Advice needed

Mellamobradley46

I'm a very novice collector. I got interested in collecting from my grandfather who owned a coin shop many years ago. He passed on many coin books with circulated coins to me and my siblings. I think it's a fun and interesting hobby.

Anyways, I have a two month son now who I would like to interest in coins too. I plan on buying him a silver eagle every year and a gold eagle if I can afford it. I figure even if he doesn't take to coin collecting, I'll let him sell them for college book money.

Do you have any advice on how to interest a kid in coin collecting and any sets I can start now that might be fun and reasonably priced for us to go after together? I was thinking mercury dimes or buffalo buckles.

Thanks for any advice. This message board is the only board I've seen online where people like to help others and not just harass for a good time.

Mellamobradley46

Sorry it auto corrected nickles to buckles. I'm not interested in collecting buckles with buffalo.

DennisH

I think you have a good basic idea. I'd include Indian head cents too.

CoinZip

My grandfather started me down the path too.... This site is one of many great sites where you can learn a lot.

ms70

When it's time, but him some penny folders. I got the 50 state quarter boards for my kids. I wouldn't say they got the "bug" but they were interested in the challenge of filling it.

ctf_error_coins

So he was born in 2014 .... buy him at least one 2014 Coin and Currency Set as it has a special Sacagawea Dollar in the set that has an extremely low mintage of 50,000.

Also buy him any major unique error coins (if you can find any) from his birth year.

AUandAG

He will have an interest because you are interested in coins. Let him watch what you do and if you can
explain what, why, etc that will help. Just let him do his own thing....He might like quarters or Kennedys
because they are bigger....

Just have fun.

I have two grand kids that I see a couple of days a week and the older (4 years) has no interest. Just
dolls and such. The younger (2.5) watches what I do and last week grabbed a 1879cc Morgan off my
desk and showed it to a toddler friend. Lucky my wife saw him do that and we retrieved the coin before
it got out the door! Gotta watch him from now on, for sure!

bob

291fifth

My advice:

Forget about buying him coins. Invest in your state's college tuition program instead.

Baley

When my children were babies to toddlers, they had no interest in tiny coins or in looking at dates or even designs. They did like large, shiny coins like loose ASEs.

Now that they're in grade school, they still do not care much for series that all look alike except for the dates, or small coins in general, but they do enjoy looking at type sets with all the different designs, and they like the odd denominations ("half cent! two cent piece?!?), and especially playing with foreign coins; now that they know the value of money for spending, they think it's really neat to have coins with denominations like 500 pesos or 1000 rupiahs (and I get a chance to explain the concepts of exchange rates, and inflation/currency devaluation) They also like really old coins, and gold coins, but do not see many of those in person just yet.

My advice is not to push the coins on the kids, but rather let them take an interest by having a few items around, and waiting for them to ask for more out of curiosity

pakasmom

I don't mean to sound negative, but I agree with 291fifth. Don't assume the hobby is going to be a good investment.

Think of them as two different things. And keep the ratio of saving for his future and buying coins heavily lopsided on the conventional savings side of the equation.

hchcoin

When he gets a little older, take him to a few coin shows a year and give him $50 to spend on whatever he wants including snacks (Or make him earn it ahead of time by doing chores around the house if you really want him to learn about work ethic). Give him a few low priced coins to walk around and try to sell and he can keep the money. Stop at a nice restaurant or his favorite store on the way home and make a day out of it. Build some memories while teaching him a little about buying, selling, negotiating, patience, communication, etc....

When he gets a little older still, take him to a show in a place like Florida or California and make a vacation out of it. Spend some time at the coin show and other time at the local attractions. Take him to a ball game. Build more positive memories.

And then maybe, and this is a big maybe in todays world, he will catch the fever.

I have three kids and have done it with all of them. Not sure how much they will continue to collect right now as they start out on their young adult lives, but we sure did build some great memories and they each have a nice little collection.

RYK

At two months old, you are unlikely to generate much interest.

I actually tried, not very hard, to get my kids (now 13 and 16) interested, and they were not. My son played along for a couple years, but he clearly did not have the passion. If you are an avid collector, he will be curious, and you can see where the curiosity takes him.

I would agree that an investment in a 529 plan would be more beneficial for college planning in most circumstances. If you want to put away a silver eagle every year for him, that's not going to hurt, and by the time he gets to college, he will have a roll or so.

bidask

Start with having him fill holes in a Whitman blue folder Lincoln penny collection.

DaveG

It seems to me that kids either have the collecting gene or they don't and there's not much a parent can do about it if they don't.

I'd say that most kids don't get interested in coins until they're about 7 or 8 and one thing you can do to help your child to be receptive is to encourage an interest in history: not just history in general, but also family history and a consciousness of pieces of history that you can hold in your hand.

At this age (two months), you can start by not sneering at things that are old or that happened a long time ago. (You'd be surprised at the number of people who do this and then wonder why their children don't do well in history class in school.) It helps a lot if your children see you looking at your coins and reading books about coins and general history books. Also, if your parents and aunts and uncles have a sense of history (family or general) and like to tell stories, make sure your children spend some time with them.

Once your children start paying attention to the world around them (say around age 4 or 5) you should start taking them to museums or to historical sights. (Don't make it too heavy - act like it's fun and something people do normally.)

We did some of the above things with our daughter and while she's not interested in a coins (she's a girl, after all), she does collect Victorian-era postcards and trade cards and was a Classics minor in college.

Type2

Trun on you PM....

Yorkshireman

<< <i>My advice:

Forget about buying him coins. Invest in your state's college tuition program instead. >>



I second that opinion.
Buy him coins when you are fairly confident his tuition is covered.
Many financial advisory firms can help you develop a plan that should meet your needs, whatever they may be.
If you can't find a good person that can use probability forecasting, PM me for a recommendation in or near your city.

Then have fun with your coins!

ricko

Buy him ASE's for birthdays.... allow him to participate when you work on coins/collecting.....invest in a financial program for college..Cheers, RickO

WTCG

If kids like coins and want to be a coin collector the hobby will find them. Guidance is good as is positive motivation.

The biggest mistake parents who are coin collectors themselves make is attempting to cram the coin collecting trait down the throats of their children. Too often I have seen parents force their kids to attend coin shows or to inspect change because they are somehow convinced their kids love coins or should love coins. Collector dads inadvertently do that with the best intentions in mind but ultimately that just creates resentment towards numismatics in their kids. If kids are meant to collect coins they will do it on their own and if that happens you will be there to encourage them. If they show no interest after continuous prodding then it's not worth further pursuit.

Also kids rarely collect coins continuously throughout their childhood. They usually collect when they're young then back off during the teen years. Considering what kids go through through their teen years that is totally expected.

2ltdjorn

My 2 year old likes the sound of cull Morgans/peace dollars bouncing on the floor. My 3 year old likes looking at the coins and telling everyone that his dad has gold/silver.... Can be awkward at times...

cladking

Some kids just aren't predisposed to collecting anything. If they are then some simple thing
like going thought pocket change with their dad just might interest them. Have fun.

cladking

Of course if they do catch the bug then something like having a SAE collection might be very appreciated when they get older... ...or sooner.

Dave99B

Buy him a Whitman folder and a few rolls of circulated Jeffersons. Teach him how to fill the holes. He'll get hooked for life (good thing?).

Have fun!

Dave

TopographicOceans

<< <i>This message board is the only board I've seen online where people like to help others and not just harass for a good time. >>

Harassment is only the #2 favorite good time here.

Until they are no longer toddlers, the only thing they need to know about coins is not put anything smaller than a silver dollar in their mouths.

But when they get older, the best approach is Albums and Pocket Change You can let them explore it, but don't try and force it on them. There is a lot of adventures and broad interests and kids should be able to explore what they like and what they have a natural ability for.

But I think Statehood & ATB Quarters are really a good idea. Kids can search change and find the coins they need for their albums.
That's how us old folk did it with Whitman albums back in the day, with Lincolns, Jefferson's, Roosevelt's and Washington's (and sometimes Franklin's that didn't circulate much even then).

Put funds into a college 529 plan. That will provide a lifetime benefit of an education.

Life experiences are what you want to teach them to collect. Stuff is just stuff.