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 Replies: 30 / Views: 4,340 |
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New Member
United States
20 Posts |
I've already shared some of my story here: http://goccf.com/t/276744Basically, I'm at a place where I've got these coins, and I don't even know what the next steps are. As noted in the link, my first thought was to clean the coins, which I've learned is a bad thing to do. (Fortunately, I didn't start cleaning anything.) So at this point, I'm looking for a general plan of action. As someone who knows nothing about coins and coin collecting but has come into some old coins, what should I do? I'm not in this to become a collector or to sell these to try to make a quick buck. But as someone who wants to treat history respectfully, I also don't want to mess anything up. I don't even feel like I know how to navigate and use this forum. As someone who has had zero past interest in collecting in general, trying to skim through the forums and get a grasp on things is all a bit overwhelming. I was looking for a beginner's questions forum or something like that, but didn't see anything. So I decided to post this here and hope that I get some proper guidance. The link in the introduction forum had a lot of information, but it seemed to be focused on people who are actually collecting or estimating the value of their coins. But that's not really what I'm here for. My primary goal is just learning about the coins. So let's pretend I grab a random coin from the pile of coins that I have. (Actually, the coins are in a plastic zipper lock sandwich bag, moved there from the larger container that they were loose in.) What questions should I be asking myself about them? Is there anything that I might do that would be the completely wrong thing to do? Also, the bag I've had them in for all of a half day is starting to smell funny. Or is that just a normal coin smell? I don't even know. Thanks! |
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
12477 Posts |
I have to say I was in a very similar situation a couple months ago. I had an old, mistreated collection and I didn't know what to do with it and searching about "cleaning" coins left me with mixed results. Then, I found this forum and have never felt the need to look elsewhere. The first step is to go through every single coin and find out what it is and what value there may be there. I just used Google and it inevitably led me to the NGC site concerning that coin. Even if you search "old silver coin with a bird" I bet within a modest number of images, you'll find the comparative coin and can follow the links. After that, if "cleaning" is needed then there are non-destructive ways to achieve that (I use quotes because what constitutes cleaning is a debate). I think many would agree that pure acetone (not nail polish remover) is safe and after that a product called Verdi-Care to remove verdigris especially on copper coins but others as well. After that, especially if they have been treated with acetone to remove biological residue, oils, etc. then putting them into a safe holder is necessary. I think some would consider it a waste of money to spend on Saflips just to put a dirty coin into a safe place. That's up to you. Cardboard flips are a lot cheaper and are not a no-no. There are a lot of supplies available that make the process and storage much easier and through searching this forum you can find suggestions from many experienced collectors. Beyond that, questions and pictures are the best way to get quick and concise answers about your coins. I hope this was helpful from one newbie to another.  In Memory of Crazyb0 12-26-1951 to 7-27-2020
In Memory of Tootallious 3-31-1964 to 4-15-2020
In Memory of T-BOP 10-12-1949 to 1-19-2024
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Moderator
 United States
54280 Posts |
Quote:
...and what value there may be there. I just used Google and it inevitably led me to the NGC site concerning that coin. A word of caution here. The NGC (or any site of a grading company) is very good for basic information about a particular coin (including photos). The caution is that any pricing information you see there is only good for coins in holders of that specific grading company, and won't hold true for your coin loose in a box or zipper lock bag of unknown grade. Quote:
the bag I've had them in for all of a half day is starting to smell funny. That could just be the salami smell from the bag's previous use.  Coins do have a smell, but I can't tell you if that is what you consider "funny". Show your financial support of the Coin Community Family (click here)See my topic on Mexican Numismatic Medals (click here) |
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Rest in Peace
United States
7075 Posts |
I read your other post. I think a lot of people keep coins from their travels as souvenirs and apparently your grandfather did just that. I'm not sure just what information you want to find out about each coin or token but they can all be identified here if you post pics -- with perhaps the exception of the one token that may not be appropriate for this site. After you have enough posts you will be able to get help with that one through a private message. You should look into getting some coin collectors supplies. I like to use SaFlips which are little clear coin holders with two slots -- one for the coin and one for a little card where you can write information -- like the country of origin and that it belonged to your grandfather. A couple of places to look for supplies are JP's Corner and Wizard Coin Supply. A lot of collectors store their coins in 2X2's (you'll see those on the supply sites) but you might have a lot of different sized coins and those are sold in batches of 100 for each size. I think it's really great that you're taking on this project. You already know not to clean the coins, I would add that you should handle them by the edges only. I hope this has been helpful. Keep asking questions if you think of any more! And |
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New Member
 United States
20 Posts |
Quote:
Coins do have a smell, but I can't tell you if that is what you consider "funny". Well, it's not a "clean" smell. These are old coins that were not handled delicately, so I'm sure there's probably all sorts of handled-coin goodness all over them. Quote:
After that, if "cleaning" is needed then there are non-destructive ways to achieve that (I use quotes because what constitutes cleaning is a debate). Can you elaborate more about the debate over cleaning? |
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Rest in Peace
United States
7075 Posts |
You can read a lot about cleaning coins by looking it up on this site. Just use the "Search Coin Community" box under the banner ad in the upper left corner. Try looking up acetone.
Anyway, a soak in PURE acetone is generally considered a conservation effort. Wiping the coin with a rag or using silver polish will leave scratches all over it and reduce its value. Verdi-Care is a product designed for copper coins to help clean up all that green gunk that gets on copper coins. You can buy that Wizard Coin Supply.
If you can post pics of each coin someone here can advise you if you should try to conserve it or not. Just don't wipe them with a rag or scrub them.
I hope you can post pics. I'm curious about it.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
790 Posts |
I agree about pictures. I'd like to see them! I also received a stash of coins from my late grandpa. I had a ball going through them and learning about them, and in the process got the "bug." I now have my own collection. You're in for a great time! One site I found particularly helpful getting started is http://www.coinstudy.com. If your coins are American, you'll find them here, along with photos to help you begin to get a handle on evaluating condition, and the kind of money you might expect to get if you decide to sell the coins to a dealer (if you opt to go that route, post here first and get advice on how to proceed). I also agree about getting hold of some flips to start with. One thing that damages coins is having them clink and rub together in a bag. If you want to keep them in the best condition possible, protect them. Many coin dealers sell flips and other basic supplies, so this would be an opportunity to familiarize yourself with the dealers in your area. You can also pick out a few coins that you think are particularly interesting and take them with you. Most dealers will be willing to value a few coins for you. Take a little time to look at the coins they're selling, also; that can help you get an idea what your coins might be worth. Edited by twslisa
12/30/2016 4:51 pm
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New Member
United States
20 Posts |
Well, nothing will happen until at least Sunday, as I'm currently traveling. I've got some Saflips on order from Amazon. I took a look at the photography sub-forum, and again it feels like this place is like drinking from a fire hose. There are a lot of elaborate setups from people who are doing way more than anything I would even think of. My plan is to just snap pictures on my phone and post them. Is there a basic set of guidelines for doing this? Should I be trying to light it up from above? At an angle? Should I be doing it on a light background or a dark background? Also, when I get the pictures, should I just put them in my best guess for the right forum, or post them here and let people who are knowledgeable move them places for me? Is it better to host them on an external site or just post them straight here? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
917 Posts |
The photography forum is for when you want to get really good at taking pictures. For now just try to get clear pictures of each side and edit them down to just the coin. Take out as much of the background as possible. Theres a photo editor for when you are ready to uoload them az well.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
790 Posts |
Hey, Awong! Yeah, some folks here are very into coin photography. Many are dealers, and posting good pics of the coins they want to sell is super important. Others like me just want to be able to document their collections, so rigging up a fancy and expensive setup is less important.
Speaking for myself, I would be happy if you just get the coins in focus, with the major details visible. A desk lamp would probably be adequate. You can post the pictures on this thread just to keep them in context, so we don't have to go hunting for a new topic. For now, here, we can just help identify the coins and give you some basic info. If you have more questions about a particular coin, you can start a new topic under the appropriate forum (classic coins, modern, etc).
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
7096 Posts |
Most of the cheaper point and shoot camera's have a "Macro" setting and can take excellent coin images. Also most modern phones have good cameras in them and with plenty of practice these also can produce some fine images. Regardless of what equipment you have from a top of the range DSLR to an iPhone without practice to develop your skills you won't get good images  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7375 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
To start look up places, like coin shops or hobby stores. Go to a few and look for a book called the Red Book by Whitman Publishing. With that book sit down and look through it for general information. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3058 Posts |
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New Member
United States
20 Posts |
The total collection turned out to be 47 coins. 23 of these were "boring*" coins. By this, I just mean that these are US/Canadian coins that don't appear to be remarkable in any way. (*My apologies to the community, but I just don't know what word to use.) There are some French coins, some Indian coins (Indian = from India), some Nazi coins, some coins of currently unknown origin, and some things that aren't really coins but might still be interesting. I'm going to post only a few images at a time with a couple days between them in order to help me keep track of the conversation and not get myself confused. My hope it to get some sense of the history of the coins (if there's something particularly interesting about them) and get some sense of the level of interest to the larger community that they are (general reactions like "these coins are fairly common" or "I've never seen that before!"). Also, if there are common names for the coins, I'd be interested in learning what they're called. After having gone through them, I recognize that it's perhaps not as hard to find out some basic information about coins from Google searching and clicking through various websites. But I also know that people who love what they do often like to share their knowledge, and so if there are people here who want to geek out about something, I'm interested in hearing everything you've got. And if I post one and there's not much chatter, I'll assume that it's slightly mundane and just move on to the next. I'm going to start with the Nazi coins because... well... Nazi stuff seems historically relevant. At least for everyone in the family looking at them, these evoked some of the larger reactions. There are three of these coins.       |
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New Member
United States
20 Posts |
Why is one of the coins very white and the others aren't?
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Replies: 30 / Views: 4,340 |
Posted 12/30/2016 08:44 am
