Posts Tagged ‘Collect’

How to Collect US dimes ?

They're small and unassuming, but dimes have been an important part of the U.S. money system since 1796. The Mercury-head and Roosevelt dimes are extremely popular with new collectors, while the older (pre-1916) series offer plenty of challenges for the advanced collector. Here are some tips for collecting U.S. dimes.

• Difficulty rating: Moderately difficult. A type set of dimes offers a wide range of interesting designs, each with its own story to tell. The Draped Bust type is scarce, but all the later types are readily available.

• Cost estimate: For a type set of dimes in Fine condition, expect to pay about ,000 (add ,000 more if you want the Draped Bust/plain eagle subtype). In Uncirculated condition, bring more money — at least ,000.

• Difficulty rating: Difficult to nearly impossible. The Draped Bust in every date is accessible but somewhat expensive. The Capped Bust has no difficult dates. The Seated Liberty has many common dates(dates in a series that have high mintages and that are easy to obtain), many rare dates, and the unique 1873-CC no arrows dime. The Barber type has the scarce 1895-O, and the 1894-S is a classic rarity that always sets records when it appears on the market. The Mercury head has the key date of 1916-D, but all other dates are easy to find. The Roosevelt head in all dates and mintmarks is common.

• Cost estimate: Inexpensive to millions. For Draped Bust dimes, figure on spending ,000 for a date set in Fine condition and at least 0,000 for a date set in Uncirculated condition — if you can find them. Capped Bust dimes cost ,000 for a set in Fine condition and roughly ,000 for an Uncirculated set. Seated Liberty dimes costs about ,000 for a Fine set, but only if you exclude the 1873-CC no arrows. For Barber dimes the 1894-S takes all the fun out of putting together a date and mintmark set. If you exclude the 1894-S, a Fine set runs around ,500; in Uncirculated condition, the price jumps to over ,000. For Mercury-head dimes, Fine sets cost around ,200; Uncirculated sets cost at least ,000 — and substantially more if you add any full-band examples. You can pick up a complete date and mintmark set of Uncirculated and proof examples of Roosevelt dimes for around 0. Buy yourself a nice set and stay away from the lower grades.

• Difficulty rating: Easy to nearly impossible. Each type has its highlights. In the Draped Bust series, you can find several variations on the number of stars and berries on some dates. The Capped Bust series features two overdates. Because of its extended run, the Seated Liberty type has lots of interesting varieties, many of which are quite rare. Look for the 1893/2 overdate in the Barber series. Favorites in the Mercury-head series include the 1942/1 and 1942/1-D overdates. In the Roosevelt dime series, the 1982 no mintmark dime is a perennial favorite.

• Cost estimate: All over the board. A 1945-S micro-S dime is just in Uncirculated condition, whereas a 1905-O micro-O can run as much as ,500. Collecting Draped Bust dimes gets expensive because most of the dates are already valuable as type coins.

How to collect US five-cent pieces ?

Nickels were made in four major types beginning in 1866. Collectors gravitate to this series because there are so many affordable dates and because of the draw of the purely American design on the Indian-head/buffalo type. You can obtain many of the coins you need for your collection from circulation, which is a fun and easy way to start. When you're ready to get serious about this series, consider the following ways of collecting:

By type:

• Difficulty rating: Easy. Finding all four types of the five-cent pieces is a breeze.

• Cost estimate: Inexpensive. In Fine condition, a set of nickel types runs less than . In Uncirculated condition, a nice type set of nickels runs less that 0.

By date:

• Difficulty rating: Impossible — the 1913 Liberty nickel set a price record of over million in 2007. However, if you stay within each type, or disregard the 1913 nickel, the difficulty rating drops to easy. For example, the only scarce shield nickels are the dates from 1877 to 1881. The only tough V nickels are the 1885 and 1912-S, and there are no rare dates in the buffalo or Jefferson nickel types, except for a few overdates.

• Cost estimate: A complete date set of shield nickels in Fine condition costs approximately ,250. In Uncirculated condition, expect to pay ,000 and up. If you exclude the 1913, as you must, a complete date and mintmark set of V nickels in Fine condition will cost roughly ,000; in Uncirculated condition, the potential cost jumps to at least ,000. For ,500, you can complete a date and mintmark set of buffalo nickels (less the overdates and the three-legged error of 1937) in Fine; in Uncirculated condition, expect to spend ,000 for a choice set. (We told you they were popular!) Because they're so inexpensive, we recommend collecting Jefferson-head nickels only in Uncirculated and/or proof condition. A complete set of all dates and mintmarks should run approximately 0.

By die variety:

• Difficulty rating: Moderately difficult to extremely difficult, depending on how far you go. Several design variations exist to tempt you and some are considered must-have varieties. The 1867 nickel comes with and without rays on the back, the 1883 nickel comes with the word Cents and without the word Cents on the reverse, and the 1913 buffalo nickels come with the words Five Cents either on a mound (Type I) or in a recessed area (Type II). If overdates thrill you, choose among the 1879/8 or 1883/2, the 1914/3, the 1916/16, the 1918/7 from the Denver mint, and the 1943/2. One of the most unusual varieties is the 1937-D three-legged buffalo nickel, an error created when some of the details were accidentally ground off the die used to strike the coins while polishing it!

• Cost estimate: Moderately expensive to mega-expensive. Common varieties run or less — others can run into the tens of thousands of dollars.

Coin collection - Deciding What to Collect ?

Because money is a limiting factor, no matter how much of it you have, figure out how much you want to budget for your collection, and then decide where to spend it. Here are some suggestions for interesting and challenging ways to collect coins:

Denomination: Try putting together a complete set of all the different denominations issued by the United States. Start with the coins in circulation and then include obsolete coins like a half cent, a three-cent piece, a 20-cent piece — coins that most people have never heard of.
Type: You'll find a number of different types within each denomination. For example, half dollars include the Flowing Hair, Draped Bust, Capped Bust, Seated Liberty, Barber, Walking Liberty, Franklin head, and Kennedy types. You can collect by type within a denomination, or you can expand into other denominations.
Date: Collecting by date is a fun and affordable way to obtain every date for a particular series. For example, you could easily collect a half dollar from every year they were minted since 1900. There's no reason to pay extra for a rare mintmark — just pick the least expensive coin for the year and add it to your collection. Not only will you have one coin from every year, but you'll have added several different types along the way.
Date and mintmark combination: Collecting every date and mintmark combination becomes a bit more challenging and expensive. Most series have what Ron calls a stopper — a rare mintmark that can sometimes be prohibitively expensive. Believe us, you don't want to attempt to collect a set of Barber dimes unless you have a lot of money. You may find and be able to afford every date in the series except for the extremely rare 1894-S — you'll need ,000,000, or more for a nice one! On the other hand, there are several series that you can complete without breaking the bank. If you can't afford the Barber dime set, try the Barber half dollars instead. The coins are bigger and every date and mintmark in the set is affordable.
Keep in mind that until recently, coins minted in Philadelphia had no mintmark.
Year: Many people try to buy every coin issued in the year of their birth. If you're under 50 years old, all you have to do is buy the mint sets and proof sets issued by the government in the year of your birth, plus any commemorative coins issued that year. If you're older than 50, you may have to search a little harder — but that's half the fun of collecting coins, isn't it? If you really want to go all out, try collecting coins issued in your birth year by other countries!

Believe it or not, coin collecting is actually becoming a very popular hobby. It's definitely not as popular as sports like basketball and football, but coin collecting has actually managed to create a subculture of sorts among the American population and around the world. In fact, collectors prefer some coins to others, sometimes because of price, sometimes because of ease. The most popular US coins to collect tend to be the ones we see most often and last the longest.

By far, US dollars are the most popular among collectors. The rarest US dollars also double as the world's most valuable coins. Morgan dollars, dated 1878 to 1921, are some of the most sought after coins that are still at a reasonable price range. The oldest US dollars collectors look for are called Early Dollars, and they are dated 1794 to 1804. Needless to say, these coins are some of the most expensive. They can cost over $100 without any problem. Some reach around $1000 with competition in the bidding process, and a select few rise up to over $50000. The most common US dollars we will see are Sacagawea dollars, which were first issued starting at the turn of the 21st century.

US quarters happen to be a popular place to start among the younger coin collectors. It's easy to collect these quarters, because these collections start with the 50 states and then move into other quarters. US quarter collections also have a considerable amount of depth because they don't stop at just the 50 states. They can then move into categorizing by year and then by different errors and marks like regular coins. The US Mint released commemorative quarters for five states every year from 1999 to 2008. US territories received commemorative quarters in 2009.

Surprisingly, nickels are also quite popular. Jefferson nickels, which were issued by the US Mint starting in 1938, are the most popular nickels to collect. Jefferson nickels last a very long time, unlike other coins, so they are also great ways to start for younger coin collectors. Currently, every single year's Jefferson nickel from 1938 to present day, with the exception of 1943 to 1945 (war nickels were issued during this time), can be found in regular circulation. You can begin collecting Jefferson nickels simply by checking circulated nickels that you come across every day. Collectors value uncirculated Jefferson nickels (usually found supplied from banks) rarely above or below face value.

As you can see, collecting US coins is a great way to start before moving into international currency and other sorts of coins. The interesting history of the US Mint makes it captivating to learn about the various coins of the United States and its history during those times.

New Dollar Coins are fun to collect. Dollar coins of United States are minted in the United States Mint , Coins minted in United States are made out of metals like Gold ,Silver and Base metal.In 1794 Silver Dollars were the first $ coins issued by the American mint.

In 2005 ,United Sates Congress decided to honor their late Presidents, by producing a lineage of $1 coins only dedicated to them.

The new dollar program commenced on 1st January 2007,this program is quiet similar to the State Quarter program, this program will not conclude till every eligible President is honored. In the program coins engraved with the faces of 4 Presidents will be produced every year ,issuing one first and the next 3 month later. No coins would bear the faces of living Presidents ,only those Presidents who are dead more than 2 years ago.

The Presidential Dollar is much smaller in size to the Sacagawea Dollar ,and lighter in color too .The wording 'In God we trust' are printed on the edge of the coin along with the date of issue and the mint mark ,quiet contrary to the Sacagawea dollar where the wording 'In God we trust' the date and mint mark were printed on the face side of the coin.

Sacagawae and the New Dollar coin are usually known as the Golden coin even though the coins contain not a trace of the gold metal ,they are just golden in color.

On February 15th, 2007 the first ever new dollar coin was released in the honor of George Washington.

March 8th 2007 ,the United States Mint announced that by error a large number of George Washington coins were circulated without the legendary words In God We Trust engraved, professional coin grading companies released approx 50000 such coins were released by the mint. These coins gained the name of being "Godless Dollars", the first few coins fetched its collector as high as $600 which later fell to $ 40 to$ 60 .These specimens as off now hold nothing more than the face value.

In March an America couple found a George Washington Dollar without stamping on both the sides ,these rare error coins fetched a very high market value.

The new dollar program would in all take 11 years to honor each and every President ,as George W. Bush being the 43rd President .As per the act for a president face to appear on the coin he or she must be dead for at least 2 years, and the program would end only when all the then most eligible Presidents are honored. If a particular Presidents is not eligible for his face to be engraved on the coin ,then he will be eliminated and the next in line would be considered for the honoring.

The New Dollar Coin program is said to run at least till 2016, but may continue even longer depending on the age of the current living Presidents.

New Dollar Coins are available online and off.