Welcome to my helpful website packed with information and advice for ‘Coin Collectors‘
Please make yourself at home and learn as much as you can. This is a wonderful hobby, and if you follow my advice, it will keep you busy for years. In a good way…
Good luck and enjoy.
Matt Bakerack
Author of ”Coin Collecting”
General Overview Of Coin Collecting
Coin collecting has been a popular hobby for generations upon generations and goes well beyond just hoarding them. Coins can be extremely valuable and can be worth hundreds of dollars or more. Valuable coins are those that were in circulation for only a short peroid time and coins that were minted with errors, or were extremely beautiful and historically interesting. Numismatics which is closely related to the popular hobby of coin collecting is the technical term for the study of currency.
Most people start collecting coins that are already in circulation. This reduces the risk of financial loss as you can just spend the coins you have collected if things dont go according to plan.
“Coins that are in circulation are more likely to get damaged. They increase in value if you hold onto them longer-term.”
Once you gain more interest in the hobby of coin collecting, you can then move on to sourcing more valuable and rare pieces.
A great way to obtain these coins would be to purchase them directly from the US Mint. This can ensure that the coin has not been in general circulation. Coin Collectors can also purchase coins from ‘coin shops’, ‘coin shows’, ‘the internet’,’ auctions’, ‘other collectors’, and flea markets.
“Although there is a market for almost any rare or obsolete coin, always remember that the condition of the coin is MOST important to its value.”
Any sort of damage to a coin, such as dented edges, holes or gouges or even cleaning can greatly reduce the coins value. The way that coins are handled is extremely important. They should be handled carefully as to avoid causing unessesary wear, spots and color changes. Collectors must not touch un-circulated or proof coins anywhere but on the edges. Fingerprints can reduce a coin’s grade and potential value. Even the simple act of placing a coin outside of its holder is performed very carefully and the coin is usually placed on a velvet like surface.
“There are a few different themes that are common and are often combined into a goal to reach a collection.”
Some coin collectors try to obtain a samples of coins that was issued from every country in the world. Other collectors are only interested in collecting those coins that have been issued from a particluar country or region. For the majority of collectors, those coins that were released during certain historically important periods can be particularly interesting. Their collections normally consist of coins issued from the 18th or 19th century. For example, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Greek, Indian, Celtic, Merovingian, Ostrogothic, Parthian, or Israelite origin, or medieval time periods. Coins are a strong reflection of the events of a time peroid during which they were produced. Collections can vary greatly for this purpose and could contain many coins minted during a particular emperor’s reign, presidency or war. Basically any historical event.
Coin collecting can be viewed as a valuable investment. The prices of coins can be steady at times, or the prices of coins may drop. Like any collectible item, Coins will not produce any income until they sold. At this point a nice profit can be made.
