Welcome to the Coin Collector Guide!
Collecting coins is so much more than just a hobby. Collecting coins is an investment. Learn how to get the best out of collecting coins here.
Here you will find detailed information about some of the most popularly collected coins as well as articles about coin care, coin history, error and die variety coins and more.
Coin collecting can be both enjoyable and profitable. If you would like to build a valuable coin collection read and learn as much as you can about the hobby.
On these pages you can learn about the history and design of coins, how to make the best decisions on which coins to buy, how to store and protect your coins and other information about the hobby.
To see more, or to find what you are looking for, use the search box, browse through the categories, or see the full index of articles. The newest articles are listed below.
Don’t Waste Your Money on Gold and Silver!
We hear a lot about gold and silver these days. If you watch news programs very much at all you will notice that a lot of the sponsors are selling gold and silver. Don’t be duped by these shysters!
Gold and silver can be good investments, there’s no doubt about that. But the problem that comes into it, especially for the novice, is that when you buy your gold or silver from these “sponsors” you generally pay a very high premium above the actual metal value of what you are purchasing. Not a wise investment method to say the least.
So the news programs and “personalities” advocate the acquisition of gold and silver while their sponsors offer to sell it to you via their easy toll free number. I would say that is a fairly beneficial relationship for both parties....
Pre 1982 Copper Pennies Selling at Premium Prices
I have written and talked to people about the lowly copper penny for quite some time.
US pennies minted before 1982 (and some struck during the first part of that year) are made of 95% copper. Later pennies contain only 2.5% copper.
It takes approximately 115 pennies to make 1 pound of copper. If copper is at $1.15 per pound then a copper penny will be worth one cent. Currently copper is more than 3 times that amount. This means that 1 pre 1982 penny contains more than 3 cents worth of copper!
Don’t underestimate this. You may be tempted to say ‘oh its only pennies…’
In the middle of 1982 the composition of the penny was drastically changed. Previous cents were minted from 95% copper but were changed to 0.05% copper in the form of a micro-coating of copper over a zinc...
Rising Silver Prices and US 90% Silver Coins
Back in the “old days” U.S. dollars, halves, quarters and dimes were made of silver. Each one of these silver coins minted before 1965 was made of 90% silver and 10% copper. In 1965 silver was removed from the composition of the dimes and quarters. Half dollars from 1965 to 1970 were minted from 40% silver and 60% copper.
Obtaining old US coins is one of the very best ways to grow your silver collection. If you shop around wisely and compare you can get your silver coins very near the actual spot value. I stree “shop around and compare” because there can be huge differences in prices. If one isnt careful it would be easy to pay too much for what you get.
90% silver US coins ~ when you hold these in your hands you are holding REAL money!
Silver coins have an intrinsic...
US Nickel Cents of the Civil War
Nickel Cents of the Civil War
Have you ever heard the expression “he doesn’t have a nickel’s worth of sense?” Believe it or not, there used to actually be “nickel cents”.
Nickel Cents were minted during a specific time in history, and the hoarding of them, along with gold and silver coins, in Civil war times led to the passing of 18 USC 486, which made private tokens illegal to use.
Nickel Cents were pennies with the Indian head symbol that were struck between the years of 1859 – 1864 that contained 88% copper and 12% nickel. They were referred to as nickels or “nicks”, before the days of the five cent nickel piece.
We often hear today of the nuisance that pennies can be. Many people simply save them until there are enough to convert into...
Private Tokens And The Regulation Of Coins
In 1862, many Americans, especially in the Midwestern and Northern states began responding to the hoarding of gold, silver, and nickel by using private minters.
Private tokens were made and since there was no real regulation on the use of other coinage outside of the United States Mint, the storekeepers and businesses began accepting these bronze coins.
Until the end of the war, these coins were used and it is thought that there were over 25,000,000 of these one cent private coins minted by 1864.
The Coinage Act of 1864
One Cent Private Token
The minting of private coins or tokens ended with the passing of the Coinage Act of 1864. This stopped the manufacture of one and two cent small tokens that had been being used in the place of coins originating from the Philadelphia Mint.
A further amendment...
Beware of Premiums on Silver
Silver is a good investment right now, but if you aren’t careful the premium you pay will significantly reduce the return you will see and in some cases the spot price of silver would have to double before you can even break even. The premium is the amount of money you pay that is over and above the spot value of the silver. If you pay $48.00 for a 1 ounce silver round and the spot price is $38.00 you have paid a premium of $10.00 on that ounce. Don’t make the mistake of paying too high a premium when you buy your silver.
Last year, when silver was around $18.00 per ounce, you could obtain a roll of average circulated “junk silver” 90% silver dimes ($5.00 face value) for about $70.00. At that price buyers were paying less than $1.75 premium per ounce! That was an exceptional...
America the Beautiful Quarters for 2011
The America the Beautiful Quarter Program will feature 56 different US National Sites. The obverse or “heads”, of all will be the classic George Washington profile designed by by John Flanagan in 1932. The reverse, or “tails” side of the coins will honor a U.S. national park or other significant national site.
The America the Beautiful Quarter Program started up in 2010 with the release of coins honoring the Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Yosemite National Park in California, Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, and Mt. Hood National Forest in Oregon.
The Gettysburg National Military Park Quarter
2011 Gettysburg National Military Park Quarter
The first America the Beautiful Quarter released in 2011 is the Gettysburg National...
2009 Lincoln’s Birth Bicentennial Cents
2009 was the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth. Four different versions of the Lincoln Cent were minted to celbrate the ocassion. All four were struck at both the Philadelphia and Denver Mints which means that there are 8 different versions that were struck for general circulation.
The thing that makes these cents interesting is their relative rarity. The lowest mintage was on the 2009-P “Presidency” Lincoln Cent at less than 130,000,000. The highest mintage among the 2009 cents was the 2009-P “Formative Years” cent at 376,000,000.
Coins with numbers like this are bound to be in short supply among collectors. And there are lots of cent collectors both new and old. I really think this is a coin to keep an eye on and try to add a few to your own coin collection!
Birthplace...
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