beginner looking for IHC

koreansteve

I'm 16 years old and just began collecting coins (i've decided to collect indian head cents because they seem relatively easy on my budget and they have a pretty cool design). I feel horrible that i have to beg, but i don't know where to start, so i'd appreciate it if anyone has any IHC that they wouldn't mind giving away, could they please send them to me? I figure that if i got a general collection of most of the dates that i could then look to upgrade. I'd really appreciate it.

I'd also like any books or anything else related to IHC, if they don't want them. I'm a bit unsure as to how i give any person interested in helping me out my address. I presume that i'm not supposed to just type it here on this message, so you can email me at adam.r@angelfire.com or PM me (although i'm not sure how the PM thing works because I've never used it).

Any advice, suggestions, or hints would be appreciated. Quick question: what do you suggest i put my coins in (hard plastic containers, soft plastic containers, an album)??

BTW, I just joined my local coin club tonight so i hope i can learn some from them as well. I thought it was pretty impressive tonight at
the meeting because it was my first meeting that i'd ever attended and one of the local coin dealers has a 1893-S morgan dollar MS-65 on display; he had it priced between $245,000 and $285,000. I never thought i'd see a coin that expensive in all my life!!!!

koreansteve

even if you don't have any coins to give me, i'd still love to hear some opinions on the best way to begin collecting IHC and some opinions on where to buy them (shows, local collectors, ebay??).

THANKS.

lordmarcovan

I think an album is the best way to go- maybe not the best possible method for protection of the coins, perhaps but for organizational reasons. I have a few Indians, but I don't have any time to ship anything at the moment, so no freebies yet. Maybe later I can get you started. I might even have an old Whitman folder left over.

You'll need to go to "Profile" and activate Private Messages. After you do that, there will be a little icon that looks like a padlock next to each of your posts. Users can click that to send you a Private Message. When you have a message, you will see that same icon in the top left of your page, flashing. If it is just orange and not flashing, you don't have any new messages.

Common Indian cents can be purchased on eBay in bulk lots or even rolls. The dates from 1887 up (with the exception of the mintmarked 1908-S and 1909-S coins), are easily obtainable in bulk lots (though the 1894 and 1909 are a bit harder to find among the common dates).

It's a fun, uncomplicated set.

Watch out for soft plastic containers, as they may contain polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which can contaminate coins over long periods of time.

If you have a local coin club, you're better off than many collectors. Keep at it, and best of luck.

koreansteve

about the coins in bulk on ebay, don't the sellers go through the bags and pick out the rarer dates???

also, wouldn't there be a lot of the same dates in bulk packages of coins if you bought them on ebay?

lordmarcovan

Sure- they get the rare dates. Only a fool would sell unpicked bags cheaply. And you often will get duplicates, particularly of the 1906 and especially the 1907. But so what?

"There is no Santa Claus in coin collecting" was a favorite phrase of my old numismatic mentor.

Even the common Indians are fun. Buy the common coins in bulk, and if you have 3 or 4 of the same date, pick the nicest. You can then swap the rest off or sell them on eBay yourself. After you've filled the commons from 1887 and up, you can work on the older coins individually. The coins from the late 1860's to the mid 1870's are tough.