Hi InTbm!
I am new to this site as of today, I'm a little older than you and have always had an interest in coins but now I am really getting into the hobby. I have been slowly collecting coins and now have a nice collection of coins that I need to sort. I have about $100.00 in pennies, and about the same amount of dimes, nickels, quarters too. I am now in the process of trying to sort it out and grade the coins. I doubt that by next Spring I will have it all done. They say the best advice one can have is to learn as much about coins as you can before buying any.
I have found that items are a little cheaper if you buy supplies on line than from a coins store. I have bought two loops, one 3X, the other 30X and 60X. I also just purchased a microscope (helps to identify extra paws, fingers, ears, and other errors). I have a coin grading guide that has pictures of various coins so that you will be able to grade the coins by looking at the picture and descriptions of the coins. I also have a guide of United States Paper Money, and the
Cherry Pickers' Guide to Error Coins. For pricing of coins I bought the Big
Red Book and subscribe to a monthly magazine that lists coin prices.
My wife supports me, so the table will not be used for Thanksgiving Dinner. It's full of coins and paper coin holders. I have bought an electric stapler that works well in stapling coins into holders. Now I found this site, and am very happy to be here.
What I am concentrating on currently are 64 1982 D Copper Penny Coins that I am sorting out. I'm trying to find a copper 1982 D small date coin out of the 64 that I have. They all weigh over 3 grams. I have purchased a seven coin set from that year that has two small date pennies so I will compare what I have to them. Wish me luck, Dave