Now I know that depends on several factors. So let me start by this I only plan to invest $50-$150 per month if that in collecting. I am not after coins worth a lot but want to start a decent collection to educate and share a hobby with my four boys. So far I have the average every day Joe State Quarter Collection and just bought a 2004 Silver Proof Quarter Collection. But I really want various coins old and new. So far I have bought a Morgan and a Peace Dollar and a Walking Liberty. Also picked up some wheaties, Indian Cent , Large Cent, Barber Dime and Quarter, Mercury Dime and a few Buffalo Nickels. What direction would you recommend for a new collector on a budget. I thought about collecting all the mint sets, but I am really interested in Older Coins!
You have a really good start. I suggest you buy a "US type set" album to give you a sense of organization. Then start tracking down coins based on your budget. Within a year, you will have a really good looking set going. You may discover that you have a special liking for a particular series. I myself am partial to large cents; 5 major designs, thousands of varieties. Above all else, have fun and find a dealer that you can trust. If you don't have any coin books yet, you really need to get them.
First let me say that it should be you who decides how and where to collect based on your interests and those of your children. That being said, joecoin's suggestion of a type set (one example of every coin design) iis a great place to start.
Well my dad does the same thing you are wanting to do so I will give some ideas ASE-- they are silver and at a nice price. Franklin Half dollars-- they are silver..old..and I get them at about $3 apiece And then Mint sets also some proof sets...might want a mint/proof set from their birth year. What about morgan dollars 100 years before their birth year... Speedy
I have in the past, and will always do so in the future, recommend collecting Jefferson nickels as a way to get into the hobby of numismatics. Why? Because there isn't a single other series where you can go to the bank, buy 1, 5, 50 or more rolls, take them home, spread out the coins from each roll on the kitchen table, and spend time with your sons/daughters looking for (here is the KEY) and finding just about every date/mm to get them well started on a album with very little out-of-pocket expense. From here, you discuss and grade each one you find. No other US coin series can be done this way or as cheaply or as fun! I work in a casino here in Vegas. I used to routinely take home $100 bags or 50 rolls of nickels to search thru. I found just about every year and/or every mm for the series including a 1939 DDR. Granted they will not usually be in the best of condition---but you'd be surprised how good some of them will be. Once you are comfortable grading Jeffersons, you can use this to base branching out to buying the ones you can't find or wish to upgrade. From there, into other series.
Excellent advice. May I add that you can do the same with Kennedy half dollars. Sooner or later you will find the 1964 and 1964-D. )But probably not the 1970-D).
It really depends mostly on the new collector and to a lesser extent how much he wants to spend. It makes no sense to try to invest in coins especially if you're new. It is impossible to predict what directions the market will take in the future and collectors tend to do much better than investors anyway because they'll take the time to learn about the hobby and filling collections is the best way to assure that you acquire rare coins in addition to the less scarce issues. This leaves personal favorites as the best means to determine what to collect. If you like the design of a coin like the buffalo or the mystique of the large cents than these are the coins for you. The later date coins do though have a great deal going for them especially for beginning collectors and those without lots of money. Not only do the newer coins tend to be much cheaper but there is less risk of making costly grading mistakes. Most good quality moderns can be purchased for nominal amounts or found "free" in circulation. The thrill of the hunt is in the difficulty of finding attractive specimens in any grade. These coins do get pricey in the highest grade and there will be risk because of the large spreads in prices at these levels but learning your series and a little about grading will protect you from much of this risk. Most collectors of these coins also pursue the varieties which are available in circulation and which can be excessively rare. Whatever you decide to collect, never lose sight of the fact that the hobby is primariky for fun, education, and a diversion. So happy hunting.
I recommend Morgan Dollars in brilliant uncirculated condition. You can get some of the old dates at reasonable prices. The American Silver Eagles and the American Gold Eagles are beautiful bullion coins. I highly recommend them.
I am starting to learn this can be fun and not cost a lot. I went to a local dealer today just to look. Said I wasn't going to buy anything. We bought a few holders I thought I needed. Then I remembered a BiCent Quarter and Half and a 1976 Penny. So I Picked A BiCent Dollar, 1976 dime and nickel and a 2 dollar note. The total was around 10.00 w/40 cardboard 2x2's and a 6 Coin Plastic Snap to hold the 1976 coins. So I have a circulated set and gave it to my 10 year old. The smile it brought was worth a $100.00. This gives us both something to do besides spending all our time at the gun range shooting. I think he is getting bored with that so what a way to introduce him to a new hobby. On the way home I stoped by the bank and got a $2.00 roll of 2004 nickels we just finished sorting them. Out of 50 we found 3 that were really great so we threw them in a 2x2 and now he added that to his collection. So far his collections is worth $4.15 and he thinks he has a goldmine Also had to treat my self to a 2004 Proof set with all the coins but ordered that from the Mint.
I still feel that way myself. Today's best buy. 500 dateless buffalo's. Even us dealers still have fun......
you and your sons could work on birth year sets...first for you and them, and then spread out through the family to grandparents and older. i'm doing that now...the coins are circulated, fairly cheap, and they're just neat sets to have
You could go for a theme collection. So if you liked lions for example you could collect coins from all over the world with lions on. (I know people have done this), or eagles etc. It could be ships, cars, trains, animals, trees, notorious regimes (USSR/Nazi/etc) anything you want... (You'd be surprised how many foreign coins you can pick out of a coin dealers junk box for next to nothing). Another idea is to pick a decade, one that either interests yopu due to the history of the period, so if you was interested in the 1890s get coins from that decade. If you were born in the 1950s you could just collect 1950s coins... it's an alternative approach.
Geez, I forgot all about foreign (to the US) coins! Lots of people attempt to get 1 coin from every country. This is easy for the first 100 or so, then the real hunt begins.
You got a lot of good advice already. You have an interest in U.S. "Type" coins (Walker, Buffalo, etc.) and you seem to be the kind of person who would enjoy 19th century US coins such as the Seated series, the 3-cent silver and 3-cent nickel, etc., etc. Whatever you collect, with the money you say you have at your discretion, my advice is to buy the best coins you can afford, not the most coins you can afford. I realize that you are sharing this with your sons. However, it is better to spend $150 on three $50 coins, than on 50 $3 coins. Grade and Mintage are everything. You are going to have a much better experience with nicer coins. The best advice I can give you is to BUY BOOKS. That includes joining the American Numismatic Association and taking their correspondence courses. If you live in a larger town, your area's used book stores might have bargains for you. Buy the book, before you buy the coin," said Aaron Feldman. (See http://www.coin-newbies.com/articles/buy.html) The advice to buy books also includes joining local club, allowing that other peoples' experience is another kind of "book." Michael ANA R-162953
