Reddit mentions: The best collectible coins & medals books

Well as a noob collector, I might be able to help! Advice is more if you live in the US.

1. Not sure what your asking per say, but if you have a particular type of coin/country/era that you're into, its always best to get those from your local coin shop/pawn shop. I started off going through my parent's change and then as a cashier got really lucky over the past couple years. Roll hunting is a great way to start, but you gotta be patient and get through lots of regular rolls to get to the good stuff. I started with wheat pennies and Canadian coins which lead to silvers and all the other good stuff. Filling up those books of Wheaties, Indian pennies and even older Nickels is a inexpensive way to begin. Once you've figured out which specific coins you want, then the shops are a good place to get the more expensive ones. Even flea markets are good, but only for the small stuff. If you know people that have caches that are interested in getting rid of them, even better.
   
   1a) if you live in an area where you have lots of land, its not a bad idea, otherwise its not needed unless that's your thing.
   
   
2. Coin shops/Pawn shops, best way to go, making relationships with a trusted one goes a long way.
   
   
3. Not too sure, keep more in with the price guides, [Red Book] (https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Book-United-States-Coins/dp/0794843891/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488225553&sr=8-1&keywords=coin+guides) or [Blue Book] (https://www.amazon.com/Handbook-United-States-Coins-2017/dp/079484393X/ref=pd_rhf_se_s_cp_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=079484393X&pd_rd_r=YZ75YMYGQ38N96AW5ED0&pd_rd_w=B1VpT&pd_rd_wg=gC1Hv&psc=1&refRID=YZ75YMYGQ38N96AW5ED0) these are great to have starting off for the sake of simplicity :P
   
   
4. Coin holders as I've said before are great for displays and keeping everything organized, never buy the uber cheap ones. On the cheap end you can use durable plastic bags and washed out dry glass containers from honey or jams. Those containers for camera films are also a good way if you have those. Then for the nice ones get the plastic holders and then have larger container, wooden or whatnot, house all/most your collection. Magnify glass is another must, helps out with finding markings and errors.
   
   That's about it, may have gone overboard into detail lol, but hopefully you find something here useful. Happy hunting :)

I'll echo others here, but I think it depends on what you'd like to collect. If you don't want to spend much money right now, especially if you haven't decided on what specific things you like, then searching coins from circulation - rolls from the bank, etc. - is a good way to get started (since all you spend is the face value of the coins you keep), but you may need to search a LOT of rolls before you find anything interesting. For example, I searched over $200 in half dollar rolls a few months ago - found no silver, but did find one proof that had escaped into circulation. I mentioned to the tellers that I knew what I was looking for, and they replied "so do we." Ah.

If you want to purchase coins, going to a local coin store, or meeting dealers at a show, is good, as they can help guide you to making a good purchase. If you start to specialize in particular areas, dealers can even keep an eye out for you, and put things aside. You might want to specialize in a particular series (e.g., a date run of Lincoln cents), or from a particular country, or with certain symbology (pics of animals, ships, etc.) or time period (e.g., Roman Empire - $40 will get you a nice coin that is 1700+ years old, for example - a lot of new collectors think that something that is old must be valuable/only in a museum, which isn't the case).

eBay and general Internet sites can be a good source for coins, but unless you are buying coins certified by reputable companies (PCGS, NGC predominately), from dealers that offer returns, I'd not suggest doing things this way if you are just starting out. Even if photos are decent, coins can be cleaned or otherwise impaired (so are worth less than they appear to be - you might overpay, maybe significantly, without realizing), and in one instance I had, an outright forgery (which I figured out after paying, but before it shipped, so was able to get my money back). Once you get more familiar with coins and what's out there, reasonable prices, and such, then eBay in particular can be a very good place to find things. For example, I've been collecting schillings of the Free City of Riga for a while (1563-1580). It is a very very specific collecting interest, and you just can't find them other than via eBay (out of several 100+ table shows, and multiple visits to half a dozen coin stores in driving distance, I found exactly one, but have purchased over 170 via eBay) - apparently metal detectorists in the area are finding them and selling them that way.

Lastly, I'd recommend picking up a few books so you know what is out there - what to look for and what things are worth. For one, if you are collecting US coins, the Redbook is very useful to know what is out there. If you are searching rolls, the Cherrypicker's Guide vol 1, vol 2 is handy to know what particular things to look for. The Redbook will tell you which dates are more rare/desirable, and the Cherrypicker's Guide will do the same for varieties. If you want to collect world coins, the Standard Catalog of World Coins volumes are very handy. There is one volume per century, starting in 1600. They are a bit pricey, but if you have a pile of coins that need identification, are very useful. You might be able to find these in a library, but having your own copi

Hope it helps!

Well first of all, the numismatic value of any of your individual coins will depend not only on the scarcity of it's date & mintmark, but also on the quality of it's condition. Here's an online guide that I frequently use to assist me in making that evaluation: US Coin Photo Grade Coin Grading Guide

Once you've determined the quality/condition of the individual coin, you are better informed to determine its value based on the scarcity of the date/mintmark.

And as an alternative to the previous website, I also compare to the values listed at USA Coin Book

And if you might develop an interest in maintaining/continuing your father's collection as a hobby/investment, I would recommend picking up a current edition of Guide Book of United States Coins -- Either the "Red" book or the "Blue" book... The Red one provides much more historical information & pictures, and the prices are what you might expect to PAY to a dealer if you wanted to buy a coin ("retail" price) The Blue Book has more abbreviated information, and the values listed are more what you might expect to get from a dealer if you wanted to sell your coin.

Of course these are just guides to help you determine an approximate value... The actual auction prices on eBay can vary significantly... I myself have obtained a few "bargains" and at other times have seen other coins sell for 2~3 times more than I thought they were worth...

So welcome to the hobby! I hope that you find it relaxing, interesting & rewarding! Don't forget, it's not just about hoarding a large stash of coins... You can always sell your more common duplicates to help fund & acquire the more difficult specimens in your collection.

A lot of it depends on how you want to collect. A fun, easy way to start is to put together date sets (one coin from each mint for each year) for modern coins from your change. You can get folders like this one to hold those coins and they'll help direct you.

You can also collect Type sets, with one version of each coin used in a country over a specific time period. Assuming you're from the US, a popular and not-too-difficult type set is the 20th Century type set, which introduces older coins that have different designs and ones made from silver.

Or you can just collect coins that are nice to look at, either ones with a beautiful design or that are in a pristine state. This might be more expensive but is no less satisfying.

Regardless, Apmex is a very popular site for coins both modern and old, and there's always eBay, although be sure to know what the price of the piece you want is (check sold listings) to avoid overpaying for anything. In that vein, a great resource for collecting US coins is the Red Book which is part price guide and part history book, with great pictures of all US coins from the Colonial era to modern times.

Hope this helps, and happy hunting!

Awesome you are keeping to collection going! I wish I had some of my granddads collection. The family wanted to sell it, so it got sold. So I started my own collection for the family to sell when I pass on.

Looks like you have quite a journey ahead of you, r/coins is great for identifying, showing off and steering you in the right direction on places to learn more.

Here are some links if you want, the PCGS site is great.

https://www.pcgs.com/grades

And a Redbook is always helpful, and any other good book on coins.

https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Book-United-States-Coins/dp/0794845061/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1509639315&sr=8-3&keywords=red+book&dpID=51vv8FmczFL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch

"Photograde Coin Grading Guide" is one I really like for grading. It's practically free used except for shipping.

https://www.amazon.com/Photograde-Official-Photographic-Grading-United/dp/0307993612/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1509639444&sr=8-2&keywords=Photograde+Coin+Grading+Guide

And most of all have fun!

Well I'm not sure what the current going rate is for any of those particular coins is off the top of my head, however just because they've been cleaned doesn't necessarily destroy the value, it just dramatically decreases it. Basically it's the circulation that determines value, so say you have five examples of a coin and one of them has been cleaned, it's still worth a lot of money because only five of them exist. When you have say 5 million examples in existence, it changes things a bit. So really it's almost on a case to case basis.

The toned coin you had is actually a 'feature' which is often looked for in coins, I have quite a few toned coins in my collection which are downright gorgeous and come with a premium simply because of the uniqueness of the tone. I have large collection of Carson City Morgan Dollars, a few of which are toned, that I paid a bit extra for because i decided I must have them.

I would honestly just leave them as they are, any future cleanings will most likely do more damage than good. Save them for your grandkids. I mean they are still neat coins to have, they just won't be worth as much.

Shit man, I've been collecting for a years (and have stuff from my grandfather) and I destroyed some pretty expensive stuff as a kid not knowing any better, I think pretty much everyone does that at some point. If something is dirty it seems pretty natural to spiff it up.

I highly suggest picking up a copy of the redbook, it's super handy and I can look through it for hours. It will help you grade things and give you some numbers to work with as well.

http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Book-United-States-Coins/dp/0794842151

"Penny" is a British term that continued to be used out of habit, even after the U.S. developed their own one-cent coin. It is the same way that people still refer to native Americans as "Indians," even 500 years after we realized they weren't. Ironically, one of my favorite coins that I collect is called the Indian head cent. I'll admit that I even say "penny" sometimes out of habit, but the statement I made is still an undisputed fact.

Source: I collect coins, and primarily focus on variations of the U.S. one-cent coin. I have The Official Red Book guide to Lincoln cents, which goes into great detail about the history of these coins. It even begins the first chapter with "Tradition of the 'Penny'," which explains the transition from the "penny" to the "one-cent" coin. I would highly recommend this book, even for non-collectors. I also have, and would recommend, A Guide Book of United States Coins: The Official Red Book, which has a new edition each year (to update current market values), and covers every U.S. coin. These books have loads of interesting history, as well as high quality images of each coin, including all of the error coins.


I'm sure you meant well by doing a 2 second Google search to challenge my years of reading and collecting, but I think you misinterpreted my comment. All I intended to do was share my knowledge.

Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, and related objects. Regardless of whether you’re a novice or an expert, the term numismatist still applies.

The important thing is to not overwhelm yourself and try to be an expert on everything. Learning how to research and educate yourself is probably the most important lesson to learn in the beginning. I would also recommend figuring out what you’re interested in collecting and focus on learning about that. Once you’ve done that, break it down further into manageable chunks, just like you’re doing with the Seated Liberty type.

I tend to focus on a single denomination at a time. I started with small cents, learning everything I could about varieties, grading, etc. When I want to switch it up, I choose a different denomination and start the process again. So if you’re interested in building a Seated Liberty type set, continue doing what you have been, focusing specifically on learning as much as you can about the type before the show.

If you don’t already have them, here are a few books I highly recommend picking up:

Official Red Book of United States Coins
Photograde
Grading Coins by Photographs
Cherrypickers’ Guide - Vol. I
Cherrypickers’ Guide - Vol. II

These aren’t meant to be read cover to cover, but I reference them constantly.

If you’re interested in focusing on Morgan’s at some point, I would also recommend this book:

The VAM Keys

Finally, when you’re considering a purchase, I go to eBay and filter by Completed and Sold auctions to get a sense of what kind of deal I’m getting. The market fluctuates frequently and although the Red Book is a very valuable reference guide, seeing what similar coins have sold for recently is a much more accurate representation of what a fair price is at that point.

You certainly could, and it would probably be a fun and educational experience, but it's not necessary -- and if you're more interested in obtaining information than buying or selling, the shop owner may not be as generous with his/her time.

But the info you're after -- how to assess condition and rarity -- is available fairly easily. You can get a good intro to grading condition by comparing your coins to graded specimens at PCGS Photograde, for example. And you can assess rarity by checking out mintage charts online or by checking out a copy of the Red Book from the library (or buying one). A note on the Red Book: the price guides tend to reflect top retail prices, and the book is much better for the info on the coins than the price guides -- as a result, older editions are still very useful. All of the price guides, however, give an idea of what's special and what's not.

Once you have condition and rarity, I would direct you to eBay to check "sold" listings for coins in similar conditions, for an idea of market price.

Newer collector here also:

• Start with an easier collection off of the bat. Like a 1974-2013 Lincoln Cent book. Quarters, nickels, dimes, etc - start with a newer series for an easier way to find them.
  
• Get a Redbook.
  
• Figure out what you're wanting to collect. Are you looking for investment, or just because to collect, do you have a certain country, year, style design that you like?
  
• Read, read, read. Spruce Crafts has a lot of nice little guides to read through.
  
• Don't hold the coins by the obverse/reverse, hold by the edges, wear cotton gloves if you wanna stay clean.
  
• Coin Roll Hunting (CRH) is a fun easy way to find a lot of what you can fill Whitman coin binders with - plus it's cheaper than buying on e-bay/coin sites when you don't know what you're looking for right now.
  
• Get a loupe/magnifying glass and a nice bright desk light.
  
• DO NOT CLEAN COINS.

I buy coins sometimes but prefer to find them in change. Super hard to find any real valuable coins in circulation but it happens.

I buy coin folders and fill then with what I find. When I find a coin I need to fill a hole I get pretty excited. Get a state quarter book and start sorting and filling it.

If you have money to spend buy some coins that speak to you and see how you like it.

I really like my 20th century type set folder. One slot for each coin type that was made in the 1900s. Lots can be found in changer some have to be bought.

http://www.amazon.com/20th-Century-Type-Coins-Official/dp/0307090469/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1

Congrats on getting into the hobby! I'm not sure that either of these is of any significant value, so if they were in my pocket I'd probably save the money and not grade them.

If you haven't already, get yourself a copy of The Red Book to help you better understand the value of coins you might be interested in, and what to look for when evaluating a specific coin.

I'd also spend a little time on youtube learning about luster (particularly cartwheel luster) so you can better spot coins that have been cleaned...before learning it the hard way like I did!

Are they U.S. coins? The main price guide to U.S. coins is called the Red Book - the values aren't exact, but they will give you a rough idea of what the coins are worth. To find out exactly how much you could actually sell the coins for, you can search through Sold Listings on eBay - eBay is the main online marketplace for buying and selling coins, and if you want to sell you'll get better prices there than going to a coin dealer. Finally, feel free to post pictures of the coins in this subreddit and people will be happy to help out in telling you how much they're worth.

That is an awesomely insane amount of dimes. Can you post a picture, for science?

Now, some tips from someone who has mass-sorted 10s of thousands of dimes, nickels and pennies:

1. If you're in the NYC area I will gladly help you sort them, just for numismatic joy. PM if so :D
   
2. There are only 29 years worth of mercury dimes. Buy 87 plastic cups and arrange them in a line
   
3. Label the cups after each year in 3s. For each year use "P", "D" and "S" (these are the mints).
   
4. So you should have a grid/line of cups like:
   

• (1916p) (1916d) (1916s)
  
• (1917p) (1917d) (1917s)
  
• (1918p) (1918d) (1918s)
  
• (1919p) (1919d) (1919s)
  
  ...up to 1945
  
  

5. Put on some plastic gloves, your hands are going to get very dirty.
   
6. Now, start putting the coins into each cup. For some more common dates (like the war years) you may have to resort to small buckets, or old take-out plastic food boxes.
   
   Once done:
   
   
7. Buy a "red book": http://www.amazon.com/Official-Red-Book-United-States/dp/0794836771 and check out the current merc values. It will look like an up to date version of this: http://values.hobbizine.com/mercury-dimes.html
   
8. You'll see the most valuable ones instantly and can start separating those cups from the main lot.
   
9. Anything in a non-worn condition is going to be valuable. In fact, they are all valuable. But your "super" key dates are going to be:
   

• 1916D
  
• 1921, 1921D
  
• A special 1942D where the "42" is accidentally double printed over a "41"
  
  Good luck !!!

Pricing Morgans is a knowledge-based art. For starters, LOOK AT THE COIN! Of course, for a newbie it's comforting to have the certified slab. But I've seen some over-priced higher-grade coins that are downright ugly. And some beautiful coins might be under-priced because they are technically down-graded (dings, nicks, scratches).

It's very helpful to have several Price Guides. For retail prices, get a 2017 Red Book -- which has lots of great info. There's also a Morgan Red Book. Lots of other Morgan books too.

You'll also want to know dealer pricing -- the Greysheets. Monthly subscriptions are pricey; instead, get the $45 single-issue 7-Pack ("The Works"). Prices rarely change quickly, so the single-issue works well for many months.

Also look at "Sold" listings of online auction sites (ebay, Heritage, etc.). There's a learning curve... well-worth the time & effort.

Lastly, initially set a per-coin budget... say, $100 - $200. After awhile, you know which coins are worth more.

It's a great hobby. Enjoy the hunt!

Whitman Red Book is gonna be one of your best friends. eBay sold listings or greysheets are gonna be you best bet for up to date value/pricing.


I would honestly just decide how much money you want to spend and find a LCS (local coin shop) and go pick out something you like. Decide if you wanna buy just one coin or maybe a few for cheaper. Make sure to pick a coin up and really examine it closely, don't just decide by looking at it in the case. Also don't just pay the listed price, see if you can talk the dealer down a bit (sold listings/greysheets can help with this), just don't make an insulting offer.

These things you will not be afforded buying a coin online. And the experience is part of the education process. That fact that you've already studied puts you ahead of most and you'll just keep learning as you go.

1. Don't buy any coins from amazon, as you can get much better deals on ebay and at local coin shops.
   
   
2. Be aware of the value of the coin you are buying. A lot of new collectors way over pay for common coins because they don't know any better. Save yourself the grief and buy a Red Book which will give you an approximate idea of what coins are worth.
   
   
3. Beware of fakes. There are a lot of them out there and they can be hard to spot. Until you are very well informed on a certain type of coin don't buy coins from ebay sellers with low feedback.
   
   
4. Most coins aren't going to be great investments. It can be a very fun and rewarding hobby, but very few people make a lot of money collecting coins.
   
   
5. Have fun with it! I'd recommend looking into coins other than just US coins, as you can get some very cool and old world coins for a fraction of what US coins cost.

First, I am very sorry for your loss. This is never a great way to receive coins.

In terms of valuing it, I would take it very slow. It looks like your Dad was passionate about this hobby, and he had a fairly large collection. You would honor him by learning all you can about them.

You will need to start by separating them by denomination. It looks like there are a lot of coins in those cigar boxes, so you want to do this as orderly as possible.

Once you have them grouped, start checking for any key dates. You can use the PCGS price guide to identify those. I wouldn't rely on their prices, however, as they are known to be very inflated.

https://www.pcgs.com/prices

You can also get yourself a copy of the redbook...

https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Book-United-States-Coins/dp/0794847021/

You will also need to learn how to estimate each coin's grade. This can be difficult if you don't have experience doing it. PCGS has a Photograde app that you can download, and use to compare your coins to pictures of other examples in every grade. That will help.

Any higher grade coins, or key dates will end up being the most valuable.

In terms of tracking, you should look into using Numista. Enter each coin in as you evaluate them. This way you will end up with a complete record of everything, and a running total for estimated value.

https://en.numista.com/index.php

Hope that helps!

It shouldn’t take much money. I’d start by grabbing Red book and blue book. I’d say blue book would be better for you, unless you plan on buying more coins.

2019 Official Red Book of United States Coins - Spiral Bound https://www.amazon.com/dp/0794845711/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_dkz-Bb81A1982

A Handbook of United States Coins Blue Book 2019 (The Official Blue Book of United States Coins) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0794846491/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Lkz-BbQFGHZ9R


Blue book will give you an idea of what coin dealers should offer value wise if you want to sell. Red book is closer to what dealers would charge for coins. These are just guides though, and prices can take wild swings, but they should give a decent idea on values, how to guess the grade for ungraded, and some errors to look out for.

Sorry for your loss, but hopefully his collection brings you some happiness.

Also, I am in Fairfax, Va, so if you wanted to talk about coins, or anything really, feel free to hit me up.

Depends on what you're interested in. Some people are really passionate about large cents, others love Morgan dollars, some like wheat pennies. The key is to find your niche. For me, its British coins and Standing Liberty quarters. There's plenty of references, some useful books would be:

The Cherry Picker's Guide Volume I

And Volume II

I don't know where you got that Amazon link but the URL appears to contain an affiliate ID so reddit's spam filter flagged it.

I agree that the Krause catalogs are pretty useful, up to a point. You can find them at the library or buy them new or used on eBay or Amazon. They don't change much from year to year so buying cheaper ones that are a couple of years old is usually fine.

Here's a non-spam link to Krause on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/2014-Standard-Catalog-World-Coins/dp/1440235678/

If you're looking for varieties, there is The Cherrypicker's Guide. If there is a certain series you would like to start in, the Red Book/Bowers Series has some good choices (Peace Dollar, Lincoln Cent, ect). Vamworld.com is a great resource for Morgan and Peace Dollar variates. For pricing trends, get a trial pack to The Grey Sheet

Check out these two sites, they are the #1 and #2 coing "grading" sites. They will help you find a "certified dealer" in your area...throw your zip code into the search and it'll bring back results:

http://www.ngccoin.com/services/dealer-listing.aspx

http://www.pcgs.com/Dealers/Default.aspx?ss=provident%20precious%20metals


After you find a few dealers in the area, google them and/or use the BBB or angies list to find which is the most reputable in your area.

Or if you give us your general location, we might be able to point you in the right direction as well.

After you find a dealer you can think you can trust: bring a small sampling of what you have into for an appraisal. If you have any albums, coins in little cardboard squares or a few handful of coins take a few of each.

Bring it to the dealer and ask for an appraisal and see what they tell you/how they treat you ( I wouldn't say any details about your family member or his larger collection). If they find rare stuff, they will make an offer: tell them you'll think about it and go home and you probably have much more rare stuff in there...

Do some research on eBay "sold" listings to find general market prices on pieces or you can follow-up with us and we can help you out. Some other resources to help you determine what you have:

http://www.coinflation.com/silver_coin_values.html

Purchase a "RedBook":

http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Book-United-States-Coins/dp/0794842151

Go to http://www.coinflation.com/coins/silver_coin_calculator.html they have a calculator that will tell you how the silver is worth. A silver quarter is worth about 3 dollars, a dime is worth about 1.20. All of this is dependent on the spot price of silver. Unless you have a key date coin or an error you'd probably get about melt for them. IMO keep them until the value of silver goes up or keep them for your own collection. You may want to cross post in /r/silver too. If you want to sell there's a subreddit for selling silver as well. Hope this helps. Very neat inheritance.

Also, get a red book https://www.amazon.com/2019-Official-United-States-Coins/dp/0794845711/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1522357135&sr=8-1&keywords=coin+red+book+2019 it'll cost you about 4 silver quarters. It'll show you what are the key dates and a few major errors to look.

As for storage just get some paper coin rollers, you can get them at your local bank for free usually.

Well, based on the condition from the photo and according the the 2012 Red Book I would say a conservative $3,000 at least. Of course the market does fluctuate... I also used the ANA Grading Standards for United States Coins: American Numismatic Association and Grading Coins by Photographs. There may be some really good online services that can help you figure out the value as well, but I don't really know of any of the top of my head...

PS- Nice photos!

this is one of those cases where the more effort you put in, the more money you get out. I'm sure there are plenty of people who would make you an offer just based on what you posted (i would take a gamble). the price would be pretty low and if you sold it, the person would make a lot of profit. what i recommend to everyone in your situation is to build an excel database and document every coin in the collection. From there, buy a "red book" for ~$10. just that alone will protect you quite a bit from unscrupulous dealers. from there, you can take pictures of the more high dollar coins and we all can help you determine a more exact price. the rest, a dealer will offer you a low price for, because there isnt a lot of profit margin.

I'll start with your last question. The coins were left to my brother and myself. He wants to cash out his half entirely. I'd personally love to hold on to many of the coins - although I will have to liquidate some. The idea is that we want a decent appraisal, so that we can divide the collection without just liquidating it all. It's kind of a sin to break up the half dollars though, the only ones missing are a 1794 and stuff past the 1940s. And most of them are in AU or better condition.

Most of the coins went to PCGS for your reason #2, there's a fairly big jump in value depending on the grade. The idea was that getting them slabbed would definitely increase the value more than the grading fees. Somehow I don't think a "PCGS Genuine - AU Cleaning" holder does that. In most cases, anyway- there were a few items that do fall into your category #1.

I've already picked up blue and red books. Is this the photograde that you recommend?

When I started over a year ago, I bought the Red Book and the Blue Book and the ASE guide.

• A Guide Book of United States Coins 2015: The Official Red Book Hardcover (Official Red Book: A Guide Book of United States Coins)
  
• Handbook of United States Coins 2015: The Official Blue Book Hardcover
  
• American Silver Eagles: A Guide to the U.S. Bullion Coin Program, 2nd Edition
  
  But it sounds like you want the Red Book. It's a general price guide to US coins.

Totally! A great book is called cherrypicker’s guide vol 2 it is full of useful errors. Finding an FS-101 for the 1976-D Bicentennial Quarter would be awesome!

Glad to help.
Strike it rich with pocket change is also a great book if you're getting into errors and varieties.

https://www.amazon.com/Strike-Rich-Pocket-Change-Error/dp/1440235708/

I hear you. Striking it rich with pocket change. Helped me out a lot in the beginning. I love being able to sift through my change looking for something mare than face value.

Something somewhat related coins with errors you can find in your pocket change... some are pretty unnoticeable and can be worth a few dollars, while in general the more noticeable ones, if you are lucky enough to find in circulation, can be worth hundreds or thousands. If you're interested this book has a lot of the ones worth more than 25 cents listed in book (or pdf you may be able to find online)

http://www.amazon.com/Strike-It-Rich-Pocket-Change/dp/1440235708

Welcome to the hobby!

I'd start out by telling friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, etc. that you are collecting coins and to look out for unusual stuff for you.

While there is plenty of info online, the "bible" for US coin collectors is the "Red Book" that is updated every year with price info. I think it provides a lot of info for a little over $11.

https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Book-United-States-Coins/dp/0794847021/

For coin roll hunting I'd be on the lookout for silver and the new "W" mintmark quarter.

Keep an eye out for the return slots of Coinstar machines.

Maybe keep a log, spreadsheet, notebook of your collection?

Have fun!

Is this the book you were talking about? I put it on my Christmas list either way. Definitely looks like it will be helpful. Thanks for the recommendation.

Not really what you have in mind but this is what I might do with it.

1. An old US Commemoratives. Depending on where you live, your state may have created one back in the 20's or 30's (~$100 for the cool ones)
   
2. Work on a merc dime(~$1.50/each), Washington quarters(~$4/each), or half dollar(~$8/each) book
   ~The key dates get really spendy btw~
   
3. Save up and get a Classic Head or Indian Head Gold $5 half Eagle (~$500)
   
   
   or you could buy a Red Book (~$10) and flip through it until you see something that is in your price range

People will ALWAYS exploit you for your lack of knowledge in any subject. Educate yourself on coins and their values, the best thing new collectors can do is to buy the red book . It is a price guide of US coins, every coin that the United States has officially made is in there along with montage numbers and it’s value in several different conditions. You don’t have to buy the 2019 you can get one that is a couple of years old for a lot cheaper. Buy it and actually read the beginning, it gives a good run down of American coins and tips on how to get started.

That being said a 56D is one of the most common wheat pennies out there. Unless it has an unusual mint error it should never go for thousands of dollars even in BU condition that’s been graded by the PCGS.

I recommend dropping $13 or so on a US Coins red book. It'll have all the basics on how to grade, mintages, and, of course, a basic guide as to the value of the coin. It also makes for a great read on some coin history.

The Redbook is pretty good for coins but it doesn't really have an in-depth academic approach to the history of each coin although I know that they also make individual guides for certain coins like silver dollars.

1931 S is the one most of us covet.

Your best bet is to pony up about $15 and get yourself a Whitmans Red Book. I have several copies and an e version on my mobile for reference if I'm out and about and come across anything.

Oh, and all wheaties are worth more than face value. They average around $0.15 a piece.

If they a packaged US mint products you can pretty easily look up prices on eBay sold auctions.

For everything else you can get one of these: https://www.amazon.com/Official-Guide-Grading-Counterfeit-Detection/dp/0375720502/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495145544&sr=8-1&keywords=pcgs+grading
or one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/Official-Standards-American-Numismatic-Association/dp/0794838243/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495145572&sr=8-1&keywords=ana+grading+standards

You can use those books to start evaluating their condition, then you can use eBay or even a Whitman Publishing US Coins Red Book to get relative values.

Collect what you like. There are many ways to do that affordably. It is helpful to have some kind of collection goal to guide and focus you [ex., get an example of every dollar coin from Morgans to moderns, or build a type set of coins minted in 1892, etc.]

The Red Book is a MUST have for any collector, and is especially helpful for new ones. If you don't have one yet, I would invest in one now.

these make it really convenient, and make great gifts for the holidays

For US coins, 1964 and earlier are 90% silver, but metal content is ONLY ONE SMALL THING TO CONSIDER. Many coins have substantially more numismatic (aka coin collector) value than the simple value of the metal in them.

Get yourself a copy of the Red Book --

https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Book-United-States-Coins/dp/0794845061/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1510673503&sr=8-1&keywords=red+book+coins+2018

The Red Book will tell you if your coins are unusual, rare, or simply common "junk" silver.

Rule #1:

NEVER talk about Silver Club.

You've probably already told some friends, and siblings/parent will also blab. Odds are high your house is gonna get ransacked the next time the family is out of town. If you can change the combo to the gun safe, do it right now. If anyone needs their gun out of there, you can open it for them without them seeing the combination, until you can get a high-rated anti-burglary safe that you can bolt down. If you can't change the combo on the gun safe, then, like anewmolt says, don't store it all in one spot. Don't hide it anywhere obvious, like your sock drawer or in your bedroom closet or in a bookcase.

And tell NO ONE where you hid it. The only way two people can keep a secret is if one is dead and the other got to him before he could tweet or post on Facebook.

Take a detailed inventory, as skakid suggests. Even old silver bars can sometimes be worth more than melt value if they're Engelhard, for example.

Now for some fun stuff.

Take all the old coins, and "eyeball" their grade yourself here: http://www.pcgs.com/photograde

Just find your coin, and scroll through the photos while using a magnifying glass on your coin, until you find the grade that's worse than yours. Also, for US coins, you can buy the Blue Book, which gives you detailed criteria. $15, $10 for Kindle.

You can search prices at PCGS or here: http://www.ngccoin.com/price-guide/us/ to give you a ballpark figure.

I've had luck with estate auctions, especially with silver. Other than that, if you don't have a good coin dealer near you, get an up-to-date red book, find the coins you like, and get on eBay. There's a lot of crap on there, but you can find some really good deals too.

For US Coins I would definitely recommend starting with The Red Book: http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Book-United-States-Coins/dp/0794842151/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406866173&sr=8-1&keywords=red+book+coins

And for US Currency, the Friedberg book: http://www.amazon.com/Guide-United-States-Fourth-Edition/dp/0794842305/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406866215&sr=8-1&keywords=friedberg+currency

Seriously...I would buy a Redbook and Strike it Rich with Pocket Change and start looking at values. The Redbook gives high values for graded and slabbed coins. You can expect a little less, but it will give you a ball park that can be further compared to completed e-bay auctions.

Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!

Here are your smile-ified links:

Cherry Pickers Guide

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^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot

You should get a copy of the Red Book (A Guide Book of United States Coins, by R.S. Yeoman), which has grading standards for VF, EF and other grades for each series of US Coins. A more advanced version is the ANA Grading Guide.
https://www.amazon.com/Official-Standards-American-Numismatic-Association/dp/0794838243

I found this cheap on amazon but does it include modern coins? I didnt really find an answer


A Guide Book of United States Coins 2020 https://www.amazon.com/dp/0794847021/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_oz7VDbXS29WYZ

Nice score! I recommend this book to anyone interested in finding error coins and die varieties in your pocket change. It's fun and people find them more often than you'd think.

A Guide Book of United States Coins, known as "The Red Book," is the gold standard for general coin reference books on US coins. That will give you a place to start.


Edit: I just re-read your post and noticed the title and text are asking two different questions. For storage, I recommend 2x2 Saflips. Just type that into Amazon.

Alternatively, if you buy proof and mint sets, you'll get the coins you're looking for already packaged. Albums can scratch coins when you insert the protective slide (oh, the irony) and aren't recommended. Look for holders that are acid-free and PVC-free. Avoid soft plastics.

photograde as others said, and also take a look at the grading standards book if you want a better description of it https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0794838243

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0794847021/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

IF you haven't got this yet start with this book. I have just recently started too. yes silver you want 1970 halves and older. quarters are 1964 and older. 1943 and 1944 copper and steel pennies. 1964 dimes and older. Nickels are ...1945 and older ... there may be ones to the 60's as well I really dont know about much other than halves and I really dont a great deal yet.

If you're pricing pick up at a copy of the Red Book ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0794842151?cache=bb7517826f2f08657a1e990bc33ef16c&pi=SY200_QL40&qid=1406981440&sr=8-1#ref=mp_s_a_1_1) they have coins priced on their condition. Remember most people won't pay the full amount their listed at unless their graded by Ngc or PCGS. However you can look on eBay at closed auctions to see what people are paying for them. Then list your coins for sale with good pictures and say 'you grade them' on any coin not graded by PCGS.

I have been using this book, Cherrypickers' Guide, and have found it to be a good resource.

http://www.amazon.com/Cherrypickers-Varieties-United-States-Volume/dp/0794822851

Buy yourself the official red book

It has tons of useful information and will teach you a lot about US coins and how to collect.

I highly recommend this book. It really helped me learn the basics.

What do you mean? How is this different from other doubling?

it looks just like the one in this book : http://www.amazon.com/Strike-It-Rich-Pocket-Change/dp/1440235708
and isn't Ken Potter a respected authority on the subject?

Getting one of these books will help

For US coins, I'd recommend the Whitman Red Book.

By "redbook" coin collectors mean this Guidebook of United States Coins which, strangely, is cheaper in hardback than paperback on Amazon right now.

Get a red book! Here’s a link to it on amazon!
https://www.amazon.com/2019-Official-United-States-Coins/dp/0794845711?keywords=red+book+coins&qid=1538231178&sr=8-1&ref=mp_s_a_1_1

I didn't have the ISBN's handy for all of these it was easier to find Amazon links and a link to Rick Snow's site for the Indian books. These are the books on my bookshelf which aren't the common ones: (Some are hard to find.)

• Photograde: Official Photographic Grading Guide for United States Coins, 19th Edition
  
• United States Early Half Dollar Die Varieties 1794-1836, 4th Edition
  
• The Official Guide to Coin Grading and Counterfeit Detection, 2nd Edition
  
• The Complete Guide to Barber Dimes
  
• The Complete Guide to Barber Quarters
  
• The Complete Guide to Barber Halves
  
• The Flying Eagle & Indian Cent Attribution Guide (Volumes 1-6)

Nah sorry I'm only into silver. If you are looking us coins only pickup one of those coin books like this one.
https://www.amazon.com/2019-Official-United-States-Coins/dp/0794845711

You want a "Cherry Pickers's Guide".

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008S3BUDM/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_LS5VDbJ9Y3XKH

Or something similar

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1440235708/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_UU5VDbFHRACFW

Start by finding this

Red Book

Blue Book or Red Book

The hair pattern on the 1921 coin is almost immaculate, so you could probably get a few bucks for that one. You should consult The Official Red Book for more information.

You can buy a red book if you don't have one already - https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Book-United-States-Coins/dp/0794845061/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1498506416&sr=8-2&keywords=red+book

Try the Cherry Pickers Guide

For those of you not on a mobile device:

http://www.amazon.com/Official-Red-Book-United-States/dp/0794836771

This. To be specific, this is the Red Book /u/e30kgk is speaking of (links are for .co.uk)-

Current Edition of Yeoman and Bressett

Yeoman and Bressett 2016 pre-order

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0794836771/ref=redir_mdp_mobile

You should buy a http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Book-United-States-Coins/dp/0794842151 and check the prices. I dunno why no one has suggested that. It's not about grade at first. If you have a coin that could be worth something. Dig further.