Start to collect US coins

Hi guys,

Like i said in my introduction i want to start a collection of US coins.
Living in Belgium, that can be a little hard to do, but long live mail an the internet

My first guess is to go to banks here in the neighbourhood to ask if they have coins from the US and buy them.
They propably wont be worth much (exept for the value they have stamped on) but i gues its a start.

Tips on how to get US coins other ways are always welcome.

Regards

 

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If you just starting, I would recommend that you pick a starting coin to collect. I started with cents. I would buy a book on US coins to understand the hobby. If you start with cents, you can get rolls on ebay for a reasonable price and start filling in holes in a cent book while learning how to rate the coins. It is how I started when I was very young. If you tire of the hobby, it hasn't cost you much money.

 

Welcome to CT! :welcome: Check for local coin dealers or perhaps a place that does currency exchange? TC

 

thx for the tip.
stupid question maybe, but can you advice me on a good book about this? (are there books only about cents?)
The only thing i know about US coins is that there are coins from $0.01, $0.05, $0.10, $0.25, $0.50, and $1.00
And ofcourse golden and silver editions.

 

The red book is always a good place to start. It has information on all the US coins. You can get a book on any US coin ever made by checking ebay or amazon. It is always good to get the book prior to the coins but it is kind of fun to start collecting too. Thus, the cent is a cheap way to start collecting while reading the book. Too much reading can take the fun out of the hobby, IMHO.

 

i like to read (and in my line of job i have time to read )
The red book is the title of the book?

Just tought of somebody from work that has been to the US recently
gonna ask het if she still has some coins
If she has some, ill buy them from her and there is the start of my collection

 

Excellent response.

Welcome aboard! Have fun collecting.

 

I have a friend from Egypt who is a member of this forum, and he has put together a very respectable collection of U.S. coins, mostly through trading with collectors in on-line forums such as this one. I'll send you a PM in regards to trading. Welcome to cointalk!

 

always handy to know about trading, so that pm will be verry welcome

 

If you wish to start the most affordable set of U.S. coins with the intent to have a complete set, I suggest the Jefferson Nickel. All are obtainable in uncirculated MS65 or better on a modest budget. The Lincoln cent presents problems when you get to the 1909-S, 1909-S VDB, 1914-D, 1922 no D and 1931-S. These will cost up to thousands of USD each depending upon the grade. I have been collecting U. S. coins for nearly 40 years and haven't quite finished my Lincoln cent collection (lacking 1909-S VDB and 1914-D). Also, start with quality not quantity. When I started, I wanted to fill the holes as fast as I could. So, I've been having to upgrade my poorest coins as time goes by. My lincoln cent collection now has a few coins that would grade VF or EF but most are AU and above. On the other hand, I completed an uncirculated set of Jefferson Nickels many years ago and then another 3 sets since.

 

Well my idea is of getting coins in whatever condition they are.
Then i want to sort them out by year and value (the value mentioned on the coins)
And then when i have doubles i will see what is the one in best condition and take that one for the collection.

I am writing sort of a script as we speak to help me catalog the coins for my use (i know, lots of coincollecting software allready exists, but i dont use windows and i didnt find a Linux alternative yet, so i will make one myself)

 

by the way, found an edition of The red book from 2003 on a site here in belgium for only €5 (will be around $7 i think)
ordered it allready so that one will be in my possesion soon

 

I actuall have some coins from Belguim, would you know what the values would be?

 

Welcome. I have a brother that lives in Hooleiart (spelling?)

 

I have no idea about howmuch couns are worth.I gues you meen Hoeilaart where your brother lives.Good to know, could come in handy maybe to get US coins

 

Here is the Red Book: http://www.amazon.com/2012-Guide-Un...3470/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326689430&sr=8-1

It is very nice because it gives you a little bit of information about each type of US coin. The prices/values listed aren't very accurate but they also give a decent idea of a "ballpark" value. But, I wouldn't use them for anything more than a very basic estimate. The value in this book is it gives a little info about each type of coin...it's the best starter book for US coins.

 

thx all for the info.
Meanwile i also found some fun apps for my android phone that could come i handy to help catalogue the collection and stuff like that.
3 apps:
-SIM for Coins (free version): program to catalogue
-US Coin identifier: sort of catalogue with pic's from US coins (to identifie them )
-Coin collection: simple tool to keep track what coins i allready have for when i find othet US coins

 

Welcome to the neighborhood!

I must have missed your "introduction", so here is something posted in your honor.

Chris

 

I am using the microsoft spreadsheet as a base to catalog my coin collection. It looks like this:

LIBERTY HEAD OR MORGAN DOLLAR 1878-1921 p. 37
DATE MINT CONDITION 05 BL BK 2012 BLBK 05 RD BK 2012 RDBK 10/11 CV NOTES
1878 P VF-20 $7.00 $22.00 $21.00 $30.00 $44.00 7TFR79(T3)
1878 CC F-12 $18.00 $39.00 $70.00 $100.00 $125.00
1878 S EF-40 $8.00 $22.00 $25.00 $35.00 $45.00

Where BL BK = Blue Book (Shows approximate wholesale value) and RD BK = Red Book (Approximate retail value) and CV = Coin Values (More current realistic retail value(published by Coin World Magazine)). I keep 2005 values as a base point because it seems to have been the start of the bull market in coin values. You could use the Coin Dealer News "Grey Sheet" if you subscribe to it or if you get friendly with a local dealer who subscribes he might give you an old issue of the Grey Sheet. It is a much better (more current and accurate) indicator of coin prices than anything else.

 

Thanks for the reply'sBeen searching NBelgian banks today, problem is they dont have US coins.Even if somebody returns from a trip from the US and they have coins left the banks dont take them in.But good news is i got in touch with someone here that also collects coins, and he is going to see what coins he can miss.That and the help of a few members of this site will give my starting collection a good start.