Starting a Coin Collection

Hey guys,

I have been thinking about starting a coin collection for my two nephews so I have a large amount of change I was going to start sorting and then selecting the best coins and then putting them in an album.

I recently attended a coin show and one of the coin sellers thought it was a waste of money to put circulated coins in the InterceptShield albums and then he went on to tell me I should buy Proof Sets and remove the coins from the Proof sets to put in the albums.

I am on a budget and cannot afford buying proof sets or uncirculated coins all the way back to the 1900's.

Any advice?

 

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you may be surprised there are lots of coins from the early 1900's that are very cool and affordable

 

Collect coins the way you want and do not always hold to what other people think you should do. However, I will tell you that the cost of an Intercept Shield album might be far more than the value of the lightly circulated coins that are in the album. Perhaps at this stage of interest it might be better to buy a less expensive Whitman album for $3 each or so. In this way, if the interest in coins continues, you can purchase a heartier album later.

 

I don't see the point in spending the extra money for the InterceptShield albums when all you will be doing is taking change from circulation, and you don't even know if your nephews will have an interest in numismatics down the road. Get something less expensive like Whitman albums. When the boys get older, if they enjoy the hobby, and expand their numismatic endeavors, then they can consider albums that are designed to protect more valuable coins.

Chris

 

Personally, if one spends the money on proof sets from the Mint, they should keep them intact in the original holders they come in. I don't see the sense in spending money on those sets only to crack them open and remove the proofs for placement in an album. But that's just me.

As stated, you can find some older coins at reasonable prices. Most, if not all, coin shops have bargain bins, discount bins, or half off boxes they dump coins in that have sat a long time and not sold.

I've found $90 worth of Kennedy and Washington proofs in my main shops half off box, and acquired them for $45.

 

What coins are we talking about, going back to the 1900s? I got the impression you were going through pocket change in a jar or something...is this a lincoln cent collection?

http://www.coinsupplyexpress.com/Intercept-Shield-Coin-Albums.aspx?gclid=CKPFuIywoqECFYVL5wodjTIELA

This website had some pretty okay prices imo. You said nephews, are you going to need 2 or more albums? That starts getting pricey if you need multiples, for a beginner collector I'd rather be investing that cash in coin.

My local dealers always seem to have "used" whitman flips for a couple bucks, very good deal. yeah it's not an intercept, by a long shot, but they get the job done.

If you really want to see both sides of the coins, those mylar albums like the dealers use to keep 2x2s seem pretty decent too. Then you can totally customize how you order your coins. You don't have to do oldest to newest, you could reverse and work from modern backwards.

I think you should spring for the album that will make you happy ... removing coins from storage media and transfering them around alot amounts to circulation and will put wear on your coin, particularly if it's a younger person doing it. I wouldn't put alot of money into storing a fairly common collection though.

Albums have a way of wearing out alot faster than the collection, particularly if you spend alot of time enjoying your hobby. Maybe upgrade the album when the collection is close to complete.

 

I was hoping to start from the 1909 and work my way up to today's date and then try to fill in the missing pieces. I was just going to do the pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters and I was going to attempt to do two sets since I have two nephews.

Unless someone else has a better idea?

 

you can get the blue whitman folders for lincoln cents new for 4-5 bucks each...if you are planning on filling them with cirulated coins you can get rolls of "unsearched wheats" for a relatively cheap(just understand they are not unsearched) this will usually fill most of the really common holes..then you should only need to worry about the key dates and earlier coins from the 1909-late 1920s. otherwise you could go to a coin show/dealer and look through the bargain bins of wheats this way you may not end up with as many extra coins..just two of many ways you could tackle this task.

 

Given the additional post you put up here I can tell you that I have more advice for you. That advice would be to learn before you spend. Your first post indicated that you would be pulling pocket change and putting the coins in albums, which is a fine way to start collecting and can spur the interest of young kids at a very affordable rate. I like this idea, but the only issue I had with it was possibly buying an expensive album when a less expensive album would do the job quite well.

However, you are now writing about putting together sets of cents, nickels, dimes and quarters from 1909 to the present and I will warn you that unless you have many, many thousands of dollars to spend that you will neither finish the sets nor will you enjoy building them. In my opinion, this strategy is fraught with problems and I do not think you undestand them at this point.

Some of the questions that you need answers to before you start this quest are as follows. Will you build date sets or complete sets? Date sets are one coin per denomination per year while complete sets are every coin per denomination per year. Complete sets will cost you multiples of date sets. If you build date sets, do you truly think you will finish them? I guess that depends upon your budget, but a date set of Standing Liberty quarters (SLQs) will necessarily include the 1916 SLQ and this coin is $4,000 or so each in the lowest collectible grades. Additionally, the cumulative nature of the purchases will mean that you will spend well into the five figures (far higher than $10,000) to build even low quality set. What grades do you want to build the sets? The reality is that low grade coins do not always appeal to everyone, yet they are the most affordable. Going up a bit in grade can add multiples to the cost of completion. Do you think your nephews will like coins? It would be a shame to pour substantial money into building collections only to have them pawned, ignored or given away. Why do you want to build sets instead of introducing your nephews to the hobby in a more low key manner? Having sets built for you is not always rewarding since the new owner had no input in the set; it would seem much better to gradually introduce the hobby to your nephews and if they like it then encourage them and participate in the hobby together.

There are many issues you need answers for before you lose your money.

 

Just to clarify, you are going to collect coins, saving them for your nephews? In that case I agree with the poster who mentioned buying those coin albums that you can place 2x2s in. This because you are on a budget, and are not going to be spending hundreds of dollars on high grade ms coins. On a budget you can buy common wheaties for about 6 cents each, 2x2 cardboard flips cost about 5 cents each, and the coin albums can be had for 6 dollars each and hold 60 coins, you could also put the coins in a small collectors box, that can hold at least a hundred for 4 dollars. Another thing to check are rolls of circulated coins from your bank, you can take the best looking coins, and return the ones you do not want.

A date set of Lincoln memorial cents is pretty doable for about face value, a date and mintmark set also should not be too hard, if you include proofs it will cost you quite a bit more. The Jefferson nickels in circulated grades should not be too hard, except for the first couple of nickels, the silver war nickels and the 1950d, the 1950d is mainly found uncirculated so there seem to be very few to be found in roll searching.

If I read you wrong and you are planning on giving your nephews an album and maybe some cents or other coins to do the collecting with, I agree with those who mentioned the blue whitman albums that you can get new for about 4 dollars, that way if they do not take to the hobby your investment is minimal, if they do then you could give them upgrades for birthdays or holidays.

In any case, I think it is very thoughtful to be thinking about introducing your nephews to collecting, it is a good hobby to get into, it can teach them organizational skills, negotiating, how to save for a treasure, and also includes history, chemistry, and economics. It can help give a child a sense of control, since they are in charge of their own collection.

 

I agree with chip. Go with Jefferson nickels from circulation. Each is worth about 6 cents in metal value and you can still get many dates from circulation. If you find any 2009D's, let me know though. Enjoy. TC

 

Go slow at first and buy better coins once you have knowledge of what you are buying.

 

I love searching through rolls and circulated coins and this is one of the reasons I began collecting. My opinion is to choose the types you collect and what you store them in with your sole happiness and pleasure of the hobby in mind. IMO the hobby is a individual enjoyment of numatics and history and let the chips fall where they may with friends and loved ones.

 

You guy are the greatest, thanks for all the advice. I should start separating the coins and that will probably take me a few weeks to do that and then I will let you all know what I end up.

Should I even bother with handling the coins with white cotten gloves since they are circulated?

What if I run across any of the coins that have errors, what should I do with them? Is their a book detailing all the errors to look for?

 

I don;t know if this has been stated or not but, if you are assembling a collection from pocket change for the sheer joy of doing so, then forget what the dealer said.

What you may find is that your interest in collecting may expand beyond the pocket change stage at which point the circulated coinage in the InterceptShield may seem a bit silly.

But.........thats for another time after you've experienced the difficulties you'll encounter with building a collection from pocket change. You'll quickly discover that what you want simply may not be available in your area. For me, Philadelphia coins can be a challenge since I live in California and likewise, San Francisco coins can be a challenge for someone living in New York City. The net result is that if you want to continue, eventually the cost becomes justified for what you are looking for.

Do what you want for now and just get some experience. You may like, you may love it, or you might just get really turned off by it but you'll never really know until you jump in.

Good Luck on whatever decisions the three of you make.

 

My opinion? Collect in the manner you want to right now, and don't listen to anybody else.
I started collecting in exactly the same manner. I had a huge glass jumbo jug that is used for making home made wine, that was 3/4 full of Canadian coinage, and I decided that instead of paying a premium to throw it into a coin star machine, I decided to roll it myself. i couldn't even lift the thing anymore so i had to do something with it.
While doing so I found out just how many varieties of Canadian coinage was out there, so i decided I'll start collecting.
Tho I am not a fan of any album that shows me where I am suppose to put my coins, I bought 2x2's and binder pages, and a book and learned how to grade, and ultimatley selected the best coin I found during the sorting phase.
From that point on, my collecting advanced, which included buying better examples of the ones I originally kept, plus the best examples I could afford of the remainder. Its still an ongoing process for me.
You or your nephew may very well go through the same phases I am going through, and if it includes upgrading your existing ones, then perhaps the albums you selected may have been the best choice.
The more educated you get, the cheaper it will be for you to continue to collect as you will recognize a deal when it stares you in the face.

 

Personally, I don't see much point in collecting coins for your nephews. You might give them a few interesting coins as gifts and see if they think they are cool. If yes, then maybe get into the hobby with them some more. If not, I vote to forget about it. Collect what you like and enjoy the hobby. It is very tough to get someone else into the hobby if they don't have any interest of their own. When most kids get gifted coins they usually are thinking about spending them if they are of low value or cashing them in, if the coins are of high value. Your nephews are probably about average. Jefferson nickels (1938 to date) are about the only set a person collecting only from circulation will have much luck with in terms of getting coins dated before 1964 (well, cents back to 1959, then the wheaties get pulled).

 

Im roll searching nickels right now for a complete jefferson set. It is taking some time. Im going through a box or two a week (sometimes more when I get a chance) and Im still about 10-15 shy of a complete set. I typically find around 1% (about 20 per box) of pre-1960 nickels. Of those most are in the 50s with one war nick (on average).

I could cheat and just buy a complete circulated set off eBay, but it's more fun putting it together for face value. I dont anticipate finding a 50-D anytime soon, but thats half the fun.

I could always take these war nicks that Im accumulating and go to a shop and buy the 50-D with them later, which is an interesting way to think of buying one at a discount.

Ive searched through about $1000-$1200 worth of nickels so far. I was on a penny kick for a long time (still am) but have focused on nickels now.

 

I would start with whitman folders and do some of the more current dated albums. Like 1962 and up. I enjoy doing this for the fun of it. And I use all pocket change. And yes I have done 2 albums of cents, nickels,dimes and quarters. Well maybe only 1 quarter album - will have to check. Kind of fun searching for the one date you are missing.

As mentioned the kids might not be interested - you just never know. You could even try getting them an album to see if they will fill it up on their own. Good Luck and enjoy.

 

...just have fun when collecting and encouraging your nephews. here is some

stuff that may help spark interest that can be entertaining while hunting rolls.

http://www.collectorscorner.org/pocket.html