Starting A Coin Collection -Part 2

Part 1
by Paul Totoritis

Enough now of history, economics and philosophy, let’s collect coins.

To start, get yourself a magnifying glass, the bigger the better. Search your coins in a well-lighted area to be better able to spot errors, mintmarks, and to read dates on some of your more worn coins. Determine what coins you will collect and purchase a bookshelf folder for that denomination or series. Whitman, Dansco, Harris & Co. and a few others put out these folders. The Whitman folders are probably the most familiar; they are blue folders about 8 inches high, 6 inches wide and about ¼ inch thick. They retail for about $3.75 each and are available at most bookstores all coin stores and many web sites including my own.

Try to purchase a book called, "A Guide Book of United States Coins" by R.S. Yeoman. This is commonly called the red book and it is a red book which retails for about $11.00 in the hard cover edition at most book stores and coin shops. The Red Book is published every year, it gives you a good over view of the history of U.S. coins, basic grading information, average retail value for all U.S. coins, descriptions of the different coins past and present and a listing of the errors, with pictures, of some errors found in the minting process. Purchase one of the monthly publications on coin collecting. My two favorites are "Coins" and "COINage". Krausse Publishing who also publishes more than half of all coin related books and periodicals publishes coins magazine. COINage is published by Miller Magazines, Inc. and is always packed with great stories and information as well as advertisers for coin related material. You do not need a subscription, but try to buy at least one copy of either magazine. It will give you some great insight into prices of coins, coins other than pennies that you may want to collect also some great pictures of coins and good articles to educate yourself in coin collecting. Both magazines sell for about $4.00 each, if that is within your budget, then you should buy a copy to get an idea of what is out there. Coin World and Numismatic News are two weekly newspapers with many great articles, current news and classified sections for buyers, sellers and traders all relating to coins. They retail for about $1.95 and are also available at bookstores. The newspaper may not interest you until you get more involved in the hobby and want to stay more in tune with what is happening currently in the Numismatic world. Numismatic News is again published by Krausse publishing and Coin World is published by Ames Press.

A second book you should try to purchase is "Official A.N.A. Grading Standards for United States Coins", put out by the American Numismatic Association. The book is an excellent guide to grading coins, a skill you will need to develop if you continue in coin collecting. It is a well-used and respected guide for grading coins. Visit the A.N.A. at http://www.money.org, and if you can, consider joining, they have a Junior and Adult Membership. The Junior is only $20.00 for the year and the adult is $36.00, but the benefits are worth the cost of membership. Another coin club is Coin Masters, which is free and also has a Junior Membership as well as Adult. The group is not as large as A.N.A. but it is a great group with some very helpful members. Visit their web site to join at http://www.coinmasters.org/

Some supplies should be purchased when you start collecting coins. You should have something to put your coins in for storage, until you are ready to place them in an album, or for you duplicate coins. You can purchase coin tubes, clear plastic tubes preferably with screw on tops, in the various coin denominations, penny tubes, nickel tubes, etc. Tubes cost about 20 to 50 cents each and usually come in packages of 4 or more, but can also be purchased in bulk for a cheaper price per tube.

IMPORTANT POINT: When storing coins, be careful of the material used in the storage device, many plastics react with the surface of coins causing them to discolor or develop black spots. The paper used is also important as many papers and cardboard contain sulfur, which will cause a silver coin to turn black. The very best and most expensive are air tight holders. These provide the best storage and the expense is of little concern for your more valuable coins. A common and popular method to store coins is in 2"X 2" white cardboard folders which have Mylar/Polyester windows. These are very good and affordable holders for your more common coins and they retail for about $3.75 to $5.00 for a box of 100. They are available in bulk packs of 1000 at lower prices, but I prefer the boxes since they make an excellent way to store the folders once you have inserted and labeled your coins. You simply insert your coin into the round window; fold the other side over and staple shut. NOTE: Try to use stainless steel staples, as they will not rust like ordinary staples. There are a number of other methods and devices for storage, be sure they are made of material that is safe for your coins.

A quick note on copper coins: try to store your coins in an area that is dry. This is particularly important if you happen to have some mint state or proof coins. A nice choice red coin when exposed to moisture, even for a brief period could suddenly begin to change color and end up being brown, dull and less valuable.

Cleaning Coins: Read about it, learn it and leave it to the experts. I recommend no cleaning except under the following condition. If a coin has been exposed to something that will further deteriorate the coin, then cleaning may be needed. Never use an abrasive substance to clean a coin, at most use a mild soap, such as Ivory soap, and water. Gently dab the solution onto the coin, do not rub, and then rinse very well in clean water and pat dry with a soft cloth. De-natured alcohol is also used to remove harmful oils from a coins surface, remember to hold the coin by the rim or edges and not on the face of the coin. The acid and oils present in your skin will leave finger prints on the clean shiny surface of a mint state or proof coin that can be seen from five feet away.

Finally, as long as this article may appear, it just scratches the surface of the many aspects of coin collecting. As your collection and interest grows, so will your knowledge. Take the time to listen, to read, ask questions and learn. This is a process that will continue the rest of your coin collecting days. Your education can save you money now and make money for you in the future, but most of all remember have fun. Enjoy the "Hobby of Kings" which has grown to become the "King of Hobbies"; you are a numismatist, a coin collector and a keeper of coins.

Basic essentials needed to start a coin collection.

1.Coins, pocket change is a good way and inexpensive way to start.

2.A good magnifying glass, or a cheaper one at least.

3.Coin albums for whatever denomination and series of coins you intend to collect.

4.Storage devices to protect your coins, tubes are nice but the coins must be removed from them to admire or search through your collection. The 2X2 cardboard holders or flips work best for this reason.

5.Most if not all books and periodicals can be found at your public library, take advantage of that to save money for purchasing coins.

6.Try to join a local coin club. You can probably find one through your Chamber of Commerce or telephone book. There are also some clubs listed on the Internet and clubs such as Coin Masters, which is only available on the web.

7.You will at some time need to purchase coins. It would be near impossible to complete a folder with coins from circulation. Wheat cents are available by the pound at very reasonable rates, but you should shop around.

8.Subscribe to the news group rec.collecting.coins

Visit us at Http://www.vportweb.com  - our other hobby.

By Paul “Tumble Weed”

No formal writing skills, terible with grammar, but like a "Tumble Weed", I ramble on. Enjoy writing, philosophy, web site building, coin collecting, home remodeling, Tea Cup Pommeranians, and much more.