Collector’s Corner: Beginning, building your collection
By Medicine Hat News on September 29, 2018.
Before I begin this week’s column I would like to thank everyone who attended our Coin & Stamp Show on Sept. 22. I hope everyone enjoyed it. Why do people collect stuff? The answer seems to be in primeval cultural living. For most people saving for a rainy day is normal. People may collect paintings, hockey cards, trains, silverware, jewelery, stamps, etc., and you soon get caught up in the rush of finding that certain item you are missing. It is no different for coins or stamps. There are several different ways of building a coin collection. Don’t get stuck on the glitter and the value of the coins, since there are far more important things to consider. When getting started don’t rush in but rather consider which country, type of coin, coin value, condition, and year of which the coins were minted. If you are not sure which direction you would like to go, you can always talk to someone who has experience and surely they would be happy and able to give you some valuable information. Most important, once completed, it will be yours and put together the way you wanted it. There is no right or wrong way to do it. Once you have decided which country you would like to collect, and the preferred denomination, then it would be time to start collecting. You may want to start with any loose change around the house, and if you don’t have much of that you can go to the bank and ask for a roll of the denomination you are looking for, then individually go through each coin. You may be surprised what you find. For the beginner, start with one field (such as pennies) and complete that, then go unto the next (possibly nickels), and so on. You will find that the most recent coins will be easy to find, and can be purchased at face value. As you need to find the older coins, you may find, you will have to pay more than face value to obtain them. Sometimes a family hand-me-down shows up on the internet or auction. If you are looking to buy, you must be very cautious and don’t pay too much. Make sure you do research first. Just because the ad may say “rare” that may not be the case. It might be rare to the sellers as they may not have seen it before, but could be common among the coin collectors. Again, if you aren’t sure ask someone who knows. These coins are called circulation coins, as they were made for circulation. A very popular year, and catches the eye of almost everyone is the 1967 coins (100th anniversary of Canada), which have the different animals on each of the coins. The penny has the dove, the nickel has the rabbit, the dime has the mackerel fish, the quarter has the bobcat, the fifty cent has the howling wolf, and the dollar has the Canada goose. Lastly, it is very important that you keep your coins in a safe place, free from contamination and atmospheric conditions. Humidity is not good for coins. Some eager beavers are inclined to polish old coins to make them new again. This is totally wrong and could devalue the coin. If you choose to clean your coins, the only thing I recommend is soak the coins in warm soapy water (mild dish soap like Dawn, etc.), then rinse the coins, and use a soft towel to remove unwanted blemishes or marks. If this does not work leave the coin as is; anything more will devalue the coin. Using anything stronger then dish soap may pit the coins. Collector’s Corner is contributed by the Medicine Hat Coin & Stamp Club. For questions or comments about coin or stamp collection email medhatcsc@live.com 8-7
