Collecting Coins
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Collecting Coins For Investment or Hobby
During the course of the twentieth and early twenty first century collecting coins has greatly expanded from being merely the preserve of the wealthy. With increasing levels of leisure time and disposable income, many more people now have the means to discover the pleasure to be had from building up a collection of coins. Traditionally seen as the preserve of Kings, the modern hobby of collecting coins can perhaps be said to have begun with the founding of the International Coin Collectors Convention, held in Detroit in 1962.
Whilst experts cannot agree on which people first produced coins for use in payment for goods, most do agree that the area extending in an arc from modern Turkey to India is their probable place of origin, sometime in the seventh to sixth century B.C. What is certain, from a modern coin collectors viewpoint, is that with two and a half millennia of coins to choose from, coin collectors have one of the most diverse and interesting hobbies available, and one in which just about anyone, whatever their means, can build up over time a large, interesting and unique collection.
There are many thousands of different types of coin and and perhaps just as many types of collectors. Some collectors see their collections as an investment for the future, perhaps as a retirement fund. This type of collector will typically choose to invest in limited edition coins or those struck in gold or silver, Krugerrands, the American Gold Eagle and the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf are good examples of these. Of course these coins could just as easily be part of a collection of gold or silver coins which could include examples from all over the world, from those produced in Antiquity right through the medieval period and down to the present day.
A collection of historic coins can appeal to the collector on several levels. In ancient times coins were produced in pure gold or silver and can therefore literally be worth their weight in gold. On an artistic level many historic coins are objects of beauty in their own right. For example the diversity of design and simple beauty of a collection of Celtic gold staters from around the time of Christ can be captivating. Small enough to be balanced on a fingertip they can not only tell the tale of the effects of the invasions of Gaul and Britain on the native societies but they are a physical link between those people and ourselves. For Americans it can be a thrill to hold a coin which was minted and in circulation during the Revolution or Civil War eras. Other commonly collected coins include those struck during the Roman, Byzantine and Greek Empires.
Many National Mints now produce commemorative issues aimed at collectors. Not intended for general circulation they can be standard coins or specially produced limited editions. Anniversaries such as the D-Day landings, Royal Weddings and Olympic Games are all commonly commemorated in this way. Some collectors like to specialize in what is known as Error Coins. These are coins which either contain an error in the artwork which was not noticed before some coins were produced or were maybe damaged during the production process and managed to slip through quality control.
The advent of the internet has been a great aid in coin collecting. No longer tied to coin fairs and specialized dealers which may be many miles away, the internet has been a great tool for both buyers and sellers of coins, enabling even the most obscure collection to become a reality.
No longer the preserve of Kings and the relatively wealthy the hobby of collecting coins has come a long way in the last century. Whether you see your coin collection purely as an investment, as a historical collection, a collection of art, or perhaps all three, there has never been a better time to invest in this diverse and rewarding hobby.
Spare Change Ep01: Coin collecting do's and dont's (gold and silver coins too)
Related Site - Silverbullionandcoins.com - specialist in Silver Bullion Coin
