Money Collecting

History

The hobby of money collecting, and in particular, coin collecting, has been around since ancient times. Some of the earliest known coin collectors were the Roman emperors; collections of ancient Greek coins have been identified as belonging to Augustus and Julius. At this time, the hobby of coin collecting was reserved to the exceedingly wealthy, as poorer classes would have found it impractical to use the money for anything other than the purchasing of goods. During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, coin collecting continued to be a pastime of royalty and the nobility. Pope Boniface VIII, Holy Roman Emperor Maximillian, and Louis XIV are all recorded as having enjoyed the hobby of money collecting.

This hobby is also known as numismatics, and practitioners of it are known as numismatists. A related term, notaphily, is applied to the hobby of collecting paper money. This aspect of the hobby first became popular in Europe during the early part of the twentieth century.

During the nineteenth century, the notion of developing national collections took root, as did the concept of publishing catalogues recording such collections. Even into the twentieth century, the hobby concentrated primarily on the collecting of ancient coins.

Modern numismatics took shape after World War II and focuses on the collection of machine-struck coins, including all of the coins of the modern era. The quality of a collection is measured by the origins of the coins, scarcity of production, and mint-made errors.

Things to Look For

Modern coins are valued according to their date of issue, though minting errors increase their worth. Some coins are also valued based on the nature of the material with which they were minted. A guide book or an Internet search can provide a numismatist with a listing of valuable coins.

The issue of authenticity occasionally arises in the area of numismatics. Some coins have been altered to resemble certain minting errors, and it takes a close examination to identify the distinction between a legitimate error and a counterfeit copy. These coins are generally altered by an individual wishing to claim ownership of a valuable coin or to sell a coin for more than it is actually worth.

Coins produced by companies such as the Franklin Mint are often significantly overpriced compared to their actual resale value. It is not unusual for these coins to be resold at the melting value of the gold or silver contained within the coin. Similarly, coins marketed as gold plated are often worth little more than their face value. Because of these marketing tactics, it is very important for collectors to research the true value of specialty coins before accepting a suggested price. Coins produced by private mints are generally collected separately from standard currency.

Trends

The United States Mint often influences trends in numismatism by releasing specialty coins for specific occasions. For example, the 1976 bicentennial quarter, issued for America's bicentennial celebration, replaced the production of standard quarters for the years 1975 and 1976. Because it was mass-produced, the coin has not increased greatly in value, although they are increasingly harder to find since the introduction of the 50 State Quarters Program in 1999. Similarly, the Eisenhower silver dollar, which was issued from 1971 to 1978 with two distinctly different reverse sides, and the Franklin half-dollar, issued from 1948 to 1963, are steadily increasing in value as they are no longer issued and are rarely found in circulation.

In 1999, the United States Mint reissued the Susan B. Anthony dollar, but changed its composition to make it more distinct from the quarter coin. This new dollar was struck with a copper core and outer layers of manganese brass, giving it a golden color. Despite these distinctions, dollar coins are rarely circulated, in favor of the more traditional paper dollar bill. In 2000, the U.S. Mint released the Sacagawea dollar coin. The Sacagawea coin looks very similar to the Susan B. Anthony coin, but bears the likeness of Sacagawea, the Shoshone guide and interpreter for explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their expedition across the Louisiana Territory.

Without a doubt, the single most significant event in recent years to increase the popularity of numismatics was the start of the 50 State Quarters Program. The program has excited a new generation of numismatists while also serving as an educational tool about American history.

Like most collecting hobbies, numismatics has had difficulty attracting young people in the twenty-first century. The Young Numismatists of America organization, founded in 1990 to attempt to attract younger people to the hobby, struggled to maintain enough interest to keep going; it had faded out of existence by 1997, and though it was briefly revived in 2001, within a few years it had again ceased to exist.

Collecting Money for Fun vs. Profit

Money collecting is generally not pursued for profit, but rather for the enjoyment of the collection. A hobbyist will occasionally part with a treasured find for profit, but generally the desirable coins available to collectors are sold when estates are liquidating a collection. If a collector decides to sell their collection during their lifetime, they will almost always recoup their investment and may make some profit on top of that—old coins rarely depreciate, and if they contain precious metals they will generally become more valuable over time. For coins not made of precious metals, however, the ability to profit is largely dependent upon stumbling across a coin being sold for less than its market value. Paper money can be more difficult to make a profit on, as it fluctuates more in price and is far easier to damage.

Learning More

Organizations

American Numismatic Association <http://www.money.org/AM/>

Florida United Numismatists (sponsor of the "largest annual coin show in America") <http://www.funtopics.com/>

Books

Berman, Neil S., and Ron Guth. Coin Collecting for Dummies. 2nd ed., Wiley Publishing, 2008.

Bressett, Kenneth E. Whitman Guide to Coin Collecting: An Introduction to the World of Coins. Rev. ed., Whitman Publishing, 2017.

"A Guide Book of United States Coins 2007" (60th Edition). Atlanta, GA: Whitman Publishing, 2006.

Mackay, James. The Complete Illustrated Guide to Coins & Coin Collecting. Hermes House, 2007.

Narbeth, Colin, and Simon Narbeth. Collecting Paper Money: A Beginner's Guide. Lutterworth Press, 2010.