Help for grandson new to coin collecting

Sounds good. I like that the Carson lens have that base. He can also use it for studying bugs.

Would you recommend the 4.5x, the 7x, or the 10x?

That makes sense. Thanks

 

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Hey. Who wears the pants there?

 

What do you want to look at/for?

 

I want to thank everyone for all of the great information and suggestions. I think my grandson is going to have a lot of fun and learn a few things, too.

I think I know what I am going to get him.

• The latest Redbook
• 3 albums: States, National Parks, Women
• One of the Carson magnifiers

I can't decide on the magnification power. The Carson magnifiers come in 4 powers: 4.5x, 7x, and 10x. The 4.5x comes in a kid version for watching bugs. Mr. Numismatist recommended 5X to 8X I think. So I m thinking of getting him the 4.5x bug viewer and the 7x coin viewer. That way he can compare and contrast.

Any comments?

 

Coins by a 10-year-old! Isn't that what this whole thread is about?

 

Depends on who has possession of the credit cards.... I saw your question about cleaning. Man, that is a subject that causes collectors to go to blows with one another..... We once had a young lady post that inherited her granddads dime collection. Her grandad was a heavy smoker and she wanted to rinse the collection to eliminate the smoke odor. Man, the gloves came off on this forum.... There are accepted methods of "conservation". Just leave it at this for now. Until your grandson becomes seasoned enough to make an educated decision, just tell him no cleaning. And no don't ever rub a collectible coin. That is a capital offense.

 

Good point. That's how it s here, too.

Good advice. Until he gets more into it, no cleaning.

Thanks

 

One more little piece of advice. One of our most benevolent members, @lordmarcovan does regular coin giveaways under the contest forum. Being a bit of an insider I happen to know that the giveaways tend to lean heavily toward young collectors that are excited about the hobby. Look up under the "contests" tab. I believe he just posted a new giveaway just today.

 

Copper coins can safely use Verdi-care for for removing excessive darkening of the coin. I have used it for years although it does need time depending on the density of the discoloring. Silver is a different thing. Most of the chemicals used require a lot of caution and step rinsing with pure water. As the danger of the chemicals rise so does the effect.

https://forums.collectors.com/discu...-j-sanford-saltus-dies-from-cyanide-poisoning.

 

I guess I should have been more specific. 7x is probably best. 10x is better for errors/varieties, but is a little too magnified for general use.

 

Cool. He would love that.

 

Thanks. That's what I'll get.

 

I'm surprised you didn't get more input on the cleaning. In general don't clean coins. The exceptions to the rule are for 70-year-old guys who know exactly what they're doing. A kid or new collector are not going to do it right and shouldn't be trying.

 

I think I got enough feedback here and elsewhere to know to tell him not to clean the coins. I'll get him a couple of albums to store them in and a small magnifier and see how he does. I can always add stuff later.

I am not going to tell him about this until I see how he does, but a neighbor just gave me a small jar with I would guess at least 100 coins that they acquired in their travels allover the world. If I get a minute, I'll post a photo. It also contains about 10 bills.

PS: I am a lot older than 70 and I still don't know exactly what I am doing.

 

When I clicked on that link, I saw this: "Unless you're entering on someone else's behalf, in which case they will get to pick the prize later."

How does that work? He doesn't yet have an email address or a mobile phone.

I suppose that to enter, you have to be a member of Coin Talk, right?

He lives about 150 miles away. Would it be better for me to have him join me on a Zoom call so he can watch me enter for him?

 

My wife and I fondly recall when our son was in preschool and they'd ask the kids to name a word that started with a certain letter and all the other kids would say things like "popsicle" or "zebra" and our son was saying "Philippines" and "Zambia" because of coin collecting.

 

Exactly! The more they can be exposed to, early in life, the better. And this kid is amazing. I have seen him sit for hours on a Lego project. While visiting with us when he was about 7-8, we gave him a rather difficult Lego kit. Something like 2,000 pieces. He sat at the table for 5-6 hours with very few breaks, carefully following the instruction books (I think there were 3 of them) until he finished it.