So, I first got into coins when I was in middle school...starting around 1997 or so. At the time, I have very little money and really liked to fill holes in albums. I collected every type of coin...a lot from circulation and others from local coin shops. Because of my low money...I choose to buy lots of common, low grade coins. So, I have a large assortment of IHCs, Liberty Head Nickels, Buffalos, ect. A lot of coins, but not much value. Now that I am older...I still don't have a lot of money, but I am finding myself very unsatisfied with my collection. I have decided that I'm not going to buy coins just to have the coins anymore...any coin I buy will be one I will be proud to own. Since I have been actively collecting again, over the last year all coins I have bought fit into this group. There haven't been a lot, but I have picked up some BU Type B Washington's, a slabbed AU Type C '64-D quarter, a nice slabbed toned dime, MOH commemorative dollar, and a small assortment of BU German coins that fit in my collection. My problem is...what to do with my childhood accumulation. I am currently (slowly) going through it...and cataloging it. I don't know if I should just hang onto it for now and basically start over with a "second coin collection" of nice coins. If I hang onto the "bad" coins...I could always give them to my future children if they develop an interest. I don't know if I want to part with them, but it is a lot of space and how knows...if I sold them, I could probably add several nice pieces. So, I'm clearly a little lost and overwhelmed with it. LOL
It sounds like the coins collected during your earlier days would not bring much money today. So, I would recommend that you keep them all for another 25 to 50 years. You will really like looking at your early collection in 25 or 50 years. It will bring back good memories I think. P.S. It might even bring back memories of writing this thread on that old thing you used to call the Internet.
Why not try this? If you have a preference for one of your local coin shops, take everything to the dealer and ask if he would be interested in buying it and what he would be willing to pay. Instead of selling to him (unless the offer is a lot better than you expected) see if there is a local coin club where you could advertise the entire collection for sale using the dealer's offer and adding 10-15%. Don't get too greedy. Remember, you said that a lot came from circulation so you got them for face value. Perhaps one of the coin club members has a son or grandson, and these could be used as starter sets. Chris
hold a contest and rig it so Im the winner and get all the old coins you dont like/dont want! lol. Jk Anyway, I do like both Collect89 and cpm9ball's ideas. It would be hard for me to choose between selling/keeping them for a next generation.
Give them to your dental patients. If they know they'll get a prize after each visit, maybe people won't be so afraid to visit their dentist. Guy
I was/am in your exact same boat. When I was a kid I would collect anything with, "In God We Trust" on it. Now that I'm older and got a job in my dream PT career, I recently scavenged through the collection and found a bunch of "junk." In all honesty, everything went into the car for change that wasn't of any significance. Jefferson set from 1975-2000-good for sales tax purchases. How about that initial circulated dime set in an album, dates ranging from 1985-2002, yep, got rid of those too. Dateless Buffs, kept those. Mercs that I can hardly distinguished...yep kept those. All sentimental coins-properly stored and protected. You get the idea. If it's common, low grade, circulation stuff, I got rid of it. Hopefully, now that I have a job I'll build a more credible collection.
