Posts Tagged ‘american coins’
What to do to start collecting American coins? What to buy? Folders?
What to do to start collecting American coins? What to buy? What folders?
Wheats?
Liberty nickels?
silver washington quarters?
morgans?
peace dollars?
Which are good to invest in?
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Is there an online coin book where i can look up the value of American coins?
I am looking for an online coin book that will allow me to find the value of specific dates,conditions and types of American coins.
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american coins?
does anyone know where I can find information about american coins. like material, weight, manafacturing, etc…
thanks
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American Coins
American Coins may be just what you are looking for if you have ever had an interest in historical figures or locations. With depictions of various presidents, locations such as the Lincoln Memorial, and historical scenes such as those found on the recent state quarters, collecting coins can be like taking a step back in time.
For many people, collecting American Coins is something they stumble upon rather than plan to take up. A new coin catches your eye as you are handed change at your local supermarket, or you happen to spot an old silver quarter or dime in a handful of coins you pull from your pocket. All of the sudden, it seems like a good time to start collecting. Or, you might be lucky enough to have inherited a collection from a family member.
Unless you are in danger of losing your home, it generally pays to hold onto those unique coins you find, at least until you’ve had a chance to check them out to see if they hold any special value. Or, should you decide, it would be an excellent time to start a collection to hand off to a child, grandchild, or other family member.
Collecting American Coins can be either formal or informal. At one end of the spectrum is the enthusiast who gathers a collection of every coin, in every increment, for every year, from every mint, and organizes them neatly in storage books or coin holders. At the other end is the guy who throws all his coins in a jar with the intent of sorting through them someday.
While purist collectors would look at the guy who throws the coins in a jar as unworthy of being called as true collector, those purists are in the minority. The biggest group of collectors in the country is the “throw them in a jar” group.
Once you get started in collecting, you’ll find that you start paying more attention to the years, metallic makeup, and special markings that are found on coins. You’ll start looking to fill the spot in a collection that you know you are missing. At first, that opening is likely to be a 1977 dime, or a 2003 quarter, but as time goes on, you’ll start looking at mint marks and more.
Most people find that, while collecting American Coins is fun on its own, having knowledge of the value of the coins they’ve collected is even more exciting. That’s when it is time to buy a book such as F & W Publications’ North American Coins and Prices or Coin Prices magazine. These guides give price estimates for a large selection of coins, in a wide variety of conditions.
The condition a coin is in is reflected in its grade. Grading coins is instrumental in determining value. There can be a huge variation in the value of a coin based solely on the grade the coin is in. One common misconception that beginning collectors make is to see a coin’s value in a guide, and assume that their coin is worth that much. There is an appreciable difference between an untouched mint condition coin and one that has been in circulation for a number of years.
One of the quickest ways to learn more about collecting American Coins, as well as the values of coins at different grades is to visit a coin show. Keep an eye open for when might be held in your area by watching your local newspaper or talking to local coin shops. Most towns have one or more shop listed in the Yellow Pages or on the internet.
When you go, bring a selection of coins from your collection that you may have questions about. Talk to other collectors, as well as several of the vendors that are at the show. Just don’t go nuts and go overboard with buying new coins at the show. Make sure your first visit or two is mainly about learning. While you are there, share your contact information with other collectors. See if they have any gatherings that you can attend.
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Sorting Through a Pile of American Coins
One of the many relaxing tasks related to collecting American Coins is sorting through a pile of coins. One of the rules of coin collecting is to never let an unprocessed coin leave your hands. While the number of valuable coins found in circulation is limited, there are still enough unusual coins in circulation to make it worth a collector’s time to sort through the piles.
To get started in the process, you’ll want to make sure you gather all the coins you can. Empty your pockets and purses of all the change that you get each week. Put the coins in an open bowl that allows easy access to the coins.
To make the sorting process easier, and to assure you don’t miss anything, I would recommend you purchase at least a low-power magnifier (3x-5x). If you can afford it, a 15x-20x model would be a good second purchase, since it will allow you to see finer details if the low-power magnifier shows an odd mark. You’ll also want a good lamp to light the sorting area.
In addition to filling your initial collection, you’ll want to look for oddities. Look for odd marks on the front, back and sides of each coin. At first, you’ll spot lots of oddities, but after a while you will come to realize what is really odd and what isn’t, and your sorting will speed up.
Set all of the oddities to one side. With the remaining ‘normal’ coins you can start a new collection for a niece, nephew or grandchild. You can also start roll collections, in which you collect an entire roll of New York State quarters, for example. Or, you can simply put the coins back into circulation.
Once you’ve accumulated a good stack of ‘different’ looking American Coins, it is time to visit a coin shop to have them looked at.
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How to Start Collecting American Coins
One of the simplest ways to start collecting American Coins is to start with one denomination. In my opinion, the common penny is an inexpensive way to get started. It doesn’t cost much to gather a large group of coins to search through, and many people don’t pay nearly as much attention to pennies as they do the silver-based dimes, quarters, halves and dollar coins.
Start your collection with a $10 bill and a coin jar. Put the jar on your desk area at work, or a similar location at school. Let people know that you are collecting pennies for a hobby, and ask that they simply drop their pennies into the jar in exchange for larger denominations. Take the $10 to the bank, and ask to buy 20 rolls of pennies – hand-rolled if possible. While you’re there, ask for some empty penny wrappers.
Gather some plastic containers with lids. You’ll need about ten containers to start with. You’ll label each container with a decade, so 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940, 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, and 1990. Anything from the current decade can be wrapped and returned to the bank, unless you notice a unique marking on it, or unless you want to collect current decade coins just for fun.
You’ll notice that it is tougher to find coins issued prior to 1970, as most have passed out of circulation. That’s what makes them more valuable. Once you’ve sorted the coins by decades, it will pay to take a closer look at them afterwards to determine if there are any high-value coins in certain years. I’ll discuss more on that in my next article.
In the meantime, it might pay to purchase a good book on grading and pricing American Coins.
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Collecting American Coins
Collecting American Coins can be a fun and sometimes profitable endeavor. Going through collections of American Coins that are found in your family’s bins, drawers and boxes can yield some very interesting finds. In fact, many of them can still be found in everyday pocket change!
The Indian Head penny is one of the oldest American Coins still occasionally found in circulation. If you wish to purchase collection grade Indian Head pennies, they can be purchased in the $2 – $5 range.
A more common collectible American Coin is the wheat penny. These can still be found in circulation, and a collectible grade wheat penny can be purchased for under a dollar.
Another somewhat common coin is the Buffalo nickel (sometimes referred to as an Indian Head nickel). These highly popular coins can be purchased for under $2.
The beautiful Mercury dime is an American Coin that celebrates the nation’s ideal of freedom. Collection grade Mercury dimes can be purchased in the $3-$5 range.
Although the new State Quarters have built some great collections, they have little value beyond a quarter, since they are so new.
A great quarter for collectors is the Standing Liberty quarter. These were minted during the period of 1916-1930. These lovely coins range in cost from $10 to $20.
Similar in design to the Standing Liberty quarter is the Walking Liberty half dollar. Walking Liberty halves cost less than $10.
Another occasionally-found half dollar is the Franklin half dollar. These silver-issue American Coins are usually less than $10 to buy.
Kennedy half dollars were issued in both silver and sandwiched versions. While you can usually find newer issue circulated Kennedy half dollars at your local bank, uncirculated coins will cost less than $2. Even the silver issues can be had for under $7.
When the silver dollar was reissued in 1971, after disappearing from the mints for 35 years, it came in the form of the Eisenhower dollar. Although it was called a silver dollar, they were actually a sandwich style coin. Most Eisenhower dollars can be bought in collector grade quality for under $7.
A newer dollar coin, the Susan B. Anthony, was minted in two different time periods. The first was from 1979 to 1981. It was coined again in 1999, for only one year. Collection grade Susan B. Anthony coins can be purchased from $2 to about $7.
So buy a good book on the values of American Coins, and go through all the coins in the house. Maybe you’ll find something special!