Coin Collecting is a very enjoyable and fulfilling hobby when done right. Throughout the years, general advice has developed in the industry to help people be successful in coin collecting, which is discussed below. This advice is oftentimes the base of peoples success and has saved people thousands of dollars. 1) It's Not An Investment When you buy coins, for the most part, you should not purchase them as an investment. Yes, there are opportunities here and there to make a few dollars but when you factor in things such as gas, small fees, and your the few dollars you made in profit is not very much in reality. Although there are people that have made a lot of money in coins, you have to keep in mind that the coins that make the most money are well beyond the average persons budget, and often times cost tens of thousands of dollars apiece. The reason why coins of this nature make the owner of them so much money is that they are off the market for a long time, and are sought after by collectors for one reason or another. Buy The Book Before You Buy The CoinIn coin collecting, knowledge is the most important thing that you can ever have, where it is the only difference between success and failure. If you want to know a coin's history you have to have knowledge, if you want to determine a coin's grade, you have to have knowledge, if you want to be able to determine fi a coin si fake or not then you have to have, well, knowledge. Whenever you are getting into coins, you have to make sure that you at least know where to look for knowledge about coins, or have some reference manuals about coins to help you understand aspects about them such as their value, rarity, and history. After all, no one wants to spend hundreds of dollars on anything just to find out they have to waste their money. Also, always ask questions, as we here at Let's Star ta Coin Collection will answer any questions that you have about coins FOR FREE! 3) Buy The Coin, Not The SlabThere are four major companies that professionally grade coins, PCGS, NGC, ICG, and ANACS. These companies provide professional authentication, grading, and protections services for coin collectors and dealers. However, you have to keep in mind that whenever coins are grading coins, it only takes about a minute or less to grade an individual coin, which means that lot of coins are graded by these companies. Additionally, mistakes are made where factors such as eye appeal, strike, and luster are not taken into effect like they should, which is why companies that verify a third party graded companies work such as CAC, CACA, and QA are so successful. Whenever you go to buy coins that are in third party graded holders, make sure that you agree with the coins grade and that like the way the coin looks. This also means that from a realistic point, even if a coin is in a details holder it might not necessarily be a bad looking coin. 4) Cash is KingWhen you are purchasing coins, I strongly recommend that you always have some cash on hand. Oftentimes, coin shows and coin shops only accept cash, and those that do accept credit cards typically tack on the 3% processing fee to the price of the item that you are purchasing. The same also goes for online bullion dealers, where a discount is often provided to buyers that use a check as opposed to any other method. 5) Never Clean Your CoinsWhen you have coins, keep in mind that even if there is dirt or some other distracting substance on a coin, it is still the original surface of the coin, which is like paint on a car. If you have a really dirty coin, there are ways and products to slightly clean them to take some of the dirt off without damaging the coin, but always talk to an expert before trying any of these. Once a coins original surface is removed, it cannot be put back. 6) Rarity is RelativeThis is a key that many people simply do not understand, where it is discussed and represented in various areas of the market as below a) Survival Rate, Not Mintage Is ImportantKeep in mind that the availability of coinage is based on the survival, which does not necessarily reflect mintage's as there are many different factors that affect how coins are treated over the years. Always refer to price guides such as the Coin Dealer News Letter and the Redbook (A Guide Book of United States Coins) for ideas about relative availability for series and the value of coinage. Keep in mind that in general the Redbook is of retail prices, and the "gray sheets" are for wholesale prices and they assume that there is no damage on the coin such as scratches or cleaning. Also, the coins only have average eye appeal. Basically just an average coin. The situation is similar in another area of the coin market, the semi numismatic portion of the market, is one that consists of many different series of coins that have mintages of just 5 to ten thousand coins. You have to keep in mind that these costs are always saved to their full mintages, minus possibly a few coins here and there. Additionally, they due to the number of designs that are produced each year and the premiums that are associated with them means that the demand is not super high for any individual series, especially considering that people do not collect them by series b) Mint State Does Not Always Mean RareThere are a lot of dates of coinage, especially int eh 1800s where for some reason people though that they would be worth a lot of money so they hoard them. This is why you can find 1909 vdb pennies in mint state graded, later date walking liberty halves, and even some Morgan dollars in mint state grades of not a whole lot of money. c) An Old Coin Does Not Always Mean A Rare CoinYou have to keep in mind that even though a coin is old, it is not necessarily rare or valuable. Take for example coinage from the Roman empire. This empire survived for over a thousand years, where even in recent times people find hoards of hundreds or even thousands of them, where almost entire coins can be purchased for just a few dollars apiece. Also, in the modern coin market, there are dozens of different coin series that are produced each year that have mintage's of 5 to ten thousand coins each. Keep in mind, that these coins series have an extremely high survival rate, and they are oftentimes sold at a high premium. This, combined with how very few people collect them in series, means that they aren't are exactly rare and are not going to rise in price a lot due to their low mintage's.
Well, there you have it. I really hope that these age old coin collecting tips help you and your coin collection. These tips have been used over many years by some of the most important collectors, and are key to building a successful collection. By: Brandon Spiegel, Owner and Founder of Let's Start A Coin Collection.
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We have all seen them, the Lincoln Memorial penny! First minuted in 1959, they were minted for almost 50 years and are still in circulation. Even though they are fairly new as far as coins go, it's amazing how much history they contain and how enjoyable they are to collect. This series was very innovative, in that it was the first American coin to feature the same person on both sides of it, where Lincon can be seen sitting in the Lincoln Memorial on the reverse, with his bust on the obverse. This series of coinage first came out in 1959 to celebrate 150 years since Lincon was born, and to celebrate 50 years since he was first put on the penny, The obverse contained the same Lincon bust as did the wheat back pennies, but the reverse was changed to feature the Lincon memorial. This part of the coin was designed by Frank Gasparro, who was one of the most famous coin designers in American history. Frank was born in 1909, exactly 100 years after Abraham Lincon was born and just 24 days after they started to produce the Lincon Penny. Ever since he was young, he had a love for art where he started pursuing this passion by working for the works projects administration in the 1930s. Later, he became an assistant engraver to John R Sinnoh where he helped work on minor tasks associated with various designs that were being produced at the time.! Eventually, in 1956 he went on to become the chief engraver of the US Mint. In 1958, it was announced that the reverse of the penny was going to be changed, where a competition was held amongst engravers and employees to design the reverse of the new coin, where his design was selected! His initials are located on the reverse of the coin, near the bottom right of the memorial, where even though he was first criticized for this, it was a feature that many people really liked about the coin. The Lincon Memorial penny was originally composed of 95% copper and 5% zinc, but in 1982 they changed the composition of the coin to be 97.5% zinc with just a very thin layer of copper atop it, due to the rising copper prices at the time. Interestingly, you can still find copper versions of the Lincon Memorial cent in circulation, where they have a melt value of about 1.7 times their face value. Although it is illegal to melt them due to their legal tender status, I personally think that they will be traded in a similar way that 90% silver will, especially considering the sharp premium is charged for copper bullion. Additionally, every day they are making more zinc pennies are being produced, while more and more copper pennies are being taken out of circulation. I remember one time I searched through an entire box of pennies, and at least 40 of them were from 2017 where I would have definitely found more copper pennies if it were 2016. Personally, I average about 5-6 or 7 copper pennies per roll, which is a figure that is ever decreasing. One thing that is really interesting about the series, is the relatively minor changes in the design throughout the series. As you can see, in general, they put more detail on the penny but vastly decreased the relief in order to increase the number of coins that they could mint with a single pair of dies. In my opinion, this means that the odds are there is going to be a more specialized market for die varieties in the Lincon Memorial series in the future, but we will just have to see what happens. Thre are currently no rare key dates in this series, where everyone can still be found in circulation; (you might have some trouble finding the proof only San Fransisco issues). They are going to be common for hundreds of years unless something happens to cause them melted in mass quantities in the future, but that is unlikely to occur.
Additionally, there are numerous very collectible errors and varieties, with hundreds of different double dies, and varieties that command a premium. Additionally, if you find versions that are uncirculated than you also have something that is worth more than their face value. They currently trade for one cent apiece, except for those minted in 1959, those sold for their copper content, and those in mint state. This makes them great to collect, and a fantastic investment as well which is something that everyone can appreciate! The Lincon Memorial cent is one of the most widely produced and loved coins that was ever made in America. They are easy and fun to collect, especially considering that you can still find them in circulation. There are many opportunities that abound with this series, which makes it, in my opinion, the best coinage series ever produced, despite how new many of them are. We have all seen them, the wheat back penny. The obverse of this coin has been unchanged, for the most part, for over a hundred years, where the symbolic ears of wheat on the back are loved by so many. This coin has been loved by everyone since its introduction in 1909, and are a piece of history despite the fact that they can still be found in circulation at times. Abraham Lincon was born in the year 1809, in a log cabin on his fathers sinking spring farm in rural Kentucky. Eventually, after a lot of hard work and determination, he became one of the most well-liked, and respected presidents in American history. At a young age, he loved to learn and read, which is something that would carry him throughout his life. His Mother passed away while he was still young, so he had to live with his father whom he considered to be lazy and uneducated. In the 1830s he started to study law, and become interested in politics where he passed the bar exam in 1836. Eventually, he went on to become a part of the Illinois legislature and 16th president of the united states. Throughout the most challenging time in American history, he was able to preserve the nation through a massive civil war and provide freedom to millions of slaves in 1865. Unfortunately, he was assassinated by John Wilks Booth at Ford's theatre, which was a tragic death for a great man. Lincon was first featured on the one cent in 1909 to celebrate 100 years since his birth where he became the first president specific individual for that matter to be featured on an American coin! Prior to this, it was always depictions of Liberty with the exception of the three-cent silver piece, the two cent piece, and the Indian head cent that graced the obverse of coinage. The wheat back penny as we know it obtained its name by the two characteristic wheat ears on the reverse, which was used on the design until 1958. After that point, the reverse design was changed to be the Lincon memorial building, to commemorate 150 years since Lincoln's birth where he then became the first person to be featured on both sides of the same coin in America! The designer of this coin was Victor David Brenner, whose initials were originally on the reverse right underneath the two pieces of wheat, where he was heavily cetirizine for the prominence of this feature. This is especially because, prior to this, the designer of a coin did not put their initials on the coin they designed, and as far as initials go he was fairly large. This caused the mint to remove his genitals, where they were not put back on the coin until 1918 right underneath Lincolns shoulder which is where it still is today. Victor David Brenner was actually born in 1871 to his Jewish parents in Lithuania, where he was given the birth name of Viktoras Baranauskas but changed it to Victor David Brenner in order to obtain American citizenship. In 1890, he immigrated here where he continued to enhance his skills of seal engraving and sculpting, which his father taught him when he was young. These skills were one that he focused on through his entire life, where after he traveled to France to learn more and enhance his skils. He even won some awards at the Paris exposition in 1900, which was a major step in getting him to become the man to design the Lincon cent. In 1907 he designed a plaque that featured the bust of London, which was a design that Roosevelt really liked. He appointed Brenner to design the Lincoln cent based on this design, which turned out really nice despite a lot of people not knowing about their plans. Once they were released, they were extremely popular with the public, so much so that the mint actually had to limit their availability to banks and the general public. Throughout the series, there are a couple of very rare key date coins being the 1909s VDB cent and the 1914 d where there are also numerous semi key dates such as the 1931 s and the 1912 s where there are additional dates that are worth at least ten dollars apiece. Altogether, with the exception of the 1909 s VDB coin, the series is relatively inexpensive to complete where even the key dates can be obtained for a few hundred dollars apiece. One thing that others and myself like about this series, is that examples in pretty good condition can be found in circulation, where pieces from the WWII era have been found by people many times before. In fact, it is not uncommon to hear about finds that date all the way back to the 1930s and even to the 1920s and before! Personally, I will never forget how one time I looked through just $5 in pennies and found 8 of them, with one being from 1942! If you are looking just to purchase an example to have one, you can find them for as little as 4 to 5 cents apice, where an entire roll will cost you just a few dollars. WWII also brings about some very interesting instances in the series, where in 1943 they made pennies out of steel as opposed to copper so they could use the copper that they saved for the war effort. After the war ended, they actually melted down a lot of copper casings to produce pennies, where many people own a piece of history that had a past life of helping to protect our country!
The wheat back series is just about the most popular series of coinage that has ever been produced in America, where people have been collecting and enjoying them since they were first minted. It is amazing to study their history and the impact that they have had in America even though they were still minted during our parents and grandparents lifetime, and are still readily available! By: Brandon Spiegel - Owner and Founder of Let's Start A Coin Collection. |
Author: Brandon Spiegel.
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