New To Coin Collecting........

to the forum!

You have asked a lot of questions with a lot to consider. I have learned the most in regards to coins actually from this site. There is a ton of information on this site as well as a lot of people with many many years of experience.

I bought the " Red Book" which is a price guide to all US coins because that is what I am mostly collecting. Specifically I am making an album of all Lincoln Cents in MS condition. I also "Coin Roll Hunt" and look for mint errors.

You really can start with any denomination to start collecting. It is personal preference.

A good one that I think right now to start on would be the National Park Quarters. The mint just started making them 2 years ago so you are not that far behind.

Good luck and

Go to local Coin Shows. As far as what coin is a good investment, that will be a couple years down the line for you once you figure out what you're interested in collecting. Generally the rarer the coin the better investment potential. BUT, investments in coins for future profits is a crap shoot at best!

I think this is a good place to get educated about coins. The experts who visit this site are very generous about sharing their time and knowledge.

I would also suggest going to your library and looking at their coin books books before buying one with the possible exception of the Red Book which is a standard reference.

If you're interested in buying gold and silver, watch the melt values -- those are always available on the net and they change constantly.

As for investment coins ---- well, for me it's a hobby but I have been told that the money-makers are the key dates. I'm not ready to invest in one of those yet because I still have a lot to learn about spotting a fake.

Over the past couple of years I have found that the people who are selling coins for profit have been collectors for decades and the stuff they bought 30 years ago is worth more today than when they bought it. I don't think that there is any short-term way to make a profit on coins with any certainty.

Hi !

Like mentionned, starting with roll searching can be very fun and cheap. You will learn a lot of thing with that.

Thanks !

As basically already noted to start:
1. Buy a book called the Red Book on coins by Whitman Publishing.
2. Presently a on line company called Wizard is having a half price sale on them if you pre order the latest one.
3. Run though all the forums and posts right here for some ideas on coins. Usually lots of photos of them too.
4. Don't run out and buy any coins until you are familiar with some of the price guides on line such as Numismedia.
5. If you can find and go to a coin show you would see a masssive amount of possible coins to buy and usually at the best prices.
6. Keep far away from places like ebay until you know what you are doing.
7. Develope your own likes and dislikes on coins so you will not be saying some day "why did I listen to that person?"
8. When in doubt about anything in coins, ask here.

This question gets asked a lot .. and is hard to answers, because ....

Everyone has different likes ... meaning not everyone has the same desire for each series of coins.

Also income level or what you willing to pay for each coin can be a big factor in how you might like to collect.

If you really can't decide .. maybe just start out doing a type set album. Dansco, Whitman and Intercept shield all make a version of this set. I would put the best example you can afford into to each coin needed to fill the album.
Mine has taken me over 20 years to complete ... and now I am in the upgrade phase of putting this set together.

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