Have you considered becoming a coin collector? Are you hoping to cash in on your collection of rare coins?
Coin collecting is a fascinating hobby and it’s one that you’ll have to commit to if you want to consider selling coins in the future. How do you get started? How do you make sure you choose the right coins and then prepare them to sell later on? This guide will show you how to become a coin collector and how to make a lucrative income from this hobby.
Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about coin collecting.
Table of Contents
Creating Custom Coins
Coin collecting doesn’t only have to revolve around buying coins that already exist. You can also use a service such as CustomChallengeCoins to create coins with bespoke designs.
These challenge coins represent an organization or club that you’re a part of. As these are for a limited membership, these coins are rare by default. You can create challenge coins and consider selling them at a later stage.
Cleaning Your Coins
Does your coin retain its value if it gets worn or damaged? You can still sell a vintage coin if it’s not in mint condition. You might also rake in a lucrative income if you sell such a coin.
However, when possible, you want to try to clean your coins when you can. You should invest in an actual coin cleaner for this. This is an acidic liquid that cleans stains from coins. These cleaning kits come with small brushes that let you clean with precision.
You shouldn’t ever clean coins using plain water. These can cause further damage to your coins. This is particularly dangerous if you have copper coins or copper bullion. Water can damage copper and cause permanent stains that can’t get removed.
The best option is to take your coins to a local coin shop. You can ask the coin shop owner to clean your coins for you. They’ll have the best materials for cleaning coins plus extensive experience to count on.
Consider Specializing
When you begin collecting coins you can consider specializing in a particular type of coin.
For example, if you want to focus on U.S. coins you might want to specialize in collecting Constitutional Silver. This refers to all U.S. coins (except pennies) minted before 1965.
Nickels, dimes, quarters, half dollars, and silver dollars made before 1965 contain 90% silver content. As this is no longer the case today, these coins have become popular among coin collectors. They’ve also become popular among precious metals stackers.
You can consider collecting Constitutional Silver as this attracts a wide interest. As such, the number of potential buyers you’ll come across will be greater in comparison to other types of coins.
You can also consider collecting coins from a particular country. In such a scenario, you want to stick to older coins. For example, there’s not much use, at the moment, in collecting Euro cents!
But if you’ve still got a few French centimes lying around, they might become popular among French coin collectors. The older these coins are, the more valuable they’ll be.
Consider Generalizing
Now let’s look at the contrasting approach of generalizing your collection. This is a great approach if you want to slowly build your coin collection.
You can start by collecting old coins from every country you travel to. When you travel to a country, try to go to a local coin shop or vintage store. You can ask if there are old coins available. You want to stick to coins that are at least 10 years old.
If you travel to a country that has been part of a different nation-state, you want to collect coins from that previous nation.
For example, if you were to travel to Serbia you want to see if you can buy coins minted during the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. You can also look into collecting coins from former colonies such as British India or Rhodesia as examples.
Another example of general coin collecting is to collect based upon a particular theme. For example, you can collect all U.S. coins with Benjamin Franklin on the face. Or if you want to collect rare U.S. coins you can collect Indian Head Pennies or Confederate-era currency.
This is the best approach for beginners to coin collecting. After some time, you’ll soon realize what type of coins you most enjoy collecting.
You can then begin to specialize if you choose. Make sure you research which coins are most in demand from other collectors.
Best Practices
Finally, let’s look at some of the best practices you should follow with coin collecting.
If you buy a coin that’s not in a capsule, make sure you always hold the coin via the edges. You should also use cotton gloves when handling coins. This is especially crucial if you own coins that are in mint condition.
Otherwise, it’s always best to invest in air-tight capsules to hold your coins in. These protect your coins from collecting dirt and are also the best way to present them to potential buyers.
Another option is to buy a coin collecting booklet. This is a hardcover booklet that’ll contain slots where you can store your coins. This is great if you wish to collect your coins for several years. These are ideal if you want to sell your coins at a local market rather than a high-end auction.
As you collect more rare coins, make sure you get them graded and insured. Grading them is a form of coin appraisal. This will certify their value which is crucial when you decide to sell.
Become a Coin Collector Today
Now you can become a coin collector and begin stacking to build a lucrative income!
You can start by creating challenge coins for your group. These can have beautiful designs that add to their value.
You should also make sure you invest in a great cleaning kit for your coins. If not, make sure you strike a relationship with your local coin shop owner to handle this.
You can find more great tips on coin collecting on our website!
