Help for grandson new to coin collecting

Is a 10-12 power loupe good enough?

Would he do better with a hand-help loupe or one in a stand?

Here's one that has a stand and can also be hand held. And it's 30x. Is that too much? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TRT6PTG/

This one is kinda interesting. Only 10x, but he could also use it to look at bugs, which he loved to do. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CAHCQS/

There are lots of others. Any recommendations?

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Anything over 10x is usually too much. I'd recommend 5x to 8x.

 

The first book should be a good start for him.

Do you recommend both a loupe and a magnifying glass?

 

I think he will have a lot more fun trying to full coin albums or folders than 2x2's. Check here: https://whitman.com/coin-albums-folders/[/QUOTE]

Is there a single folder that has space for all of the State, National Parks, and Women quarters?

 

Is this the current edition? https://www.amazon.com/dp/0794850588/

 

Good information. I will pass it along. Thanks

 

Yes, both. One to ID the dates and the Loupe for errors, varieties and what ever else your looking for.
This is the current edition. 2025.
I've had this one for years...

 

It took a little poking around, but I finally found the page for young members:

https://info.money.org/youth-offer

 

This little guy is obsessive. I think he will be bugging mom and dad to let him look over their quarters until he has a complete set, which I understand is not easy to do as some are rarer than others.

I think that's the plan.

I didn't know what that was, so I looked it up. It looks like a bit of a scam by the US Mint. In any case, I think he will do better collecting what he can from those in circulation.

 

I think that is the best plan. I just have to choose the best folder...

 

I think that what we need. Thanks for the album links.

 

Really? There aren't too many on Amazon under 10x.

Here are two that I think he will like. One is 4.5x the other comes in 4.5x, 7x, & 10x.

Both look like it may be possible to unscrew the top for free-hand viewing.

What is your opinion about these?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JPZFBA/ 4.5x

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0010PCL5Q/ 7x

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000VL1YNA/ 10x with reticle.

What the heck is a reticle and would it be any good for this?

 

Is this it: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00245S722/

It says it has 5x, 7x, & 9x powers, but the lenses can be "combined" to get up to 20x. How the heck does that work?

 

I just asked ChatGPT. Here's the answer I got:

https://chatgpt.com/share/66e3cbb7-5968-800b-90ae-646ef595fbd3

It says that when you combine lenses, the formula for optical systems is:

Mtotal = M1 + M2 -1

So it can do these magifications:

 

I have one more question. I hope it's OK to post it here, rather than starting a new thread.

It's about whether to "clean" the coins and, if so, how and with what.

One person told me that the coins should be cleaned with a special solution and a soft brush and the collector should always wear gloves when handling the coins. I see quite a few "coin cleaning kits for collectors" on Amazon, although they mostly use some kind of pencil.

Another person said to never clean coins. It is important to leave the "patina" on them. I asked what to do if the patina is so dark that I can't read the text on the coin. He said to use a pencil eraser.

So, who is right? Do I need to buy my grandson any kind of cleaning kit? And what about gloves?

 

Yes sir. That is the one….. Thing is, the useful information never changes in the Redbook so you can often find a year old copy at the overstock store or something. I used my 1970’s ere Redbook until I had to graduate to a large print version a few years ago.

 

Great, thanks. I think the spiral bound version will be the best for him. Do you agree?

Interestingly, the older versions on Amazon are more expensive. There is even one from 1947.

 

Obsessive is the middle name of all us coin collectors. My wife thought it was a quirk when we met. After I purchased my third safe, she put her foot down...

 

I think they are all spiral now And like everything else in the coin collecting world, old Redbooks are quite collectible. We have a member here with every copy.

 

They have acrylic lenses which isn't as good/durable as glass, but it may be a good idea to start with an inexpensive loupe. You can always upgrade if you want to. I don't see any need for a reticle. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reticle

You never want to rub a coin with anything. There are a handful of cleaners you can soak your coins in to clean them. The two most common being distilled water and 100% pure acetone (not nail polish remover). Different cleaners are used for different things.

For more general information you can use the CoinTalk search feature and type coin cleaning, you'll get more threads than you can read...