I was hoping to get some more input. I was planning on encouraging him to pick a series to collect, buy the book and concentrate on that series. Along with suggesting a good loupe and maybe the cherrypicker's guide, I was wondering if anyone had any other suggestions on encouraging a young collector.
Personally, I wouldn't suggest focusing on a specific series, since a young collector can quickly grow tired of that (I remember trying to focus on Jefferson nickels back in '66, and quickly wound up going on to other things). I would suggest going for a type set, say of 20th century US coins, or maybe just the cheaper ones.
Try the State quarter set there are 100 to collect (Both mint marks) and idf you want to go the whole hog then there is also the silver version You can get very colourful and informative binders for them as well :thumb: So not only will he be getting a start in the hobby but he will get a good grounding in American history Then you have what I personaly think is a much maligned set the Presidential Dollar Yep it would be a good start for a young collector, fairly cheap coins and the history of his country thrown in for free
My son was about that age when I would take him to shows. I never really suggested a series for him to start with, instead I would gave him some money and let him use it on whatever caught his eye that day. Dealers really enjoyed him coming up to them on his own (under my watchful eye) with his tattered redbook and notepad and convincing them to give him the best deal of the day. Soon he had made many friends and WAS getting the good deals, better than the old man and here 15 years later those same dealers ask me about him every time we meet. It is so hard to say what a YN should collect. I believe your young cousin will soon discover the area that interests him the most and what he may prefer to collect and he'll have a ball in the meantime.
I'd forgotten all about the State quarters-- thinking too much of the time I was 10 years old, I guess. For today's kids, that would probably be the way to go.
I would say let him look at whats available and see what tickles his fancy, I started on lincoln cents and mercury dimes at the same time.
I like state quarters - because they can do that from change. And then maybe a type set as suggested - something with a little variety.
I wasn't going to suggest a specific set, just something to keep him focused, whatever got his eye. I think a type set is a wonderful idea though, I hadn't thought of that. He ended up buying an indian and a wheat out of the half price bin. His birthday is coming up, so I think I'll go get him a book on Lincoln cents and go through some of my excess wheaties and let him go to town.
What I did with my daughter was give her a "Red Book" and told her to look through it and decide on some coins she'd like to collect. She really likes world coins but she ended up picking the Eisenhower Dollar series, an easy series to collect. I believe though its good to collect a variety of coins, as said earlier, a type set would be a good place to start and a great way to learn about different coins instead of all one series. At 10 years old, your cousin may lose interest if he's constantly buying Washington quarters for example.
Thanks for the input everyone. I think next time I see him , I'll try to encourage a type set. I think that is a wonderful idea.
I think the best way to go is to let him go through the world or US mixed bin. Give him like $20 and have him scrounge through the cheap bins. That worked with my 11 y/o. Great way to teach kids to save money! Good going!
At that age, it's quantity not quality. I would buy him as many different coins as possible (perhaps even world coins) and a redbook (or krause).
