Coin Collections: Beginner's Guide to Coin Collecting

A Beginners Guide to Collecting

Coin collecting is a hobby that is enormously popular among a lot of people today. Whatever the age of the person, collecting coins can have its benefits. In most cases, coin collections gravitate on two things. For children, they tend to collect coins that look pretty or unusual and peak their interest. However, for adults, their coin collections will tend to gravitate towards the value of the coin rather than the looks.

People have different ways to acquire their coin collections. Some will just collect any coin that they stumble upon, while there others who will buy in bulk and eagerly anticipate the limited mint edition coins that may be found. Whatever your methods are, there are likely questions you have about coin collecting.

The first would be about advice on handling the coin collection. As a beginner, you must understand that you should handle the coins as little as possible and always with gloves. The fact that fingerprints on an uncirculated coin can dramatically cut the value of the coin is an example of how important this is.However, if you do need to handle the coin, do so from the edge and never on the face of the coin. Additionally, if you need to lay the coin down for any reason it is important to use a velvet pad if it is available. If a velvet cloth is not available then you can use a clean dry cloth.

Most people will also tend to ask questions on how to keep their coin collections clean. Basically, you don’t really need to clean your coin collection. In fact, you shouldn’t even think about cleaning them at all. Most collectors look for the authenticity of the coin rather than its shiny newness. Even if you wipe the coin clean with clean, soft, and lint-free rag, it will leave hair line scratches on the coin which will greatly reduce its value. So, cleaning a coin collection is never really an option.

Storage is also another question that you may have about coin collecting. The basic goal in storing your coin collection is to protect it from temperature extremes as well as humidity. You however need to protect your coin collection from dust, dirt, chemicals, and even fingerprints. Dehumidifying equipment is suggested as well as locking the storage as airtight as possible. Of course this is more for valuable collections rather than a casual collection.

In most cases, low value coins are kept in almost any container and can be handled any way you like. However, when you are dealing with high value coins, you will need to give it extra attention. The goal here is to provide a container that will preserve the coin's condition. Make the container as airtight as possible, and the container should also be able to display the coin in order for you to never need to take out the coin from the container.

Uncirculated coins are very much valued by collectors and therefor if you really want a valuable coin collection, go for rare coins and key dates. Learning about grading coins can also help you to determine the true value of a particular coin and help save you money by avoiding purchasing a coin way above its actual value or selling a coin way below its value.

In conclusion, if you want to start your very own coin collection you may want to keep these things in mind. With these tips, you can be sure that you will be able to know how to handle your collection and also help in appraising its value. Always remember that this hobby is not just fun, but is also a good investment.

Jamie