Coin Collecting: the Hobby of Kings

by Marty Weil

 

My grandfather was a coin collector. He had a modest coin collection, and he shared his love for numismatics with me when I was a young boy. Each year, he would give me a United States Proof Set and other newly minted coins. He wasn’t the first grandfather to interest a grandchild in coin collecting—the hobby dates back to the fourteenth century when it is generally believed to have begun with the Italian scholar and poet Petrarch and quickly earned the nickname the “Hobby of Kings.”

 

To begin a collection, assuming your grandfather isn’t interested in supplying you with coins, most collectors start by saving coins found in circulation. As time, resources, and interest increase, collectors seek other sources for new specimens. As a coin collection evolves, collectors might want to join an association such as the American Numismatic Association or the Canadian Numismatic Association, which hold conventions and other events for coin collectors.

 

Coin collectors can be generalist interested in a wide variety of coins from different countries and time periods or specialists with interest in specific types of coins or countries of origin. Specialists who want every example of coins within their area of interest are known as Completists. For example, Louis Eliasberg (1886-1976), a well-known coin collector, is thought to be the only one to have assembled a complete set of coins minted in the United States.

 

When it comes to coin collecting, like so many other collectible fields, condition is an important element to determining value. As with baseball cards and other categories of collectibles where condition is essential, collectors have created a system to describe overall condition. For grading coins, there are several coin grading services which encapsulate the coin in a labeled, air-tight plastic holder (also known as coin slabbing). Damage of any sort can reduce the value of a coin, and cleaning or polishing coins is another way to degrade their value. There are a lot of other factors (i.e., year, mint marks, precious metal content, etc.) that also determine the value of coins.

 

Coins are one area of collecting that is especially linked to investing. People invest in coins for the same reason they invest in stamps, precious metals, or other commodities. However, the main goal for most collectors is merely the pleasure of an enjoyable hobby, not profit. Those entering the hobby to profit should make an in-depth study of the field before making significant investments in rare coins. To learn more about coin collecting, there are number of important books on the subject, including Coin Collecting for Dummies, Coin Collecting 101 What You Need to Know, and The Expert's Guide to Collecting & Investing in Rare Coins: Secrets Of Success. Another way to learn about coins is to subscribe to a magazine such as Coin World, which has a wealth of information pertaining to coin collecting.

 

Like any collection, building a world-class coin collection takes time and patience. Unless you are filthy rich, it won't happen overnight. Additionally, it takes the experience, knowledge, and a keen understanding of the different types of coins there are to collect.

 

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