The Coin Collecting Den

So you’re interested in starting a coin collection? Great! Collecting can be a fascinating, and potentially profitable, lifelong hobby. But for many would be collectors, including myself, while the spirit is willing, the wallet is weak. In this post, I’m beginning a series on ways to get into the coin collecting game on the cheap.

One popular and easy way to start collecting coins is the U.S. State quarters. This series began in 1999 and continues through the end of 2008, with each state getting its own unique design. In 2009, six additional quarter designs were released for Washington D.C. and the US territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the US Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

The US quarters set is a great way to start for several reasons.

• Since the quarters were introduced in the order of states joining the Union, they are a great educational opportunity for kids to learn about the 50 states, as well as the often overlooked territories.
• The quarters are recent, so they are all in circulation. This makes them much easier to find compared to older collectibles. A quick search of your change or a roll of quarters from your bank is all you need to start!
• While easy to start, there are still enough different quarters to collect that the set won’t be completed in a day or two. Part of the enjoyment of collecting is finally finding the piece to complete a set, and collecting all 56 designs will take long enough to feel satisfying!
• Budget: 56 quarters is only $14. Double that to $28 if you decide to collect one from both the Denver and Philadelphia mints. Add a few more dollars for a nice folder to keep them all in, and you’ve started a great new hobby for less than $40!

US quarters are only one way to get started collecting on a budget. My next post will cover another great beginner set: the Presidential Dollars.

Yesterday the Mint announced sales of 19,468 American Buffalo Gold Proof coins through November 1, nearly equaling the entire 2008 production of 19,591 in one week of sales. No limits are in place for production or orders of the Buffalo coin, so it seems likely 2009 could surpass the 58,998 sales in 2007 for second highest mintage since the 246,267 coins sold in 2006, the first year they were offered.

The Mint also announced the 2009 US Virgin Islands First Day Coin Cover will be available for purchase Tuesday, November 10. The US Virgin Islands quarter is the last in the series of D.C. and the 5 US territories released this year. The First Day Cover will be limited to 20,000 units.

The Mint launched the US Virgin Islands quarter on Friday with a ceremony on the island of St. Thomas. The reverse design includes: an outline of the territory’s three major islands; the Bananaquit, the official bird of the United States Virgin Islands; the Yellow Cedar or Yellow Elder, its official flower; and a Tyre Palm Tree.  Inscriptions on the coin’s reverse are U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS and United in Pride and Hope. The Virgin Islands quarter is the fifth of six in the series of US territories and Washington, D.C. The sixth and final design, honoring the Northern Mariana islands will be released in late November.

If the previous four issues in the series are any indication, this will be another tough one to find in circulation, at least for a while. Total mintage of 82 million ties the American Samoa quarter for lowest production this year, less than half of the 172 million Washington, D.C. quarters produced to begin the series.