Wanting To Start A Collection

One thing I'd recommend before paying for coins is to take some time to learn about the hobby... One of the best ways to do this in my opinion is Coin Roll Hunting. It's essentially free and goes a long way towards helping you learn about the differences in grades.

Albeit you won't run across too many commemoratives while CRHing (I've found a total of 2 in my CRH carrer), but you will LEARN quite a bit.

Check out the link in my signature or read through some of the CRH threads here.

Knowledge is very much the key to anything. Before you start buying, you do want to know what to look for in a purchase. However, I don't think hunting rolls is going to help you with your Commemorative goal. Although it can be a lot of fun to come home with several (read, 2-100 ) rolls of coins and observe the differences you can find in just a single coin.

If I were in your shoes, I'd probably spend at least one Saturday hanging out at a dealer's shop. Settle yourself by the case that holds the commemoratives , and listen. The employees there should be very knowledgeable about the coins you want to look at. They also probably have tons of books relating to them. If you can't find a dealer that will take the time to chat with you, find a different store.

From there, you should be able to find some books at your local library. Maybe you can order them on Interlibrary loan. Maybe you can find the right titles to purchase at the right price. One thing I've found is that Numismatic books often rival their topic for price!

Good luck in the hunt!

KT

And if at all possible, go to a coin show. More dealers mean more opportunities for learning. Not all dealers are the same, but I find they tend to be on their best behaviour at the coin shows. Competition will do that!