Starting a coin collection

Starting a coin collection

Collecting coins is an enjoyable hobby. There are many reasons you might want a collection. If speculating on price rises is your motivation then you need to know your stuff. I'm not talking about bullion or investments here. I love coins, so my motivation is simply to gather the ones I want to own. By having a clear collecting strategy the potential financial gains should also arise as a consequence.

Document your coins

I discussed the benefit of documenting your coins in an earlier post, 

http://coinwonder.churchrose.com/2019/11/a-random-coin-collection.html

A neat and catalogued collection will help you to identify gaps and to refer to your collection when you need to.

Recording types and dates is key to managing your collection

Be careful buying your coins

If you plan to purchase your coin collection, there are lots of over priced items available so be careful. Use a trustworthy price guide and make a considered estimate of the value yourself. Ebay is a great place to find all types of coins. There are many high value items,  but you need to watch out for opportunistic attempts to sell common coins. They are often described as rare but aren't at all.

With a strategy planned and by carrying out the right research, shopping for coins is a good way to start or add to a collection.

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Making a random coin collection more sensible

What should I collect?

I have enjoyed building my coin collection but it is a bit random. There is a pre-decimal selection and lots of circulated coins. As my interest grows I realise there could be benefits to be had from specialising in a particular area. It could be coins by type, by date or by country. Before I head to eBay to see what is available I need to know what I want. The box of random coins needs some order to it but there is probably something inside that I could start to build a more sensible collection around.

What coins have I got?

As the collection grows, it isn't practical to access the coins regularly and to remember what there is. The first step is to catalogue each one for reference. This will help me know what I have and will make research easier. The data could identify common types within the collection and the physical collection could then be organised accordingly.

What and how will I collect?

I will always keep a collection of the coins I find and without targeting any particular type, I accept that there will be a wide variety. Good storage is important and by cataloguing everything there should always be some order to the collection. As for the coins I plan to collect, I have some ideas to give my search purpose. I don't want to be restricted and cost is also an important factor to consider.

Turning some loose coins into a collection. 

Possible ideas for focus include:

-Images of Britannia (There are loads, but it's a clear type to target for a collection) 

-UK one pence coins (with grade in mind) 

-a series of Florin (1849-1970)
-something new to start a collection around (this would be a good time to choose a speciality and decide how much to invest).

Britannia Two Pound coin

Creating a coin design

The Coin Wonder Blank

This is my template for a coin design. I start with a blank that can be used for any kind of design.

Paper,  PC or tablet

Whichever medium you choose for your designs, you can use a blank template to see how it would look. If you like to use a computer for your art or prefer to use a tablet, it is worth keeping a variety of templates of different shapes and sizes.

The first Coin Wonder blank

A simple blank with a wavy border. Now for the difficult part, find some inspiration and try to create something original.

    

One Cent coin - 1908

United States of America - One Cent- 1908

I've got a small collection of one cent coins. They are all circulated and aren't key dates. They aren't even in great condition, but, they are all old. So, 1908 is the newest I've got. The "Indian Head" cent...

One cent - 1908

Hard work for the naked eye

With a diameter of 19.05mm, it's not easy to spot the details. A good zoom has made the best of this one. With the light enhanced and the size increased, the design pops. One hundred and eleven years ago, when it was minted this tiny coin would have shone in all its copper glory. Today, I can zoom in and see what all the years have done to it.

 Extreme close up is easy

Thanks to today's mega pixel age of digital cameras.

Reverse with laurel wreath and shield 

first of six

This is the first of my US one cent coin series. For the next coin I will focus on the design. This one was all about the photographs. This coin is worth £2-3 (gbp), so not very valuable.

US cents are easy to store and can be like holding a little piece of the past in your hand. I wonder; what if this little cent could tell its story...

mateycreative@churchrose.com