Any tips for a newbie?

I am just starting out with coin collecting & know pretty much nothing. Anyone have any tips, or good links for some references for a beginner? What are some "pocket change" coins I should keep an eye out for? Thanks in advance for any help you guys can pass along!!

 

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See about getting the Red Book: guide to u.s. coins. (assuming u.s. is your interest)

 

Pick a series and stick with it until you figure out grading. Often times newbies pick up a coin and proclaim it an MS67 or MS68 and then get surprised when they see a real MS67 or MS68. There is a vast difference and you have to look at a LOT of coins in order to tell the difference.

Aside from that, the only other advice I could offer is to not buy ANYTHING unless it's professionally graded by either PCGS or NGC. Avaoid paying high premiums for ANACS and ICG and especially turn you nose up at SGS since they "grade like newbies".

 

Read read read.
Don't rush into collecting too fast.
Read up on each type of series and find the one that interests you the most, or would fit your current budget the best to get you going.
Don't be afraid to ask questions.

 

Definitely get a Red Book , and a grading book . I suggest the ANA Grading Standards 6th Edition . The 2013 or 2014 Redbook is fine as they contain a wealth of information and have sections about just about every coin used in the US from Colonial coins to the latest commemoratives . Join Heritage it's free and has great pics of coins , prices and archives . It will enable you to see many different coins and help in your grading . Also use the forums . CT has experts in many fields who are willing to share their knowledge . Don't be afraid to ask questions no matter how dumb you may think they are . Remember there is no such thing as a dumb question . Good luck . Here's the link to Heritage .

http://www.ha.com/

 

A lot of new collectors, like myself at one point, go on a spending spree at places like Ebay and buy coins that we think are a good deal... only to find out that they have been damaged by cleaning, scratches, PVC residue, etc. You can waste a lot of money on damaged coins in the beginning that you could have later spent on some problem-free coins instead. So I advise that you either do a lot of reading on how to detect damaged coins before buying or stick to buying coins that have been professionally graded, like 19Lyds said.

Just reading and participating in the discussions in this forum will help you quite a bit. There are a lot of threads that are posted on this forum along the lines of "is this coin cleaned/damaged?" Those are a great resource to read opinions on how to tell if a coin is/isn't damaged.

Welcome to CoinTalk and the hobby, by the way

 

Buy a bunch of unsearched one cent rolls.
Try not to get the ones i bought there wasnt anything good in them

 

Hello Ldmiller. You ask about pocket change. You will see post here about roll searching. There are not too many coins in change that will be special in modern coins, unless you are into errors. 1970 to present has very little in the way of special coins that will be in pocket change. Roll searching from banks and stores will yield a early coin or two. You can find a silver coin every once in a while. To find a special coin in pocket change will still require a knowledge of certain coins that will be listed in a guide book such as Red Book.
Good luck Biged

 

http://www.amazon.com/Experts-Guide...id=1366951398&sr=1-5&keywords=q.+david+bowers

 

buy a red book first, read read read, check out a Krause world coin catalog from most libraries. world coins are so fun to collect as well. Do NOT let people tell you what to buy or collect. get what YOU like. you will get much more enjoyment if you get what you like. do NOT be in such a hurry to buy coins..... find out what they are worth first. learn how to grade coins. you will save yourself tons of money later on.... trust me I found out the hard way. enjoying the coins is the key to collecting them.

 

Make a ton of mistakes and learn from them. If your wanting to collect a certain series then I suggest you stick with that. I know when I first started if it was a coin felt like I had to have it. Have learned that it is best just to stick with one coin and learn as much as possible about it. That way you know what to be on the look out for.


Dusty

 

Join a local coin club and develop a thirst for knowledge and make friends. READ. Build a reference library and don't be impatient about buying any coin, medal,token or paper currency.

 

I would certainly start with a goal. Picking up a Whitman 20th Century type coin album will give you a wide variety of things to look at. It will expose you to a lot of differenty coin types and allow you to decide from there if there is a specific series you like and would like to focus on. You may find out that you really like type coins, and from the whitman you can start a Dansco 7070 (or equivalent) and then from there you may decide you want to get into a Graded (PCGS or NGC) Type set.

 

Welcome to CoinTalk.
:welcome:

If you don't already have a "red book" then get one. The official book title is "A Guide Book of US Coins" by Yeoman.

Google coin shows in your area & see if there are any scheduled locally. Coin shows are a great way to meet other collectors & dealers in your area.

If you have any particular questions, please post the questions at CoinTalk or you could send me a PM.

BTW, it is always nice if you can post a coin here before you are committed to buying it. This way folks can provide some opinions on the coin to help you make an informed decision.

 

Go to your library and check out books on coin collecting. That is free and you usually get them for 3 weeks or so.

I think it is a good idea to start with pocket change as you don't have to spend any money. Take a look at mintage numbers. If you want to try nickels, take a look here: http://jeffersonnickelguide.com/jefferson-nickel-mintage/ as you can see, the low mintage nickels are the 1950-D, 1939-D and 1938-S.

 

Yup, coin roll hunting will be really good so you're able to see where the flatness(wear) occurs first. If you have $100, I'd go buy a box of nickels. Can probably almost complete a set in a box or two.

 

Thank you very much everyone!! I was feeling a little overwhelmed at first, I didn't realize there was so much information available on coins! It is easy to get lost and a bit confused by it all. I am SO glad I found this site with so many people willing to help out a new girl. You all are amazing, thank you all for taking the time to share a little info with me!!

 

I saw someone recommended to buy "unsearched" coin rolls (usually sold on Ebay). Don't. 90% of the time, the rolls have already been searched and it's just a scam.

 

Thank You very much greatwalrus for that heads'up! I sure don't want to lose my money to scammers!!!

 

I would start with something you know will increase in value. Believe it or not, pre-82 pennies have great upside potential. The second you collect them their value goes up by a factor of 2 and a half, since they are made of real copper. If they discontinue the penny they will go up even more.