If You Were Starting From Scratch - What Would You Focus On?

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Author	Replies: 13 / Views: 2,017
bizaro86 New Member Canada 3 Posts	Posted 04/26/2011 4:45 pm Hello, I've been recently bitten by the coin collecting bug, after I serendipitously bought a small collection of nickels and dimes from a co-worker's husband. I'm looking for suggestions on what you would focus on if you were to start over collecting Canadian coins. So far I've got partially complete sets of nickels and dimes, and I bought and sorted through 35 rolls of nickels to fill in some of the holes. I also kept everything 1981 and older. Anyway, I'm looking for two types of suggestions. I can devote some time to looking through rolls, and am wondering what denomination would give me the best bang for my buck/time. Also, which series/type would you start collecting first? I'm working on a bit of a budget, I could buy a few $100-$200 coins, but not every week, so I'd prefer to start with a series where the key dates aren't super expensive already, since the prevailing wisdom seems to be it's better to start with the best coins you can afford. Report this Post to the Staff

Ugly Pillar of the Community Canada 1733 Posts	Posted 04/26/2011 5:02 pm Believe it or not I've been getting asked for red one (small) cent coins a lot lately. It seems like with the push up in silver costs people want a complete set of something and GOOD cents are still relatively affordable even for the keys if you save up a bit. While not as glamorous as fifty cent pieces, you can actually afford to still collect a set of high grade small cents. Report this Post to the Staff
CoinHunter53562 Pillar of the Community United States 2049 Posts	Posted 04/26/2011 6:09 pm If I was collecting strictly Canadian coins, I would definitely concentrate on Large Cents. I really like those and most are affordable. Report this Post to the Staff
glenzy1 Pillar of the Community Canada 1554 Posts	Posted 04/26/2011 6:51 pm Hello Bizaro86, I would be concentrating on high end Canadian Victorian and Edwardian coinage. You can buy 'em real cheap now these days because a lot of collectors have turned all their attention and resources to gold/silver bullion. These pieces are going for a fraction of trends. I collect by John Pittman's philosophy, "buy the KEY DATE coins when no one else is looking!" Glenn Report this Post to the Staff
SPP-Ottawa Moderator Canada 10458 Posts	Posted 04/26/2011 9:22 pm Focus on what appeals to you. If I had to pick another series, I do like the Canadian 5-cent series (1922 to present). There is something alluring about a mint-state George V 5-cent coin. "Discovery follows discovery, each both raising and answering questions, each ending a long search, and each providing the new instruments for a new search." -- J. Robert Oppenheimer Content of this post is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses...0/deed.en_US My eBay store Report this Post to the Staff
dan-in-crystal-lake Valued Member United States 493 Posts	Posted 04/27/2011 05:34 am Victoria all the way, VF or better, any series Report this Post to the Staff
ram96 Valued Member United States 417 Posts	Posted 04/27/2011 05:42 am I like the large cent's as well. Report this Post to the Staff
sel_69l Bedrock of the Community Australia 21788 Posts	Posted 04/27/2011 08:52 am bizaro86: Welcome to the CCF! The fact that you are having a serious think now will eventually have it's own rewards for you later on. Collect in an area that you have good access to, the above suggestions are fine. If you end up completing a series to your satisfaction, it is my bet that you will have a serious think again. "Where to from here?" For my part, I decided after completing a good quality type set, I would go into a series that would be impossible to complete. In my case that is ancients and world coins of all centuries and eras. I decided thus build a collection that would be appreciated by folks who would know little about coins. I would learn in detail, and the viewer of the collection would have a vision on world history in a concrete form. But that is just me. You may decide very differently. Report this Post to the Staff
wmd New Member Canada 41 Posts	Posted 04/27/2011 10:54 am I'd suggest nickels. I've had more luck finding old keepers in boxes of nickels than with any other denomination. And $200 will get you a couple boxes, which is a lot of coins to search through. Also, you can collect nickels without having to worry about the price of silver affecting the older ones! Report this Post to the Staff
bizaro86 New Member Canada 3 Posts	Posted 04/27/2011 12:09 pm Thanks for the thoughts all. I'm going to try to invest in education and knowledge before I go whole-hog into buying stuff, although ebay is definitely calling my name! I have an almost-complete collection of Canadian nickel dates from 1922 from buying a starter set and pulling out of nickel rolls, so I think it might make sense for me to start with the 5cent pieces. I suspect with a combination of time/effort/money I could assemble a complete collection of dates, except maybe the 1921, which looks a little rich for my blood. I also like the fact that there are more old nickels still in circulation/rolls, since it allows for "the thrill of the hunt." I appreciate all the suggestions, and will probably work on pennies/large in cents in concert. As to reference material, would the first book to buy be the Charlton's one? Report this Post to the Staff
Libertad Pillar of the Community Canada 3692 Posts	Posted 04/27/2011 5:33 pm I'd start out with high grade fish scales. These are like play money but works of art. Report this Post to the Staff
glenzy1 Pillar of the Community Canada 1554 Posts	Posted 04/27/2011 6:29 pm Mr. Bizaro86, if you can learn just one thing from this, perhaps the most important that most C.C.F. Mmebers will agree upon are STAY AWAY from the following: Modern day R.C.M. coins and N.C.L.T coins. Complete waste of money. And if you do get sucked into buying this crap, wait a couple of years after the Mint puts it out, you will most likely get it at halfprice or less! Glenn Report this Post to the Staff
collectall Pillar of the Community Canada 610 Posts	Posted 04/28/2011 1:49 pm I say collect what appeals to YOU. As far as mint products go,I am not an avid fan,BUT,in some cases I see something I just can't resist.(The yearly uncirculated mint sets for example)But again collect what You want.As your knowledge of coins grows,Your coin collection will probably follow suite! As many have said,"There is a wealth of info.here!" You'll love this forum! Edited by collectall 04/28/2011 1:55 pm Report this Post to the Staff
bizaro86 New Member Canada 3 Posts	Posted 04/28/2011 3:56 pm Quote: "There is a wealth of info here!" You'll love this forum! Definitely. I've read probably about 200 threads of the 1055 posted over the last few years. Report this Post to the Staff
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