

I am new to coin collecting (thanx for all the responses on my silver eagle question over on the coin tangents section). I am looking for expert advice on what books to read and possibly what series to collect (and the best way to collect them). I am mostly interested in walkers, peace dollars, morgans, washington quarters, jefferson nickles, and mercury dimes. Any advice on which one of these I should start out with (I'm thinking peace dollars or mercury dimes)

 

I know very little about grading and varieties. Should I collect by volume or quality at first? Do you reccomend that I collect holdered coins?

 

Also, any tips on storing coins?

 

I am in the Columbus, Ohio area (if that helps). I am a student at OSU (so I don't have a ton of money or time). Thanks everyone.

[jtryka]

Well, when I was in college, I stopped collecting entirely as it infringed too much on my beer money! Peace dollars are certainly an achievable set, but there are a few that might run close or a little above $100 in circulated condition. Personally, as a student, I think it might be nice to start with Jeffersons as you can put together a pretty extensive set at face value just by searching rolls (my set is 90% from circulation). Plus, that is the type of set that you could store in your room and not worry about drunk roommates spending it on beer (you can replace Jeffersons easily, but spending Peace dollars on beer can ruin a friendship for life! ). I would recommend looking at a lot of coins at a local shop or coin show in order to learn how to grade (again, collecting Jeffersons from circulation will ease your early mistakes on grading, nothing worse than spending $100 on a BU peace dollar to learn later that it is cleaned). Buy some books, I'm sure Hoot can recommend a book on Nickels, the only one I know is David Lange's book on Buffalos. As for storing, many of my raw sets are in either Dansco or Whitman albums (this includes Morgans, Peace, Washtingtons, Kennedys, Roosevelts, pieces and 3cns, so you can find them for everything practically. You could store them where you live (refer to the drunken roommate scenario above) or a safe deposit box, but you'd probably want to get more of a collection going before you could justify the $50-60 for a safe deposit box per year (that's what I use, rather than a home safe). Hope this helps, and good luck and HAVE FUN whatever you decide to do!

[spy88]

Remington,

 

First, I wish to welcome you to the boards!

 

As for your questions, I would suggest you narrow down your choices to just one series based on what you WANT to start collecting, not if you can AFFORD to collect them. You will always be able to stash a little away for buying coins, even if its just a couple of bucks a week. Set an affordable amount aside each day, week, or month for purchases. In the mean time, you know what you want to collect so learn as much as you can about them. READ---READ---READ!!!!! The time will come when you'll feel sufficiently confident with your knowledge to venture into the arena of numismatics. If you are under 25 years old, you have SO much time ahead of you! There isn't any need to rush into anything. Your interests will grow and may change over time.

 

AND join in with the rest of us "COINERS" (collector/investors) here on the forums as often as you can!

[Hoot]

Books, books, books... Buy them. Buy more of them than coins, for now. When you buy a coin, make it one you are dead sure about in terms of your collection - not just one to learn from and then send along the way. (You'll do that more often than you would guess anyway.) Collect only what you can afford. You'd be surprised at how many series and how many ways to collect make this hobby affordable. Countless ways...

 

Go to shows and look! Explain to most dealers that you are a starving college student and they'll be glad to let you hold coins that only fantasies are made of (for most of us). (At the Portland show, I got to hold the most wonderful 1799 MS66 $1 - I can still see it in my mind and feel it in my hand.)

 

"AND join in with the rest of us "COINERS""

 

I prefer coin nerd.

 

Hoot

[CarlWohlforth]

It is fun and easy to give advice, so I will Hopefully this interest will develop into a longterm and rewarding interest for you.

 

You need to buy "A Guide Book to United States Coins" by R.S. Yeoman. This is known as the Redbook because of its red cover. It lists every year and date of US coin along with mintage info. There is also a little information on grading.

 

You don't need to spend money to collect coins. You can try to assemble one coin of each date and mint mark from change. I enjoy doing this with the state quarters. I started collecting Lincoln cents like that when I was a child many years ago.

 

If you collect from change you should only save the very finest coin you can find. You can always look for better examples.

 

It is probably not a good idea to spend money on expensive coins that are not certified by NGC or PCGS. One should also know as much as possible about a particular coin and series before doing so. However many of us, myself included, bought the coin before the book. In my case it was a learning experience because I wasted money doing so.

[Bruceswar]

Some of the best advince I got when I was a kid growing up was .....

 

"Buy one nice coin instead of a couple of average ones" "10 years from now the nice coin will still be nice and worth that much more" Also another good I have found for grading is it visit www.heritagecoins.com and look at what they hae to offer. They offer some of the best images on the internet... You can get close up to them and examine them well.

[sanmary]

Personally I like to say that my main focus is Mercs, but I've been known to purchase any coin that appeals to me. What is your budget and are you looking for circulated or Mint State coins. A type set can be a great way to go also...gives me an excuse to buy a coin that I don't have. Let us know.