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Fun With Coins

The Joys Of Being A Penny Collector

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Some people go head over heels for Bust halves while others sing praises for Buffalo nickels. But, I? What coin is it that I love most? It’s the penny – more specifically, the Lincoln cent. Why did I become a penny collector? What is it about the little copper coin bearing the bust of our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, that has lured me to collect these coins for most of my life? Well, there was one prevailing factor – pennies comprised about 80% of the coins in my piggy bank back … [Read more...]

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Have a Silver Penny That’s NOT a 1943 Steel Cent? Here’s How to Find Out What You Have

silver penny

A lot of people leaving comments here at The Fun Times Guide to Coins have been asking me about their silver pennies. Of course, many of these silver one-cent coins are 1943 pennies, which really aren’t silver pennies. They're actually made with zinc-coated steel. However, many of these inquiries about silver pennies have nothing to do with 1943 Lincoln cents or even the highly rare 1944 steel cent (a mint error caused by leftover steel coin blanks getting accidentally getting stamped … [Read more...]

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Looking Through Penny Rolls Can Be Rewarding and Fun

penny-rolls

Ever since I first started collecting coins, I’ve been checking penny rolls from banks and grocery stores for scarce and old coins. I don’t honestly know what prompted me to start doing that, especially as I was only a kid and no one had told me that searching rolls of coins is one of the most efficient and successful ways to make interesting finds in circulation. From wheat cents to foreign coins and off-center coins, too, I’ve found all types of scarce, unique, intriguing, and … [Read more...]

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Metal Detecting Coins: Rare Coins Are Just Below The Surface

metal-detecting-coins

Collecting coins is an exciting hobby for anyone who enjoys discovering history. It is a fact that every day people get change with their purchases, but how many of us really take a close look at each piece? You never know when a rare United States coin will end up in your pocket. But the excitement behind the possibilities in coin collecting begins with knowledge about which coins are considered rare and how much they are worth. And the rarest coins are more likely purchased, unless … [Read more...]

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Short Sets – The Short Cut to Completing Coin Sets on a Budget

coin short sets

There is perhaps nothing more frustrating to a coin collector than wanting to complete an entire date-and-mintmark run of coins and not being able to afford the goal. For example, collecting the entire series of Lincoln cents, to date, could cost a typical coin collector more than $2,000 when taking into account the cost of rare dates, such as the 1909-S V.D.B., 1909-S, 1914-D, and 1931-S. Add in the 1922 plain cent – a rare variety customarily included in many Lincoln sets – and the … [Read more...]

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The Value Of Sharing My Coin Collection With The People I Love

coin collection value

As most pastimes go, it’s always better to share coin collecting with the ones you love than to go about it solo. I have learned this as I have grown into the hobby I have loved since my boyhood and now enjoy as a young man. Now in my early 30s, I find immense value in sharing my coin collection and my passion for numismatics with the people in my life who are most important to me.   Mixing Coins And Romance Can Be A Beautiful Thing … [Read more...]

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Fun With Coins In My Pocket Change Jar

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For a long time, I’ve been wanting to do a relatively simply experiment with my pocket change – sort out the coins in a jar that I have and see how many  tcoins I could find from each decade, mint, etc. So, just a while ago, I did. The results will interest you! For the record, I live near a major city in the Southeast United States, and there is considerable tourist traffic. So, you may expect to see some mixture when it comes to mintmarks. Also, this is change that I have received … [Read more...]

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Buying Back The Coin I Lost: One Coin Collector’s Story Of Seller’s Remorse

The coin I "lost" - a 1799 Draped Bust silver dollar. photo by Joshua at The Fun Times Guide

Coin collectors always have a story about the coin they lost, coins that they either once had but sold and wish they had back, or coins they saw for sale but passed up because they were looking for a better deal – or simply couldn’t afford the coin. I have had a similar experience. The coin? A 1799 Draped Bust dollar. Ever since I was a young coin collector, a bright eyed 12-year-old, it had been one of my goals to own an early silver dollar. Of course, I wanted an 1804 Draped … [Read more...]

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My First Coin: The Gateway Into A Fun Hobby

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We all started with our first coin. Everybody has a story as to how they got involved in coin collecting. Here's a brief story of my first coin and how I began my long and enjoyable journey into coin collecting...   The 1941 Lincoln Wheat Penny It was October 1992. Mom had been giving me some small change as spending money in exchange for little tasks and chores I was doing around the house. … [Read more...]

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Ways To Have Fun With Coins: Make Coin Art

Coins are, for many people, more than simply a monetary medium or collectible objects of economic realm. Coins can also be used as art. While, as a coin collector and numismatist, I don't personally advocate the mutilation of coins, I do respect the notion that coins can be a very important element in art and want to share a few brief examples of coin art. Coin Art People have been using coins in jewelry, watches, and other forms of artistic expression for decades. It's not too … [Read more...]

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