Looks like you've gotten quite a bit of good advice so far. If you're just starting out and like the history aspect of money, I might suggest looking for a book called "History of the United States Mint and its Coinage" by David W. Lange. It's a very interesting (and fun) read. If you decide to go with US coins, that might help you decide which series interests you the most. Personally, I would recommend starting with the uncirculated Lincoln cent collection from 1909. It's only a matter of time before the penny becomes obsolete and production ceases. This might be a good time to secure some of the tougher dates. Make sure you study up before investing big bucks on the key dates. Eye appeal and strike are very important...and there are a lot of counterfeits out there, too.
There is a minor, yet noticeable difference between the two grades. It could be a few extra marks or a fingerprint, etc. Once you have enough knowledge on grading, you can tell the difference easily. Here's a site that can help grade coins from PCGS: http://www.pcgs.com/photograde/. You can also go to the past Guess the Grade threads (you don't have to look hard for them) and understand the difference. You'll likely get okay looking coins, but that depends on what you're getting. Unless it is a half dollar/dollar coin, it'll be the same quality as in a cash register.
Hello jbaker, Welcome to CoinTalk. There are several knowledgeable people here that are always willing to help with questions when they can. However, my telling you what coin to collect would be much like telling you what car to buy or what girl to marry. Only you will know what coins you want to collect. Everyone has given you good advice in this thread IMO. If you are attending the FUN show in Orlando, then send me a PM and perhaps we could meet on the bourse floor. ("bourse floor" is the exhibit area where all the dealers have their tables with coins for sale). I think many collectors (like me) begin by completing date & mint mark sets from circulation or coin shops. Another collection might be to get one of each major coin type from 1900 or 1800 to present. There are albums that you can buy & then shop for coins until you fill every hole. Consider getting a book describing how error coins are made & you might find interest in collecting the mistakes from the mints. The only rule(s) I suggest that you follow is that you only buy what you like & have fun doing it. NEVER buy a coin that you don't like. Don't think that you will like it more after you get it into your collection. Get lots of books and ask lots of questions at CoinTalk (1 subject per thread).
JBaker, if you are new at coins, grading, etc. I would not buy any coins yet. My thoughts would be to due the following, (apologies to those who have read this before): 1. Buy a Red Book and ANA grading book 2. Get a bag of cents, nickels, or both 3. Go through each bag separating out the coins by grade. Use the grading book to guide you. This will get you used to grading, (a critical skill you simply MUST learn how to do yoruself). Once you are done, go through each pile and see if you still agree with the grade. Learn from yoru mistakes. 4. When you are done, start with the highest grade pile and pick out one of each date/mm. The rest go back into the bag. Do this until you have picked out the highest grade date/mm for all of the coins you have. Now you have the basis of a collection of these coins, all for face value, and taught yourself a little how to grade and use your Redbook. Cheapest way I know to start, and learn. Take the rest of the coins back to the bank. If you wish, pick another denomination and repeat. There is never TOO many coins to look at and grade. The only way to learn is to do. Once you get good at this, then you can start worrying about buying coins. Honestly, if you cannot tell the difference between two grades, you really have no business buying either. Slabs are not protection, you need to learn to grade yourself. This is exactly how I have helped many new collectors to start, and it works very well. I myself started this way. Chris P.S. If you wish to buy an inexpensive, cool coin to reward yourself for getting into coins, that is ok. I know the lure of owning a large cent, or an old silver dollar is a great temptation. That is fine, just buy an inexpensive example until you personally know why a higher priced one is worth the extra money.
I'm new and learned most in the last few months by (1) attending all the local store weekly auctions, (2) buying the Red Book, Numis Grading Book, and a collection entry book, (3) learning about historical silver values online: kitco, coinflation. Then I got my feet wet lurking this site, which is obviously great. I set a weekly limit on what I'd bid on, then slowly saw the collection come together. A great lesson one gent taught me is, "You can't collect everything." So there's nothing wrong with one of each, this and that, but you'll naturally gravitate toward certain styles. That's a good thing! I haven't touched e-bay yet, since I'm satisfied supporting my local stores, and I've learned who to trust. Enjoy!
Sound like you are off to a great start Clint! You may try what I posted just for practice and fun. I know I sound like a broken record, but there literally is never too much practice learning to grade. Grade is simply a fundamental cornerstone of this hobby. Chris
That is a great tip, Medoraman. I did that precise thing a few months back, except with a few rolls of Winged Liberty dimes :thumb: next thing ya know, I was looking closely at the ones for $3 at the local weekly auctions, and then I ended up with a few nice ones to look at.
Would a complete collection of Eisenhowers consist of both proofs and unc coins? and are proof coins rated differently than unc coins? I've noticed some coins with ratings of PR69 and others similar to that. I'm guessing the only way to prevent myself from buying with counterfeits is to only buy from trustworthy coin shops and established eBay coin dealers? And I guess it would also be a good idea to post a link to a coin I'm interested in buying, and have some of you guys look at it first to make sure it's legit. And thanks for the book recommendation, I'll definitely check it out! As an Admin of another forum, I'm ashamed for having never visited that part of the forum and finding all of those links. I already found one (link below) that that I was going to post another help topic about, now I don't have to! http://www.collectorscorner.org/pocket.html#Pennies My next help topic was going to be about helping me pick my wife out....dangit! I think the first coin I buy (and collection I begin) will be an Ike, but I'm not opposed to buying one of those books and slowly completing it over time. Thanks for the tips! I actually have a bag of change I've been meaning to sort through to see if I have anything good in it, and with GDJMSP's link to the resources I found a site that tells me what to look for, and now I can do that at and practice grading them at the same time. I'll let you guys know if I find anything decent! Do your local coin stores have auctions for coins? Or were you bidding at them on another site? I did find another site for bidding on coins (besides eBay), but they didn't have too many 1971-S Eisenhowers available. And I believe I'm going to buy my Red Book tonight.
Yes, they are completely different animals. They are not graded the same, they are not even made with the same methods. No, most definitely not ! You need to stay completely away from ebay until you know what you are doing. Excellent idea ! No problem. You just to start it in the correct section - General Discussion. I can provide you all the help you need
So I looked through all of my change and using the link below, I sorted all of the ones that could be of value into a separate pile. I've got 3 dimes, 17 quarters, 2 dollars, and about 20+ pennies. Now I just have to find a magnifying glass and look for what could possibly make them higher value.
Yes, several stores in my town have weekly auctions, with bid boards. Each has slightly different bids increases and deadlines. Obviously each reflects a facet of the character of the store and its proprietor. I enjoy visiting all of them as my schedule allows. I now consider this one of the coolest things about my hometown
I'm in a similar situation, I have been collecting out of my pocket change for a year or so but I haven't been purchasing anything specifically for collecting. I have been seeking out the older silver stuff but I have also tried to collect a full set of the states. What are the best coins to look for in pocket change, and what are some good authorities for coin grading? I can see whether it looks shiny and new but I don't know all of the technical terms nor what the grades mean.
This is what I use for grading. But I'm also new, so I'd like to know if there's better... http://www.amazon.com/Grading-Stand...=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324597116&sr=1-6
This is the book I recommend. The ANA is supposed to be the standard setter. How TPGers can vary from that is another thread topic.
Here is a link I found earlier that shows some coins you should be looking for in your pocket change. http://www.collectorscorner.org/pocket.html
A good place to start would be the Barber Quarter and Half series. Fairly easy to grade under AU. I would begin with Half Barbers F-VF. Look for an uncleaned natural looking half barbers with full LIBERTY on the Obverse or atleast "LIB."
At the Fun show in Orlando you could purchase a book to house the Ike dollars & see virtually every grade of every Ike for sale. You might consider gleaning the bourse floor for raw (not slabbed) Ikes that could cost you only a few dollars each (except for the silver ones) and basically fill the book. Each dealer would probably give you his advice on each of your purchases & if you see me, I would be glad to work on the project with you. I'm trying to tell you that the FUN show is a wonderful opportunity that you really should not miss. People travel thousands of miles to attend the show & you only need to travel from Jacksonville.
Hello Medoraman, Your post contains great advice. I found my first error coin while searching Lincoln cents to fill a Whitman folder. The year was 1969 & my local coin shop offered me $8 for the cent. That was an offer of 80,000% profit (800X) and I still have the coin in my collection. I believe it is worth $100 to $200 today.
