| Author |
 Replies: 24 / Views: 4,679 |
|
New Member
Canada
8 Posts |
So long story short, I was an enthusiastic Canadian penny collector in my early/mid teens. Both pure volume, and trying to collect all the years between 1920-1990. I finished this collection (just one from every year not every error variation etc.), I remember being so excited when I bought the 1923 for $30 to finish the set and feeling like I was big shot collector. Anyways got seduced by hockey cards and collected those for several years before losing interest in both hockey and collecting in general. Well my son has an obsession with coins and money in general, he stacks counts studies coins and bills everyday. I dug our my penny collection which he loves and now wants to collect nickels. We went to the coin store in Regina where he bought a small bag of 1940's and 50's nickels. Anyways I am curious how to get him into it so it is fun and has the thrill of discovery that I enjoyed, but I can't figure how to to do that. I seems that you can buy a set of 1920-2018 poor condition nickels on ebay for not a whole lot. But that hardly seems like collecting. I realize this seems like a ridiculously easy question but I don't know how to help my son collect coins. Thanks |
|
|
|
Rest in Peace
United States
17900 Posts |
Take him to a Coin show. Give him his own budget to spend. I'm guessing dealers will GIVE him so many coins you'll need a little more air in the tires  |
|
Pillar of the Community
Canada
3733 Posts |
i would suggest going to the bank and asking for customer wrapped rolls of nickels. You probably won't find every date you will need but it certainly is exciting to go through rolls and put them in a book.. You may end up either buying some key dates, or seeding some rolls with those key dates, but I imagine it will be fun either way, best of luck.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
My dad was a collector and I hopped right on at age 8, still going strong 60 years later. Tried with limited success to get my son interested during the 8-13 age period but it never stuck, did my best. The collecting instinct is something you're born with, I think. Good luck!  to the CCF! |
|
Moderator
 United States
188332 Posts |
to the Community! |
|
Bedrock of the Community
Canada
24885 Posts |
To the Forum. |
|
Valued Member
Canada
228 Posts |
I was about that age when I began collecting coins (I collected cards as well). I was always competitive with my brothers to see who could find the oldest coin while at the same time, watching for silver coins in circulation. Dad always encouraged us to actively look for and keep anything older than 1970.
I was hooked at around 12 years old when one day, I went to a local flea market and met a coin dealer. Up until that point, I had no idea that people took coin collecting that seriously. For years after that, I saved as much money as I could and looked forward to every Sunday so that I could go to the flea market and buy more coins. Eventually my brothers' interest in the hobby tapered off, but mine remained strong.
I guess what it boils down to is exactly what Coinfrog said: "The collecting instinct is something that you're born with".
One piece of advice to encourage your son when he gets a little older (9 or 10?) would be to pick him up a Charlton catalog (even an old one would suffice!). If he's anything like I was, he'll be glued to it for a long time!
|
|
Pillar of the Community
710 Posts |
Very nice, it sounds like your son is a budding collector!
Here are a few more suggestions:
1. Have him ask friends and family members to save coins. It is amazing what other people will come up with once they know your son is collecting.
2. Pick up some free collector coin cards from coin shows or periodically from the mint. You can get these going back to 1999.
3. When your son is ready look into coin albums he can use to organize his collection.
Best advice last: have fun!
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
3470 Posts |
Step one is going to be getting your grandchild(ren) to understand the pieces of paper and chunks of metal you give them have value.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
 Canada
5588 Posts |
Yes, as mentioned above a few times, let him correlate an older coin with price/value by getting him a Charlton for birthday or Xmas, as a little "extra" gift.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
Canada
665 Posts |
I was about that age when my grandfather gave me a gold Sovereign from my birth year. I was hooked. I helped him catalogue his set and we discussed the various holes in his collection and how he should go about filling them.
The key I think was being treated like an adult; my opinion counted... A big thing for a 6 year old... In reality, my grandfather looked after the Sovereign until I was older but it did come to me. That said, he and I planned the evolution of his collection and I felt part of it. His experience also helped me focus what I collect.
As mentioned above, give him a budget to purchase coins. Help him plan... if he is going after an expensive coin, help him save from the budget to get there and I fully agree with access to some reference material.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
Canada
1923 Posts |
First off to the site. As to your question, all the answers so far are all good advise to follow new people that show an interest need help to keep active in collecting. I think they have to be interested in collecting coins to begin with other wise all help is for nothing. I never received any positive comments from my parents or anyone else in my family when I first started collecting coins. They all told me they would never be worth anything but change, but I didn't care if they would have value I liked trying to collect every year. Except for the lady that gave me all the large cent coins from 1911-1920 when I was 8 years old, I was hooked and still am. Happy Hunting |
|
Pillar of the Community
Canada
2781 Posts |
At his age I would be tempted to take a look at world coins, by the pound on ebay, or digging through dealer's bins (5 for a $1 - can't go wrong) The variety (missing from Canadian decimals) would be a bit more fun, and hold his attention, compared to collecting 70 nickels that all look the same. |
|
Pillar of the Community
Canada
586 Posts |
I would first get him a Charlton book and have him familiarize with prices and varieties in the subject he likes. Look for coin clubs in your area, http://www.reginacoinclub.comGo to local coin shows and auction viewings. Enjoy |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
6514 Posts |
 with Wade. Getting a 5lb ebay lot of world coins and going through it, figuring out what country it's from and putting it in a 2 by 2 and labeling it. That would have definitely held my attention at 6! As going through world coins I have Numista open on my smartphone. Nice to quickly reference what you have. https://en.numista.com/Check out my counterstamped Lincoln Cent collection: http://goccf.com/t/303507 |
|
New Member
 Canada
8 Posts |
Thankyou for the replies! The world coins are a really good idea. Thanks again for the warm welcome everyone.
|
| |
Replies: 24 / Views: 4,679 |
Posted 06/17/2018 7:44 pm
