What Coins Should I Collect?

What Coins Should I Collect?Coin Collecting.
Obviously, one will be very limited in the years,
You should collect what you like and enjoy. This ismints, and varieties available from pocket change
Your Dream. Design it any way you want.and bank rolls - both being local in nature. Even if
Never-the-less, . . . decide on Foreign coins or USstarting with these means of collecting, always
Coins; and Proof or Mint State. If US, then decidekeep an open mind about other resources. So, a
upon a Denomination: penny, nickel, dime, quarter,little future insight helps to decide that better
half dollar, dollar or other.resources will yield better coin collections. Most
Or, decide upon a particular Period in History, e.g.:collections will span a greater range of years, than
Morgan Dollars (Lady Liberty, Following Civil War),either pocket change or bank rolls can possibly
Peace Dollars (Following WWI), War Time Centsproduce. It is therefore imperative to investigate
(Steel and Shell Casing - WWII), War Time Nickelsother resources.
(Silver - WWII), Silver quarters and dimes - preYour Budget will usually determine the Grade of
1965; Statehood Quarters; 20th Century; 19thcoin that you can afford to collect. MS63-MS65 is
Century.an Ideal range for collecting, not only because of
Or decide upon an Historical Figure; Kennedy Halfthe excellent condition and detail of the coins,
Dollars (Following his death), Lincoln Cents;greater availability, lower costs, and because coins
Washington Quarters; Franklin Half Dollars;in this range tend to Appreciate faster than other
Eisenhower Dollars, Susan B Anthony Dollars,Grades. There item is very simple, and it has to
Roosevelt Dimes; Sacagawea Dollars. You can alsodo with the quality of the coin - or how much you
choose Type Sets, Year Sets, Mint Sets, Proofwant to Spend per Coin - for an average coin, for
Sets and Decades.an exceptional coin, or a perfect coin. Your budget
The Next Step is to decide upon the Quality ofwill usually determine this factor, or, how much
coin you want to collect. Your choices are: a)per month you can spend (per month?) for your
pocket change; b) bank rolls; c) US mint and proofnew Investment. Never doubt that Coin Collecting
rolls and sets (new and used); d) Buy from Coinis an Investment. Although it is easy to overlook
Shows and Clubs; e) Buy on the Internet; f) Buythe amount of time spent on this Endeavor
from coin dealer; g) Buy from coin magazine orbecause two of the main ingredients are Pleasure
ad. Each has their benefits and advantages.and Enjoyment. Confucius Say:
Pocket Change and Bank Rolls provide Circulated"If you enjoy what you are doing, you will never
coins. The US Mint provides Uncirculated "Mintwork another day in your life."
State" and "Proof" coins.Think of it as a Fund. You are trading Money for .
The Internet provides the Greatest Selection. . Money that Grows and Gives Pleasure! Properly
from private Web Sites, e.g.: to the big Auctionsattended, this Fund can quite possibly put
like eBay, Yahoo, Heritage and TeleTrade. Andsomeone through college.
With the advent of (free) it becomes very quickLastly, decide whether to collect all of the coins in
and easy to pay for purchases over the Internetyour Group - including varieties and errors - or
and by Phone.just the Regular Issue Coins. Errors and Varieties
The one thing that is important in all of the abovecan become extremely expensive and difficult to
choices is the Grade of the Coin, which is closelyfind. Most people will avoid them.
related to Value (a topic for another article). ButThis Concept of "Trading Money for Money" is
which leads to the next choice: Buy Slabbed orcritically important because most people shy away
Raw? Raw coins are what you find in pocketfrom spending a little more, just to get the best.
change. Slabbed coins are those that areAnd I am talking about the best in quality of coin,
Professionally Certified and Graded by anno matter what the Grade or Price. In other
Independent Third Party. The coin is then placed inwords, get a Coin with the Grade it is Supposed
a "slab", made of plastic, identified, labeled andto Have. This is the Only way to be sure of the
sealed. It actually takes 3 Professionals to decideValue of the Coin. Spend your Money Wisely. Get
upon the Grade of a Coin. If Buying Raw Coins,what you pay for. Until you become a
You need to Know How to Grade a Coin. EvenProfessional at Grading, rely on the Professional
then, there will be Disputes about the Grade.Graders. Whether you choose to collect Kennedy
When Buying a Slabbed coin, You Know theProof Half Dollars, or Jefferson Nickels from
Grade. The Grade Becomes Virtually Undisputable!pocket change, thanks to the Internet, you will
All references to Price in any resource are Basedfind a huge selection available, on many different
on Grading, which follows the Guidelines set byweb sites, to give your Coin Collecting efforts a
the ANA - American Numismatic Association.boost. Internet Web Sites will Forever Change
Currently, there are only Four Companies that areCoin Collecting! Why? Because Top Quality Coins
Recognized for Strictly following these Guidelines:can be easily Bought and Sold by any body -
PCGS, NGC, ICG and ANACS. It is from thesesince they are Slabbed!
Professionals that one should buy slabbed coins.Always Know Your Grade!
Buying Slabbed Coins is the First Rule of Serious