Coin collecting on a budget

I have a very limited coin budget. Problem is, I LOVE COINS! just looking through the collection I have, going through rolls, looking for bargains & reading about coins is fun for me. I'm not out to make money.

I'm curious about others in the same position. What coins do you collect? Where do you buy them? Has anyone had luck roll searching other than halves & cents (my favorite rolls)?

Thanks!
A-:smile

 

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You can collect most modern clad coins out of rolls if you don't mind circulated coins. As long as you can accept the idea that collections don't have to be composed of uncirculated coins, your options greatly increase. For example, you could visit a local coin shop and put together a collection of all of the silver Roosevelt dimes in circulated condition [1946-1964] on a very limited budget. I would guess that most of the coins could be purchased for about $1.00 each and in the end you would have a nice historical subset of the series that will probably increase in value over time because of the high silver content.

I should also have mentioned that most of the silver Roosevelt dimes are fairly inexpensive in MS condition also.

 

Hey, I know what It's like to collect on a limited budget-hence the YN in my name.

I have collected as far back as barber coins w/ some cheap seated dimes thrown in the mix whenever I can find them.

Basically, the coins you should shoot for are moderns and 2nd generation coins. If you ever feel like splurging on one coin or two, that's perfectly cool too.....I do that every once in awhile.

 

I love rolls, especially cents and dimes. In cent rolls, I seem to get wheaties quite often, and sometimes they date back to the teens or earlier. Sometimes I find silver in dimes as they are often overlooked because many people go after silver quarters and halves. Whatever way you chose to collect, it's a great hobby to be involved in.

 

Searching rolls is fun. I have been going through a nickel phase lately, and am enjoying it.
I too am on a budget. I'm collecting Walking halves. About every other paycheck I go buy a common date one for 20-40 bucks in MS condition. Franklin halves might be a fun series to collect too. Any way you go, I seem to find the best deals at the really big coin shows. Good luck.

 

Oh yeah, I know that feeling. So many coins and so few bucks to spend on them.

I like Lincolns myself, they're cheap for the most part and the series has gone on for so long you can spend a lot of time whittling away at them with you're limited budget. Also, most years there were so many made that you can get them in uncirculated condition for quite a while back. I inherited some IHCs, buffalos and liberty nickels and have added to those from time to time for variety and got a set of ASEs together here and there too. I've tried to get some other things together from time to time, especially when I first started, but I found if you stretch the budget too much it takes a bit of the fun out of it so I narrowed my focus and have been pretty content.

As far as roll searching I mess around with it every once in a while when I think of it and have some extra cash and haven't really found it to be too productive as far as time spent versus what I found but there is something to be said for that little rush you get when you find something cool.

I get most of my coins from a few dealers in the area and a monthly coin show in South Bend. I've about given up on buying on ebay although I still enjoy browsing there when I've got some spare time and I have to say I've found trading online to be a lot of fun as well as a good way to get coins. Mostly, I think I get better deals at that show and I've been spending more of my budget there.

 

Although this is a US Coins forum, please don't overlook the possibilities of World Coins.

Also, learning about coins can still be part of the hobby. It may not be as immediately gratifying as holding that new acquisition in your hand, but it's still fascinating. Once you have the "sunk cost" of Internet access, for example, reading items online is only an investment of time.

 

Collecting coins can be done on any size of budget IMHO---I'm just a "kid" and don't make $$$ but have always tried to save and buy the coins I needed.
If you can't seem to save back money start to buy rolls of quarters and such and put them back----if you can just buy 1-2 rolls of quarters every week....at the end of the year you will have $520-$1040---
I did something like that and it worked really good---I would get about 1-10 rolls every time a new state quarter came out.....then when I found my 1909-S VDB cent that I needed for my set I had the money that I needed and more.
For the last few years I've watched my collection get "better" IMHO as I've taken out coins I don't need and replaced them with better ones---and taken out the lower grade coins when I could and added higher grades.

Speedy

 

Hi,

I like most any coin, if it strikes me as interesting.
I found a 1967 quarter the other day. It was worn pretty smooth, but I put it in my collection because it "spoke" to me. (not litarally, but I'm sure many of you know what I mean).

I search nickel rolls for pre-1970 issues, and clean, lightly circulated post-1970 coins.
I save bronze cents.
I buy silver foreign coins, for a fraction of what US coins sell for.

Fortunately, I'm in a position to collect some more expensive things too.
I can't say that enjoy my $100+ coins more than my pocket change finds.
All my coins are special, especially the ones that were given to me by fellow hobbiests and friends.

Good luck!

 

I get a box of pennies a week..i started out with 25 dollars and i have increased the value of my lincolns, upgraded certain dates, found errors, and its easy because all you have to do is replace the 10-20 or so coins you keep and you get to do it all over again! Great fun!


Peter

 

I like older coins from the 19th century, i have a tight budget, how i handle it is to hold back a little each week and wait for it to build up to a point where i can purchase one gem of a coin from that period. When i set out on a search i target a coin and am patient until "my" coin comes along. my collection is relatively small but each coin is at least xf au on up. My pride is an 1838 quarter that is an ms-60 i love this coin. i have a 1835 half dime slabbed by pcgs as ms-60. I don't buy much each year but when people come to look at it - it can be an eye catcher. I also have a merc dime collection about 60% complete all are bu. it is a lifetime addiction. That is how i do it. Every time i purchase a coin i am on a high for about a week.
(at my age it is better than --- well you know )

 

Those are some awesome coins! :hail:

 

Being retired, and on a fixed income, we have to stay within our budget regarding the purchase of coins.

Luckily for me, it has always been most important to fill the holes in the album, rather than worry about getting high quality coins.

My wife and I have completed sets of Jefferson nickels, Roosevelt dimes, JFK halfs, and Franklin Halfs. Didn't cost that much, but took a lot of searching.

 

I've never quite been able to accept the advice to "buy the best quality you can afford." My lifelong attraction has been mostly to large silver coins [e.g., silver dollars,silver bullion] and I'm more concerned with just not overpaying for what I get rather than looking for a high quality coin or even completing a set. That probably makes me a bad collector.

 

Hey Gary!
Glad to see you!!....glad to see you are still collecting!

Speedy

 

patience and focus works for me for the first years or so I bought low grade stuff from many different series and so on until I found the series that I like (Proof Washingtons) and stick with it but for fun Istill look thru my pocket change and am developing an inexpensive darkside collection

 

"darkside collection?"

world coins?


Peter

 

NO !! It does not make you a bad collector. That is my style, first and foremost you have to enjoy the hobby, everyone has there own style and i highly respect that.

You are only a bad collector if YOU don't like what YOU have done.

 

Yeah I am normally a us collector but the more and more I look at some world coins I am getting sucked in....