Beginners Guide to Coin Collecting

The habit of hording coins for their value goes back to the beginning of coin history, but collecting coins for their artistic or historic value only goes back to the fourteenth century. Some of the biggest collectors were monarchs and popes, hence the name "Hobby of Kings." It was an expensive hobby and few could afford to indulge in it.

Coin Collecting can still be an expensive hobby, but it doesn't have to be. If your interest is in coins of the Byzantine era, then yes it will be expensive, but there are a lot of coins that have artistic and historical value that are fun to collect that won't break the bank.

As a new collector, even if you have a large number of collectable coins, I wouldn't recommend jumping in and buying collectors sets or rare coins. Serious collectors are highly competitive and the prices rise and fall without warning. Don't cross that threshold without a strong knowledge base to back up your actions. Without it, you could end up holding a bag full of useless coins.

I recommend starting with coins that are still occasionally found in circulation or are fairly common until you have that knowledge base. Wheat pennies are a popular starting point. Most people have a few of them stashed in a box somewhere. Another option is pre-1965 quarters and dimes. The quarters and dimes minted in 1964 and before are silver rather than the copper-nickel alloy we are familiar with today.

Grading

Uncirculated: The coin is in "new" or "mint" condition.

Extremely Fine: Nearly all the detail remains with just a few high point worn.

Very Fine: A lot of the detail is visible, but shows some wear.

Fine: A lot of the coin's detail is worn, but some is still visible.

Very Good: Little detail visible. It's slightly better than Good.

Good: the major outlines are visible but the detail is gone.

Poor: The date and mint mark is all that can be determined

Mint Mark

D - Denver mint
O - New Orleans mint
P - Philadephia mint
S - San Francisco mint
W - West point mint

State quarters are another popular starting point in Coin Collecting. Congress passed the 50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act in 1997. The goal was two-fold. They wanted to encourage the young to learn the different states and promote an understanding of our countries rich diversity. The second goal was monetary. The Commemorative Coin Program generated a great deal of money for the U.S. Mint. The fiftieth state coin has been minted and released.

Coin collecting can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be.

The key is to

Have Fun!