Advice for a 5 yr.old
natetrook
Posts: 613 ✭✭✭
I'm a baseball card collector, and that's my forte, but my 5 yr. old is falling in love with coins.
He currently has a Blue Whitman book for lincoln cents 1959-present, and pours over jars of pennies with his
magnifying glass, pointing out small and large dates, which I can't see. However, I acknowledge his interest and
I want to keep him going.
Here's the question. Grandma gave him $100 for his birthday, and he wants to buy a bag of random silver coins on
E-bay. 12-14 dollars of silver for 80-100 bucks with random coins of all denominations.
How would you treat this. I would never let him buy a random box of baseball cards from different years and conditions.
I would make him pick a specific year and buy the highest condition he can afford.
Would you make him pick a graded coin in the year or denomination he's interested in, and have him buy the highest grade
we can afford? Would you pick a type set, or maybe a mint or proof set of a year that interests him. Buy somebody else's complete set?
He tends to like quantity rather than quality, and I'm thinking I should guide him here.
Any help is appreciated for this future numismatician.
Nate
He currently has a Blue Whitman book for lincoln cents 1959-present, and pours over jars of pennies with his
magnifying glass, pointing out small and large dates, which I can't see. However, I acknowledge his interest and
I want to keep him going.
Here's the question. Grandma gave him $100 for his birthday, and he wants to buy a bag of random silver coins on
E-bay. 12-14 dollars of silver for 80-100 bucks with random coins of all denominations.
How would you treat this. I would never let him buy a random box of baseball cards from different years and conditions.
I would make him pick a specific year and buy the highest condition he can afford.
Would you make him pick a graded coin in the year or denomination he's interested in, and have him buy the highest grade
we can afford? Would you pick a type set, or maybe a mint or proof set of a year that interests him. Buy somebody else's complete set?
He tends to like quantity rather than quality, and I'm thinking I should guide him here.
Any help is appreciated for this future numismatician.
Nate
0
Comments
to search through. It's not that uncommon to find nickels from the 40's or even older once
in a while. Then roll up the leftovers and repeat until the album is starting to getting over 50%
complete. At that point he'll still have plenty of money to go to a coin show and purchase
the war nickels and key dates. Lots of bang for the buck there.
Or state quarters - he may like the different designs!
Just keep it fun for him, without too much emphasis on spending the money "wisely"
Ken
If you are near a major coin show (Baltimore is the next big one in about ten days), that is another idea. There is nothing like shopping with a little one leading the way, again, many dealers will offer the best deals in the world if they see a little one, especially one with a loupe!
Maybe get a 20th Century Type Set holder or album and let him have at it, picking out the nicest coins of each type for his set.
If he is still interested when he is ten or 12 then get some more focus and start in on "collector" coins and talk of goals and such.
Check out my current listings: https://ebay.com/sch/khunt/m.html?_ipg=200&_sop=12&_rdc=1
<< <i>I would never let him buy a random box of baseball cards from different years and conditions.
I would make him pick a specific year and buy the highest condition he can afford.
Would you make him pick a graded coin in the year or denomination he's interested in, and have him buy the highest grade
we can afford? >>
A five-year-old doesn't have much concept of the future beyond tomorrow, so "buying the highest grade we can afford" won't be a concept he'll grasp. Can you imagine getting one coin in a slab? Wow - big fun. He'll lose interest after 5 minutes.
The bag of random silver coins is the right idea, but the ones sold on eBay are mostly ripoffs.
You should get a 20th Century type album and if you have a coin shop you can go to, you should go and pick out different circulated coins to fill it, even buying duplicates of the same type, and find a small pouch to keep them in. Then it's also like a puzzle where you can pick out a group to put in the album. Then later he can take them all out and do it over again.
Don't buy any "investment" grade coins. Get circulated ones that he can play with them and you don't have to worry about fingerprints.
Feeling the heft in your hand of some silver or Ike dollars, along with halves and quarters can help show the value of a dollar.
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Buy some bulk coins for him.
<< <i>Just keep it fun for him, without too much emphasis on spending the money "wisely" >>
The nickels are a cool idea. I looked at nickels in change voraciously as a child...in fact I still sneak peaks at them (I knew my future hubby was the one for me when I caught HIM checking out the nickels in his change
Cathy
(And yes, I still have every pre-1964 nickel I have ever gotten in change
"Bongo hurtles along the rain soaked highway of life on underinflated bald retread tires."
~Wayne
This is definately a bad idea, he will get ripped-off. I like the Franklin or Jefferson option. (Merc dimes are great. but I still haven't completed the set I started about 40 years ago.)
I'll send you some mixed silver coins free.
Just PM me to set up the mailing.
Some mercs., some F.D.R. dimes, war nickles, at least 1 standing quarter, 1 walker .....
They wont be high quality coins. but you can't beat the price.
pz
(Priest) BLASPHEMY he said it again, did you hear him?
I also agreer that Jefferson Nickels is a great idea. Get a nice album, like a Dansco, for them. Then that same $100 can keep going back to the bank for nickel rolls - only taking out coins he needs and re-rolling the rest. When he gets down to a few key dates left, then go to a dealer (or ebay) to finish the album. Or just keep searching. Most of all, make sure it stays fun for him!
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<< <i>Hey for your 5 year old,
I'll send you some mixed silver coins free.
Just PM me to set up the mailing.
Some mercs., some F.D.R. dimes, war nickles, at least 1 standing quarter, 1 walker .....
They wont be high quality coins. but you can't beat the price.
pz >>
That is a very nice gesture
I have to agree with a few of the previous posts. He is 5 and wouldnt understand the concept of one coin beig worth more than all of the rest put together. I grew up with my father having both blue Whitman books, still have them both. If he enjoys sifting through the pennies why not buy a newer Dansco album that covers 1909-present, or they have other brands that arent as expensive. This will give him tons to do, wheaties arent that expensive in bulk, and by the time he is old enough to determine a deeper appreciation for coins he will then be able to try to fill the books out completely. Some of the key dates are rare AND expensive. You could get lucky in a bulk sale for some dates, but even if you dont he still will have a blast looking through the coins as he does now. That is a win-win situation. Best of luck
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<< <i>Find a coin shop with a 50% off box, drop him off, and return at closing to pick him up. $100 will take you a loooooong ways at some shops. >>
and the shop owner will just love you for leaving him a 5 year old to baby sit!
If he wants random silver, get him random silver. Now this is where you come in. You can help him get the best random silver deal.
PM sent.
Joe.
I happen to like the world coins idea. You can buy coins from a lot of different countries, and he can learn something about the world while he's at it. Also, you can throw in some very old coins. You can get a lot of 18th and 19th century non-US coins for very little money.
You can't beat $4/lb + $10 Shipping.
She'll even let you choose a type! (ie. matellic, nonmetallic, size, etc.)
<< <i>$100 for a five year old's birthday? Wow. Put $95 in a college fund and get ten rolls of Lincoln cents. When he has searched all of those, he can turn-in the ones he didn't keep for more rolls of cents. >>
That's what I was thinking haha I don't think I ever got a hundred bucks for any birthday, let a lone my fifth. I like both the nickel and the merc idea. But if he wants it because of the silver, then the nickel's arent really the best way to go, but like mentioned, easy to get.
I started my boy off on Jefferson nickels from circulation when he was seven. He would go through my change, and when he got his allowance we would go to the bank (I'm from a small community and know most of the bank tellers so the day before we would go to the bank I would drop of a roll with the teller that had a couple of seeded coins in it, WWII issues or something like that, we would buy the one roll plus a few other rolls from the bank). By doing the bank route, you can help the little one with grading (always looking for better examples), and before long he can understand the difference between a filler, fine, AU and uncirculated coin (yes there are other grades, i.e. poor, good, AU 50, AU53 ect....). At first don't worry about teaching him all the different grade, just the basics, that there is a difference and that he always wants to try and upgrade when possible. After he looks at a roll, have him put his initials on it after it is rolled back up, that way when you exchange it for a new roll he won't get one of the rolls he has already looked through.
It was hard for me to back away and not just file up his book (our family has always collected coins and my father and granfather were for ever checking their change and saving hard to find dates and any "s" mintmarks), but I wanted him to have the fun of finding the coins and the belief that he was funding his own hobby.
Advice: He is only five years old, set back and enjoy, pickup a few books to have around the house (photo grading, red book ect..), maybe a subscription to Coinage Magizine for a birthday present, but I would start him off with a modern set of coins that he can get at face value. With the modern set he can learn the basics of grading, storage, handling and care of coins without paying any premiums for them (just face value). Who knows, he might make a coin collector out of you before it is all over. But above all else, have fun with him at this early age.
Tim
<< <i>That's what I was thinking haha I don't think I ever got a hundred bucks for any birthday, let a lone my fifth. I like both the nickel and the merc idea. But if he wants it because of the silver, then the nickel's arent really the best way to go, but like mentioned, easy to get. >>
Coinnut 86,
Ya but, when you were five, who was sitting in the White House, FDR or Harding? The dare tooth fair these days brings 5 or 10 dollar bills, all I ever remembered was a dime if it didn't have a filling in it or a nickel if it did.
Tim
Keep it interesting.
Do any relatives or neighbors have jars of coins sitting around? You could get more Whitman folders for state quarters and nickels and maybe other denominactions. Your son could offer to buy jars of coins at face value. Once he goes through them he can roll up the stuff he doesn't want and look for more jars. $100 should keep him going for a long time!
Do a weekly search on the US Coin forum for YN and see what you find and enter for your son. You both will have fun! I know, I've been there, done that and we're both still here!
Millertime
Complete Dime Set
Since he likes pennies, try a bank for a $50 bag of them. Should give him many, many hours of fun. You can always take them back to a different bank when he is done and then get another from the first bank. I suggest getting him a Red Book. Even at 5 he may enjoy looking up some coins and he won't be 5 much longer.
Also, as already mentioned you may want to try him on Jefferson Nickels. Also, get a bag or just lots of rolls from the bank.
Get him a magnifier glass to really inspect his coins with.
Although only 5 he may enjoy his albums more if he could see both sides of his coins. You could possibly purchase him a Whitman Classic, Dansco or other brand where the coins fit into a slot with a slidding plastic sheet over the both the front and back of the coins.
The push in type most kids use are much cheaper but in the process of making them the manufacturer puts glue on an entire sheet and adds the slotted page to that. That means there is glue on the back of the slot where the coins go in. Some kids wet this to help hold in coins that are a little worn and normally fall out. This process ruins the reverse of the coin.
I agree that if there are any coin shows in the area, he may or may not enjoy that. The main problem there is his height. If he is to small he will not be able to see most of what is there. At coin shows I've gone to I've noticed very little kids getting irritated and wanting to leave because they can't see or do anything.
5000 cents could overwhelm him too...stat with 10 bucks worth...for now
Also I'd go with Quarters & Halves, less chance of him swallowing them if he puts them in his mouth.
<< <i>Get him a magnifier glass to really inspect his coins with. >>
I forgot to mention this earlier. Be careful with the magnifing glass! I pick up one for my son when he started collecting coins (really just so he would leave mine alone), remember we are talking about a young one. Anyhow that first summer with his new magnifing glass, I found him out side one day using it to burn ants in the driveway instead of using it as an aid for looking at coins.
Tim
<< <i> Anyhow that first summer with his new magnifing glass, I found him out side one day using it to burn ants in the driveway instead of using it as an aid for looking at coins.
>>
That sounds familiar
By making it heavy in dimes it will satify the desire for quantity but the rosevelts are common enough that with a little creativity you should be able to get a significant portion of a Roosevelt set into the group and some mercuries for some older material. You will get a better deal that way than with a group on eBay.
I also realy like the idea of the world coins for a youngster it is a great deal of quantity for the money and if interest continues it is possible to build a significant sized collection without spending a lot of money. You will need to buy a copy of Krause which can be fairly costly, but if you buy one a few years old it will be much cheaper and almost just as good as a brand new one. (It also has the added advantage that it can be used to tie in world history, geography, political science, languages, etc. I have to agree that the auction for bulk foreign lsted looks like a good deal. My only worry would be that they might be heavy in Mexican, but for a beginner that isn't too bad. Their shipping rates are good too. A little pricy if you buy just one lot, but their willing to ship up to five lots, fifty pounds, for the same shipping fee. o if you buy at least two lots the shipping is actually a good deal as well.
The two most important things I learned. Do not show him a coin you want to keep for yourself unless you first tell him he can't have it. Second, find a special place and box for him to store his "treasure". It will make coins that much more special to him.
K
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