Coin Collecting for Beginners – The History

Coins are quickly becoming one of the most popular categories for collecting. For some it is the joy of the hunt, for others it is the interactive history lesson. Appreciating coins and precious metals seem to come instinctually to us humans. Give anyone a silver or gold coin and their response is usually the same. They recognize the value that they are holding. 

In a world that is increasingly digital and impersonal, people can appreciate the beauty and history that coins bring us when we actually hold them in our hands. Modern economies, including the US are diluting the value of their currencies at an alarming rate. Coins and precious metals offer value that you personally hold, as well as offering a  liquid asset.

The practice of coin collecting dates back to Roman times. When Rome’s first emperor, Caesar Augustus, was known to accumulate coins and give them to his friends as gifts. Coin appreciation and collecting more broadly didn’t appear until around the 14th Century. This is when an active coin market was developed. However, even during this period, coin collecting was looked at as a hobby for Kings, due to it only being reserved for the privileged class who saw coins as having the same value as art. Some notable collectors were Ferdinand the 1st, Louis the 14th, and Henry the 4th, to name a few.

In 1949, William Sheldon invented The Sheldon Scale, a 70-point coin grading system used to determine the condition of US coins. This system was so strong that it’s still widely used today. Other qualities that determine the value of a coin are the metal that its made from, it’s rarity, and surprisingly the most valuable; coins that have printing errors.

Coin Collecting for Beginners – Why Collect Coins?

Coins provide you with a beautiful opportunity to own a piece of history (or multiple pieces of history) overtime. They are miniature monuments to the ages and provide us with a lasting representation of the rulers and folk who used them.

Whether you’re on the lookout for interesting coins that shape history, or you’ve come across a rare and valuable coin and are looking to get rich quick; there are many reasons people all over the world have been coin collecting for centuries.

Reasons to get started collecting coins

• The true beauty – The unbelievable detail to the eye you’ll find in many coins is truly stunning. The older the coin, the more detail and fascinating symbols from history.
• Education in history – A lot of Americans prefer to collect American coins – and as we’ve already briefly discussed, there’s a bunch to learn from them. On your journey in coin collecting for beginners, make sure to do your research. You’ll find yourself becoming truly astonished on how mistakes made their way into coin stamps and the different times in history when coin designs changed.
• Make some extra cash – If you’ve already dabbled in coin collection, you would have probably found yourself asking the same question over and over again, ‘’what is my coin worth?’’. Now let’s be honest, unless you’re pretty experienced in coin collecting, you probably aren’t going to create a full-time income. However, if you have a good system, do your research, and use a great coin collecting software – you’ll find yourself getting better at spotting good deals that you can resell at a higher price.
• Share a hobby; coin collection with kids – Maybe your kids are into things that you’ve never really considered trying. Or maybe you’re looking to find your child an educational hobby. Whatever way you’re trying to go about it, If you’re looking for a point of connection, collecting coins together can be fun.

Coin Collecting for Beginners – How To Get Started

Coin collecting for beginners doesn’t mean that you have to have millions or even thousands in the bank. The most important thing to remember when thinking about coin collecting is to start simple and small.

Starting with smaller coin purchases and coin sets that are super easy to assemble is the best way to ease into the hobby. Make sure you learn the ropes before making any major purchases. Take your time in learning about the coins, their history, and how to grade them. By using a coin collecting software, you can find out all of these things and much more.

Our recommendation to coin collection for beginners is to start off with a set of the Lincoln pennies. Often still found in circulation, most can be purchased at a decent price at an online coin shop. If you have a large budget, you can look at investing in building a collection of Indian Head pennies, or a type set of United States coins.

Coin Collecting for Beginners – What Is My Coin Worth?

As we’ve already established, coin collecting is a very interesting and knowledgable hobby. However, you may find yourself continuously confused as it can be very difficult to know their true worth. The same question comes to mind time and time again, ‘’what is my coin worth?’’ – the honest answer is, this depends on many different variables.

To start with, the best way to find out what the worth of your coin, in old coins, is to identify them. If they are from the U.S, then you can utilize the U.S Old Coins Identification chart. If you’re carrying a collection of U.S coins, the best way to identify them is through the writing. They will always say ‘’United States of America’’ on them, although if you have a very old U.S coin; this will be abbreviated.

If you have checked out the U.S coin chart and you still haven’t been able to identify your coin, it’s probably a commemorative coin, rather than a circulating one. In this instance, to make your life easy and to simplify the whole process of finding out ‘’what is my coin worth’’; the best you can do is to invest in a coin collecting software.

Coin Collecting For Kids

The thought of coin collecting for kids might initially be boring. However, it can actually be super educational and you can make it fun! It also provides you with the opportunity to share a hobby with your little one and allows you to spend quality time together. Through coin collecting for kids, you can educate your child on geography, maths, history, and maybe even some things on politics – if you’re child is older.

Coin collecting for kids can improve skills in many ways – take a look below:

• Coin collecting for kids can improve reading ability
• It can improve organizational skills
• Provides a boost of self-confidence and raises self-esteem
• Gives them the chance to own something of value and take care of it
• Piques an interest in history and culture
• Gives the ability to sets goals and reach them
• Imparts specialized knowledge that people around them won’t have
• Establishes priorities
• Teaches them the value of money
• Teaches patience

Coin collecting for kids may seem complicated, but as you can see, it’s completely worth it. Coin collecting for kids comes with a wide range of benefits. The skills that they gain will shape them into knowledgeable and respectable adults who grow up with a really beautiful appreciation for art and history.

The Modern World – Coin Collecting Software

Trying to find rare, limited edition and other value coins can be massively time-consuming. As serious coin collecting enthusiasts, over the years; we’ve found that the best way to get started in coin collecting for beginners is to look at investing in a coin collecting software.

As ideal as it is to know that the internet, online auction websites, and coin dealers can help in coin collecting for beginners, so many are still unsure as to what they should initially buy. This is where coin collecting software comes in. Coin collecting software comes in all sorts of different formats, but the mission for all software stands the same – to simplify coin collecting for beginners by making it easy to understand.

Here at Stackvestor, we pride ourselves in supporting the value of education and history. We don’t want coin collecting for beginners to be hard, and we don’t want people to be put off by the complexity of it. In fact, we want everyone to know that they have the power to learn, grow, self-develop, and even make some extra cash through the knowledge that they gain by using our coin collecting software.

We offer a unique solution to make cataloging, tracking your coins, and precious metals fun and intuitive. With the option to search over 30,000 coins, bullion pieces, and even get live price updates on your stack – you’ll never be at a loss.

Our coin collecting software is affordable and offers many advanced features, you can check them out by clicking here. Download the StackVestor virtual coin vault to start cataloging today!