Numismatic gift suggestions for little ones?

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by goldrealmoney79, Nov 28, 2020.

  1. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    Well, depending on the young lady's likes and dislikes, you've got a lot to choose from ! But the one thing that has never failed me when trying to interest a youngster is something that has a story that goes along with it. The better the story, the greater the interest usually is. Mind ya now, likes and dislikes help determine what that story should be about ;)
     
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  3. KBBPLL

    KBBPLL Well-Known Member

    Since you're giving her the 2009 cents, maybe a decent magnifying glass? Show her all the varieties on Wexlers and see if she has any?
     
  4. Long Beard

    Long Beard Well-Known Member

    Only one other person suggested the old blue folder? Good grief Charlie Brown. Only thing better would be to throw in the Red Book as already mentioned.
     
  5. CamaroDMD

    CamaroDMD [Insert Clever Title] Supporter

    I think Whitman Folders and a Red Book is a great choice too.
     
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  6. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    The blue Whitman folders seem to be a great idea for kids/coins. But, in truth they are about the worst thing ever invented for coins. They are arguably responsible for destroying more coins than any other single cause !

    So, if you want that kid to still have the coins that started his/her collecting 20, 30 years from now - don't get them Whitman folders.
     
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  7. MK Ultra

    MK Ultra Well-Known Member

    Wife and I always brought back coins from foreign countries for the nieces and nephews when we were fortunate enough to travel.

    One nephew, 11, enjoyed the coins and wanted to start collecting. I got a notebook, some pages, and a bunch of different coins, (foreign & domestic), and put them in the pages. He wasn't real enthusiastic about it. But I did take him to a coin show and took him around with me. He liked the steel cents, and several other things that escape me now. He seemed to really enjoy the interactions and variety. His holy grail is the "Panama pill", and I'm still looking for one. But it seemed like he really enjoyed the coin show.

    Of course, then the pandemic hit, but maybe next year?
     
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  8. tartanhill

    tartanhill Well-Known Member

    I've been giving my five grandchildren coins for many years. For their birthdays they get US coins which I started with the half cent and worked my way up in denominations. They even have a $1 gold piece and a 20 cent piece in their collections. For Christmas I give them an ancient Greek or Roman coin, and I explain the historical significance of the coins when I give them to them. One year I let them pick out an animal that they wanted to see on a coin. I usually try to stick to about $100 per coin, but sometimes I go over - I spent $160 for a Greek coin with a rabbit on it for my grand daughter. Then sometimes I compensate for the overpriced coin by spending less the next year. This year I bought a lot of five Alexander III bronzes for less than $200, but also bought five Alexander III tetradrachms for next year at a little over $100 each. I think it's important that you explain the importance of coins and the history of coins when you give them as gifts to children; it gives more meaning to the gift and creates more interest and will mean more to them in the future.
     
  9. CamaroDMD

    CamaroDMD [Insert Clever Title] Supporter

    I agree with you they are bad for coins...but if we are talking about young kids picking coins out of change, they are a cheap and easy way to do it.

    That is more about sparking an interest rather than assembling a set that is going to have value over a lifetime.

    As you and I both know, there really aren't any good "album" based systems for coins that are good for the coins. There really aren't any good ways to display coins in any way that I have found. Frankly, that has been one of the big struggles for me in this hobby.

    But, I don't see any harm in using blue folders to collect circulation coins. They are cheap and easy and that's how so many of us got our start. If it hadn't been for my desire to "fill holes" in Whitman Folders I don't think I ever would have gotten interested.
     
  10. brokrken

    brokrken Active Member

    I have found that kids really like larger coins. So, Ikes and Franklins are good way to start without spending too much
     
  11. beaver96

    beaver96 Well-Known Member

    My granddaughter is 10 and showed an interest in coin collecting so I gave her a red book and told her to study it for a week and report back to me about any coin that interested her. A week later she showed up with a list of her favorite coins that we narrowed down to buffalo nickels and state quarters.
    To get her started I gave her a magnifying glass, a stapler and a handful of 2x2's. I put together a roll of old buffalos and a roll of state quarters to go through and told her to bring me back any duplicates and I would trade her for more to go through.
    Win, win since now she visits me about every other week to get more coins. I get to enjoy her company and enthusiasm and she gets a solid education about a hobby that can last her a long time or at least until she gets interested in boys.
     
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  12. Mountain Man

    Mountain Man Supporter! Supporter

    One important factor you left out is her age. If she doesn't already have the accessories for coin collecting; i.e. loop, cotton gloves, 2x2s, etc. then I would suggest those, and maybe a pound of world coins for her to spend time going through.
     
  13. SmokinJoe

    SmokinJoe Well-Known Member

    Have to say goldrealmoney79 that everyone has a good idea on what you should/could get your niece....I would suggest getting her some Wheat Cents. Gotta believe she will like how the wheats look and hey....With luck she can find them all by herself! GET HER SOME WHEATS.jpg
     
  14. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    I get all that, believe me, I do. But protecting the coins for 20-30 years, it's not about monetary value, it's about sentimental value. And what those coins that started it all, being in the same or near same condition, will mean to that child 30 years from now. And that's something one simply cannot put a price on !

    So, if you go that route, Whitman folders, then you are under an obligation to explain that to the child before they go too far down that road. In my opinion of course.
     
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  15. CamaroDMD

    CamaroDMD [Insert Clever Title] Supporter

    I get what you are saying. I really do. But, it's also important to make it easy for a young child so they can enjoy the hobby. I'm not sure of anything that is as easy as a Whitman Folder.
     
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  16. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    They're easy, but so are other, and a whole lot safer, options.
     
  17. Preif18

    Preif18 Member

    I think one or two binders with a few coins in them would be interesting for her. Save some change and have her look through it with you.
     
  18. CamaroDMD

    CamaroDMD [Insert Clever Title] Supporter

    I would love an example. If you know of a cheap and easy system that is safer that young kids can use please let me know. I honestly don't know of one.

    The only thing I can think of is a Dansco or similar album but they are far more expensive and I worry that a young child (and we still don't know the age) might struggle with them.
     
  19. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    I never said they were cheap, just that they were easy and safer. It's pretty easy for even a 5 or 6 year old to put a coin in an Air-Tite. And then put that Air-Tite in an inert album designed for Air-Tites. Mom, dad, aunt, uncle, grandparent - they pay the bill, not the kid.

    Do that, and 30 years from now the coins will be for the most part just like they were when they put them in there. And that's what you can't put a cost on !
     
  20. CoinCorgi

    CoinCorgi Tell your dog I said hi!

    The Lincoln Memorial cents are now what the Wheaties were to us older collectors - i.e. an old coin not in production but obtainable in everyday change.
     
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  21. CamaroDMD

    CamaroDMD [Insert Clever Title] Supporter

    I understand what you are saying. But, airtites cost 50 cents each. We're talking about giving a kid a jar of cents and letting them dig through it and getting interested in the hobby.

    Give the kid a Memorial Cent Whitman and let them have fun. That's what the hobby is about...fun. Let them learn all the other details later. If you don't make it fun on the front end, they won't like it. One quick way to not make it fun is to create all kinds of restrictions.
     
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