Hello, I hope this will not be to overwhelming being my first post here. I know I am very much overwhelmed walking into this hobby and I have lots of questions. I have inherited a couple hundred coins I am not sure what to do with. There are some pics below of some of the older coins. I was wondering if I have worthless change or stuff worth keeping. Is something telling me to plunge into this hobby by getting a head start like this? Here is some of what I have. I will follow the pics by how many copies I have. They were all priced to sell but that was in 1990 or so. There are also alot of abbreviations on them I dont understand. They are also all in little cardboard sleeves with a window and three staples. Is this a safe way to have them stored? Feel free to PM me with comments or post them here. 1853 3 cent, Have 2 of these, one is much darker but with bold lines, this is the nicer of the two. 1865 Three cent Also have one from 1868. The 1865 is marked VF. Flying eagle cent. I have 9 of these. 3 from 1857, 1 from 1858 that is marked "large letter" and 5 more from 1858 marked "small letter". Liberty Seated Dime. I have 5 of these, 3 from 1891 and one from 1875 and 1881 respectively. Barber Dime. I have 8 of these from 1903, 1904, 1911, 1912, 1913 and 1914. All but one of the 1903s are marked XF. No idea what that means. 1943 Steel Lincoln Cent. N ever seen these before, thought they were neat. I have 11 of them marked MS60 or MS63, dont know what that means either. Indian Cents I have 26 of these. 11 of them pre 1900. Again, many markings I dont understand VF, XF ect. Liberty nickels. I have over 20 of these most are in about the same condition as this one I scanned. Buffalo nickels Have 6 of these, the scan dosent show this having the rainbow type effect that it has when in hand. Some of these say UNC, dont know what that means. Shield Nickels I have four of these 1867, 1868, 1876 and 1882. More abbreviations I dont know. VG, AG and one says "with rays" Liberty Seated quarters I have three 1875 pictured, 1876 and 1878. This is the nicest of the three with another VG marking. I am starting to assume this is a condition grade of some sort. Standing liberty quarters. Five of these. The one pictured is from 1917 and has Type 1 written on the sleeve. 1958 Black nickels Have 5 of these all in about the same condition as the one pictured. Dont know why they are black but they were in a separate box by them selves. I also have these modern coins. Here is the break down. 12 Lincoln Cents 5 from the 70s and 7 from the 60s 70 Jefferson Nickels 8 from the 30s, 28 from the 40s, 16 from the 50s and 18 from the 60s 10 Eisenhower Dimes 1 from 76, three from the 60s and 6 from the 50s. 9 Washing ton Quarters 2 from 35, 2 from the 40s, 3 from the 50s 1 Proof from 64 and 72 61 Kennedy Half Dollars 18 from the 60s, 32 from the 70s, 11 from the 80s 12 Anthony Dollars 9 From 1979 and 3 from 1980 The following three coins I cannot myself identify and would appreciate some help. I do know the years because they are marked on the sleeve. 1895 1951 1920 Thanks in advance for any help or direction given. If you would like to see anything not scanned yet please let me know by posting here or PM and I will try to post it as quickly as possible.
Welcome to the neighborhood, Todd! It looks like you have some fairly interesting coins there. There isn't any coin in numismatics that is worthless unless it has been intentionally defaced. It looks like those 2x2's are a little the worse for wear, and the staples always present the risk that a coin might be scratched accidentally which can hurt its value. You might want to think about putting the coins into SaFlips or AirTites to protect them. AirTies are more expensive, but before you start spending your money on anything, you should decide if numismatics is really a hobby that you want to pursue. There are a few "DO'S & DONT'S" that you should follow: 1) Never clean any coin unless you absolutely know what you're doing. Improper cleaning can reduce the value. 2) If you're not wearing cotton gloves, never hold a coin by the obverse and reverse (front and back). The oils from your skin will attack the surfaces. The ONLY way to properly hold a coin barehanded is with the thumb and forefinger on the edge (the third side of a coin). 3) Always store the coins in a cool, dry climate. Heat and humidity are bad for coins. Those abbreviations you mentioned refer to the general condition of the coin. Today, the Sheldon Scale is used to grade coins from 1-70 with 70 being a perfect coin. Mint State (MS) is considered an uncirculated coin, then comes About Uncirculated (AU), Extra Fine (EF or XF) and so on. I'd suggest that you get yourself a copy of the Red Book of United States Coins by Whitman Publishing, if you decide to pursue the hobby. It contains a lot of very worthwhile information. Just don't rely heavily on the price guide. Chris
Thanks, I knew I should never touch them, thats why they are still in these old holders. I think I should at least invest in getting some new flips. And maybe some of the air tights for the older ones. How do you guys designate what is valuable enough to put in air tights? I am going to get one of these red books. What if I cant find a coin store nearby, would Borders or something of that nature have this book?
I have purchased the exact same book at Barnes and Noble before, so I would expect that Borders has the book as well....
Borders would have the Red Book, but you might check out your local public library as they may have a recent issue in the reference colletion. You may find an older copy in the "stacks" which you could borrow. Either way, you're gonna want one for your own. Chris makes an excellent suggestion with buying the book through Whitman Publishing. I picked up the new edition with "free shipping" a few weeks ago but I'm not sure if they're still running that promo. And welcome to the forum dear fellow......
2012 Red Book U.S. Coins Spiral Availability: In Stock Price: $14.95 Item Number: 0794833497 Shipping Weight: 1.05 pounds Now Shipping! The Official Red Book®—A Guide Book of United States Coins—is 65 years young and going strong. Collectors around the country love the convenience of the spiralbound edition. It opens up and lies flat on the table while you study your coin collection. And of course it includes all the historical background, detailed specifications, high-resolution photographs, and accurate mintage data that turn a new coin collector into an educated numismatist. How rare are your coins? How much are they worth? The Red Book tells you, covering everything from early colonial copper tokens to hefty Old West silver dollars and dazzling gold coins. You’ll find prices for more than 6,000 coins, tokens, medals, sets, and other collectibles. You’ll also round out your education in commemoratives, Proof and Mint coins, error coins, Civil War tokens, Confederate coins, private gold, and all the latest National Park quarters, presidential dollars, Lincoln cents, and more. Articles on investing, grading coins, and detecting counterfeits will make you a savvy collector; and entertaining essays on the history of American coinage, shipwrecks and hoards, and famous collections give you an inside look at “the hobby of kings.” These are just some of the features of the informative, entertaining, invaluable Red Book—the world’s best-selling coin price guide. Full color. 432 pages. Spiralbound Softcover.
Nice coins, I like "type" coins in VG to VF condition - they're usually affordable, still have enough detail to tell what the coin is supposed to look like, and you collect one of each type of coin. You could trade or sell your duplicates. As for holders , you may want to consider picking up a type folder or album, which is what I use for most of my circulated coins in my collection. I save the Air-Tites for uncirculated or more valuable circulated coins. If you're going to use filps, make sure they are Safe Flips (pvc free). Some don't like flips because the coin slides around in them. If the coins have been in the holders they’re in for a long time (many years) and they don’t have anything "growing" on them, I'd leave them in the holders they're in. If you remove them, I'd puncture the mylar film (with a pen knife away from the coin) and push the coin out, rather than try to pull the 2x2 apart - this will guarantee you wont scratch the coin with a staple. Looks like you have enough Indian Head Cents to start a folder of those alone. Your 60's Kennedy’s will be either 90% or 40% silver.
For the present time, I think you would be better served putting all of them into flips because they are a "one size fits all" and cost about one-fourth the price of AirTites. With AirTites, you need to order the correct size for each coin. http://www.jpscorner.com/Coin_Flips.htm Chris
Pretty neat stuff you have there. Does the 1912 Liberty nickel have the mintmark S on the reverse? or the Buffalo nickel? Was the names of the coins on the 2x2's or did you have to look them up?
VERY VERY nice start you have here! I think you are going to find you have a lot of coins taken out of your "need list" in your coin hunting. Welcome to CT!!
If you cannot afford a new Red book, either check one out at the library to study and copy the pages you need or check out eBay for a used one. Right now, don't be concerned with values so much as to identify what you have and the scarcity of them. Values fluctuate and you can get current price guides for free on-line.
Thanks for all your comments and guidence. I will be picking up one of these redbooks. I would rather have my own copy so I can refer to it as needed. I dont really know where to locate the mint marks on older coins. I know where they are on most modern coins but that is about it. That is again where I am sure this book will come in handy. I have a loupe already as I currently and will continue to collect baseball cards. The years and mints were marked on the sleeves for the most part, but I have educated myself enough to know the difference between Liberty nickels, shield nickels ect. This collection I have has a real PC vibe. When I have them all out together I see odds and ends and large collections of three specific coins. Jefferson nickels, Indian cents and Kennedy Halves. I think that is what I will do, find a few specific coins I really like and focus on collecting those. So far I really like the look of the Seated and Standing liberty quarters, the shield and buffalo nickels, the indian head cents and the 3 cent ones from 1833. I dont see myself getting too excited over collecting all the change I have had in my pocket all my life, Id rather collect the stuff I was not around yet to spend. I also have a few proof sets, two are in hard plastic cases and 3 or 4 in sectioned bags with a US MINT emblem in the 6th section. Along with a 1992 Olympic proof set in a nice velvet box. Is stuff like this sought after at all? Thank you all again for all this information and the warm welcome. The tip about the 60 halves being 40 or 90% silver was some pleasantly surprising information. Are there any current "fads" in the hobby I should not mess with? TV offers, cash for gold joints trying to buy my silver dollars, ect. Is there anything I should look out for in my ACTUAL pocket change?
Welcome to CT! Yes, you have a very nice collection there! Chris offered some excellent advice. 1) DO NOT CLEAN THE COINS....at all...leave them alone. This is a HUGE mistake new collectors often make. Cleaning can reduce the value as much as 90%. 2) I would at least buy some modern 2x2 holders to replace those old holders. Some of the old holder contained PVC which can damage the coins. 3) Keep them stored well. At minimum, put the lot into a large, heavy-duty zip lock bag with a few desiccant packs. Then put the bag into a tupperware type container and store it somewhere not too hot and not too cold.....constant temperature is the best.
That's an impressive start for a new coin collector. Follow all the good advice given above, and read as much as you can about the coins you have and the coins you may like. There's plenty for you to learn about what you're starting out with, so don't rush it and always, enjoy your new hobby.
