How To Start Coin Collecting

While it may seem difficult at first, coin collecting is actually a very simple hobby that can get quite interesting at times. Many beginners don’t really know how to start coin collecting because there are so many different currencies and so many ways of categorizing them. On first glance, the only way to start coin collecting is to get every single coin on the planet. However, starting simpler can be done in a matter of minutes.
A very popular way to start coin collecting is by collecting circulated Jefferson nickels. These guys come in 40-coin rolls and can be purchased at $2 apiece from nearly every place that can break a dollar. Start by buying 80 circulated Jefferson nickels. This will cost you a simple $4 to get started. Wash them out, but not too roughly. Sort them by decade, and then by year. Pick out the best one of each year. You’re looking for the one that looks the newest. Whatever’s left is still worth five cents, so you can go ahead and throw it in your wallet if you’d like. It’s not uncommon that collectors go through so many rolls that they end up reinvesting doubles on more rolls. Make a grid for the nickels, and tape each one on. What’s great about Jefferson nickels is that every single year (with the exception of 1943-1945) can be found in circulation.
You can repeat this process for every single type of coin. Obviously, quarters will be more expensive to collect than nickels at face value, and older coins will be rarer than new ones. Whatever your choice, just pick something and go for it. Start with basic things like the date. Then, you can start categorizing by other things, like mint marks, which are marks identifying which mint the coin came from. Different mint marks can end up determining the name of the coin, like Barber Dimes, Bust Quarters, and Shield Nickels. As you can tell, there are many different types of coins that you can start collecting today.
Coin collecting is a very fun hobby that will probably never end because currency is always available. There are people who have collected so many coins that the only ones left cost thousands of dollars. In fact, known as the most valuable coin in the world, a 1933 Saint-Gaudens Gold Double Eagle was sold for $7.5 million US dollars in 2002. The largest coin collection in the world was found in a shipwreck in the Atlantic Ocean; it held over 500,000 gold and silver coins. Discovered in 2007, each coin is worth up to $4,000, and at least a few hundred apiece. No modern era coin collection can match up to that one. That’s guaranteed.