Intresting question. My simple answer is- collect what pleases you.
Many folks do not realize how many different and intresting aspects of coin collecting can lead you to all sorts of wonderful experiances. You might decide to collect a topic or go topical. This would mean that you choose a particular subject, let's say, presidents. You would therefore collect coins that depict only presidents. You might want to pick your own country or another country or both, or even all presidents worldwide.
Or you may twant to pick a metal, say silver, gold, or copper and collect only those coins which include only that metal composition. Or maybe animals on coins, flowers,flags, maps, etc. The list goes on and on.
One thing for sure is, there iare plenty of chices out there to get started. However, if you do decide to pick a topic, there may not be an album or folder in which to cllect these coins. You would then want to buy pages in which to store them, a 3 ring binder in which to store the pages and 2x2 holders in which to store the individual coins, thereby making your own album.
A rule of thumb when just starting, though, is to collect what you enjoy looking at, what pleases you and is appealing to you to look at. Listen to your heart and follow through.
Collecting foreign coins topically is very inexpensive. You will not likely ever sell your beginners collection for a profit somewhere down the line but oh, the fun you will have.
Or you can collect the good ole USA. Lot's of choices starting with the easiest, the Lincoln cent. It's been around since 1909. or the Jefferson nickel which has been around since 1938. And the Roosevelt dime, around since 1948, and the list goes on-Washington quarter-1932, Kennedy half-1963, etc.
Many trade magazines, Numismatic News and Coin Worl can set you in the right direction. There are lot's of ads in the back of these newspapers, catogorized to make searching simple. Write to a few of the dealers who's ads are listed, send for their catalogs and develop a relationship with them. You may be surprised at how friendly and helpful they will be.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Storing Coins Properly
It has been my opinion that when first starting out in the hobby of coin collecting that you should try it on the cheap. This means, in this case, useing the readily available, inexpensive, and easily recognizable blue Whitman folders. These are available at most larger bookstores like Barnes and Noble as well as online at a discount.
They are made of a hard cardboard with a blue paper cover and have slots for pushing coins into place. They also have spaces for all mints if collecting by series. This way if you decide that this hobby is not for you, you are not out by very much money. If, later you decide that you enjoy this wonderful hobby, you can upgrade to the better but more expensive coin albums.
There are pros and cons to both though. The folders have a backing of glue which over the years may transfer to the side of the coin that is not facing out. The albums eliminate this problem by having two side to view the coin with plastc. neutral covers on both sides that easily remove to add or take out coins. A picture of one of the folders is displayed in this article.
If you are useing the folders it would be best to only insert coins of a lower grade that you might want to replace at a later date with better grade coins.
If you want to store coins, such as duplicates, outside of the folder then there are many ways to do this. There are coin envelopes made of paper, two by twos (2"x2") cardboard holders with a plastic front and back that you staple together, vinyl "flips" that are clear all around, and many different plastic holders that snap together,screw together,etc. Of course you will ultimately decide which is best for you, either out of expense or how you want to look at and/or display your coins.
As a word of caution, most collectors no longer use the paper envelope holders as acid in the paper can discolor coins and seiously devalue them. This also holds true for the vinyl flip. The plastic can change over the years and actually adhere to the coins. They are advisable only for short term storage.
All coins should be stored in an environmentally secure place, free of moisture. A place such as your cellar is a NO-NO! A closet in a warm room is okay as long as moisture is controllable. The same goes for almost any collectible. I hope this article has been of use and that you will post any comments, pro or con. Help me to help make this a site evryone can find easy to use and imformative. Happy collecting!
They are made of a hard cardboard with a blue paper cover and have slots for pushing coins into place. They also have spaces for all mints if collecting by series. This way if you decide that this hobby is not for you, you are not out by very much money. If, later you decide that you enjoy this wonderful hobby, you can upgrade to the better but more expensive coin albums.
There are pros and cons to both though. The folders have a backing of glue which over the years may transfer to the side of the coin that is not facing out. The albums eliminate this problem by having two side to view the coin with plastc. neutral covers on both sides that easily remove to add or take out coins. A picture of one of the folders is displayed in this article.
If you are useing the folders it would be best to only insert coins of a lower grade that you might want to replace at a later date with better grade coins.
If you want to store coins, such as duplicates, outside of the folder then there are many ways to do this. There are coin envelopes made of paper, two by twos (2"x2") cardboard holders with a plastic front and back that you staple together, vinyl "flips" that are clear all around, and many different plastic holders that snap together,screw together,etc. Of course you will ultimately decide which is best for you, either out of expense or how you want to look at and/or display your coins.
As a word of caution, most collectors no longer use the paper envelope holders as acid in the paper can discolor coins and seiously devalue them. This also holds true for the vinyl flip. The plastic can change over the years and actually adhere to the coins. They are advisable only for short term storage.
All coins should be stored in an environmentally secure place, free of moisture. A place such as your cellar is a NO-NO! A closet in a warm room is okay as long as moisture is controllable. The same goes for almost any collectible. I hope this article has been of use and that you will post any comments, pro or con. Help me to help make this a site evryone can find easy to use and imformative. Happy collecting!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Grading Coins
There is no great mystery to grading coins but there is a lot of controversy. it depends on wether or not you are collecting for fun (hobby0 or collecting for profit (investing). This article is about your hobby so have some fun with it.
Many years ago grading coins was fairly simple. It cosisted of simple grades, which ranged from Fair to prrof. Somewhere along the line investors decided to get in on the "hobby" and developed a system called M.S. grading, or "mint state" grading as the initials stand for. I will attempt to unravel simple grading here.
Coins normally start with a grade of "Good". This would be the minimal grade you would want to collect in or you will be attempting to upgrade with a better coin later. There are also grades beneath good which would include "almost good"(AG), Fair (Fr.") and Filler.You might want a filler grade for an extremely rare date just to say you have the coin but it is generally advised that you collect at Good or above.The next grade is Very Good (VG),then Fine (Fn),Very Fine (VF,Extra Fine (Ef), A.U. (Almost Uncirculated, Uncirculated (Unc.), and Proof (Pf.).
A great place to view the differences in the simple grading system would be to obtain a guide book called The Photograding Guide. You should obtain an older copy from a source such as Amazon or Half.com really cheap. The photo's in this book tell you about the grades and use photographs of different coins in different grades. Until the M.S. system came along this was the bible of grading U.S. coins. There is also a lot of imformation that touches on other subjects about U.S. coins.
Learn to grade coins yourself before you attempt to buy them from a dealer and when you are comfortable with your new knowledge do not hesitate to ask your dealer how he came to the grade he assigned to the coin if you think it might be wrong. But always be polite as your dealer has many years of experiance in his subject matter and you want to stay on his/her good side as you may be able to work better deals in price with him as the two of you become aquainted.
A good place to obtain timely imformation on U.S. coins is a publication called Numismatic News which is published every week and also includes a price guide once a month. It is available from Krause Publications and is a wise investment for beginners and experienced alike. Anothe publication is Coin World but it tends to drift in subject matter covering U.S. and world coins and paper money.
This is just the beginning to grading coins and I will do an article soon about the M.S. system of grading at a later date. This article was intenede to help you get your feet wet only.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Cleaning Coins
For as long as I can remember this has been a touchy subject amongst seasoned coin collectors. The big questin of "should I or should'nt I". Yes, in some cases and no for the majority of cases would be my best answer.
Let's say you find a coin that was buried at the beach or one found with a metal detector deep in the soil. Time and the elements have done damage to this coin no doubt. Caked on dirt, oxidation, abrasions make this coin less valuable for any purpose, especially if you cannot identify it. Cleaning this coin will then be acceptable. A coin such as this would have to be cleaned lightly at first. Start with a soft toothbrush and baking soda as this is the least likely way to do any further damage. Lightly brush the coin with a paste made from the baking soda and water. What do have,what details have you brought forth and can you now see enough to identify this coin. Make sure you fully rinse the coin and dry it with a soft clean cloth. If this has not brought out the desired effect then use a stiff bristle toothbrush and repeat the process until you get the desired effect. Under no circumstance should you ever use a caustic chemical like bleach,SOS pad,a wire brush as you will most likely damage the coin permanently.
If you are cleaning a Buffalo nickel it is a bit different. Use the same process as above first. You may notice that the date may not be visible on these coins no matter how much you clean them. Fear not. Although it is not always the best choice, a coin of this type need to be handled differently. There is a product on the market called Nik-a-date. It is caustic and acid based and should be handled with extreme care as it can cause skin burns. Use appropriate gloves and goggles or safety glasses to avoid a splash in the eyes. Put a very small drop of this product on the spot where the date is supposed to show. Wait a bit as the chenical does it's job of eating away at the buildup that hides the date. You should soon be able to see some trace of the date after about a minute or so. Dab off the chemical and properly dispose of the leftover on your cloth. You can also use the same tactic to find a mintmark on the reverse of this coin. This process can be used on any coin made of the metal nickel.
Copper coins would go through the same careful process of only baking soda. Silver coins should be allright with a quality silver cleaner. Always make sure to dry all coins completely as to avoid any further reactions to these coins. I hope this article has been of some help and welcome opinions and further advice.
Let's say you find a coin that was buried at the beach or one found with a metal detector deep in the soil. Time and the elements have done damage to this coin no doubt. Caked on dirt, oxidation, abrasions make this coin less valuable for any purpose, especially if you cannot identify it. Cleaning this coin will then be acceptable. A coin such as this would have to be cleaned lightly at first. Start with a soft toothbrush and baking soda as this is the least likely way to do any further damage. Lightly brush the coin with a paste made from the baking soda and water. What do have,what details have you brought forth and can you now see enough to identify this coin. Make sure you fully rinse the coin and dry it with a soft clean cloth. If this has not brought out the desired effect then use a stiff bristle toothbrush and repeat the process until you get the desired effect. Under no circumstance should you ever use a caustic chemical like bleach,SOS pad,a wire brush as you will most likely damage the coin permanently.
If you are cleaning a Buffalo nickel it is a bit different. Use the same process as above first. You may notice that the date may not be visible on these coins no matter how much you clean them. Fear not. Although it is not always the best choice, a coin of this type need to be handled differently. There is a product on the market called Nik-a-date. It is caustic and acid based and should be handled with extreme care as it can cause skin burns. Use appropriate gloves and goggles or safety glasses to avoid a splash in the eyes. Put a very small drop of this product on the spot where the date is supposed to show. Wait a bit as the chenical does it's job of eating away at the buildup that hides the date. You should soon be able to see some trace of the date after about a minute or so. Dab off the chemical and properly dispose of the leftover on your cloth. You can also use the same tactic to find a mintmark on the reverse of this coin. This process can be used on any coin made of the metal nickel.
Copper coins would go through the same careful process of only baking soda. Silver coins should be allright with a quality silver cleaner. Always make sure to dry all coins completely as to avoid any further reactions to these coins. I hope this article has been of some help and welcome opinions and further advice.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Beginning A New Hobby
We all seem to find a hobby at some point in our lives. Be it coins, stamps, gardening, playing video games, skiing,etc. But at some point we have to ask ourselves if we are learning anything by what we do for that hobby. Coins are an excellent learning tool, especially if you start early in life. It is a hobby the whole family can participate in and have fun also! It costs very little to get started and later in life you just might have something very valuable.
All you need to get started are a handful of pocket change, a few folders to put the coins in to protect and organize them and a list of what you have for coins to remind you of what you need to put in those folders
Starting out you might want to try the lower denomination, such as the cent,nickel or dime. Not much cost there is it! The second thing you need are the folders for these coins. Many stores sell them including bookstores. Barnes and Noble does,I checked it out recently. Hobbie shops that cater to other hobbies, such as models, trains, kites, and coins of course. Your phone book is an excellent place to look for these store. You will probably start with the classic blue Whitman folders and they cost around $1.99 or so retail. So go get those folders, grab a handful of change and let the fun begin!
The first rule of thumb for coin collectors is-DON'T touch the coins directly with your fingers. This is a no-no as the oils in your skin will react with the metal in the coin and eventually will dis-color the coin. Handle your coins only after washing your hands and then only handle the coin by it's edges. Never touch the front (obverse) or the back (reverse sides of the coin. Now you have your first coin in hand and you will need to insert it into the folder to store and display it. The Whitman folders are a bit hard to press coins into until you get the hang of it. You will need to start one edge, obverse up,by tilting it slightly to one side and slowly work around the coin until you feel it "pop" into place. Do this with a dry clean cotten cloth so as not to touch the face of the coin. There will be spaces for all your coins from all of their repectable mints (where they were made.) In the case of Lincoln cents, that would be Philadelphia, Denver and San Fransisco. You will know by looking at either the front or the back of your coins by spotting a lone P,D, or S somewhere on the coin. In the case of no mint mark this will mean Philadelphia also. other coins have different mint marks also. Some have an O for New Orleans, or CC for Carson City, Nevada. We will discuss these later in my series.
Now that you have started with the cents, you may want to move on to the nickel (5cent ), or the dime (10 cent), coin.
Later in this series I will insert a section where you can make comments and ask questions. As I am just getting started, it will take awhile to build this site properly so that it user friendly, easy on the eye, chock full of photos,etc. Thankyou for visiting and let's all have some great fun!
All you need to get started are a handful of pocket change, a few folders to put the coins in to protect and organize them and a list of what you have for coins to remind you of what you need to put in those folders
Starting out you might want to try the lower denomination, such as the cent,nickel or dime. Not much cost there is it! The second thing you need are the folders for these coins. Many stores sell them including bookstores. Barnes and Noble does,I checked it out recently. Hobbie shops that cater to other hobbies, such as models, trains, kites, and coins of course. Your phone book is an excellent place to look for these store. You will probably start with the classic blue Whitman folders and they cost around $1.99 or so retail. So go get those folders, grab a handful of change and let the fun begin!
The first rule of thumb for coin collectors is-DON'T touch the coins directly with your fingers. This is a no-no as the oils in your skin will react with the metal in the coin and eventually will dis-color the coin. Handle your coins only after washing your hands and then only handle the coin by it's edges. Never touch the front (obverse) or the back (reverse sides of the coin. Now you have your first coin in hand and you will need to insert it into the folder to store and display it. The Whitman folders are a bit hard to press coins into until you get the hang of it. You will need to start one edge, obverse up,by tilting it slightly to one side and slowly work around the coin until you feel it "pop" into place. Do this with a dry clean cotten cloth so as not to touch the face of the coin. There will be spaces for all your coins from all of their repectable mints (where they were made.) In the case of Lincoln cents, that would be Philadelphia, Denver and San Fransisco. You will know by looking at either the front or the back of your coins by spotting a lone P,D, or S somewhere on the coin. In the case of no mint mark this will mean Philadelphia also. other coins have different mint marks also. Some have an O for New Orleans, or CC for Carson City, Nevada. We will discuss these later in my series.
Now that you have started with the cents, you may want to move on to the nickel (5cent ), or the dime (10 cent), coin.
Later in this series I will insert a section where you can make comments and ask questions. As I am just getting started, it will take awhile to build this site properly so that it user friendly, easy on the eye, chock full of photos,etc. Thankyou for visiting and let's all have some great fun!
Monday, November 12, 2007
The Coin Advisor-A Forum
Has anyone, especially Baby Boomers, ever wished they had a blog that took care of all their hobbies in one place? I hope this might be the one. We will start out with Coins. Then as we progress, perhaps we will expand into stamps,comic books,paper ephemera,vinyl and many other catagories. After all, we were the ultimate collectors.Working class or those fed on a silver spoon,we all seemed to have a much better work ehtic than the proceeding generations.There fore, if we had an allowance, we saved it to buy ourselves what we could,in this case coin collecting supplies,added to by our pocket change to fill the old blue Whitman folders we were so fond of at the start of our hobby collecting years.
My own start came by mistake at the age of 12. my grandmother gave me a 1923 Peace silver dollar as a gift for my birthday. I was amazed at the beauty of this coin and asked her if she had anymore similar coins. She said she did and proceeded to show me a plastic bank with a key lock that was a promotional item issued by The First Agricultural Bank of Great Barrington,Massachusetts. I asked as to how I might acqiure some more of these coins, included wheat pennies,Buffalo Nickels,Mercury dime,Standing Liberty quarters and Walking Liberty halves. I offered to exchange for my pocket change and she said yes, but under one condition (the old work ethic again).I would have to mow the lawn with her rickety old reel push mower,weed the flower beds and take out the trash. No problem,and I proceeded to do my chores and start a facinating hobby that would last the rest of my life.
This will be a forum for us to share similar stories,offer advice and help start off new collectors as well as refresh others and help out seasoned collectors. A bit of gossip would not hurt and we can help to dispell rumors and outright lies, myths, etc. Opinions are also welcome but this forum needs to be kept clean, respectful and just plain FUN! So let's have a go at it and see where this leads us.
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