A guide for parents and grandparents
Coin collecting for kids: how a child starts, and what to look at first.
Coin collecting for kids needs very little to begin. A handful of change, a good light and an adult who is willing to look closely will carry a child through the first month. This guide is written for that adult.
What to look at on a coin
Every coin answers a few questions if you know where to look, and it helps to go through them out loud with one coin.
The date
The year a coin was struck is stamped on it. Sorting a pile of cents by date is a fine first job.
The mint mark
On United States coins a small letter shows where the coin was struck. P stands for Philadelphia, D for Denver, S for San Francisco and W for West Point. A Philadelphia coin may carry a P or no letter at all.
The country and the denomination
The name of the country is written on the coin, and so is the denomination, which is the amount the coin stands for. A coin from abroad says both in its own language.
The two sides
Collectors call the front of a coin the obverse and the back the reverse. On United States coins the obverse usually carries a portrait, and the reverse shows a building, an animal or an emblem.
How to hold a coin and how to store it
Collectors hold a coin by its edge, between the thumb and the forefinger, so that skin never touches the two faces. Fingers leave oils behind, and over the years those oils can leave marks. Practice over a folded towel, where a dropped coin lands softly.
Storage can be simple. A cardboard folder with a labeled hole for each date gives a child a goal, and paper envelopes or hard plastic tubes work as well. Stay away from soft vinyl pages, since many contain a plastic called PVC that can leave a green film on a coin over time. Keep the collection somewhere dry and away from heat.
Why coins are never cleaned
A child's first instinct is to make a dull coin shine, and it is worth heading that off early. Polish, baking soda and even a hard wipe with a cloth take away a thin layer of the surface, and the change cannot be undone.
Collectors want a coin's original surface, and they pay less for a coin that has been cleaned. The grading services, PCGS and NGC, mark a cleaned coin as such on its label. A dark old cent is exactly as it should be.
Where a first collection comes from
Pocket change is the place to begin. The quarters struck from 1999 through 2008 honor the fifty states, five new designs came out each year, and they still turn up at the register. Lincoln cents dated 1958 or earlier show two stalks of wheat on the back. Dimes and quarters dated 1964 or earlier are 90 percent silver, which is why they seldom turn up in change now.
A grandparent's jar is the next stop, and going through it together is half the pleasure. A roll of cents from the bank holds fifty coins, and whatever your child keeps can be replaced with ordinary change before the rest goes back.
A coin shop is worth a visit too. We are a coin and bullion shop in Grand Junction, Colorado, and the person behind a counter like ours can answer the questions a book leaves open.
Three simple first sets
A set gives a collection a finish line, and in coin collecting for kids three sets are within reach of any child with a jar of change. The first is one state quarter for each of the fifty states. The second is one Lincoln cent for every year your child has been alive. The third is a type set, which means one example of every design the jar gives up.
A fourth kind of set has no finish line at all. One coin from each country a family can find begins with whatever came home from a trip, and it teaches geography along the way.
A coin in the mail each month: the Cambist Club
For a child who likes the idea of coins from other places, we run the Cambist Club, the Gold Guy's coin club for kids. An adult signs up, and each month we mail one real coin from another country along with a country sheet about the place it came from.
The sheet explains how money works in that country and how its currency converts to the dollar. Membership also opens the club online. There are two age groups, ages 8 to 12 and ages 13 to 17, which choose the lessons and never the price. Membership has three levels, shipping is included, and coins go to addresses in the United States.
Which Gift Would They Keep?
If you are choosing a present and are still deciding, the gift quiz asks who it is for and what the day is. It ends with one suggestion and a place to start looking.
Frequently asked questions
What does a child need to start a coin collection?
Kids coin collecting can begin with what is already in the house. Some pocket change, a magnifying glass, a cardboard folder and a dry place to keep it all are enough for the first months.
Should my child clean old coins?
No. Cleaning removes part of a coin's surface, collectors pay less for a cleaned coin, and the grading services note cleaning on the label.
Will my child find silver coins in pocket change?
It happens, though seldom. Dimes and quarters dated 1964 or earlier are 90 percent silver, and most of them left circulation long ago. The pleasure for a child is in the looking.
Where can my child learn more about coins?
The United States Mint publishes pages for young collectors, and the American Numismatic Association runs programs for young numismatists. A club is another good teacher, and our guide to choosing a coin club for kids explains what to look for.
See the Cambist Club.
The club page shows what a member receives, a sample country sheet and the two age groups. An adult signs up, and the coin is the child's to keep.