PLEASE HELP COIN CONFUSED TEENAGE GAL

Hi I am a teenage girl who is broke and has no money for stupid teenage girl stuff. I am currently looking for a job but UNTIL THEN I thought maybe I should try looking through my old coin collection from when I was little. there's probably about 200 coins from us and European countries dating from 1920-1999. I only collected old or funny looking ones. I looked a little through those and haven't seemed to find any rare ones. but my grandpa I know has this old dusty jar of coins he's had for as Long as I can Remember, to be honest he probably forgot all about it haha. it has to have thousands of old old coins. I assume there is BOUND to be at least one coin that has double lettering or a double ear and all that stuff. ANYWAYS MY QUESTION IS is it worth my time to go through ALLLLLL of those coins to look for a rare one that I'm hoping could be a lot of money obviously. or is selling and identifying coins very extremely difficuilt? I really want to try and pursue this but I also don't want to waste my time on something that might just be silly, SO YOU ALL ARE THE PROFFESIONALS AND I NEED YOUR ADVICE!! Is this a good idea or probably gonna end up being a waste of my time? also if you think I should stick with my idea, TIPS AND WEBSITE LINKS AND ALL THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL AND APPRECIATED. I really want to hopefully do this for a lifetime and keep the generations of coin collecting and searching going. thank you all so much!

 

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Welcome.

Getting books and reading up on identifying coin types could be worth the time to you. It is a small investment but will help you learn all about coin collecting in the future, and that is invaluable.

Good luck and don't be afraid to post pics of the coins and ask for help!

 

This doesn't necessarily leave a good first impression. But if you want to make money searching through coins and selling them you need the knowledge and time. Look into getting a red book. ask your parents to get you 1 from Barnes & noble. That will help you get started. As for selling coins that is usually the easy part depending on the coin and your reputation. Finding the coins,buying them at the right price, and grading them properly is the harder part.
I know coin dealers who jumped in head first and gave up when it got tough or got into a lot of debt and went out of business.
I've also seen dealers who learned a lot about coins and the coin market and then started dealing. These guys went on to earning salaries of over 100,000 a year, more than the average engineer makes.
I for one am in the middle. While I'm not an expert in all us coinage I have studied quite a bit before I built my company and I still run a profitable business.

 

josh like I said I am a teenage girl I don't really know how to make a "good impression" on these things sense I'm clueless. just trying to make money while trying to find a new hobby that most teenage girls wouldn't enjoy. I'm just asking from some help from the more wise people here.

 

You have much to learn. The world of numismatics (coin collecting) is not a trade that can be easily mastered. Experts here and elsewhere have many years of specialized expereince and knowledge. @non_cents can tell you anything about a lincoln cent. I can tell you that this guy lives and breathes lincoln cents.

You took the first step in numismatics. Being profoundly interested and ready to learn. The next part is finding out what coins or even currency interest you and then study them and learn them. Being an numismatic expert in a series of coinage that isn't so common is like being that Genius in your math class that can answer every question. It's a great feeling to experience but you have to work for it. You have to earn it.

 

I'd be able to assist in identifying US coins but as for European coins I don't know a lot about them. But I do know this. A british coin dealer by the name of stephen Fenton brought the prized 1933 double eagle which was once owned by king farouk of egypt to New York where the Secret Service acted quickly to confiscate the coin as it was illegal to own following FDR's Executive order 6102 which prohibited Americans from own gold bullion in the form of bars or coins.

 

+1

 

Post a few pictures of what appear to be interesting coins you have and we can take a look and tell you what we think. Otherwise I don't see us being all that helpful past telling you about books

 

First thing, check with your grandfather to see if you can go through it. Just because he has had it for a long time does not make it fair game. Then read everything you can about coins that interest you, once you have learned enough you will recognize which coins to look for.

 

Before you do anything though make sure when you take the coins out, handle them by the edges (and with gloves if possible) if there are some really shiny well detailed specimens in the jar. Condition in coins matters.

 

This is a great opportunity to get to know your grandfather better. You two can sit down and look over his collection together, it might be a lot of fun. That's what I suggest you do instead of hoping to find something that can be sold to buy "stupid teenage girl stuff." One day he will be gone. I also think you would have more fun if you went in to the collection just trying to identify everything and assign grades instead of hunting for a rarity.

 

This organization might also be a resource for you to make connections and to gain mentors as you pursue this great hobby:

https://www.facebook.com/WomenInNumismatics

 

welcome to the board ....

with this is just my opinion ( with the many provided for you in this thread )

i would pick up a few coin book(s)/ magazine(s) and start reading. it can be a bit over-whelming in the being but it will pay off in the long run ( with the knowledge you would be obtaining from them ) ....

always ask question(s) ( no matter at how dumb it would be ) and as many as you want ( remember knowledge is power ). we all started off somewhere. with guidance or not.

attend a few show(s) and have a look around. look at the date(s) and the condition ( which are key for semi - key and key date(s) ). they have knowledgeable coin dealer(s) at these show(s) and you can also ask question(s) from them.

next would be, ask grand dad if you can have a look see thru those jar(s) of his. =)

than the fun will begin ....

once you have found a coin of valve, do not accept the first offer ( in my opinion ). get a second, third or any many as you want. to get a general idea ...

 

STAY AWAY FROM YOUR GRAND FATHERS COINS! They are his, forgotten about or not, not yours and until you get HIS permission, just forget about it!

Judging from what you've written AND your specific "motivation", it would be a waste of your time anyway.

 

Try the library. You can generally get a few books that can help you price your coins without any expenditure. Both the red and blue books are often available and are a good guide for US, if current. They generally have good World Coin guides, but those are often dated. Watch dealers; some are very good, but some might take advantage of you if they preceive you as inexperienced. If you sell to them expect a big spred, but occasionally you find a dealer who will buy for up to 75% of market if his stock is low. Be sure you have an understanding of grade. As well as books, on-line sources will likely help you grade. If you overgrade, you may not sell at all; if you undergrade, you may give something away. Don't get emotionally involved.

 

buy some used books. learn how to grade coins. start out cheap then after you are more familiar with coin grades then venture out to more pricey coins. do NOT touch your grandfathers collection unless you have his permission to do so. If you are good lol he might give you a few choice coins. ? I have been collecting coins for about 16 years now. I really enjoy it. so much to learn still. Coin collecting is an ongoing learning experience. there's always something new to learn. I collect mostly world coins but have some favorite United States coins too. When buying coins I always ask for a discount if I am buying several coins from the same dealer. sometimes if they have 2-5 of the same coin most dealers will offer a discount on it. some dealers are very firm with their pricing depending on which coin it is of course. get used to firm prices but always ask for discounts. do NOT insult dealers with very low price offers. that insults them (I had 1 dealer say to me "go away and do not come back"). I learned a very important lesson that day 9 years ago (be courtious and respect the dealers prices...but ask politely for a discount.) most important thing with coins is to have fun with it.

 

I must echo the sentiments of everyone else with regards to asking for your Grandpa's permission first.
Does he know anything about coins? He might very well be able to show you the rare dates faster than we could! Don't expect to find double dies and other error coins....most of the time a high grade example or a rare date will be worth more anyway.
I wouldn't bother with your collection..... If you've bought them in the last 20 years I have a pretty good idea of what is there.
What kind of coins does Grandpa have? Pennies, Nickels? Any Dimes, Quarters, Halves and Dollars dated 1964 & before will be silver and always worth a premium!