New And Thinking Of Collecting Canadian Circ Coins And/Or RCM Minted Coins. Your Thoughts Please!

You are not the first person to ask this question, and the answer we usually give is "collect what you like".

I would reiterate that if you collect and hope to profit, you will likely be disappointed. If you collect high end coins they will be easy to sell and you will likely be able to get most of your money back if you do sell.

Toonies are too readily available in less than very high grade to retain any value beyond face value, in my opinion.

I'm old and confused by your title.
All Canadian circulation cons are RCM minted.
Collect what appeals to you , this is a hobby not an investment vehicle, otherwise you are headed for disappointment..

My personal thoughts and how I collect Canadian follow.

Note I lived n the US close to the border when I started collecting in 1968. Circulation finds back then allowed me to fill most of the holes in my Whitman Canadian coin folders from pennies through quarters from 1936 onward. Through purchases, I went back to 1922 on pennies and nickels. I still find the nickel set's appearance, metals, and mixture of the two just amazing from 1936 through the 1950s.

I stopped collecting Canadian coins by year around Y2K. The reason being I did not like the everyone's grandmother effigy of HM the Queen, and I got tired of every time it rained the RCM decided to put another REV on the quarters. Granted, the US followed this pattern with their never ending new designs on our quarters. It's just not for me, but I DO understand how people enjoy looking for the designs and I think it a good way to get kids interested.

One other factor for me was that since clad coins lose value over time, I did not mind putting away one coin per year, but more than that starts to add up, and I had to ask myself, "Why?" Adding more and more to something that will never be worth as much as it was when I started just seemed futile. Insetd I will spend times finding non-micro-detail error coins (more on that below). Again...that is ONLY my opinion and I totally understand anyone else's views are just as valid to them b/c hobbies are about what WE like. And just like I cannot give a logical reason as to why royal purple is my favorite color, cannot explain why I just happen to have come up with the above reasoning.

Error coins: there has been a surge in error coin hunting since microscopes became dirt cheap and people thought using scopes to find collectable errors (without prior studying to identify damage from true errors) was not only the best way to go, but would make them fabulously wealthy in a short time (thanks to endless ebay auctions that are not true coin errors and endless you-tube click bait videos). The TONS of errors listed online at reference sites such as varietvista.com make wonderful references, but the vast majority of thos errors also not worth a premium..and most likely never will be. The reality of looking for errors to collect can be very fun while enjoying the hunt. But as for making money off of it or investment...I personally see it as a bit better than the futile effort (mentioned above) of putting away 4 clad quarters per year that will only lose value. However, I don't collect errors unless I already have a complete year/MM set, and even then I only collect the ones that show the error easily (unlike so many modern coin DDOs where the error is only from thickness or very hard to see doubling). As an example, look up the 1974-D DDO half dollar. Not really worth much, but an easily seen DDO and fun to find.

Commemoratives from the RCM:
The RCM lost me a long time ago with these. It used to be I could get a "complete set" of special issue coins before the RCM became a warehouse for re-defining what the word coin meant and (Seemingly) endlessly producing so very many new and ridiculous things annually. Some of their idea were cool...but certainly stretching what the word coin smeans: Such as their carousel coin. Gluing glass bugs to coins, making glow in the dark coins, calling silver bars coins (like Captain Canuck) etc. was just too gimmicky for me and cheapened the RCM being an institution celebrating Canadian heritage. The flashy and ridiculous, to me, overcame what had once been a historically respectable institution. No theme is beyond the scope of their grasp for making something, labeling it a coin, and selling it at an inflated price. I know my sentiments reflect what was said by Canadians on this forum when all of this was starting.

OK...I did make a few exceptions. I have the Bigfoot Privy marked Maple Leaf, the Bug Bunny 20 for 20 coins, and the RCM annual report 2005 silver nickel (and a very few more special edition silver nickels). However, my love of Canadian coins is over the old ones. Almost exclusively the new stuff rates behind my interest in watching grass grow.

Silver is at a relatively high point now, maybe some upside as a collection, but plenty of downside risks. If you want to invest in silver, consider a high yield gic until silver drops.

Regular Circulation coins after 1953 are not a good investment. Some high grade PL from 50's early 60's are very strong, especially silver cameos.

RCM nclt is highly likely to drop on value. Would not go here unless you are buying at melt or around FV, even then be careful the 100 for 100 series can sometimes be found at a slight discount due to pain of getting money back.

Vickies, Edward's and geogrs can offer some upside, but prices are high, so who knows how long that will last.

Good luck, enjoy and hope you find a path that works

Collect what you enjoy and do it for fun. Good luck!

whatever you do, don't go for the Canadian Mint special releases. Most, if not all are expensive up front and a year later you'd be lucky to get half of what you paid.

but ultimately collect what you like, with no expectation of making money, let alone breaking even. hobbies COST money - coin collecting is no exception.

the best advice I can give is whatever you buy, buy the best you can afford. replacing sub-par coins will cost you more than if you had bought an expensive example from the start. pay once - cry once and don't look back. most of us had to learn that the hard way!