Young Collector

Give him 10 years, he'll get bored with U.S stuff eventually!

 

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Don't think anyone has mentioned this, don't clean your coins! Whenever you have a problem, start a thread and call Dr. @Insider to the scene. Welcome to CT, am a semi-new collector myself and you will learn a lot on CT, mpre than any book I have read could teach me (Still read books on coins, very helpful). As for what coins to buy, find something small you can find in pocket change like you are doing now, and while doing that read the forum and some books and gain some knowledge about coins and the whole grading process before jumping straight into the wilds of coin collecting.

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Hey I'm 24 and have been collecting since I was 7. I started working at 16, minimum wage. And let me tell you, when I lived at home all I had to buy was gas and pay for my cell phone. I went nuts on ebay buying anything I liked, however I have other hobbys that took my money too. But honestly buy anything you can afford now. Once you move out and/or start seeing someone, coins will not be a priority. I still wish I could have bought more and I bought my 1909 s vdb, 1922 no d and many other great coins all while living at home.

This is the time to do what you want and buy what you want now before your money has to go towards rent and college or whatever expenses come your way.

 

Thanks for all the advice I had a huge collection of wheat pennies and someone stole my whole collection plus all my copper rounds all I got now is a couple coins and bills and my folder of national park quarters.

 

Aw man that's a bummer! The worst part is it was probably someone you know.

 

Welcome to CT!

 

Yeah it was and it sucks because I had some ms older wheaties

 

As a fellow young collector, I have to say that I enjoy collecting pennies, albeit not slabbed ones. I find they're quite easy to find in MS condition for almost all memorial back dates from rolls.

 

Well thanks for all the help and suggestions I am going start working on building knowledge and collecting instead of just buying random stuff that interest me.

 

Just some simple advice...start a 401K or a 403b if your employer offers one first. Coins come after that with what you can afford after putting 15-20% of your income away for your future. It may not please you much right now to try and save that much but after all, you will not be living at home forever...hopefully.

 

Given the reference to living at home with parents and the rather low income, I don't think this is a possibility.

But, I would take the opportunity to start saving early. If you make $1200/month and live at home, you can easily put away $500/month. Just do it and resist all temptation to touch the money. Once you have $2000 in the bank, you will literally be ahead of most Americans in terms of savings.

But, don't stop there! Once you have $2000 or 3 months' worth of expenses in the bank, whichever is greater, you can start an IRA and watch your savings grow to support you in your later years. Some of that money could even be your future coin money.

Make sure you have a budget, too. Not just for coins, but for everything you have to pay, and additional savings for things you are going to need to buy in the future. For instance, you may need to buy a car or something, so establish a category for that. Coins come under the "entertainment" category, in case you were wondering.

You can learn a lot cheaply or for free by going to coin shows, looking at coins, talking to dealers and other collectors, and with a few introductory books. I'm glad you're resisting the urge to buy coins right away. Take a little time to find an interest and start learning, then start collecting. It could be world coins, or Lincoln cents 1959-1982, or Franklin halves, or ancient coins, or whatever (just to name a few rather accessible areas you could look into). Don't let others fool you, either: the numismatic world didn't end in 1964! Clad coinage is a perfectly fine thing to collect, and there's plenty to learn about and discover.

Whatever you do, have fun, meet people, learn things, be aware you're going to make some mistakes, and don't worry about it. Learn to spot cleaned, altered, and fake coins. Don't spend too much money in the beginning and your lessons will be cheaper.

 

I personally think a better alternative to putting cash in a savings/checkings account (which earns basically 0 interest), you can invest some of the money in gold/silver coins/rounds/bars. Since you know about coins, and most likely watch the market, you can know when is a good time to buy/sell.

 

The point of cash in a savings account is not to earn more money; it's to have money available when there's a need for it. You don't want to have to be selling gold bullion when the transmission on your car goes out (for example).

The IRA is for investing for the future and should be invested in a diverse portfolio of stocks and bonds. Timing the market is a fool's errand, whether it's about stocks or gold or whatever.

 

Those coins were/are $20 or less?

 

Ah the Dark Side...where awesome coins can be had for little...

 

Well I am proud of all the help on here I am going start collecting some scrap silver also because usually only a few dollars at the flea market I can find some good coins

 

I support the notion of collecting what you like, but I always question the practice of only buying graded bullion coins not intended to circulate. Buying bullion from a trusted source should be almost a no brainer.

I know an active duty Navy man who burns a lot of cash unnecessarily with graded bullion. He refuses to heed my advice on this and I'm already sad for him on the day he goes to sell.

"Que sera, sera" as the song goes.

 

Well I am going try to do graded coins from the state I am from and coins the year I was borm

 

I bought a birth year proof set that looks beautiful at a fraction of the cost of graded pieces, and had more $ for other coins.

I wish you the best in your endeavor.

 

Thanks for the help I really am a beginner collector I just want some coins that will carry good value years to come.