Anyone here a numismatist?

[John P]

Anyone here collect coins or old paper currency?

I used to when I was a kid, but that's been a while. Where does one go to collect these days, ebay, local coin shops? Any good web sites?

I'll do some googling this weekend but I can always use advice from pros.

Thanks,

 

[kranky]

Enable your PMs.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Have him or her do it for fun and don't consider it an investment, it's a bad one.

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Have him or her do it for fun and don't consider it an investment, it's a bad one.

Tell that to a guy that used to work for me. He's got some nickles that are worth a couple thousand. He only paid a few hundred for them.

Of course, I tend to agree with you because I've never seen the point of paying more than face value for a piece of currency. Think about it, your kid could buy a rare dollar coin for several hundred dollars, but then take it to the candy store he could only get a dollars worth of gummy worms.

 

[John P]

Enable your PMs.

I would if I knew how, where do I go to enable it?

Have him or her do it for fun and don't consider it an investment, it's a bad one.

Believe me, it is just for fun. I just don't want to get ripped off by those who are doing it as an investment (selling for huge profit to clueless people).

 

[DaveSimmons]

Sure, with any collectibles there will be some people who make a killing on a few of their purchases.

Many years ago I sold a few copies of X-Men #94 for a hundred times what I paid for them, but overall I probably broke even at best collecting comics. My parents invested heavily in coins years ago and lost thousands.

Collect < whatever > for fun, invest in mutual funds for profit

 

[DainBramaged]

Originally posted by: John P.

Enable your PMs.

I would if I knew how, where do I go to enable it?

Profile > Personal Options > PM's On

 

[TraumaRN]

Do what me and my dad do, check all our change for anything rare which can lead to some little gems. I got a nickel from 1948 the other day i could tell when i got the change because the nickel made a different noise(made with silver back then) other then that check out estate sales never know what you'll find there and often times it's MUCH cheaper than a store.

My dad's been doing it for about 25-30 years and i've been doing it since I was about 12 between the two of us we have a few THOUSAND dollars worth of rare coins.

 

[jonessoda]

I have a rather large collection of pennies from various years and mints... including wheat and steel pennies...

 

[John P]

Profile > Personal Options > PM's On

Thanks! I thought that was a column heading, didn't know it was clickable

 

[ruffilb]

Can't help you here, but I'd like to emphasize the advice given by others - try not to spend too much, and don't be looking for any sort of long-term pay-off.

 

[kranky]

Checking change isn't for everyone, but if you enjoy the thrill of the hunt, it can be rewarding. Go to a rural bank and ask for rolls of half dollars - you'd be surprised how many silver halves are still out there. And a silver half dollar today has about $3 worth of silver, so that's a pretty good profit. What you don't want to keep, cash back in at the bank. The only investment is time.

A guy I know who REALLY knows his coins recently found a 1983 cent that is worth $5,000 if not more. It looks exactly like every other normal 1983 cent. The only difference is it weighs 0.6 grams more than it should. He has weighed countless 1983 cents hoping to find a "good" one. And he finally did. So if you find any cent dated 1983 or after that weighs 3.1 grams, you've hit the jackpot. There are only 4 known to exist so far, though.

DeathBUA, the nickels with some silver content were made from mid-1942 through 1945.

 

[John P]

Actually my kid was mainly interested in old dollar bills. Any good sources for those?

 

[Cattlegod]

How old is he/she?

could you get by with just going to the bank and exchanging a couple hundred bucks for dollar bills and have him sift through them? would keep him busy for a day or so.

 

[kranky]

PM sent.

 

[John P]

could you get by with just going to the bank and exchanging a couple hundred bucks for dollar bills and have him sift through them? would keep him busy for a day or so.

He's only 9 so this is just for fun. Don't they discard paper currency after a certain time? I would think there wouldn't be anything very exciting still in circulation.

 

[kranky]

They don't pull it out of circulation based on age, but on condition. When the currency counting machines detect a bill that's worn past the threshhold, it gets kicked out into a reject pile.

Paper money isn't durable enough to last long as it is, and they are pretty good about pulling beat-up pieces out of circulation when they get to a bank. So it's very hard to find old paper money in circulation. But you can buy most types pretty cheap from dealers.