If you love history and collecting, you can combine both passions by becoming a collector. With so many objects to collect, however, how do you choose? How about starting a collection with something you might have in your own pocket? That’s right, coins! It doesn’t matter if you have quarters, dimes, nickels, or pennies. Your coin collection can begin with the spare change you have in your pocket.
Coin collecting doesn’t have to be an expensive hobby. In fact, it is probably one of the easiest objects to collect. You also don’t have to be very knowledgeable to start a coin collection. Many times potential collectors aren’t sure where to begin, and they may have many questions. Do I start with one type of coin, or should I collect a variety? Should I stick to easy-to-find coins, or should I try to collect rarer ones? How much money do I want to spend? Do I only want to collect, or should I try to buy and sell?
If you are considering beginning a coin collection, you have probably asked yourself one or more of these questions. The answers really depend on your own personal preferences, and you may not discover what those preferences are until you begin. The most important step you can take when beginning, however, is to invest in a good coin collecting book. You’ll want a book that covers all of the U. S. coins. Once you’ve bought the book, take some time to read at least excerpts from it concerning different coins. You may discover that certain coins interest you more than others.
The next step you might take is to buy a few coin folders. These folders will be designed for specific coins. You can buy coin folders that have dates under each slot, or you can buy folders that are blank. The coin folders that have dates will help you determine what coins you need to complete your collection. Often these folders will cover a specific number of years.
Keep in mind, however, that you may never completely fill up a folder. If the folder covers older coins, many of those coins are considered quite valuable. You will have to be willing to invest a significant amount of money to complete a folder for older coins. If you are not trying to complete a set, but you do want to keep up with the dates that you find, you might enjoy using a blank coin folder. This way you don’t have to leave any of the slots empty.
Once you have decided what type of coin or coins you want to collect, you need to decide how you will go about finding them. Of course, you may be able to get some of your coins simply by checking your spare change. If you are going to build your collection, however, you will need to expand your search. The Internet provides many opportunities for coin collectors to enlarge their collections. There are online auction sites that give collectors just like you an opportunity to buy and sell.
You will need to consult your coin collecting book to understand the different values and grades of coins. Once you have become more familiar with the specific terms, you will probably want to start off buying inexpensive coins. As you become more experienced in judging the value of coins yourself, you can start to purchase more expensive coins. The more you buy and sell, the more savvy you’ll become. As you continue to buy coins, you may find that you get more for your money if you buy sets of coins. This doesn’t mean the sets will be complete. You would likely spend an exorbitant amount of money for a complete set. Instead, the sets you buy will probably be close to complete, but they won’t have the most expensive and rarer coins. As you buy sets, you can keep the coins you need, and then you can put duplicates back up for auction. This is an excellent way to build your collections.
Of course, online auctions aren’t the only way to buy and sell. There may be many local coin collecting shops in your area. Don’t be surprised, however, if you have to pay a higher price for coins bought in these shops. After all, the shop owners will probably have a significant amount of overhead, and thus, they have to charge top price for their coins. Still, it may be beneficial to you to check these stores out, whether you are buying or selling. How much you money and time you spend on your coin collections is completely up to you. The beauty of collecting coins, however, is that you are also investing your money. Coin collecting is a great hobby for any age, and the art of coin collecting will never die.
