Coin Collecting is the Hobby of Collecting Coins

Coin collecting can be an interesting, fun, and educational hobby for kids. Gathering coins from all over the world can be fascinating as you can find out about different cultures and how money has played a part in their development. You can learn about geography and try to collect coins from many different countries. You can also try to find and collect coins from past history. These coins can be hard to find, but can also be valuable.

Coin History

Coins in some form have been around for at least 3000 years and probably longer. Coins have been used by many different ancient civilizations as a way of trade. Valuable ancient coins include coins from ancient Rome, Greece, the Persian Empire, and the Byzantine Empire. Coins and the history of coins can tell a lot about a culture's history by the way the coin was made, the metals used, and the art or figures on the coin's face.

Coin collecting as a hobby or study is thought to be more of a modern hobby. Certainly kings and wealthy people throughout history have gathered coins as wealth, but the study of coins and collecting them for their historic value has only thought to have been around for the last four to five hundred years.

In recent years, the tools for protecting and storing coins have been greatly improved. Also, the grading of coins has gotten significantly better with professional grading services, but collectors should still be wary of counterfeit coins or poor grading services.

Coin collecting is a very popular hobby throughout the world today.

Some Ancient Coin Images

  <<size scale of ancient coins

Tips & Advice for Parents

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It's never too early, in a world that tries to sell kids everything, to help them understand the value of money. A great and fun way is to introduce your kids to coin collecting. Junior coin collectors have been discovering the joys of coins for years. The Royal Canadian Numismatic Association (RCNA) sponsors the Kids on Coins program.

As with anything else your children enjoy, coin collections will probably overwhelm your house, but it's a hobby you can get interested in too. You can take the opportunity to talk to your kids about investing, the history of money, and encourage them to put away part of their allowances and/or pocket money if your six-year-old operates a lemonade stand or your teen has a part-time job. Some kid-friendly coin collecting tips:

o Encourage your kids to learn as much as possible about coin and currency collecting. The COIN COLLECTING FOR KIDS book, a 2000 Parents' Choice Award Winner, introduces kids to coin collecting, with slots for all 50 statehood coins.

o Help kids make decisions about buying coins. They may not be able to afford a valuable coin right away, but kids have been resourceful in saving their money.

o Use Commemorative Dollars and Medallion and Challenge Coins to teach kids about history.

o Sometimes you don't have to look farther than that jar of change your uncle gave you. Start a "treasure hunt" and encourage kids to pick their favourite coins, or find an Indian head penny.

With digital pets and ever more sophisticated robots, coins might take a back seat at first, but kids like the idea of doing something adult, and your enthusiasm will make coin collecting an invaluable family pastime.

Deciding which coins to collect can be a matter of personal preference and finances, but there are some key points you should consider. If you want to learn more, read our guidelines to help you decide which coins to collect.

Denomination – The denomination of a coin can be as common as a quarter or as obscure as a three-cent piece. Deciding what you’re interested in collecting can help you move in the right direction to collecting the best coins for your collection.

Type – There are a number of types of coins within a given denomination. Types of coins could include (U.S.) the Flowing Hair Half Dollar versus the Walking Liberty Half Dollar or the Draped Bust Half Cent versus the 1793 Half Cent.

Date – Each coin comes out during a given year. You could collect coins during a given year or a Silver Dollar for every year it has been available.

Whether you’re just starting out in the world of coin collecting or looking to get more involved, finding additional resources and like-minded folks will enrich your experience. There are several ways you can meet other coin collectors and learn more information.

1. Join a local coin collecting club in your area.

2. Visit coin shops in your area to browse and talk shop with the dealers. Find a reputable one affiliated with a coin dealer organization.

3. Go to a coin show in your area where you can interact with numerous dealers, coin collectors, and have the opportunity to view coins firsthand.

4. Attend a summer seminar given by the American Numismatic Association. They offer weeklong courses (summer junior coin collectors / young numismatists' camps) on subjects like coin grading, photography, and detecting counterfeit coins.