Can a guy like me participate in coin collecting?

walkinstick

I be new. After reading some of these threads I think so. But I can"t buy the expensive stuff. As gov retired they would have to raise your taxes for me to pay. But I can buy little stuff. One thread I read recently has clients that pay triple bid + 20%. I can't do that. So I will take the dirt road and start by looking for raw coins with a history. Also I don"t buy on ebay. Do I fit?

nwcs

Welcome to the forums. You can absolutely collect coins! And cheap, too. One of my favorite ways for a long time was going to banks and asking for rolls of nickels and half dollars. You can almost get the entire series of Jefferson nickels at face value that way from 1938 to date. And with rolls of half dollars at face you can sometimes get 40% silver ones and even sometimes 90% silver. If you get many rolls of cents, you can even get a lot of the run of lincoln cents from wheaties to current year ones.

There's lots of fun out there. And if you get really good with spotting coins, you can find deals everywhere.

chuckfarthing

State Quarters would be a good start. Straight out of circulation with nothing more than face value invested. Lincoln Memorial Cents 1959 to date is a do-able set although the early dates are tough to find in circulation.

UncleJoe

Which gov ?

To answer the question: NO.

Joe.

JrGMan2004

OF COURSE!! There are plenty of options for collectors on a budget Heck, you can spend face value on your collection. Just collect coins out of change if that's what floats your boat. Or, if you want something older, you can collect early 20th century circulated coins in an album, such as Barber Dimes, Quarters and Halves, circulated Morgan Dollars, and Circ Standling Liberty Quarters. There are plenty of things you could collect Go to your local coin shop, or local coin shows, buy a Dansco album for the series of your choice and start filling it up with coins Plenty of dealers have binders filled with cheap coins, especially at smaller shows

to the forums!

TUMUSS

magikbilly

Welcome Of course you fit. Pleasure can be had from collecting most anything, as long as the accumulation of knowledge and experience is involved you can't go wrong. You can derive as much interest from a building a nice clean set of solid F-12 Barber 5c as you can from a run of high grade Proof Mercury dimes - if you know that the "fun" is in knowledge - not just in having "expensive" or "rare" sttuff.

Best, and enjoy!
Billy

longtimecollector

Ask Marty.... He can take a $6 proof set and turn it into a $1500 half !!!!!

BowTieCoins

Of course you fit!!!


Katrina

JrGMan2004

<< <i>Ask Marty.... He can take a $6 proof set and turn it into a $1500 half !!!!! >>

Actually, those are the $10 proof sets The $6 proof sets usually only get $100-$300 if he's lucky

dthigpen

<< <i>Which gov ?

To answer the question: NO.

Joe. >>



Funny, a large chunk of my coin 'slush fund' comes from my military retirement money.

To answer the question for walkinstick, of course you can. Just don't let yourself get caught into the vortex of allowing others to tell you 'how' to collect. Whether it be compiling sets from circulation, collecting coins with holes in them (though that can get expensive at times), or even collecting civil war tokens or my favorite, brothel tokens. If you can allocate the cash to do so, join the ANA and utilize their library service, it will be invaluable to you. Enjoy each coin you add to your collection, research it and learn everything about it you can. Eventually, it'll all be second nature to you . Also, please turn on your PMs and shoot me over your address and I'll toss something in the mail to get you started.

Conder101

Of course you can, as long as you don't let yourself get sucked into the mindset of "If it isn't a top MS grade it isn't worth anything." there are nice US coins you can collect and even sets that can be completed even by people on fairly tight budgets Jefferson nickels, Buffalos nickels, roosevelt dimes, Washington quarters, Kennedys, Ikes, Anthonys Sacs, Peace dollars, 20th century type set. If you want your money to go even further (and possibly with even better grade coins) try the Darkside. And then there are tokens. Civil war tokens are easily affordable in circulated condition, hard times tokens cost a little more but are doable, coal scrip could keep you going for years, and there are plenty of others.

mgoodm3

Welcome.

Wolf359

Welcome, of course you can.

tmot99

I started with circulated mercury dimes. They are inexpensive and readily available. The only killers are 16-D and 42/1 (-D). The 21 and 21-D are higher, but still affordable. As time has gone on, my tastes have gone from beer budget into champagne tastes (but still on a beer budget). There are many nice affordable coins in any series from the 1900s. Try looking at XF or AU coins. You can even find XF bust halves from the early 1800s for less than $100 if you look.

Welcome, and yes you are in the right place for coin collecting!

cladking

Welcome aboard.

There are even more ways to collect as there are things to collect. If you don't
have the resources to buy high grade or unc old coins then buy nice circulated
coins. Collecting less expensive coins can actually be a little liberating since it
is so much more straight forward and they are usually more readily available.

You can pick up great bargains at gaage sales and flea markets if you're looking
for cheaper coins but this won't happen if you're looking for gem bust halfs.

TheNumish

Coin collecting isn't about the money. It's about doing something you enjoy. I get a lot of enjoyment collecting counterstamped coins and am putting together the lowest grade possible morgan set. Most of the coins in my Morgan set cost under $10.

jdsinva

As a collector of VAMs, sometimes I have to go where they might be found, which can mean dealer's junk boxes. Some of the more valuable varieties can only be had in the lower grades. The 1878-S Morgan B1 reverse comes to mind. I've bought my share of cleaned coins and dogs but I have fun doing it, which is all that matters. One of my Top 5 prized coins is an AU/UNC Morgan VAM 1A that I bought as cleaned for $10. It doesn't looked cleaned, just a bit over dipped.

Find your niche, read up on it and have at it!



Jeff

AuldFartte

to the Forums, Walkinstick !!!

Of course you fit here. All it takes is an interest in collecting coins, which you obviously have. As TheNumish said, it's about doing something you enjoy. And as Conder101 said, maybe you want to look at the Darkside (foreign coins) where your funds will usually stretch a lot farther than with a lot of U.S. coins.

Enjoy it here!!!

BASEagle

<< <i>Do I fit? >>



Well, if you don't fit, then I don't either.

Here's my advice for a budget minded collector like myself. If you already know what you want to collect, like say buffalo nickels, go for it.

If not, or if you like everything, like I do, then buy yourself a red book for $10 or $12 and start on a type set. Pick out the coins you like, make a list in order of preference then buy one nice example of each for whatever you can afford.

By the time you make it through your list, you'll know what series you want to collect.

Mike

Louis

Welcome to the boards .

mhammerman

walkin stick...yes you can collect. No, you don't fit but no one else does either, this is more like the sum of the parts make a whole as opposed to being a uniform batch of folks.

There is some excellent advice here. Being ex gov. maybe you can get space available MATs flights and go places to hunt coins for cheap...like peru or japan or other fun places...just a thought.

First thing, go to a coin shop, no go to a few coin shops and see who and what you like then check your wallet and see if the alarm is going off. The wallet alarm is as essential as a 5x loupe and a redbook. It IS about the money but it is just a vehicle to get you in posession of what you want. Since you are probably geezin some, you might like some of the older issues (hey, me too!). Circ. is cool and there is plenty of it. Go to some shows and ask lots of stupid questions on this forum...a path will appear to you and then it will be ez after that but you have to get started to find the way. Welcome and enjoy!

Mike

coinkat

Yes you can participate and have alot of fun without spending big bucks. A complete set of circulated Walkers as well as Mercs and Buffalos can fit into alot of budgets. If you are willing to settle for coins that grade fine to AU, these sets can be completed. As for the Buffs, the 1916 Double Die Obverse, the 1918-d 8/7 overdate and the 1937-d three legged buff can be left out.

Jdurg

I am a VERY budget........ err............. 'cheap' collector, and most of my collection has come out of circulation. Getting a Dansco Album to start out with is a good idea. I started by using the cheap Whitman Coin Folders, and while they do hold onto your coins, you can't really observe them as well as you can with a Dansco album. (The albums are about 15-25 bucks, but are well worth it. My Roosevelt Dimes are in one, and it's great being able to see both sides). For the coins, pick up what you can out of circulation, as well as going to a bank. If you live anywhere near a tourist area, I find that those banks are the best for getting a variety of dates and mintmarks. (Since people from all over the country will be visiting there, so a wide range of mintmarks will be found. Generally speaking, the D/S mintmarks then to concentrate on the West Coast, and the P mintmarks are on the East Coast).

It's also important to decide which series you want to collect. Trying to collect every series will just drive you crazy and is really expensive/impossible. I decided that I wanted to collect the coins currently in circulation, so I have collections going of the Lincoln Pennies, Jefferson Nickels, Roosevelt Dimes, Washington Quarters, and Kennedy Halves. (And I'm nearly done with my Dimes. I just need the 1950-1953 proofs and I'll have a sample of every single dime. Heh. Then the upgrade process begins). But concentrate on one or two series and you'll get the 'feel' for collecting. (I would think that the Roosevelt Dimes and Kennedy Halves would be the best series to start out with for a budget collector. There aren't as many coins in those series as in the other ones currently in circulation, and aside from the really high grade samples, there isn't a whole lot of 'expensive' dates/mintmarks).

Once you got yourself going, just take it slow. If something seems too pricey for you, just pass on it for now. In the future you'll see it again and the price issue may not be a problem any more. It has taken me about 7 years to fill out my Dime set, and I'm still not 'done'. Once you start collecting, then you may branch onto other things. I've already got a complete set of coins from my birth year (1980), so now I'm starting a set from 100 years prior to my birth (1880). Sadly, this precentennial set will take me quite some time due to the presence of Trade Dollars, Gold Dollars, and a bunch of other expensive coins. However, I've already gotten a Morgan Dollar (Philly Mint) and a Half-Eagle (Philly Mint), so at least I've got some silver and gold. The gold coin was the most expensive coin I ever bought; $150. I have yet to spend more on a coin. So you can still get some nice ones under a budget. (I'm sure there are people here who laugh at a $150 dollar limit as they've spent thousands of dollars on a coin). So just set some modest goals and have fun!

relayer

You can find a number of interesting raw coins that are full of history.

Start out looking at the coins you like and then you can branch out and start working on a type set (one example of each type of coin)

Betta285

Welcome! Of course you can participate in coin collection, even on the budget of $50 a month, an enjoyable collection can still be compiled. I personally rarely buy a coin for more than $50 and I am certainly happy with my collection and have managed to acquire some very nice coins by anyone's reguards. A dansco type set can be completed for under $40 per coin in most cases which is probably one of the best ways to introduce yourself to collecting. Eventually, you'll fnd your own niche and develop your own collecting interests. Raw coins would be best to start off on a low budget but this means that you must be familiar with your grading and a general knowledge of the series you're buying. Graded coins are a luxury once you have the money to afford them and also provide the chance to make a lot of money, but an MS65 Morgan is the same coin in a PCGS capsule as in a mylar 2x2 less the grading fees. Just be respectful, gain as much knowledge as you can and collect what you like. It has worked for me, and I'm only 15..

jim

LindeDad

There are a bunch of us here that are retired but not totally tired types.
But beware coin collecting can be addictive. So start slow, pace yourself. And guess what before long the one's that you now think are too costly, will become the one's you can't do without.