Need Advise for a Y/N

Nickcap

My youngest son (Mark), wants to collect Kennedy Half dollars.

My questions:

1. Are there any books for young collectors? He is 9.

2. Who are some dealers that handle Modern Coins that post on this forum?

3. Besides just buying all his Coins, what is a good way to get him involved in finding his Kennedy Halves?

Edited to add: I know nothing about Modern Coins.

STONE

Don't buy all the coins at once. Introduce them slowly so that he can enjoy acquiring a couple new pieces at a time.

Explore different types of Kennedy's - toned, blast white, Unc, circulated, etc. See which type he is drawn to the most,
and this will set the tone of the rest of the set.

That's all the limited advice I can give!

Caleb

I was eight when I started collecting and I started with Kennedy half dollars

Start with a red book, then try to pick up a copy of Dr. James Wiles book on varieties.

Are there any B&M coin stores in your area? If so, do thye buy - sell scrap silver? If so again, have him talk to the owner of the B&M about possibly going through the junk 40% silver for varieties.

You are welcome to checkout the Showcase set linked below.

GrumpyEd

Maybe the first step could be get him a nice coin folder for the older Kennedy halves.

Then start getting him some rolls, he could fill or almost fill it from rolls.
Probably buy the 70-d and the silvers if he doesn't find them.

Then he can move on with upgrades or graded coins or the newer album (harder to fill from rolls) or proofs.
There's a lot of neat stuff like that matte 98 and other moderns from the PF sets.

A great way to get a YN interested and fun to do it with him.

DeliaBug

For books dealing specifically with Kennedy halves there is The Kennedy half dollar book by Wiles. It is an attribution guide, not the most fun for a 9yo. and Whitman has a Guide Book of Franklins and Kennedy by Tomaska. His books are generally pretty good but I haven't read this one.

If you're looking for general books you can try Bowers' Adventures with rare coins.

Greeniejr

I tend to recommend to people in your position to spike your change. At the end of the week let him sit down with all of the change you have received over the week and let him pick out the stuff he needs. Clearly you will not be getting halves but just add them. Also he could do state quarters and ATB stuff the same way.

LindeDad

Simply put eBay is a great place to start. Sad fact is they are addicting if he wants to start with raw coins shipping can be a killer so looking for sellers that offer shipping discounts is the way to go. I put together a complete set that way of MS and Proof coins when I got back into collecting in the late 1990's.
My personal recommendation would be certified PCGS MS65 or 66 coins for a start or if he wants to do proofs look at the listing for PCGS PR69DCAM the 64 to 73 will be expensive to say the least so expect to go lower grade there. Either way your going to be starting at the below price jump and as he progresses those coins can be upgraded as funds become available. As with most series of coins the earlier date coins are usually more costly for a given grade than later date one of the same grade.

Edit to add. Just as a start take him here...... Over twenty thousand of them listed here.

Caleb

<< <i>For books dealing specifically with Kennedy halves there is The Kennedy half dollar book by Wiles. It is an attribution guide, not the most fun for a 9yo. and Whitman has a Guide Book of Franklins and Kennedy by Tomaska. His books are generally pretty good but I haven't read this one.

If you're looking for general books you can try Bowers' Adventures with rare coins. >>



I might have been 10 when I got my first copy of Wiles' book, yes it is an attribution guide, but it has been fun and I haven't looked back yet

Tomaska's book, borrow a copy or check one out at the library first. I have a copy and it might be great for Franklins but that is it.

erwindoc

You could easily put a nice AU/BU set by roll searching at simply face value cost. Would be a great grading lesson too as you both could sit down and look for the best example of certain years and then put the rest back. Some banks will let you buy a box or two of halves. Might even find silver and proof coins in the rolls, who knows what else you might find. I have found Franklins, Walkers and Barber halves while roll searching!

Good luck!!

DaveG

I would definitely start with roll searching!

I'd think the thrill of the hunt would appeal to a novice collector more than buying the coins would; at first, at least.

Also, you can use whatever silver you find to help fund his collection when he becomes sophisticated enough to want to buy his coins.

LindeDad

You guys saying to roll search do realize that about half of the dates in the series were never released for circulation don't you?
BTW the last five times I asked for half dollar rolls at banks or my credit union the reply was "Sorry we don't have any".

DaveG

I have found a number of halves that were never released for circulation in bank rolls, both impaired proof coins and business strikes that were never released.

(No 1970-D's though.)

That's a lot of the fun of roll searching - you never know what you'll find!



Of course, if you happen to be unfortunate enough to live in an area where you can't get halves then you'll have to think of something else (or move!)

Nickcap

Thank you guys for the ideas.

I have kinda cheated in getting all the Coins. I do have every mint and proof set from 1970 to present time.

My oldest son wants to collect the president dollar Coins.


I think I will get the Whitman books for them. Then I will help them collect the Coins and purchase Coins for them when they do well in school. I want them to earn thier sets, not have them just handed to them. It took me 30 plus years to get to the point I could purchase my Morgans. I want them to get the satisfaction of finding thier Coins, not me just writing a check and they have a set.

Bochiman

My boy and I did this a few years ago.
Cheapest and easiest way to get something started would be trying a bank you are a customer of.

If you can swing a $500-$1000 float for a few weeks or so, get them to order you a box of $500 (or 2 boxes).
Get a Kennedy Dansco album. Get a redbook.

When he does his chores, or something good, say "let's get a few rolls and go through them".
Take out how ever many rolls you want to go through with him. Maybe 3-5 is a good number, but up to you.

Have him divide them up by years/decades. Have him look to see which would be best for his dansco....discuss with him why. Maybe it is overall look, maybe it is luster, maybe it is grade, etc. Show him the difference in grades between the same year....and maybe compare different years (look at the 1972 and compare to 1995...you will see what I mean if they are AU or BU).

See if he wants to keep a tally on which years/MMs show up the most and compare to the mintage from the redbook.
Explain to him why certain years aren't coming up....ie, 1970.

Maybe you will get lucky and get some silvers for him from the grouping. If so, show him easy ways to spot the difference (sound when "pinged" together, the edge, shine, etc).

Look for DDOs and TDOs. Get a Cherrypicker guide if you really want to focus on them.

Above all, be there as a friend/helper/resource, but let him lead the way at HIS pace and let him do some of the reading and research. Let him spend some of them on something fun and see if he notices whether or not the recipient recognizes the halves right away or has to "examine" them to see what they are.

For dealers....well, I would recommend doing the raw dansco first and see where things go. Then, maybe see about getting him a high grade example from this birthyear to start with the slabs. Should be reasonably priced and able to get done. Proof and/or MS.

Once you are done with the raw ones, see if you have a machine for running them through to get your money back (my credit union does, my banks do not.....I get from WF or BoA and return to my CU).

MsMorrisine

roll search and pick through junk silver

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astrorat

Good advice, here.

Most importantly, IMO, make sure the collecting activity is about building a strong bond with your son, not as much focusing on his or your perceived interest in specific coins. When my kids were collecting, it was more about spending time together doing fun stuff.

Nickcap

Thank you everyone for the help.

I think we got a plan now.

This weekend, I am taking both my boys and my Nephew to US Coin in Houston.

I am going to get them the Dansco Books and other books that cover thier Coins.

I will then get with my Bank(s) to get a $500 Brick of .50 rolls. Then swing a brink of the dollar Coins later.

We will then sit down and sort them looking for differences and pick out the best Coins for his Dansco. Next we will look for DDOs and errors. Any errors and silver Coins will be put aside. Rinse and repeat.

I think he is more excited than me about this too. His eyes lit up when I told him we were going to get a brick of $500 in Kennedy half dollars.

My son, Mark, loves money and Coins so this should be fun. He helped me some with my Morgans looking for VAMs. Now he is excited to have his own little collection niche, and we may have a new life long collector


Thanks Wondercoin & LindeDad for the PMs on some tricks of the trade to help my son along.

I will keep everyone up to date on my son's findings.

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