Your Guide to Collecting Precious Coins for The First Time
Collecting coins is a hobby. It is an amalgam of love for history, art, geography, and economics – all embodied in coins of precious metals. Collecting coins is not only limited to a hobby. It’s also considered to be a smart investment. If you’re starting to collect coins and have no idea where to begin, this blog is for you.
A Brief History
The act of coin collecting dates back to Ancient Rome and Mesopotamia. Their state treasuries collected and archived coins, and introduced the discipline of numismatics.
Emperor Augustus would frequently present unique coins as gifts to notables and friends. Fast forward to the 19th century, modern coin collecting started in Italy during the Renaissance and has been carried to this day.
What to Buy
For a person collecting coins for the first time, we won’t advise you to buy coins from different collectors. There’s an entire jargon for coins that you need to accustom yourself with first. The best place to begin is with a silver or a gold dealer like Orion Metal Exchange. As sellers of bullion coins, most of our collection comprises of modern silver and gold coins that you can collect.
Our collection includes silver and gold coins from Canadian Maple Leaf, American Eagle, Canadian Mint Polar Bear, and Great Britain Queens Beast.
Before you begin your collection, make sure that you know the numismatic terms. Below are 4 of the main qualities that you should know:
Composition
The composition of a coin means what material it’s made from its primary metal and its purity. The most valued coins that you can collect are:
- 9999 gold. It means that it has 99.99% purity. Royal Canadian Mint has this kind of purity.
- 95% platinum
- 99% silver
The American Eagle Gold Coin is the most famous collectible coin. Although it has a low purity level of 91.67%, it’s a heavy coin and contains an ounce of pure gold. The best way to determine purity is the millesimal system, but you may also come across terms like karats. If a bar of gold is 24 karats, it’s considered to be 99.95% pure. American Eagle Gold Coins are 22 karats with their low purity levels.
Face Value
A coin’s face value is not as important as it’s precious metal composition. But if you buy gold and silver coins by the Royal Canadian Mint, their face value resembles the legal currency. When you purchase precious metal coins, you pay for gold and silver, not their face value. However, when you get really into the collection, you’d focus on its face value as well.
Finish
As a coin collector, you should consider finish as an essential aspect of a coin. There are two finishes or textures that you should know.
- Proof: The coin has been struck twice for a prominent relief.
- Reverse Proof: A surface that reflects
Mintage
It means the number of coins that were minted that year. It is related to the rarity of the coin. However, it doesn’t mean that a coin with low mintage will be expensive in the coming times.
It also depends on the history of the coin and its significance at that time. For instance, a coin made in 2016 won’t be as valued in 2050, as a coin, which was the first minted bullion coin in 1967.
If you’re beginning to collect precious coins, head over to Orion Metal Exchange. We have a vast collection of gold and silver coins. We also offer private security vaults, safe home storage, and home delivery.
