Collecting Guidance Question(s)

[JayEff]

I say question, but I’m afraid this will turn into just rambling.
As a noob collector with a somewhat decent start, I find myself craving more coins, but I also want some refinement. My dilemma is that I don’t know how. My taste is so random, but my desire to hunt and search is so strong.
Last week I received my first $100 mystery box from Daniel. I’m still excited by what I received and itching to buy more. I think this may be a healthy way to go forward until I can find which coins pique my interest enough to specifically seek them.
Are random, unrefined collectors taken seriously? Am I normal for someone just starting to learn? Or am I that guy that everyone else says “not him again! Toss him that box of cull coins so he’ll dig around and leave us alone?” Lol. Not even joking really. I’ve spent hours doing that. The search and plunder is the best part.
I somewhat have a mental list of a few coins I feel like just belong in every collection, but that’s about as far as it goes.

How did you guys get started? Did you know what you wanted or was it a years long process that worked itself out?

[JTCC]

well, if you have a desire to go though coins, (which is perfectly normal and is a big part of the fun in this hobby, I have it too ) you may consider coin roll hunting! it's like buying a lottery that you can never lose! just go to your local bank and get coins, go through them, roll'em up and back to the bank they go. rinse and repeat. any older/intresting coins can be pulled and replaced by a normal coin.

[Paul]

Spend some time researching coins and their designs.....
Pick one that peaks your fancy......
Study up on it, get to know everything about it........
Then dive in, going slowly at first.......
Don't get too hogwild with it!
...... &, learn the minting process forward and backwards! (Something that very very very few people do)

Me, I started out about 52 years ago,...... and really liked the Flying Eagle Cents.
Which eventually transitioned to the Flying Eagle's and Indian Cents.

[muswell65]

I'd say be prepared for a years-long process, and then a lifetime if you get hooked. The experts on this site have been doing this for decades, and we're fortunate to have access to their expertise.

Everyone's entry into coin collecting is likely different. For me, I inherited my father's collection after he passed away. I knew it existed (he gave it to me to store), but I never went through it until he passed away. After finding this site and great advice here, I took his collection to a reputable dealer for evaluation, and only then realized what he had. I've been hooked ever since, and visiting this forum has become part of my daily routine.

So give it time, and be patient!

Best,
Jeff

[Daniel]

As a coin dealer and being in and around the business all my life, I always tell people to collect what you like. Once you start stressing over what to do and what people think, then you're shaving some fun out of it for yourself. So if the hunt is what you like then that is what you continue. You might even consider a metal detector.

I enjoy buying, processing and find homes for coins. So I run a coin pound that makes me money. Each to his own.

One day, it will come to you where to focus your efforts, but I would not stress it.

[JayEff]

JTCC, I tried the coin roll hunting, but I haven’t found a bank willing to let me buy more than a few rolls at a time. Still trying.

Paul, yes, I want a flying Eagle cent pretty bad and I have a reason. I used to dig through my grandfathers coin jar he kept his pocket change finds in. He wasn’t a coin collector, but he did put them aside. I did it so much I knew every coin he had and had figured out the dates when the wheats started and stopped. In that jar was a flying eagle. I was a child and had no idea what it was. After he died I couldn’t find it.

Muswell, thanks for the advice. What your father did is what I’d like to do for my kids. I can’t seem to get them interested in the hobby, but I still want them to benefit from my hobby.

Daniel, I’d kill for some good places to metal detect. My grandfather was an antique bottle dealer for years and would find most of what he sold. He got out of the hunting end of it by the time I got old enough, but man did it sound like fun. He told me that civil war relic hunters had gotten really aggressive around Vicksburg and pretty much ruined it for everyone. People just didn’t want to let anyone on their property to dig any more. I guess that’s how it goes though. I know that if I tried hard enough I could find somewhere to go and maybe I’m just being lazy. If I can ever start getting more time off work, I should look into it more. I know I’d love doing it.
Love the coin pound analogy. Lol.

[Earle42]

How did you guys get started? Did you know what you wanted or was it a years long process that worked itself out?

I started b/c my grandfather, named Earle, had laundromats and so had taken up coin collecting b/c of the amount of change he went through. He got me started with Whitman folders and filling in the holes. This was back when a lot of those could be almost entirely filled from circulation if you went through enough coins.

I was close to the border, and Canadian change was common in the area, so I also got the Whitman folders for Canadian denominations to try to fill.

Much later I decided it was time to go for one of my favorite designs, the Walking Liberty Halves. I still have some semi-key slots to fill in this one and get on a "serious" burst about once a year to fill a couple holes.

[JayEff]

How did you guys get started? Did you know what you wanted or was it a years long process that worked itself out?

I started b/c my grandfather, named Earle, had laundromats and so had taken up coin collecting b/c of the amount of change he went through. He got me started with Whitman folders and filling in the holes. This was back when a lot of those could be almost entirely filled from circulation if you went through enough coins.

I was close to the border, and Canadian change was common in the area, so I also got the Whitman folders for Canadian denominations to try to fill.

Much later I decided it was time to go for one of my favorite designs, the Walking Liberty Halves. I still have some semi-key slots to fill in this one and get on a "serious" burst about once a year to fill a couple holes.

Having that much change to go through regularly sounds like a lot of fun. Especially for those of us who love to search.

Maybe I should go ahead and get me an album which would set myself a goal and give me a direction so I can stay active while I figure it all out. If I’ve heard correctly, they don’t make the Whitmans now which makes them pretty costly? Is there an alternative that you know of?

[Earle42]

You can find used Whitman folders for cheap on eBay. Or go to a coin show and likely dealers have used ones for dirt cheap as well. Either that or some local coin shops have enough they get from buying collections that they want to get rid of them. The folders work well for circulated coins.

I personally do not put coins with luster in them (or any album where cardboard touches the coins) b/c the cardboard can take in humidity and therefore affect the coins (tarnish aka. what the hobby now calls a more marketable word: "toning").

I put common coins with luster into 2X2s holders:

2X2s.jpg (149.49 KiB) Viewed 510 times

BTW - a good place to start is Jefferson nickels. While it can take time and a LOT of rolls of nickels, I know of people who have completed a set from roll hunting even within the last 10 years. Even if you decide to give up eventually, the keys for the set are not that expensive

[JayEff]

Earle, thanks for the feedback. Not sure how I missed it.

For my birthday, my daughter and her boyfriend went around to banks until they got me a box worth of Pennie’s to search. Lol. They are fantastic kids! However, it was searching those rolls that I realized what you guys mean by jumping in backwards. I’m not knowledgeable enough, nor is my taste refined enough to be doing this just yet. I need to focus on certain things to look for such as, what I like or obvious things. I gave myself headaches and eyes went crossed several times going back and forth between websites and constantly second guessing what my eyes were seeing.
On a side note, I had one roll with 11 wheats in it and that was pretty much it. Lol. I found several older Pennie’s in oddly good shape I put aside in case I want to do a folder.

I think I’m just going to concentrate on what I like for now and let it guide me. I just made an order for another mystery box from Daniel. I know it’ll have some goodies and I’ll have something of value as well. I also threw in a 2002 S proof set because that’s the year my oldest daughter was born and my state of Mississippi got their quarter that year. I know they aren’t investment items, but I like them.

Thanks again to everyone who responded.

[Earle42]

Great kids!

I am not sure if you saw this post yet, but ti will help you with searching those pennies and allow you to dive right in:

Coin roll searching plan of attack:

Separate a bunch of pennies by date. Go to varietyvista.com and, date by date, use the reference there to see what errors are known for that specific coin/mint mark. Look for those specific errors/varieties using the pictures provided. After doing this for awhile you will KNOW what an actual error looks like and not have to waste time on face value and damaged coins.

[JayEff]

Great kids!

I am not sure if you saw this post yet, but ti will help you with searching those pennies and allow you to dive right in:

Coin roll searching plan of attack:

Separate a bunch of pennies by date. Go to varietyvista.com and, date by date, use the reference there to see what errors are known for that specific coin/mint mark. Look for those specific errors/varieties using the pictures provided. After doing this for awhile you will KNOW what an actual error looks like and not have to waste time on face value and damaged coins.

Thanks. And yes, they are. I was using Variety Vista and another, but I was getting hung up on some years having so many different errors or varieties. I had a few I felt like might be matches, but wear and/or damage to the coin prevented me from being confident. If I do run across one that I feel strongly about, I’ll bring it here for more evaluation.