Best coins to collect

Hello, I am very new into collecting coins. I recently inherited my coin collection from my uncle. The collection consists of many low grade coins such as wheat ear cents, some buffalo nickles and Mercury dimes, Kennedy half dollars, Eisenhower dollars, Sacagawea dollars, Morgan silver dollars, some silver American Eagle dollars. I am wondering what coins would be worth getting more of. I would like to complete a set of some of the more expensive coins. would it be better to collect the cheap Lincoln cents first and then the more expensive coins? or sell my Lincoln cents and use the money to purchase more expensive ones. Any advice and input would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you, Kyle

 

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The only possible answer is to collect what you love. Many reasons:

1. You get a better "return" from the hobby in the form of enjoyment.
2. Since you love them, you study them more and become a better buyer
3. Your knowledge of your beloved series will enable you to spot rare varieties.

Do not let anyone ever tell you what coins to collect. Its your hobby, your rules, your enjoyment. If you want to collect US coins, get a copy of the redbook, read through it, and decide what you like above all else.

Chris

 

First, welcome.
And second, this is truly a question that only you can answer. Every coin has it's fanboys. Lincoln wheat cents are huge, Morgan dollars are huge.
If you're just dipping your toes, depending on what you have, the Eisenhower Dollar series is fairly short and more or less easy to put together. Might be a good jumping off point. You could look for the Eisenhower Dansco w/ Proofs, but there are some varieties that are not in that album (FEV, '72 TI,II,III).

 

Which coin do you like best? Which one speaks to you?

There is no strategy to coin collecting... no rule book or method... and that's what makes it so enjoyable. You can go raw or slabbed, prefer nickels over dimes, collect only error coins or only those in MS (mint condition)... it's your call, there's no right or wrong anwser

Wellcome to CoinTalk :welcome:,

C.J.

 

For a new collector my advice would be not to start buying expensive coins until you are more knowledgeable about grading and value. Other than that collect what you like and have fun.

 

Wow, thank you everyone for the quick responses. I was thinking about finishing my Lincoln wheat cent collection since i only need 10 more to complete, its just that one coin costs 900$. Other than that i will need to think what interests me once i look into everything a little more. Is there a certain collection that is relatively cheap to complete. I am only a 17 year old kid, but am very interested

 

Since you can't decide maybe a type collection (Dansco 7070) would be a good place to start. Find one nice example of each type of coin, by the time you finish you should probably have a favorite.

 

I am always a fan of type collections, especially for newer collectors. Excellent recommendation.

 

I was thinking something silver, because it is worth something, and i dont know why, but i am attracted to the well conditioned shiny coins hahaha. Is the Morgan Silver dollar collection a good idea for a start?

 

Its fine, lots of people do it.

You will have some very expensive coins at the end to collect, however. Another problem is there are lots of cleaned or otherwise damaged coins in morgans if you are wanting to collect them unslabbed. If you collect slabbed you will be peying a premium. There are also a lot of fakes out there nowadays.

Best advice, any way you go, don't spend too much until you know what you are doing.

 

Morgan Silver dollars would be easy to find and in lower condition would cost you under $30. Most of the value is in the silver and not the coin. If you can afford the price it would be a good place to start since you could probably resell them later if you change your mind. Not sure how often you would be able to spend $30 on a coin at the age of 17. I would combine a morgan collection with a Jefferson/Lincoln collection that you put together out of pocket change. It wouldn't likely we worth more than face value but it would allow you to aquire coins more often.

 

Great advice, Chris. Please allow me to add that the OP should take some time to learn beyond the basics before jumping cash in-hand. Enjoy what he has and see what happens before spending money on anything other than books.

Ten posts no one has bashed the redbook yet? Something is funny in funnytown tonight.

 

I actually do have a 2013 version of the red book my dad bought me when i got the collection. Is there something wrong with that? should i not use the red book or something? and i have a reputable coin dealing just 20 mins away from my house, so i trust the owner enough that i will get legit coins to buy, and also in the right condition for my sets. what do you mean by slabbed and unslabbed?

 

Redbook SUCKS!!!!!!

Eh, if you do not even know the difference between slabbed and unslabbed coins, then I wouldn't go making the assumption that your dealer will treat you fairly. Not saying that he won't, but it's better to not make assumptions in this instance.

BTW, slabbed coins are those that have been graded and enclosed in plastic cases by third party grading companies. :thumb:

 

what is wrong with it?

 

There's not necessarily anything wrong with it, I was just trying to make a funny with respect to BooksB4Coins's post. Sorry, didn't mean to be misleading.

Redbook can give you a general idea about coin pricing, however, if you are looking for the most accurate, current listings then you'll want to get a copy of the Greysheet. But, price guides will do you no good if you cannot accurately determine the grade of coins that you are interested in buying. Schooling yourself on coin grading, and developing an ability to determine whether coins have been cleaned would be the best places to start.

 

I would go further and say every new collector should own a redbook, (assuming US coin collector). Its a great wealth of knowledge on one small volume. The only thing "wrong" with it is too many new collectors overly rely on the prices it lists. Its a GUIDE, (says so on the cover), and as such its prices are approximate and dated. The information, though, inside the book is EXTREMELY valuable for new collectors.

I read my first redbook so thoroughly it literally fell apart. Its a wonderful start to US coin collecting, and anyone who collects US coins and does not read it are doing themselves a huge disservice.

Chris

 

Personally I would encourage this attitude. As everybody has said, collect what you love. But if you happen to love silver, it has the added advantage of, as you said, being intrinsically valuable.

Read up on what is called "junk silver." These are pre-1964 US coins that are made out of 90% silver, but are common enough that their silver value outweighs their collectible value. They can typically be purchased for only slightly above their melt value at any coin show. They are a great way to build a collection and retain their value.

Just check the price of silver per ounce on any given day (it fluctuates like the stock market). $1.40 in face value of pre-1965 coinage is equal to one troy ounce of silver.

 

Welcome to the neighborhood, Kyle!

Since you're only 17 and just starting in numismatics, I don't recommend that you try to work on a complete set of Morgans, at least for the time being. You see, there are about a dozen coins that, even in AU grades, could easily cost you $75,000. If you like the look of the Morgans, there would be nothing wrong with building an initial set representative of each mintmark - Philadelphia, San Francisco, New Orleans, Carson City and Denver (1921 was the only year produced in Denver.) The only caveat I would offer is that you buy only Morgans certified by either NGC or PCGS. There are just too many raw, problem coins out there and there are unscrupulous sellers more than willing to take your money and run. If you were to work on a mintmark set in, say, MS64, you can get almost all of them for less than $100 each with the exception of a CC. An 1882-CC would cost you about $150.

Someone mentioned the Ike Dollars, and I think this is a good idea. It only takes 32 coins to complete a Dansco album, and it would only cost you about $200, total, for uncirculated specimens.

As others have said, there is no one way to collect coins, and you can build whatever kind of set you choose.

Good hunting!

Chris

 

It has to do with how many here complain about listed values. Some claim they are outdated, yet seemingly fail to realize where redbook prices come from or that any outdated values would have more to do with metal prices than numismatic changes. With common, average collector types, values are usually on the high side, but with many infrequently traded coins its actually low. Either way, if you already have a copy, make good use of it.

No disrespect to Cherd, but for anything other than regularly traded issues, the graysheet can be just as worthless as a redbook. Also, depending on where you are buying, the dealer may not be willing to sell at CDN. For someone new and in your situation, numismedia might be a reasonable guide to use until gaining knowledge/experience with whatever series you wish to collect, but I still think you should take the time to learn before doing anything else. The quality of a coin you buy is more important than getting it at whatever guide price.