Hi All- First time poster here, brand new to coin collecting. I recently became interested when throwing a handful of change into my change jar and thought to myself 'what is the oldest coin in there?' I dumped it all out and sorted through them, not knowing what to set aside really. I came up with a handful of wheats, 1939 nickel, 1956-s dime, 1947 quarter, and a 1943 steel penny. I got online and took a look on Google and was blown away by all of the info and all of the great pieces to collect. With my personality, I knew I was hooked. Since then, I have been checking Ebay for deals and looking for estate sales, etc. I live near Burlington, VT and am wondering if there are others in the area to learn more from? Here is a photo of an auction I won on Ebay: There is a 1970-D Kennedy (beautiful condition, maybe a proof?), 1960-1964 roosevelt (possibly proofs? They are in Perfect shape, very bright) 2x 1964 dimes ( almost golden hue, great condition) 1949-s dime 1951-S dime 1955-S dime 58 wheats 1916-1958, mix of dates, mints, etc. This auction was $26 with shipping....did I do OK based on my research?? Also, as I grow my collection, I need to get more knowledgeable. Any advice on pieces to read? Also, is there a decent, comprehensive list of dates to look for for different denominations, mint errors, etc? Thank you all for any info, I look forward to posting more and growing my collection! -Dan
Welcome and welcome to coin collecting. I'd say that was a fair price on the auction you won, definitely a good way to get started for relatively cheap. The 10 pre64 dimes you got are at least worth the $26 you paid. So here's some info about your coins you pointed out: 1970 D Kennedy half is 40% silver, in MS63 quality you're looking at about a $20 coin. But it's not a proof if it's a D mint, proof's were from the San Francisco mint, so it would need an S mint mark to be a proof. The other nice thing about 1970 D Kennedy's was there was a low mintage number compare to the other Silver Clad years (65-70, 1964 were 90% silver, 65-70 were 40% silver). The '64 dimes, proofs were minted in Philadelphia, so if they have a Denver mint mark, they can't be proofs. Uncirculated MS quality dimes from '64 likely are in higher demand so their value would be greater than proofs. My only advice is, pick up a Red Book to gain more knowledge about U.S. Coinage, it'll give you a general ball park figure for values depending on grades, mintage numbers and other information.
Welcome to the neighborhood, Dan! I urge you to slow down, and learn more about the hobby before you start spending your money rashly. There are plenty of vultures in auction venues like SleazeBay who will be more than happy to pick your wallet clean. First, shiny doesn't mean anything. Shiny doesn't mean a coin might be a proof. A problem coin could be improperly cleaned and still be shiny. You should spend some of your money to get the latest edition of the Red Book of United States Coins published by Whitman. It contains a ton of information, but I don't recommend that you rely on the price guides as they are a bit optimistic. There is no one reference book that will provide details on errors or varieties for all of the various denominations and types. You could easily spend $1000 on books and still not cover everything. Before you concern yourself with errors and/or varieties, I suggest you also get the latest edition of the ANA Grading Standards for United States Coins which is also published by Whitman. Yes, there are a lot of errors and varieties, but since condition is the most important factor in determining the value of a coin, these books should be where you would want to start your education. Chris
Thank you for your advice, Rodeo and Chris! I know that I don't have the knowledge yet to really make any larger purchases, but from what I have already read, this seemed like a good deal. Only one of the dimes has a D mint mark, the rest have nothing. I did pick up a copy of the Red book 2012 and will look into the ANA Grading book as well. I'm going into collecting with the mindset that it is a fun hobby, with a value attached. I have a big interest in history and figure this is a great way to learn more and have some fun!
I agree completely with this as well. Before making your next purchase, make your next purchase some material to get familiar and knowledgeable about the things you're about to spend some money on. Also, sites like this and plenty of other sites on the internet are filled with knowledge as well.
Welcome to coin talk. You will learn a lot here. I live in Texas now but am originally from across the Lake from Burlington. Nice to see another person from the "North Country" in the forum. Best of luck with your collecting.
Welcome. Start off small and learn to stick with a set that you like. I would look through the forums and lots of online articles to learn about whichever coins you want to collect. And learn how to grade the coins, its not the easiest and many like myself still can't get it right at times.
Welcome Dan!:welcome: Back in the early to mid 1800's, New England was 80% cultivated and only 20% wooded (Connecticut, anyway...I'm sure there were more farms in Vermont as well). Now it's the other way around...80% forests. You don't have to dig too deep in New England before you hit granite. Farmers had to dig up plenty of rocks before a field was ready to plant. The problem was...what to do with all the rocks? New England farmers turned the liability into an asset and made rock walls around their fields. Now-a-days, you can go hiking through the woods and see all sorts of rock walls. Those walls used to surround cultivated fields. The interesting thing about these rock walls is that folks had to climb over them to get about and, sometimes, pocket change would fall out as the walls were traversed. Other times, folks would hide things (such as coins) near a rock wall...in a place that was easily identifiable. I've heard many stories about folks hiking in the woods of New England with metal detectors and finding all sorts of rare coins along these rock walls. :secret:
I think you should clarify this response to say that in 1968 the San Francisco Mint started producing proof coins exclusively. The way you stated the above quote, might lead the OP into thinking that every coin with an S mintmark is a proof, and this is not the case. Philadelphia produced proofs up until 1964, and after the SMS sets from 65-67, only San Francisco made proofs. Welcome Danco to the CT Forum. :hail:
In my opinion that is an excellent attitude to use in approaching coin collecting. Have fun, enjoy the coins and the history and don't worry too much about values or future values.
