I had read that only as close to mint as possible, and full steps. That collectors are only looking for fullsteps and war coins. That the only way to get a decent collection is to buy them.
so I can "google" stuff on here? I'm still learning the navigation of this site. Just punch in a question? Ot is that more of a real Google thing?
I'm trying to be a collector, I just got into it this last week or two. And yeah, having some shining examples would be nice, but im a cashier and amd pretty much just checking out my till daily. So everything is circulated.
Helen, Jefferson nickels are an excellent choice for a beginning collector on a limited and modest budget. You can, quite literally, complete a circulating set of this series by simply combing through rolls and rolls of nickels from the bank. It would take a long time, but it has been done. The only real “stopper” coin for this project might be the 1950-D and the 1939-D, both rarely found in circulation anymore, but some people do find even those with extreme persistence....or you can just go purchase these at little cost. The main thing is you should read up on Jefferson nickels. Get a Red Book. Learn how to grade them. Then get yourself a Whitman album and start filling the holes. Always seek the highest grade examples you can locate. If you have the collecting bug in you you’ll be hooked and you will eventually want to move on to more challenging series and types. But this is a great way to learn the hobby. Keep in mind that there are tons of educational resources online for coin collectors. Any decent web search engine will help you locate them. Have fun!
One more thing, Helen. Research die varieties and error coins in the Jefferson nickel series. An excellent book would be The Cherrypicker’s Guide. Another is “Strike it Rich with Pocket Change.” They will whet your appetite to become a coin roll searcher.
Thank you! That's so far the best advice I've gotten. So collecting books are called Whitman books? Do they do all denominations? I can order those next payday.
Then you're in the right place and we welcome you without reservation. Keep doing it how you're doing it. None of us started the same exact way. Different interests led us here. Don't ever stand for anyone telling you what your interests ought to be, that's a personal choice. Just get that Red Book, first chance. You want to know if what you're finding is any good, it's the first use one gets out of it. Think of it like a users manual on how to collect coins. And that about covers it at this point. Good luck.
While most of my collection is silver or over 100 years, I searched nickel rolls a few years ago. Very much fun, not for profit. The 39 d I found while on a trip to Pittsburgh PA was a rush. Not as nice as the one in my album but as valuable to me. Lots of things to be found in nickel rolls. I’ve found hundreds of Buffalos, some Barbers and even one Shield nickel But the errors are even better and almost nobody looks for them. I’ll post a few. Larry