Coins Collection

If you are in search of finding a rewarding, exciting, fun hobby that you can easily enjoy, you don’t need to look any further than the coins you have in your pocket. Millions of people engage in coin collecting, a hobby that can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans. Starting up a coin collection can be quite easy. In fact, you can begin building a collection with the very coins that you encounter every day.

There are many coin collecting goals that collectors try to accomplish. Perhaps you might want to collect each design of the United States’ Statehood Quarters. Or, maybe you will want to seek out coins with pictures of your favorite topics, such as animals, musical instruments, food, historic events, or public figures. You could venture into collecting coins from faraway, exotic countries and lands. You might want to gather coins minted during the year of your birth. Another fun idea would be to collect one coin of every date you can find of Lincoln cents or Jefferson nickels, for example. Remember, these are just a few of the endless possibilities for deciding what kinds of coins to collect.

Whatever your collecting interests may be, there are a couple primary ways to acquire the coins you want for your collection. You can typically locate plenty of cents, nickels, dimes, and quarters dating back to the 1960s with the coins in circulation (”circulation” includes the coins you can get at the bank, find in your pocket or purse, and give or receive as change when you buy something). However, if you are lucky, it is possible to find in circulation some coins dating back more than half a century, an occasional foreign coin, or perhaps even error coins. An “error coin” is, for example, one that bears a mint-made mistake, such as a double image of a design, a coin that has only part of its design showing, or a coin that looks as though it had a big piece of its metal bitten off by one of the machines at the mint.

Though you may be able to find in circulation all the coins you need for your collection, if you are hoping to find silver, gold, or obsolete coins, or those from many different countries, you will most likely have to buy what you want from a coin dealer. You should be able to locate a coin dealer near you by looking through the “coins” or “coin dealers” listings in your yellow-paged phone book. Also, there are hundreds of reputable, respected coin dealers who advertise online or in coin-related publications and ship customers their coins through the mail.

However, before you start gathering coins for your collection, there are a few basic things you should know about how to safely handle, store, and protect your coins.

First of all, be sure to either find or purchase a magnifying glass so that you can see all of the tiny details on your coins. A magnifying glass is a very important tool for coin collectors to have, and will help you to enjoy your hobby even more.

No matter how tempting it may be to make an old coin look shiny and new, don’t clean your coins. If you clean your coins, you may accidently end up ruining them. Not only can the cleaning alter the coin’s natural color and tone, it might also put many tiny scratches on the coin. Unless a coin you find has a lot of loose debris (such as dirt, dust, or mud) on it, which you can gently rinse off with pure water and softly pat dry with a clean towel, you are usually best to leave your coins in the same condition in which you found them.

Also, don’t let your fingers come in contact with a coin’s observe (the front, or “heads” side of the coin) or reverse (the coin’s back side, often called “tails”). If your fingers, which naturally contain oils, touch the coin’s surface, they could leave fingerprints on it; over time, these fingerprints may turn into ugly-looking smudges. The proper way to handle a coin is to hold it by its edge (the thin side of a coin), between your thumb and forefinger. Above all, never drop a coin.

It is also important to store your coins safely to help protect them. Keep your coins in a cool, dry place (a bookshelf, desk, or drawer is usually a fine place to store your coins). Also, don’t store your coins loosely in a box, jar, or other place where the coins will get jingled or jostled around. Instead, you may want to consider buying albums, folders, and other storage devices designed to help keep your coins safe and organized. Many large bookstores sell coin albums and folders (many that cost only a few dollars), and coin dealers sell many kinds of coin storage options.

There are all kinds of things you can learn about numismatics (this word sounds like “new-miss-mat-icks”), which is the study of coins. You can become a more experienced coin collector by reading books about coins, talking to friends about your hobby, and continuing to be interested and curious about the coins you see. As you will discover, coin collecting is a hobby that will allow you to make exciting discoveries, let you set and accomplish all kinds of challenging goals, and give you a chance to explore countless wonders. Welcome to the sensational world of coin collecting.

*Copyright 2006 by Joshua McMorrow-Hernandez

Joshua McMorrow-Hernandez is a twenty-five-year-old writer and honors college student majoring in the Liberal Arts. He has been an ardent coin collector since 1992 and has written a number of e-magazine articles about the hobby he has loved and studied for so many years. He also writes fiction works and is the author of the 2004 children’s adventure novel entitled “The Valley of Curiosity” (available for sale via http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?&isbn=0-595-30938-0 ). Joshua resides in Florida. You can read more about Joshua at his website: http://www.geocities.com/mcmorrowhernandez/mcmorrowhenandez-aboutme.html?1158871379826 .

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After a recent trip to Dahlonega, Georgia, I’m became obsessed with wanting to know more about the U.S. Mint that had been there and its history. To say that “The Neighborhood Mint: Dahlonega in the Age of Jackson” by Sylvia Head, Elizabeth W. Etheridge, gave me all the information I ever wanted to know would be an understatement. Their 200-page book is packed with facts, figures, stories, and bits of history that sometimes were overwhelming. At times you get the feeling the authors are “beating a dead horse”, but I was never left with mysteries or unanswered questions.

Being a student of US coins, I was fascinated as to the role politics played in the coinage of our money, establishment of mints, and whom the mints employed. The authors drill down deep into the personalities and motives of the individual players. Additionally, I was fascinated to learn that Dahlonega was the site of the first American gold rush, not California. The Dahlonega mint never did produce the coinage anticipated by its developers for numerous reasons, which is also explained. I wouldn’t recommend this book to the fainthearted. If you are history buff, coin collector, or a student of politics, this is a good read. If you are not, stay away.

Johnny Kicklighter is the secretary of the Metro East Coin & Currency Club, Belleville, Illinios.

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Gold Maple Leafs and Silver Maple Leafs are receiving packaging makeovers, changes clearly mandated by investor disfavor with packaging that the Royal Canadian Mint has used since the coins were introduced. Gold Maple Leafs debuted in 1979, Silver Maple Leafs in 1988. The changes appear to be good moves, which should increase sales of Silver Maple Leafs and help keep Gold Maple Leafs the preferred pure (.9999 fine) gold bullion coins.

Since inception, 1-oz Gold Maple Leafs have been packaged ten to a tube. Because Maple Leafs are 24-karat, pure gold, they are “soft,” relative to alloyed gold coins, such as American Gold Eagles and Krugerrands. Further, because of the design of the coins and the tight-fitting tubes, it is difficult to remove, inspect, and reinsert 1-oz Gold Maple Leafs in their tubes without scratching the coins.

Actually, reinserting Gold Maple Leafs without at least some scratching is nearly impossible. Further, if the persons inspecting the coins do not know how easily the Gold Maple Leafs are damaged, needless damage often occurs while the coins are out their tubes.

Gold Maple Leafs carry the image of Queen Elizabeth II on the front, with a flat, clear field alongside the image. The backs have the outline of a maple leaf, hence the coins’ names. The problem arises from the coins’ really sharp milled (reeded) edges. When the coins are reinserted in their tubes, the milled edges often scratch the fields.

Then there is the problem with investors who like to “heft” their coins “to get a feel of them.” If they put four or five Gold Maple Leafs in the palms of their hands and “clang” them, the damage can be quite severe. Should a Gold Maple Leaf be dropped, rim damage is almost guaranteed.

As Gold Maple Leafs have been sold into the secondary market, damaged coins have become such a problem that Gold Maple Leafs have lost popularity with investors. The problem has become so widespread that many wholesalers bid only “melt” for Gold Maple Leafs, regardless of their condition. By paying only “melt,” wholesalers can profitably resell the coins for industrial or jewelry purposes if no buyers are found for the coins.

Gold Maple Leafs, like the Gold Eagles and the Krugerrands, are bullion coins, which trade for the value of their gold content, plus small premiums. Damaged Gold Maple Leafs do not mean a loss of gold; they contain an ounce of gold regardless of the scratching or rim nicks. Still, buyers do not like to receive damaged coins. This means that Gold Maple Leafs sold into the secondary market have to be evaluated for the degree of damage.

Some wholesalers refuse to take the time to individually inspect Gold Maple Leafs and separate them according to their condition. These are the wholesalers who generally will pay only “melt” for 1-oz Gold Maple Leafs, regardless of condition. Fortunately, the free market being what it is, there are still some wholesalers who will buy according to condition.

Yet the handwriting is on the wall: 1-oz Gold Maple Leafs in tubes will continue to lose popularity and probably will join Krugerrands, Mexican 50 Pesos, and Austrian 100 Coronas as basic bullion coins, which carry the smallest premiums in the bullion coin market. Still, the packaging makeover should fillip sales of new Gold Maple Leafs.

With the new packaging, each 1-oz Gold Maple Leaf will be encapsulated in plastic and suspended in the middle of a plastic card, somewhat as 1-oz gold bars are packaged. However, the plastic protecting the Gold Maple Leafs will be heavier and more durable than the plastic used with 1-oz gold bars. The new packaging should keep the coins from being easily damaged.

With the new packaging, the Royal Canadian Mint made another big change: 1-oz Gold Maple Leafs will now come 25 to a box, whereas the old packaging is ten to a tube. This change could further increase sales as 20 coins are common ordering units for gold bullion coins, because the world’s most popular gold bullion coinsAmerican Gold Eaglescome 20 to a tube. As a result of the change, investors wanting “complete original packaging” will move up to 25 ounces.

However, orders for small quantities mean the coins will have to be removed from their mint boxesbut still individually encapsulatedand put in other containers. The new packaging also will require more storage space for Gold Maple Leafs than for 1-oz gold coins that come in tubes.

Although 1-oz Gold Maple Leafs will be a little more cumbersome to handle, a large segment of the gold coin bullion market prefers pure gold coins. Gold Maple Leafs have long been the most popular 1-oz pure (.9999 fine or 24-karat) gold bullion coins on the market, and the new packaging should keep Gold Maple Leafs as the preferred 24-karat gold bullion coins. (The market for pure gold bullion coins is estimated to $2.4 billion annually.) The new packaging is expected to debut sometime in August.

New packaging for 1-oz Silver Maple Leafs has already been introduced. However, Silver Maple Leafs in their old packaging are still available. Since Silver Maple Leafs were introduced in 1988, they have been packaged twenty coins to a sheet, 200 coins in a box. Each coin was individually enclosed in plastic. The new packaging will be similar to the U.S. Mint’s Silver Eagles packaging.

Silver Maple Leafs will now come 20 to a tube, 25 tubes to a container, and 500 coins to a “mint box.” The new box will be made of durable heavy plastic, whereas the boxes of 200 are cardboard. The new packaging should make Silver Maple Leafs more competitive with American Silver Eagles, presently the most popular 1-oz modern silver bullion coins being sold.

Bill Haynes heads CMI Gold & Silver Inc, one of America’s oldest precious metals dealers. See CMIGS’ website at http://www.cmi-gold-silver.com

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