Going To Start Collecting From Circ, What To Get For Xmas?

A magnifier would have been my first suggestion, which it sounds like you have covered.

A nice bright adjustable (gooseneck) light would help. The ikea jansjo lamps have been recommended in the photography section and I think they're great.

A cheap ($15-30) digital scale will be helpful for sorting 1982 pennies, and for countless other numismatic tasks.

I don't have the cherrypicker's guide, but that might be next after the RedBook.


Make sure you have a place to dump the returns.

-wheatiefan

Just two quick comments.

A small digital scale is always a good thing to have for mailing things or other uses, but for 1982 cents, its pretty easy to tell if they're zinc or copper just from one flip. The copper ones make a nice ding, while the zinc ones have a dull thud...its very obvious.

Nickel boxes are great. Cent boxes are okay. Rooises are no fun. The dates are hard to read, the series has very few varieties and no key/interesiting dates. You may find 1 silver dime per box, if that. Also, BU 82s and 83s are pretty much gone. If you want to collect the state quarters/national park ones, quarters are a great idea. Otherwise, quarters are a waste of time. Some people still like halves and find silver. I do not like halves and there is zero silver left around here, but that's up to you. Keep in mind, you'll probably have to specially order half boxes.

You might consider a camera and copystand to show all of the community what you find.

And look into buying a bag of wheats they are fun to search as well.

Whitman has free shipping right. now. You could pick up folders to put your coins in as you search them.

T J- Do you know what website I can pick up a cheap one at?

What kind of desk lamp should I ask for, or is there any specific type?

Ram96- Do you think folders are a good choice to store coins, or does it really matter if I am just building a circ set?

Check out the CONECA site and "Rotated Dies".

I'd start by getting all the folders (memorial cents, Jeff 5c, clad dimes and quarters). Look for nice well made and lightly worn examples to form your reference collection. Buy a few extra folders for varieties.

Have fun.

I think 30x is overkill. I use a 2x and a 10x, with a 15x being very helpful. I have a Bausch and Lomb Hastings Triplet, bought it 30 years ago, if that tells you something. It expect it to last another 30.

If you're one to use a microscope (as I am) getting one of those webcams that you can fit into the eyepiece is a magnificent addition. After seeing one in action I'm planning obtaining my own for Christmas so the whole family can sit by the computer and look for doubling and other errors together. :-)