Best Coin Supplies For Young Collectors

The young coin collector just entering the hobby needs a way to store their coin collection — just like the adults who enjoy coin collecting so much.

The difference is, sometimes young numismatists need coin collecting supplies that are particularly suitable for their little hands, desire for fun, and tendency for mishandling.

What do you buy for the young person’s coin collection?

Here are some ideas…

Coin Folders

Coin folders are a great way to store a youngster’s coin collection.

Why?

For a few reasons. First of all, consider the low price of a coin folder. Most coin folders can be bought for less than $5, which makes it easy on your wallet and also allows the young collector to easily afford buying one with their own money, too.

While coin folders may not be best for protecting the most valuable coins, they are perfectly fine for collections of worn, inexpensive coins that need a good place to be housed. They also provide a systematic sense of organization. Young collectors will enjoy watching their folders fill up over time with the coins they need to complete their collections.

Also, coin folders are durable enough to withstand the sometimes-clumsy hands of a young collector.

Coin folders can be found on Amazon.

Magnifier

Every coin collector needs the ability to look at coins up close.

While older collectors appreciate a high-quality glass and metal coin loupe, young coin collectors may be better off with a simpler magnifying glass.

Don’t start the young collector off with a cheap magnifier, though! What is most important is to find a magnifier that is made from a strong material that will not shatter if it is dropped.

Consider buying a magnifier with 3X-5X magnification, which will bring up enough detail to get the young collector’s eyes primed for viewing mint marks, wear (or lack thereof), and some basic errors. Magnifiers can be found at a variety of general goods stores, including coin dealers.

Coin Displays

When the U.S. Mint first began its 50 State Quarters program in 1999, it seemed the coin supply industry entered a whole new era of marketing.

Over the last 10 years, dozens of distinct, colorful, educational, and informational coin displays have appeared on coin dealers’ and bookstores’ shelves. Most are tailored to the collector of 50 State Quarters, but several are also geared toward those collecting the Presidential dollars, which were first struck in 2007.

These coin displays include places to house each of the coins in the major series and usually give information, data, or some interesting facts about the designs on the coins meant to be contained within the display.

Coin displays cost anywhere from $10 to $40, based on the size, quality, and nature of the display. Consider, for example, this colorful 50 State Quarters display available at Amazon.

At any rate, shop around online or at your local brick-and-mortar coin dealer or bookstore to find one of the many exciting coin displays meant to enthuse and educate the young coin collector.

Vinyl Coin Flips And Pocket Pages

Does your young collector show signs of hoarding a bunch of coins without regard to date or mint mark?

Do they seem to like certain random coins that may not fit in a themed coin folder or display?

If so, then you might want to get some vinyl 2″ x 2″ coin flips and vinyl pages with pockets.

What the young collector would do is place their coins into the 2″ x 2″ pouches, then place the pouches into the vinyl pocket pages.

The vinyl pocket pages can usually hold 20 pouches; they somewhat resemble sports card pages. The pages can be easily housed in a common 3-ring binder. This will help keep the young collector’s coins organized and safely stored away without having to confine their interests to the limits of a coin folder’s theme.

Vinyl coin flips can usually be purchased for less than $5 for 25 and vinyl coin pocket pages can be found for less than $1 each.

A Box For Coins

Teach the young collector from the beginning the importance of choosing a safe place to store their coins. A coin collection does not deserve to be lying around on the dresser, placed in the toy chest, or stowed away in a glass jar. A coin collection needs a special, safe, designated place to call home.

Buy your child a simple, metal lock box. Or, if you think your young coin collector may not be able to (or want to) fumble with keys to get to their coin collection, then purchase or find a cigar box (but you might be wise to remove the cigar labels before giving the box to the young child). Your youngster can dress up the box any way they desire — but do avoid using a lot of glue, paper, or plastic containing polyvinyl-chloride (PVC), as these materials can cause coins to degrade over time.

Also, keep the box away from heat, sunlight, fumes, and moisture, and tell the young coin collector the importance of not dropping the box or jingling the coins inside — which can cause the coins to suffer damage.