Hello, I have been looking at some pictures of some American coinage and it looks great! As I'm English I don't know a lot about American coinage. I want to start collecting it and I don't know where to start, can someone guide me?
Start with a book! Yeoman's A Guide Book of United States Coin, aka the Red Book. It's got pictures. It's got descriptions. It's got every US coin. It's only $15 (or less).
I will have a look into buying it! Do you know what a good coin is to invest in? £200-300 price range.
Heya Frank, welcome to CT. No coins are really a "good, safe" way to invest. I would suggest the Precious metal market if I was looking to invest. First of all, as FB said, keep your eyes peeled for a Redbook. It will show you many different kinds of coins most people don't even know existed and it will give you an idea on what you want to collect. Are there many shops in England that sell Canadian and American coins? You should peruse ebay for a while and see what kind of coins are on there, it will give you a rough idea on what coins will fit into your price range.
Thankyou, I don't know anywhere that sells American coins. I just wanted to know a few decent coins to buy really before I buy a guide.
Welcome to CoinTalk! It's quite a broad field. My original suggestion would have been to get a copy of the "Red Book" (As FreezerBurn suggested), but if you object to purchasing a book, then check out the different series at any one of a number of online sites. Coinfacts.com is a decent place to start (ignore the text about the new site, and just browse the old site.) It has pictures of the different series that are available. If you're interested in modern coinage, check out the Mint's website: www.usmint.gov If you want something older, there are many here who will make suggestions.
£200-300 is about $308 to $462 USD to spend? Jefferson Nickels and Roosevelt Dimes are two you might consider.
I cannot recommend a single coin within the price range you've specified. I am a "from pocket change" collector and have bought just four expensive "key" coins in more than 40 years. Even now I do not consider them as investment (for turning a future profit) coins.
Welcome to CT! Heck for that amount you should be able to pick up a Morgan CC in one of the more common dates or you could start out with a quarter eagle, maybe. Depends where you're buying from. :kewl:
It is kinda hard for someone to tell you which coin you should buy. The way I decide on coins is just by what coin appeals to me personally. After all if you don't like looking at the coin what good is there to buying it.
Yeah your right. I think I'll stick to English hammered, I don't even know where to begin with American stuff.
One of the members of the NGC forum lives "across the pond" as he likes to put it. His usernanme is Dooly. He likes to collect U.S. coinage. There are three sayings that many collectors in the States often use: Buy the book before the coin! and Buy the coin, not the slab! and Never, never buy raw coins on eBay unless you or someone you know and trust knows the seller! These are pretty good rules to live by. Chris
