Young collector tips

Hello,

I have an 11 yr old son who has picked up an interest in collecting the past year (he loves the new state quarters and has always liked buffalo nickles so he is extremly excited about the new bison series). Interestingly enough I started collecting many years ago at a similar age... but since as a kid I was always buying the "cheapest coins" to fill in the "Whitman" books... 30 yrs later the value obviously hasn't changed.... so here's my question.

"What could an 11 year start collecting now (using ~$5 a week allowance money) that 40 years down the road might actually hold and possibly even increase somewhat in value.... current year PR70's?, silver coins?, cameos? certain current undervalued series (Roosevelt proofs?), foriegn coins ?(I travel a lot and he loves the change I bring home). He is too young to currently be interested in error varieties and of course can not grade, but he learns fast and loves a pretty looking coin. I do see value in this hobby (attention to detail, history lessons, business transactions, meeting new people, etc.) so I am supportive of his interest.

Any and all ideas are welcome for a budding NEWBIE... the more the better!

Thanks,

Mike

 

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I too started at a similar age and am just now picking back up my collection....

I'm not sure that there are a lot of fine investment possibilities at $5/week. My advise would be to just nurture the child's interest and see where it leads.

Having just had the opportunity to go back through my coins now two decades later I realize their real value is in the memories of my grandparents and parents that gave me the coins and/or allowance and furthered my interest. That's really worth more than any coin collected in my youth could ever be.

Just my opinion...Mike

 

well he could save it for awhile and get the bison rolls from the mint http://catalog.usmint.gov/webapp/wc...tegoriesDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001 or the proof or silver proof set, i dont know about any 1 else, but i think the SACS will go up in value, by the way, Welcome

 

With that $5 a week he could do a set of Franklin Hlaf dollars..there are only a few more than that and I think he might be able to talk dad into helping ;--)
Dimes 1965-date
Cents 1959-date
Nickels 1938-Date

You should be able to get these around face value....

If I think of more I'll post again.

Speedy

 

So u r looking 4 coins as an investment? Or as a collector? If u want to buy something to catch his eye, u could buy 2005 American Silver Eagle's. They cost $7-$8 each, there big, shinny and a one dollar coin.

 

Collecting on a $5/wk allowance seems like a great challenge but that is part of the education - planning, saving, researching.

I would encourage him to start with some rolls from the bank. Maybe you could make a deal with him. He gets the rolls and keeps the "keepers" and when he gets so many of a particular coin, you buy the folder for him.

It will take 2 weeks allowance, but half dollar rolls are many times a source of great treasures. There are a lot of silver halfs still floating around out there.

Good luck.

Don't forget the RedBook - makes a great report card gift.

 

You could stock him up with the contemporary coins. Every year I pull the best P's and D's of each denomination that I can find out of circulation. They won't ever be terribly valuable, but, as others have noted, when he pulls them out for his grandkids in 50 years, he'll have quite a memory of time spent with his father, and they'll be impressed by the coins. And for those you can't find in circulation (halves, Sackies), you can always try your local coin store. My guy keeps them around for a small premium over face value.

You also may find that if he really gets into coins, grandparents and aunts/uncles (and even you) will appreciate it come Christmas and birthdays. Finding appreciated gifts for teens (he's approaching that age, after all) is tough. If they know they can spend twenty-some dollars on a proof set, and that he'll like it, they'll buy it for him. Leaving him to save his $5 for something really special. I got my AU 1878CC Morgan dollar that way.

 

I also have an 11 year-old son that is now interested in collecting. I personally don't push the investment side of the hobby because I think it takes away from the pleasure of collecting the coins in the first place. You do however, have to educate yourself on the "true" value of the coins you are collecting so that you aren't paying too much for relatively low-valued coins.
With my son, I try to teach him the history of the coins he is collecting i.e. how long they were minted, what came before and after, why certain coins are valued more than others, etc. He does like error coins and seems to look for them more asggressively than I might have guessed when we started. Don't discount your son's different interests just because they may not be yours. I just think it is important to keep them interested until you are ready to pass your collection on to them.

 

My son (age 5) got involved last year, when his grandfather gave him a beat up (can't even read the date) Ike Dollar. Since then, we have been searching Half Dollar rolls and pulling the silver ones for collection. (I doubt this will make us rich). But, he has learned what to look for and gets excited when he finds a Franklin or WL. He reads the dates, and I usually tell him some family member who's birthyear is in the vicinity of the date...it makes it more interesting to him. But despite all that we have found in our "new collection", he still brings up the "big coin papa gave me".!!!....I guess my point is: I try to use coin collecting (not coin investing) as a way to spend quality time with my son, in a hobby I've had a passion in for years. ((--Don't get me wrong, I do have an appreciation for coin collections as investments!, but the investment return I get from my son's excitement with the hobby is not to seek monetray gains)

 

I feel exactly the same as you do. I have three sons 7,9, and 11 and the time that I spend opening rolls of coins with them is priceless (not to sound like a credit card commercial). They believe that if they roll the rolls of coins on the table 4 times it is more likely to contain a bison coin. It's cute and they are developing coin knowledge and an interest in coin collecting ta boot!
You can't collect without thinking about coin values but it certainly doesn't have to be the main focus. It's like a treasure hunt with many possible treasures.

 

ya i got 3 kids too: 11, 12, and 23
they never listen and all they do is eat. What can i do??? Im on social security and the wife left. One wants a puppy, the other a dirtbike, the other a car!!! what could i do??? I think ill take a nap

 

I would get him the ANA Grading Guide...Red Book...Photograde (but it is only good for the lower grades) and a few books about the topics that he likes.

What I would also do (if he is the only kid) is let him keep my change I get from the store and then every-now-and-then cash it in and buy a coin with it.

Just have fun with him because as other have said...it will mean more to you than anything else.

I know collecting with my dad has been great...we don't collecting alike at all...he likes this and I wouldn't even think about buying it!!
It goes to show that no two people are alike.

Speedy

 

Just what I thought.....

 

I agree with those who voiced that he should collect what he likes. My suggestion is a bit different in that I would suggest some form of token collecting. Some types, such as transportation tokens, are very inexpensive even for 85-90 year old tokens. I've purchased them in small lots for less than .10 each, including s/h. If you live in an older cummunity, locally issued tokens may spark that special interest because the businesses may still be active, or at least the buildings may remain to provide a down home sense of history. Library research or postcards related to those merchants enlarge the window providing the view into the past. Many types of token collecting require much more involvement with the "hunt" than the plunking down of cash at the coin shop counter, and $5/week can buy many tokens. IMO tokens can provide for a more intense history session, especially on the local level. Or he may think tokens from merchants with the same last name are neat. Granted, this type of collecting is not for everyone, but if you feel your son may have some interest here, message me and I will be glad to send a sampling of tokens.

 

Wow!... I received a mssg in my inbox that indicated a user had responded to my post and low and behold when I logged on there were over 10 replies!

Lots of great ideas, and even better advice... thanks for pointing out that some of the most priceless returns will be the memories! (by the way Spider... he also wants a puppy and a dirtbike.... but those cost much more than $5.00!... what does SACS stand for?

Thanks again everyone!

Mike

 

SACS stand for Sacagawea Dollars from 2000-date

Speedy

 

Help him collect those items that interest him. In the course of time, if he continues, he will naturally follow a number of different collecting trails, in some of which, you will follow him and he will be the expert. A proud day for a father to see his son take the lead.
On a more personal note, I echo the comments of CWTOKENMAN. If the young one takes an interest in his local history local tokens are an ideal way of bringing life to the past. I am very fortunate, as I live in England, I am able to collect tokens from the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th Centuries as they all form part of my numismatic history. In some cases, the 17th Century tokens are the only remaining records of some London streets before the great fire of 1666.

Regards

PAB.

 

At the risk of sounding trite I'd reccommend a Krause catalog. You can pick up a little older edition for next to nothing if you get to coin shows or buy him a brand new 20th century edition for around $40. He apparently likes the world coins so it will encourage him to look them up and learn about them.

Additionally there are real financial incentives to much of this material. Most of the potential probably lies in the unc coins but he would probably gravitate in this direction anyway. Just be sure he knows that where there is a choice in coins at the same cost to always select the nicest example. There are numerous coins and exonumia which probably have more potential but he'll do best and enjoy it more if he chooses as much as possible.

There are many 20th century coins which are scarce or rare and if he knows his stuff he'll not only have them in his collection but will also know which they are.

 

i agree Dan

by the way Snowbird, im only 14, just having fun with the "Olda Crew" no im not a gangster