Hey all, I was wondering if I could get some thoughts/feedback on a project I've just started. My children are very young but I thought it would be nice to put together a set of historical US coins for each of them that they can keep and pass down. I don't expect them to also collect coins but I think anyone can appreciate the historical significance and aesthetic beauty of a mint coin 100 or more years old. A few conditions for the sets that I'm thinking of sticking to: 1) No very high value coins (I don't want it to be too tempting to hock them down the line...not sure what limit I will use yet) 2) Coins should be in MS or nice AU condition (since not everyone can appreciate a heavily worn coin) 3) Use common dates/mints (a CC morgan is no more beautiful than an S...although probably more than an O haha) 4) Should be in a format that displays the coins nicely but will protect them (hopefully) indefinitely I've only recently started but so far I have for each child: 1) 3 MS morgans 2) 3 MS indian head cents 3) 3 MS mercury dimes 4) $1 gold 5) Hawaii dime (need to get a second -- I'm originally from Hawaii...too bad the commemorative half is pricey) 6) Obviously much more to go! A few specific questions for you guys: 1) Do you think that this would be a good way to pass on a nice collection of coins that would be kept/preserved even if my children have no interest in collecting? Every time I've heard of someone inheriting a coin collection it is almost instantly sold. Heck, even I would sell my coins in my old ago if I have grandchildren and they want something. I'm hoping that if I keep the coin values modest that the sentimental value will outweigh the incentive to sell in the future...who knows, maybe someone in my family generations from now will cherish them. 2) What do you think would be a good cutoff for a maximum individual coin value? $200? $500? Perhaps not an issue if very liquid coins like $20 gold were not included? 3) If you were to do this, what would you include/exclude? One thing I'm unsure of is how many duplicates/variations to put in. For example, is 3 morgans too redundant? And a '64 quarter isn't so different from a '65... 4) I'm not much of a currency guy but it might be nice to include...other than the different denominations of gold/silver certs, is there anything more unique to put in? Currency is much less interesting to me (sorry!). 5) Would you include super moderns? 6) What do you think the best presentation/encapsulation would be? I am leaning toward eagle holder albums but would appreciate other suggestions. 7) Other thoughts?? Thanks a bunch!
i dont think its a good idea. you should just stick with silver and gold bullion like ases and stuff. ppl dont like pennys and stuff with no real value. if i got something like that id sell it in a secund.
Hi rico. I appreciate your input but I think I would like to put together something, even if it is small. I do think including some ASEs could be a good idea though -- they are beautiful coins.
Well, in 8-10 years (depends how old they are now), people are going to be using shield cents like they're normal. Maybe getting a few Wheat pennies or a Indian Head penny wouldn't be bad at all. I only learned about them recently
Very true. I did already set aside a few uncirculated indian heads from my collection for this project. They were actually the coins that got me first interested in collecting.
I, for one, like Snip's idea. He's putting together a rather inexpensive collection for his children that they may or may not fully appreciate in the future. The value aspect has no place in it. It's collecting in the purest form. It's what our hobby is all about. If the children decide they like what "Dad" has set aside for them, then they will continue to expand their horizons in the hobby. If not, then no harm, no foul. But do please enlighten me Snip. What is an "Hawaii dime"?
Snip, Are you just going to collect random coins? Maybe a type set would be a good way to go. Either in a Dansco 7070 or a capital plastics holder. Also depending on how young they are let them fill folders of cents and nickels make it like a game and fun and do it together. Or to get them interested in collecting/coins collect different type coins like, if one is a girl maybe collect butterfly coins. a boy collect the insect coins. etc.. Some of these are low mintage coins some stay low, some skyrocket in value.
OK Dad. I see where you're coming from. If it were me I'd keep it simple......Small denomination coins peppered with a few Morgans (like you've already stated) and I'd forget the gold. Gold coins are underappreciated by younger collectors unless they are "full into" the hobby. If the child shows an interest in collecting then (and only then) would I begin to add gold to the childs collection.
I like that idea KoinJester, I am putting together a similar type of set for my kids, in this same hope as Snip. But I like the theme type set too...now I just need to find some coins with owls on them...
Heck, I don't have an MS IHC myself yet! What you've already set aside for each is much nicer than what I had as a child. My grandparents gave each of their grandchildren an MS Morgan when I was 7 or 8. I still have mine, and I think most of my cousins still have theirs, although most of them didn't end up collecting. Even by my current, reasonably well-paid adult, standards, MS IHCs and gold dollars count as "valuable coins". Were I uninterested and short of money, selling them would be quite a temptation. I'm not sure there's anything you can do about that.
Hey everyone, thanks for the responses! Yes, that's what I meant by Hawaii dime and I've had it for almost 20 yrs and got it cheap. Older people in Hawaii used to turn up now and again with the old Hawaii coinage (and probably still do). I agree that what I am doing is pricey - I want this to be saved by the family and I don't want to just pass on the 50 state quarters. I am just trying to find that middle ground where I'm giving them something very nice but not over the top. I don't think passing on a set of coins worth a few thousand that are collected over a lifetime to be that extravagant. OH! And I certaintly don't intend to give these to my children now or anytime remotely soon. I would give the sets to them once they are adults. I just wanted to put these together now before other major expenses started popping up as they got older like college (although that's a long ways away). I guess a better way of putting this is that I am selecting coins from my collection (and adding to my collection) and putting them into a format that I can easily pass on to them. The coins I have listed are ones that I already have that I thought would be suitable for this.
