Collecting rare coins is an activity that nearly anyone can do. This is because coins are everywhere and are accessible to the general public. Getting into coin collecting, however, can be intimidating for some people. Knowing where to look, how to find rare coins, and how to become better at your hobby can help make coin collecting a more rewarding and enjoyable experience.
The following tips can help beginners as they get started with their newfound passion for coin collecting.
- Search Your Pocket Change
Many people are surprised to discover that a variety of rare coins are already in circulation right now. Double-die varieties, coins with missing mint marks, and coins with other anomalies are all in circulation and mixed up with standard-value coins.
Searching through pocket change, buying rolls of coins from the bank, and manually inspecting coins as they’re given back at the cash register are all ways that beginners can get their start collecting rare and valuable coins.
Make a habit of looking carefully at all of your coins. This is a fun thing that you can do at dinner, while talking on the phone, or even when sitting in front of the television in the evenings.
- Make Connections
Coin collecting is often a community-based activity, with coin collectors from a certain area seeking out expertise from other coin collectors near their home. Your community may have an established coin-collecting club. If it doesn’t, you can find online forums and groups of people who support one another, answer each other’s questions, share tips and tricks, and also celebrate each other’s successes.
Join a community, whether online or in person, where you can get the support you need.
- Get a Metal Detector
Rare (and not-so-rare) coins are all over the place. You can find them in parking lots, backyards, historical sites, and parks. The easiest way to find these coins is with the use of a metal detector. You can buy hobby-grade metal detectors at hobby stores for a relatively low cost. Beginning-grade metal detectors cost as little as $100 and can be used to find coins in a variety of locations.
- Educate Yourself
Coin collecting is an activity with a long history. People have been collecting coins for hundreds of years, and possibly as long as coins themselves have been in existence. If you’re new to coin collecting, you’ve got a lot to learn about the different types of coins, what makes a coin rare, which rare coins are worth the most (and which aren’t worth much at all), and what heights you can strive for as a coin collector.
Luckily, you can access a variety of online sources, books, periodicals, and other sources where you can learn more about coin collecting. Get your start by visiting your local hobbyist store to look for coin-collecting guides and other resources.
- Pick an Area of Expertise
Coin collecting requires you to be discerning and knowledgeable about the coins that you’re collecting. Without picking an area of expertise, you may find it very difficult to become knowledgeable about the coins that are available to be collected.
Selecting an area of expertise enables you to dig deeper into your hobby and do more thorough research, which, in turn, enables you to hunt down more valuable coins. Some collectors will become an expert about coins from a certain range of time, while others will become an expert in coins from a certain country or of a certain type.
Whatever type of coin interests you, stay focused on your collection. By building up coins of a certain kind, you can develop a respectable collection.
- Do It All the Time
As with any other hobby, you’ll get better at coin collecting over time. The more you do it, the more adept you’ll become. Get in the habit of looking at coins as soon as they’re given to you, using your metal detector on a weekly basis, and engaging in coin-collecting club activities as they come up. The longer you’re involved in coin collecting, the more mature your collection will become.
- Focus on the Fun
It can take a long time to build up a collection that is worth money. Still, for a true coin collector, the value of the collection is not just monetary. People who engage in coin collecting love to solve puzzles, conduct research, consider historical contexts, sort objects, and organize collections.
If you’re struggling to develop a coin collection of value, remind yourself that coin collecting is, above all else, fun to do. Your collection will develop and mature with time, and until that happens, you’re just having fun.
Want more information about starting your coin collection? Contact Rocky Mountain Coin! We’re happy to answer any questions you might have about collecting coins.
