Seeking advice on world coin collection

Discussion in 'World Coins' started by Miz Zie, Jul 19, 2015.

  1. Miz Zie

    Miz Zie New Member

    Hi all,

    I am currently new to coin collection. My father had handed me 2000 coins from all over the world he had collected for last couple of years. I have no experience as a coin hobbyist, but I would like to become one.

    Please help me with tips and advices on how to categorize them- some I do not even know where these coins are used because they are in different language-store them and probably sell some.

    All tips are appreciated in advance.
     
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  3. chrisild

    chrisild Coin Collector

    One common way of categorizing your coins would be by country. In some cases that should be easy, in others (no or abbreviated country name, scripts that you are not familiar with, etc.) it will be tougher. As long as you don't make 2,000 "please identify" posts here ;) photos will help ...
     
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  4. paddyman98

    paddyman98 I'm a professional expert in specializing! Supporter

    Hello welcome to Cointalk! :woot:
    First thing you need is patience. I too inherited my dads world coin collection, a bit more than 2000 coins, and it took me awhile to sort them out.
    Asian letters you might have trouble because each country is different, China, Japan and Korea have different forms of characters.
    Arabic letters are all similar but is used in different areas such as Egypt, Iraq, Sudan, Pakistan etc.
    I like to use a website called Numista - there you can search for almost any coin when you provide the info of your coin such as country, date, design, value.
    On the top of the website just hit the Catalogue tab, hit Search and then Advanced Search. It's a good tool and you don't even have to join.

    Any problems just post a picture here on Cointalk and we can try to help. But one at a time. Like chrisild stated don't post all 2000 coins at the same time... patience!
     
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2015
  5. cpm9ball

    cpm9ball CANNOT RE-MEMBER

    First, welcome to the neighborhood!

    Paddyman98 has given you pretty good advice. The other alternative would be to buy the Krause books which can be pretty expensive.

    Chris
     
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  6. triggersmob

    triggersmob World Collector

  7. medjoy

    medjoy Active Member

    Hello and welcome to coin talk.
    Sorting them by country is a common method. Some use themes.
    Perhaps your father could help you with the origins.
    Learn before selling.
     
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  8. cladking

    cladking Coin Collector

    Identifying countries gets pretty easy pretty fast. Some specific coins are much tougher. For example "Dansk" is always Denmark but not all Danish coins have "Dansk" on them. You'll start picking out other clues like "ore" is the fractional currency of Denmark.

    Pick up an old Krause world coin catalog. The older the better but there's a trade off between being up to date and accuracy plus ease of use. About a 2004 edition might be ideal. Ignore all pricing in it though.
     
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  9. Daniel Jones

    Daniel Jones Well-Known Member

    My favorite, and most helpful source of info. on this subject has been "The World coin catalogue". I just simply went to my local library and got one to take home. After looking it over for a good part of the day, I really learned a lot about Arabic, Asian, Baltic etc. coins, and how to distinguish the many foreign symbols, styles etc.
     
  10. doug5353

    doug5353 Well-Known Member

    The lengthy Introduction in any Krause World Coin Catalog is a good place to start reading; in my copy, it's pages 4 to 14. LOTS of key information there.

    If no one else mentions this fact, do NOT clean or polish your coins. No scouring powder, no pencil erasers, no Windex, no Brasso, no baking soda, no steel wool, no Glass Wax, NONE of that stuff. No one has talked about little holders and envelopes, either, but that's too detailed (and controversial) to get into here.

    If you store the coins in something you can write on, always write the KM, Y, or C number, that will help you locate the coin in the catalog again. Those are initials for the entry-level catalogs, being Krause-Mishler (obsolete now?), Yeoman, and Craig. For instance, Canadian dimes starting with Queen Elizabeth are (type) #KM-51, but varieties add KM 61, 67, 67a, 72, 72a, 73, 77.1, 77.2, etc.

    You might want to pull out all the coins containing silver and keep them separate; a day will probably come when most will be worth more as bullion than as collectible numismatic coins; that's already the case for some series, such as well-circulated Canadian dimes, etc.
     
  11. Scropper

    Scropper Member

    Just a tiny piece to add here, I usually categorize by region, then country. Leave lots of space between pieces to move things around while you get your bearings.

    I go Region (maybe Continent?), Country, Year, sub-region (if necessary) Grade

    I keep most of my coins in three-ring binders in pages for 2x2 flips in pvc-flips or cardboard flips, and I'm sure to leave holes every few rows or spaces for new pieces or pieces that may have been miscategorized.
     
  12. Victor

    Victor Coin Collector

    Most town or city libraries have the Krause manual reference.
     
  13. Ed23

    Ed23 Active Member

    Welcome to Coin Talk!

    If nothing else works, sort them by the material they are made of: Silver, gold, copper, bronze, aluminum, nickel, plastic, tin, cardboard, etc.
     
  14. GSDykes

    GSDykes Well-Known Member

    Welcome, keep the coins away from excessive heat and light, and moisture. Handle by the edges only. Get one or both Krause publications: "Collecting World Coins" which is more brief, or the larger World Coin Catalogue. One of these two books is a must. As time passes, you will grow and really be consumed by the coins left to you. You are fortunate. Do NOT let the coins themselves become an idol, you should still live a "normal" life. :nailbiting:The NGC website, and NUMISTA are the two best on World Coins. Do not sell anything until you study. If you sell or trade use some of the duplicates first. FIRST read one of the two books above. Join the American Numismatic Association, (ANA) you can use my number below if you need a sponsor's number. Again welcome, from a fellow world coin collector!
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2015
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  15. Miz Zie

    Miz Zie New Member

    Thank you all
     
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  16. techwriter

    techwriter Well-Known Member

    Welcome aboard. :) Lots of good advice and guidance. I would definitely check out your local or regional library and if you're fortunate enough to live near a university then check out their library. I just donated the updated 4 volume Standard Catalog of World Coins (now there's a 5th volume) set to our local library because they had ZERO world coin references. As for sorting and storing, I'd go to a Dollar Tree or Dollar General or Wal-Mart or wherever and buy some inexpensive plastic storage containers and a roll of masking tape. Put the coins by country in the container and write the name on the tape and put it on top and/or side; makes finding things so much easier. Anyway, enough from me. Enjoy the journey. Oh, and you'll be amazed at how your knowledge of geography increases as you find countries you only thought you knew about.
     
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  17. Daniel Jones

    Daniel Jones Well-Known Member

    Oh yes, good advice. However, I just noticed Miz Zie last posted July 20, so I am wondering if she is still around anymore to read these posts.
     
  18. joecoincollect

    joecoincollect Well-Known Member

    Find a local coin shop, pick up the 2x2 cardboard holders for 5 or more cents each. I get a 100 for 3 dollars. Get different sizes, then staple them up carefully, and push down the back of the staples! Then start looking them up in a Krause catalogue at a library or barnes and noble. I sort my world coins first by silver and nonsilver, then by regions like Africa, Middle East, US, Europe etc.
     
  19. Jason Hoffpauir

    Jason Hoffpauir Avid Coin Collector

    My advice; take the advice of the experts on this and other coin collecting forums. There are hundreds and hundreds of years of experience that is valuable to you. My advice to you is one that everyone knows already.

    "Buy the book, before you buy the coin". Get yourself a small introductory library so that when you have a question you can simply look it up. GOD helps those that help themselves. Welcome to the world of Numismatics!!! :smuggrin:
     
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  20. frech001

    frech001 New but Old

    The previous advice above was helpful for me as well. I acquired a similar world coin collection from a friend who inherited them and didn't know what to do with them. I purchased the Krause catalogs on CDs and installed them on my laptop. I found the ability to search digitally was very useful. I could search on the various images such as lion, fish, wheat, etc when I couldn't read any of the text. I also found that the free website http://dateconverter.net/ was helpful in figuring out the date of the coin so I knew which Krause edition to search in. Another resource is a free pdf document to search on distinct coin symbols available for download at: http://www.numismaticnews.net/instant-identifier-a-guide-to-20th-century-coins

    Sometimes, I just looked at pictures in Krause as for the Chinese coins, picking out a particular aspect of the coin to find the coin I had. The differences between provinces and mint marks are helpful. Your father may already have (had) references, perhaps digital on his computer, so check that. He may have even created a digitized catalog list of them as I did using Excel with headings such as “Country/Date/Metal/Silver-Gold oz./Face Value/Standard Catalog Listing/Est. Grade/Book Value. Once created you can sort the list by country, year etc. and create separate sheets for each country. Ebay is also a helpful reference tool if you know the country and date of a coin you can search the listings for your coin. Often sellers will provide Krause numbers and if they suggested a grade you can compare yours, of course certified grades or most reliable. If you obtain the Krause catalogs, take time to read the brief information about the country. It is a wonderful quick glimpse of world geography and history and provides a perspective of the times and people who held the coin.
     
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  21. Kentucky

    Kentucky Supporter! Supporter

    Since she has 2000 coins...100/$3...2000/$60...don't know if she wants to spend that.
     
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