Hey guys i justarted collecting coins and find it a good hobby to start to start to get into. I started buying single US coins such as large cents and morgans also some WWII nazi coins I find really cool. I purchases some small lots of world coins and just kind of pickin through them and ttying to identify em. As I get more and more coins im tring to decide which ones i want to put in flips, label and put them in my album and others probably just put in a coin jar. What do you all do when buying lots and tring to figure ones you want close to your personal collection and the ones you dont?
It all depends on what you like ? Artistic designs ? , deferent types of metals ? Time periods ? History related to each coin ? Grade rarity ? How cheap or how expensive a coin was to buy ??? It is different for every person. As you get more experienced with coins you will narrow your focus on which coins you will want to hunt down/collect. You can always sell/trade coins you don't want anymore.
In the beginning, it's great to by some low cost coins to get them in hand and see if you really like the designs. I would get a redbook and browse through it. Find out if any designs really pique your interest. If you hone in on a particular design, then do some homework on the series before you start spending any money on nicer coins. Also, visit here often and read the threads. Many, many, many experienced collectors/numismatists on the site to help with any questions you have. Oh, please ask questions if you're not sure. Have fun!
Hi, I am pretty new to collecting as well. I bought a lot of coins in the beginning as well (I actually still do just a little more focused). I was a sawed-off shotgun (splatter gun) buying anything and everything LOW PRICED. I found a local coin shop and the dealer there is a truly nice person. He schooled me a bit on what I should start learning. As I did start, and most certainly continuing learning, is most of what I bought was great if I just liked the coins, but the coins themselves were worthless as far as the market goes. I was sucked into the "if it is old it must be a great coin" thought process. Hey, if that is what one wants then they are priceless. That is not all that I was looking for though. In some ways it was, I liked getting a set of early Indian Pennies that the dates were legible and I will be able to share with my Granddaughter when she is old enough. I like to show my wife and Son. So, I am happy with that. I am also interested in some value from my coins as well. I cannot afford the High price coins that will be worth big money, but I would like for my Grandaughter or GreatGrandChildren to have something of small value left to them. Hopefully, they will deem some of the fun I have found out of them. My overall point is that what these folks are saying is to learn. That is what lead me to this site. I have only been here a few weeks and love it. I have bought a few books and magazines. I am sticking to what I know right now and will expand as I am ready and want too. By ready, I mean when I feel I am knowledgable enough to pursue the new area somewhat confidently. Learning was the best advice I received. Good luck and let us know how things are going . Brad
Great advice and thanks for replying. It is a bit overehelming at first but very interesting at the same time. I started buying cheap bulk lots on ebay both us and world coins to help me familiarize myself with different designs and which coins seem really common etc. Alot of world coins now i can identify the country off the bat and a little extra research to determine the mintage amount etc. Buying the red book seems like a good idea too and that way I can just read through it and look at different coins without actually having to buy them. So far im enjoying this new hobby very much and just found out there is a small monthly coin show where I live once a month I will have to start attending Learning the market is very interesting too. I still dont understand why there are some relatively low mintage world coins that look really cool and are cheap but some of these US coin prices are through the roof with a higher mintage. Obviously there is much more demand but sometimes I scratch my head why. Thanks for the advice guys!
That sounds fun. Figuring out the countries for world coins sounds like a challenge. I like the looks of a lot of them myself, but I have not had the funds leftover to go into that yet.
Supply and demand. Grade and rarely have a lot to do with pricing. Learning about coins is a life long journey that never ends. I have been collecting for 20 years now. I am very focused on which coins I want to buy and on the hunt for. I enjoy the hunt and doing the research part of coins. Most important thing is to have fun doing it.
Well when I started out I was all over the place collecting everything. Then I decided then I wanted to do topical/themed collections. I am mostly into world coins. Such as "Coins with Insects", "Coins with hands", "coins with certain stars", "coins with small coins as the design itself", Odd sided coins. Now I am collecting Toned coins, errors and varieties coins, my real passion is 18th and 19th century world coins. Now I am very focused on 2 Canada toned sets...Caribou quarters from 1937-1968 and toned 50 cent pieces from dates 1937-1968. I only need a few (4-5) in each to complete them. Then after that I will go into collecting affordable world gold coins. I will eventually get some ancients coins. This all takes time and saving up money for the coins.
#2 German States/Baden... I like the griffins. #3 San marino gold spider. #4 Slovakia proof beetle cross... #5 Italy 1919 Bee...
My 2 favorite United States variety coins... 1984 Doubled Ear... and this doubled eye variety... saving up for a Indian $5.00 dollar piece in high MS grade.
