Brand new to collecting

Hello, My name is Vance and my son and I are wanting to get into coin collecting together. He is 8 and actually came to me wanting to start this as a hobby with me. Thing is we are brand new and have nothing nor do I know where to start. I was wondering if anyone had any advice for us as we get started. Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this post.

 

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Welcome to CoinTalk, here is a link to my first thread in the welcome forum from about 2 1/2 years ago. Click Here, Maybe what got me interested will help you and your son!

My World Coins here also is a link to a small gallery of some of the coins I have really enjoyed acquiring!

 

Hi Vance. Welcome aboard. Best place to start ????? Lincoln Cents, most of us started out with these guys. Have fun.

 

Visit a local coin shop if you have one nearby. You can pick up a nice sampling of coins for very little money, such as some common Morgans, Lincoln cents and buffalo nickels. A small collection of different and interesting pieces are sure to keep your kid's interest and a life-long hobby might blossom from there.
Guy

 

Hey Vance,
Get yourself a couple of coin books I suggest the Red Book for one and then get one on world coins and their values. Then you can determine what you want to collect. I think Ripley is right I started out with Pennies too. You can get rolled coins from the bank and sit down at the kitchen table with your son and start looking through the rolls for good ones. There are a ton of web sites that can help too and this one is one of them. Don't forget to stop in your local coin shop too. The guy at the town near where I live is very helpful. He likes when I walk in with something I found in a roll.
Good luck to you and your son
gr8outdoors

 

Welcome to the neighborhood, Vance & Son!

Before you start buying coins, knowing absolutely nothing about them, you should buy a couple of books to help you learn about the hobby.

As was mentioned, the Red Book of United States Coins by R. S. Yeoman and published by Whitman Books is a good place to start. You shouldn't use its price guide, but it has a wealth of information about every type of coin that has ever been used or made in the US for commerce.

You should also consider buying the American Numismatic Association Grading Standards for United States Coins by Kenneth Bressett and also published by Whitman. Since condition is one of the most important factors for determining the value of a coin as a numismatic collectible, it is advisable to learn at least the basics of our grading system.

Finally, the last book I would recommend (but certainly not the last one you may ever need as you grow in the hobby) is the Official Price Guide to Mint Errors by Alan Herbert which is published by the Crown Publishing Group. Even though you may not find any interest in collecting errors and/or varieties, this book provides a lot of useful information about the minting process. To understand how coins are produced will help you to understand how varieties and errors can occur.

These three books should cost you about $50 in all, but it will be the best investment you will make for this hobby, and they may prevent you from wasting hundreds or more for bad purchases.

As a last suggestion, you must remember that this is a hobby, first and foremost. Yes, it is possible to make some profit from collecting coins once you know what you're doing, but if you are considering coins primarily as an investment, then I would suggest that you buy real estate.

Have fun!

Chris

 

Welcome to the forum Vance.

In addition to the other suggestions you may want to visit the U.S. Mint's shop online store and look at proof and uncirculated sets.

http://catalog.usmint.gov/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&identifier=2000

 

I started out with silver coins because I know that silver is very unlikly to go down in value and I will always be able to get my money out of the coins if need be.
with that being said I started my collection about 3 months ago starting with Morgan Silver Dollars, then i started to buy the Walking Liberty half, mercury dimes, franklin halfs, anything silver!
Now I collect any us currency, but watch out because its an addiction! Sadly Being in the U.S. Military living on base prevents me from hoarding coins! Which might be a good thing.

Something you might considering is getting a state quarter book from ebay or alike and start putting every state quarter in there, you dont have to buy these coins you can just get them from circulation and that is something your son will be able to do also.
Also stated above pennies are a very commen and an easy thing to collect weather its the new lincon memorial pennies to the older wheat pennies.

Just talk to your son and find out what kind of coins you both like, post it on here and we will help you the rest of the way!
Welcome to CT

 

I recommend starting out with common circulating coins. Go to the bank and get some rolls of each coin. You can go to a store like "Hobby Lobby" or coin shops to find folders to hold those coins. If you have fun doing that and want to learn more, your next step should be reading a book or two on older coins. But starting out with current currency will keep you busy for quite awhile!

 

Hi!

I wish my dad would collect with me, but that's never going to happen.

Anyways welcome!

 

Don't hold your breath on that statement!
Less than two years ago I was buying up silver at 10 bucks an ounce all day to resell when it popped over 20 an ounce. Silver was 50 an ounce for a minute in the 80's than crashed for the rest of the 80's all the way through the 90's at only $4 to $7 Dollars an ounce. Precious metals are very volatile and always subject to change and most likely will be at the lowest price they have been in years the minute you need to liquefy some for cash. Poor, Poor, Poor investment strategy!

Personally I am waiting for it to come back to the $10 - $15 range before I buy any silver for the sake of holding for future profits. I believe it will not fall below $10 again, but that is not even a guarantee. It is also my personal guess that silver is very high at this time and even if it hit $40-$50 for a min it will most likely crash back below $20 again.

 

Didn't say its impossible just said its unlikly, I can see it dropping 10-20 dollars but the liklyhood of it staying there for a long time is unlikly, Silver and Gold bullion is always a good investment because mostly like its going to go up before you die.

 

Along with a Redbook and some of the other books mentioned, the above was going to be my suggestion as well. Find a local coin shop and browse.

 

If you don't know much about coins best place to start is your pockets. If you have a jar of change around sort through that. The way I got started was by cleaning out my attic my mom found some whitman folders, never found out who's they were, and I started filling the gaps with my pocket change. Now I moved up to nicer coins.
If you know a little more you can decide what you want to collect if you want to specialize you collection (wheaties, silver coins, commemorative coins, special dates I.E i bought a 1992 silver proof set for my birthdate) or just grab what comes your way. After you get a little more familiar wih what you like and want buy some books and do some research. depending on what you collect with depend on what books to get.

 

If I was just starting out and looking to spend the time with my son I would go to the bank and ask for a box of pennies ($25.00) its 2500 pennies and you will have a blast with your son looking through the box. You might not find any key dates but you will find wheat pennies and newer coins. I bet seeing you two are just starting out it will take you a weekend to go through the box. a Red Book is a must for your first book. Enjoy! Just a warning " Coin searching roll's can and is addictive"!

 

Welcome & have fun.

You & your son should first get the red book for US coins and then discuss what coins you want to begin collecting. US State quarters or Lincoln cents might be a logical way to begin because you can easily get a coin folder & begin filling it from coins from the bank. Presidential dollars are another possibility because you can get them at face value from the bank or near face value from a coin dealer. The Presidential dollar collection can become quite valuable & you can always get face value for it (although I doubt you would ever sell it). Once you learn more about the different US coins, you might begin collecting one of each coin for a US type set or US modern mint products. Perhaps coins from the balance of the world would interest you. World coins interest me and they can sometimes be purchased on the cheap. Telling you what coin to collect is like telling somebody what car to buy or what girl to marry. You guys will make good decisions.

Read some of the posts here at CT and post a question when you have one.

 

My daughter & I also have been just recently started collecting together. Its really fun to share such an experience with them that they will probably remember forever!

 

My son and I picked up one of these at the local coin shop and he has really enjoyed it. It has places for the state coins presidential coins and many more such as his birth year coins.

 

All very good advice for you here Vance. One thing that I could add, (assuming you are in the US), is to get the Redbook others have mentioned, but maybe get a magnifying glass and a Cherrypickers guide covering cents and nickels. Buy large bags from the bank and go through them, picking out dates you need, adn even looking for errors that the cherrypickers book will list. Its another way to get even more out of your time going through cents. Also, get a grading book and start trying to grade coins, as this skill will last you the entirety of your coin collecting life.

 

Cherrypickers Guide. Good idea.

Good advice medoraman. When my son was about 8 we spent many fun hours together searching Lincoln cents & keeping our eyes open for the elusive 1995 DDO. He found a 1995 with doubling on the reverse & got himself a little write-up in Error Trends magazine. That was big fun for us both.