Coin collecting is a fun and oftentimes challenging pursuit of amazing pieces of history! Oftentimes, the hobby can get fairly expensive, but fortunately, there are many great coins that you can start or grow your coin collection even if you only have a dollar to spend, if you know what you are looking for and where to look. 1) Purchase an old nickelFor a dollar or less, there are multiple different old nickels that can easily be purchased! In specific, if you are looking to purchase an older nickel look to obtain a kind of nickel known as a "V" or "Liberty" nickel or another kind known as a buffalo nickel. For the most part, the examples of Liberty nickels that you are going to find for a dollar or less are going to be in a grade that ranges from a G4 to G6 for V nickels, but sometimes a coin in VG8 or even VG10 condition can be found! When looking for these coins, try to find a coin that has a medium to dark gray color, without any marks that are particularly distracting. Remember, one of the biggest things that people take into consideration when purchasing a coin is the way that it looks, and the color of the piece you are looking at plays a large factor in others purchasing decisions. In regards to Buffalo nickels, try to find a coin that is in a medium gray color, with a grade that ranges from VF30 to EF40. On the obverse, specifically look at the braid on the Indians head, and on the reverse look for a full horn on the Buffalo and the tail showing on the hip of the Buffalo. In fact, if you look hard enough you may even be able to purchase a "War Nickel" which consists of 35% silver, and is amazing pieces of history from world war 2! 2) Find A Cool Nickel A great way to make additions to your coin collection is to find a cool nickel in circulation. After some searching through your change, you may be able to find one from the 1940s or the 1950s! Additionally, during 2004 and 2005 nickels were produced to commemorate various major components of American history such as the Lousiana purchase, which can still be found in circulation! For less than a dollar, you can build an entire set of these from circulation! 3) Purchase A Proof Amazingly, in many situations, individual modern proof coins can be purchased for less than a dollar! Although they are oftentimes not found online for this prices, due to costs such as shipping they can be found at coin shops and coin shows! If you have more money though, entire modern proof sets can be found for five dollars, where they will come in their original packaging from the government unlike the individual coins that you will purchase for less than a dollar. 4) Get Some Wheat Backs Wheat back pennies, which were minted from 1909 until 1958 can be purchased for five cents apiece or less, where for a dollar a very nice set can be assembled! Due to the bulk quantity that they are oftentimes sold at, most dealers do not look at them individually to find higher grade pieces, which provides the perfect opportunity for the coin collector! When looking through wheat back pennies, try to find a piece where the details in Lincolns hair are fully visible, and where there is the visible separation between the stalks on the wheat ears on the reverse. On the other hand, you can use the money to purchase a nice wheat back cent where for a dollar a mint state coin can be purchased from 1957 or 1958! 5) Find Some Cool Pennies You can even start to build a reserve of copper bullion for well under a dollar, as in 1982 pennies were changed from being composed of 95% copper and 5% zinc to a composition of 92.5% zinc and just 2.5% copper! The copper pennies, weigh 3.1 grams each and have a melt value of about a cent and a half, which means that you purchase copper bullion for less than melt value! Although they do not trade as bullion right now, I believe that they will trade as such in the future as they are becoming more and more difficult to find! Another great coin to look for are the circulating commemorative of Abraham Lincoln, which were minted in 2009 to commemorate 200 years since he was born. If you look long enough, you can find all four of the circulating commemorative Lincoln cents for four cents! Keep in mind when doing this, many banks allow you to deposit your coins into your account without a charge, but this is fading away so make sure that you check your bank in advance to see if they offer this; but if they do then you can save a bit of money and look through some more rolls! 6) Go To A Local Coin Club MeetingCoin clubs are a great way to learn about coins and grow your collection! Although it may cost more than a dollar in gas to get there, many coin clubs give away door prizes which you can win! Although most do charge a small fee to be a member, oftentimes guests are allowed and welcome! Below is a link to a directory to help you locate a coin club that is close to you! https://www.money.org/club-directory 7) Enter Free Giveaways OnlineAs the old saying goes, you will more never succeed unless you try! Numerous websites have silver coin giveaways on a weekly or monthly basis which are free to enter; which provides an opportunity, although slim, to start or grow your collection for nothing! Below are some of my favorites, which I am currently entered to The Coinweek.com weekly coin giveaway http://www.coinweek.com/contest/ All you have to do is enter your name and email address, then check your email for a verification link so they can have permission to contact you if you win! Oftentimes the prizes are really nice, as they usually consist of an ounce of silver, or something better! Silvertowne https://www.silvertowne.com/ All you have to do is sign up for their email notifications and you will be automatically entered for their monthly silver giveaway! When following the link above, the form to sign up for their email notifications and enter the contest is in the bottom right corner! If you win, you get an ounce of silver with is worth a solid 17 to 18 dollars with the current market prices! Certified Coin Exchange http://www.certifiedcoinexchange.com/svc/CCECoinDrawingSignup.asp Every month, the Certified Coin Exchange gives away a professionally graded coin! This is awesome because it provides you with the opportunity to win a very interesting professionally graded coin for absolutely nothing! Although a shipping address is required upon entry, you will have to provide it if you win any silver or coin giveaway anyways! You can enter by following the link above! 8) Participate In Online Coin ForumsOnline coin forums are another fantastic way to start or grow your coin collection for a dollar or less! While on these forums, keep on the lookout for giveaway or contest as oftentimes members have them, where the prize is oftentimes coins! Personally, I have won about ten dollars worth of coins (wholesale value) from a coin forum, with one of the coins being an awesome Japanese 20 sen from 1909, and another being a silver Roosevelt form 1964! They are great ways to learn about coins, meet others in the industry, and show off your collection. They also provide you with great opportunities to sell your coins too after you have been on them for awhile because of the low selling fees, and a large number of potential buyers that are already interested in coins! Personally, I am a member of cointalk.com, and sometimes members have very generous giveaways of coins, some other coin forums are Coin Community and collectors universe, where giveaways are held there as well! Even if you do not win a coin, the knowledge and connections are invaluable in themselves. 9) Check The Reject Bin Of Coinstar MachinesWe all see those Coinstar machines, where people dump change in order to get some cash. What a lot of people do not realize, is that oftentimes coins are rejected, where silver coins have been found by many people in the reject bin before! Even if you do not find an old or foreign coin, oftentimes a bit of change can be found which can be used to make your hypothetical budget more than a dollar, so nicer coins can be purchased. Another place to check, are those change counting machines at the bank where coins are rejected too. A place that most people do not look for coins, is underneath the grass where there are a magnet and steel pennies, or even modern foreign coins get stuck!
Its truly amazing all of the awesome coins that you can get for a dollar or less. I really hope that you enjoyed this article, and I hope that it provided you with new methods to use to start or grow coin collection on a very limited budget!
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Precious metals are a very intriguing investment to so many who collect coins, as they go hand in hand with old coins. This, combined with some of the amazing designs that are oftentimes found on bullion pieces makes them very intriguing investments for coin collectors. Unfortunately, many people are hesitant when it comes to investing in bullion because they do not know how to start when in reality there are so many great ways to get started, as the market is not as confusing as it may seem. I have personally made multiple mistakes when I started investing in bullion I will never forget the first ounce of silver that I purchased four years ago for $22. At the time, I thought it was a great price but silver has not reached those levels since. Another silver purchase that I will never forget is a one-ounce silver buffalo round that I purchased for $15.5. Silver has not been that low in years, but I am starting to think that it might not be authentic. Hopefully, this article will help prevent you from making some of the mistakes that I made. Personally, I recommend having your first few bullion purchase be small, and spend more and more as you obtain more knowledge and experience. Fortunately, the mistakes that I made were on a one troy ounce level, where I do not mind holding onto the pieces. Before you make your first billion purchase, I strongly recommend studying and familiarizing yourself with the market first. When studying the market, there are various concepts that you have to understand to know if you are getting a fair price. First and foremost, about every piece of bullion that you will buy will have a premium (an added dollar amount above the melt value) attached. This is because, there are costs involved with producing bullion, storing it and trying to sell it; which is passed on to the investor. Additionally, the smaller the bullion piece the larger the premium is on a per ounce basis. This is because it takes more resources to breaking a hundred ounces of raw material into a thousand bars than it would break it down into just ten. Fortunately, this is a universal concept among precious metal dealers and investors, which means that they will oftentimes pay more for a tenth-ounce gold piece on a per-ounce basis than they would for a ten-ounce gold piece. With this being said, the same goes for larger bullion pieces. When it comes to bullion pieces that are quite large, most dealers charge a very small premium over spot but tend to pay a bit less than spot when you are selling the silver back. Also, it is very important to note that all bullion is weighed in troy ounces as opposed to the customary system many of us are used too. There are 31.105 grams in a troy ounce as opposed to 21.34 grams. Additional, there are about 14.5 troy ounces in a troy pound as opposed to 16 ounces in a pound. Another major component of bullion investing is the company or government that produced the piece you are buying. The pieces that are most preferred by investors (and collectors) are those that are produced by a government as they typically have some sort of legal tender status, a limited mintage, and a very high-quality design. Next, are those silver rounds and bars that are produced by well-respected companies such as Engelhard or Sunshine Mint, or the pieces that simply have a very nice design. (As a side note, colorized bullion pieces typically have a premium.) Lastly, are those bullion pieces that are produced by private companies which are desired simply because of their low premium. An area of the bullion market that confuses a lot of people is that of the higher priced, 35 to 50 or 60 dollar silver coins that look so cool. When considering these pieces, I strongly recommend that if you are going to purchase something, get an item that is from a series that has been in production for a while, such as the Perth Mint map shaped series. Next, I would go to eBay and look at sales records for the piece to make sure that they typically sell for a price that does not bother you for being too low. Over the past forty years, many governments from all around the world have produced hundreds of different silver bullion pieces, where dozens of new designs come out each year from Palu, Perth, Niue, the Cook Islands, and more every year. Keep in mind, that there are dozens and dozens of different pieces with mintages that range from five to ten thousand coins which mean that the small mintages do not lead to extremely sharp premiums like they would on US coins. This is especially considering that very few people are trying to build a specific set of any particular modern coin series. Another major area of bullion investing is that of older coins, where liquidity, premiums, and multiple collectability really comes into effect. In regards to silver coins, there are multiple areas that you can invest in, where 90% silver half dollars, quarters, and dimes of United States origins are the most popular. Fortunately, they typically sell for the highest premium and are the easiest to sell. These coins were produced prior to 1965 and were meant for general circulation, but most coin and bullion dealers tend to purchase them for a bit less than their melt value because they are not pure silver. Still, there are other opportunities to add value to your holdings beyond the bullion content, which is where multiple collectability comes in. When purchasing 90% silver coins, you can oftentimes find pieces that have a historical aspect to them where Mercury Dimes, Franklin half dollars, Standing Liberty quarters, and even older coins can be found, which sell for a higher premium because they are older! Additionally, keep on the lookout for them in your pocket change as on occasion they can be found, which are nice finds when found! The other component of the US bullion market when it comes to coins consists of 35% and 40% pure pieces. Half dollars minted from 1965-1970 are 40% silver, which at the moment is not very popular and therefore make great investments as they are oftentimes found for a very low premium. Additionally, some Eisenhower dollars were also composed of 40% silver, but only the pieces that were specifically minted for collectors which are something that confuses many people. 35% silver war nickels are in a similar situation that the 40% silver half dollars are, but they have more history attached to them. This makes them more collectible, where a good premium is applicable when they are sold in entire date sets. The situation is similar for gold coins, where amazing gold coins from history can be purchased primarily for their bullion content! Another area of the bullion market is that of older coins from all over the world. This portion of the market isn't as strong as the one for US coins, but it is definitely still there. Dealers tend to pay even less for these coins as they do not sell well, where they tend to sit in dealer's inventory for a long time. However, their low premiums and the fact that there is a historical aspect to them makes them great investments. Another major component of investing in bullion are the unfortunate fake pieces. Unfortunately, there are many fake bullion pieces that are currently on the market, where too many people all too often get ripped off. Fortunately, there are ways that you can protect yourself from the financial harm that they cause. When it comes to smaller bullion pieces, oftentimes up to the size of two or three ounces, when they are counterfeited they are typically made by being produced out of a base metal as opposed to a precious metal; or they are just a base metal that is plated in silver. Therefore, when testing for authenticity the first thing that you are going to want to do is pull out a small magnet to make sure that the piece is not magnetic. Then you are going to want to weigh it to make sure that it weighs the proper 31.1 grams if it is supposed to be an ounce (it can be real and weigh a tenth or two of a gram more or about a tenth of a gram less in some situations.) After that, you are going to want to do what is known as a ping test, unless if the piece has some sort of artistic quality to it that attributes to its monetary value, such as the silver Kolas or even a privately minted round that has a nice look to it, unless if you have cotton gloves. When conducting this test, put the center of the coin on the tip of your finger; then get something hard like a pen and tap the edge. You should hear a long resisting ring, and they even have apps such as "Bullion Testers" and "Coin Ping" that will help you determine if a one-ounce bullion piece is authentic or not.
Bullion is a great way to protect, and increase your wealth in the long term.I really hoped that this article provided you with a great introduction to the bullion market, so you can explore it and have your first billion purchase be a good one! Currently, multiple silver coins are available on Let's Start A Coin Collections Ebay shop, so please check that out; have fun collecting! Throughout American history, we have had a strong desire for a five cent piece, which was carried out through the half dime and the nickel. Although they both have a face value of five cents, there are many differences between the two coins as their origin, composition, size, and original purpose are vastly different and are very interesting to study. One of the best ways to see that the difference between the half dime and the nickel series is to actually see them, so below are depictions of each major design change. The Half Dime SeriesAbove is an image of a pattern "Bust" half dime from 1792, where this design was only minted in 1792. Above is an image of a flowing hair half dime which were minted from 1794-1795. Above is an imagee of a draped bust half dime, small eagle which were minted from 1796-1797 Above is an image of a dreppd bust half dime with a large eagle, which were minted from 1800 until 1805. Above is an image of a capped bust half dime, which were minted from 1829 until 1837. Above is an image of a seated half dime which were mited from 1838 until 1873. The Five Cent Nickel Series Above is an image of a shield nickel which were produced from 1866 until1883. There are two major design variations of this coin, being the "with rays" and "without rays" varieties. every shield nickel that was produced in 1866 have rays on the reverse, and some of the coins that were minted during the earlier parts of 1867 have rays as well. After that point, the rays were removed due to difficulty that the rays brought when striking the coins, where they required the dies to be replaced very frequently. In order to increase the amount of time that they could use the ides to strike coins, they removed the rays until the end of the series. Above is an image of a liberty nickel which were minted from 1883 until 1913. In 1883 there is a "cents" and "no cents" variety where in the early part of 1883 the nickel did not have the word cents on the reverse, which was quickly added on during that year. Amazingly, people thought the without cents variety would be a great rarity, which caused many people to hoard them in mint state grades, which makes a mint state "no cents" liberty nickel relatively inexpensive. Above is an image of a buffalo nickel which were minted from 1913 until 1938. The coin above is a Jefferson nickel which were first minted in 1938 and are still produced. Interestingly, throughout the series lifetime there have been a few major design changes with the westward journey commemorative circulation series being produced throughout 2004 and 2005. In 2005 the obverse of the nickel also changed with Jefferson facing right instead of left, and in 2006 the position of Jefferson was again changed where he facing forward which is the obverse that is still present on the coins today.
The basic history behind the half dime and the nickel are two completely different things, where their creation came about for two completely different reasons. The half dime is a coin that was based on the dime and was first minted in so the American population could have a five cent piece to use in commerce. On the other hand, the five cent nickel was first produced out of necessity. During the civil war, people hoarded silver coins which lead to the government releasing fractional paper currency notes, where three and five cent denominations were used quite frequently (postage cost three cents at the time). They were not liked by the general public due to their low quality and small denomination, so the government released three and five cent nickels to replace them. Another major difference between the pieces are their composition, and sizes. Half dimes are actually composed primarily of silver where they have a composition of 90% silver and 10% copper, whereas five cent nickels have a composition of 75% copper and just 25% nickel. In fact, the reason why a nickel is called a nickel is because of its nickel like appearance and not its actual composition. Another major difference between the half dime and the nickel is the sizes of the coin. A nickel weighs about five grams, whereas the typicall half dime only weiged about 1.5 grams. Silver is worth more on a per ounce basis than coper anc nickel, so it took a lot less metal to produce a silver half dime than it did to produce a copper and nickel five cent piece. Despite the differences between these two coins that were present, they were even minted at the same time during the late 1860s and early 1870s! The half dime and the nickel are both very interesting coins to study, especially when taking into consideration their similarities and differences. Interestingly, there is a similar situation that arose with the silver and nickel three cent piece, which is another topic for another article. Have fun collecting! |
Author: Brandon Spiegel.
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