Ways to Collect

There are several popular approaches to collecting coins. For example, you can collect by series , type, theme and date. You can collect the coins you use everyday such as pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters - or buy specially minted coins made by the United States Mint including proof coins, uncirculated coins, mint sets, commemoratives and American Eagle bullion coins. You can also collect foreign and ancient coins.

Types of Collections

1. Series collection.   "Roosevelt dimes from 1946 to the present" is an example of a collectable series. To complete such a set, you would need to acquire one coin from each year and from each mint branch that produced the coin. In this case, you would need nickels from the United States Mint's Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco facilities.
2. Type set.  A type set of coins contains one example of each of the major design used for a chosen denomination. For example, for a nickel type set, you would need one of each of the four major types of nickels. Each type has varieties, which you could add to your collection to make it more complete.
3. Date collection.  This set includes a variety of coins made in one particular year, such as the year you were born or a wedding anniversary. In the past, design items that were altered have included arrows, stars, lines, hair curls, and leaves.
4. Theme.  Some people collect coins that showcase presidents or other political figures, the Olympics or birds and animals. You can choose a subject that is of special interest to you, and look for coins that relate to that subject.
5. U.S. Coins.  Your collection can include everyday coins or coins specially minted by the United States Mint such as proof, uncirculated, and commemorative coins.
6. Foreign Coins.  You can collect foreign coins by different features, for example:
   • By topic (coins with a specific topic depicted on at least one of the two sides)
   • By country
   • By a historical event, such as World War II or the sinking of the Titanic
   • By denomination, such as the Crown, a coin about the size of an American silver dollar. Crowns have been produced by Hungary, Brazil, England, and the Dominican Republic.
7. Ancient Coins.  Before coins were machine-made, they were individually struck or poured by hand. Unlike modern coins, ancient coins (from countries like Greece and Rome) were not uniformly round, and their designs were highly raised.

Aug 13, 2007
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