Where to Start

I began collecting coins as a teen, and, like many young adults, I purchased the Whitman Lincoln Cent coin folders and started a Lincoln Cent series set. I remember trading in a dollar for a couple of rolls of cents, searching those rolls, and then exchanging rolls for another pair. I eventually graduated to ten dollars and was not the most welcome client at the bank. The best-looking coins I found would be placed in the folder. As the collection grew, I traded in the Whitman coin folders for the Whitman coin albums with the plastic windows. Unfortunately, my interest waned in my college and adult years. As an older adult, I found that the national attention given to the discontinuation of the Lincoln Cent piqued my interest in coin collecting. As before, I purchased the Whitman Lincoln Cent coin folders and started a Lincoln Cent series set. In my naivete, I purchased four pounds of “unsearched” Lincoln Cents (Wheat reverse) and relived the experience of searching for coins to fill my folders.

However, I quickly learned that the world and I had both changed. Unlike the person I was as a child, happy to search rolls of cents to fill his coin album with whatever coins were found, the person I am today desires higher-quality coins. Early Lincoln Cents of reasonable quality would not be found in these bulk purchases. Acquiring such coins online carried the risk of purchasing coins that had been cleaned, a common but disfavored practice used to attract a less-informed buyer such as me. The best-looking coins were no longer the best coins for my collection. After a few bad purchases, I was completely at sea in how to build my coin collection. I took a step back and reassessed my approach to coin collecting, which I summarize below.

Education

The first step in successful coin collecting is education. Hence the adage, “Buy the book before the coin.” A basic understanding of coins, how they are minted, how they are graded, and how they are valued is paramount. At a minimum, collectors should know what they do not know. A basic introduction from the American Numismatic Association is available here.

I highly recommend the courses in the American Numismatic Association’s Diploma Program: (a) Introduction to Numismatics, (b) Grading U.S. Coins, (c) Detecting Counterfeit and Altered Coins, and (d) The Modern Minting Process & U.S. Minting Errors and Varieties. Some parts of the introduction were a bit monotonous, but overall, I found the courses very helpful.

Despite taking those classes, I still have difficulty determining whether a coin has been cleaned, except in the most obvious cases. I have purchased several coins that I believed warranted submission to the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), only to have them returned as non-graded. Understanding that the shine on an early Lincoln Cent is more likely due to cleaning than to preservation is a risk one must accept if one is to collect uncertified Lincoln Cents. That is not to say that such coins lack numismatic value, but only that a collector needs to understand what is being purchased. I have wondered how often a grading service is paid to grade the same coin, as it is not unheard of for such a coin to be removed from its holder and sold to an unsuspecting buyer, who then submits it for grading again.

Deciding What and How to Collect

Each collector needs to decide what they want to collect based on their interests and financial commitment. A type set of early gold coinage is likely out of reach for many collectors. Even a Lincoln Cent series set may be difficult to compile in higher grades due to the series’ longevity.

However, an uncertified type set of the different quarter reverse designs of the twenty-first century would be a decent choice for a collector of modest means. In general, since 1999, there have been five different reverses on the United States quarter, each with its own story to tell. For example, the first of the Fifty States Quarters represented the State of Delaware. The reverse depicts Caesar Rodney’s historic 1776 seventy-mile horseback ride through a thunderstorm from Dover to Philadelphia to cast the tie-breaking vote for Delaware in favor of the Declaration of Independence. One cannot help but contemplate the significance of that ride. Without it, would we be celebrating Independence Day on the Fifth of July, or would we be enjoying tea and crumpets that day?

Once a collector decides which coins to collect, the next question is whether the set is to be composed of certified or non-certified coins. In general, a set should contain one or the other, but not both. However, nothing prohibits maintaining separate certified and uncertified sets. Uncertified sets of older coins present a greater risk than uncertified sets of twenty-first-century coins. For certified sets, consider limiting the set to a single top-tier grading service. Avoid lower-tier grading services.

Finally, the coins in a set should be of similar grade. I have found it helpful to set grading standards for each set in my collection to discourage impulse purchases of coins simply to fill a slot, only to be replaced later. For longer running sets, the standards I set generally become more lenient the further back in time one goes.

Finally, I would recommend that the first set in any collection be a type set, as it provides an introduction to a wider variety of coins and may help in deciding on that first series set. For collectors of modest means, the type set could be limited to modern-era coins.

How to Present and Store a Collection

After deciding which coins to collect, a collector must decide how to store and display the collection. For uncertified coins, the choices are polyethylene or cardboard coin flips, coin snaps or capsules, coin folders or coin albums (the latter being the albums with plastic windows). Folders and albums are convenient for viewing, but coin snaps or capsules may offer better protection, especially for uncirculated coins, where any potential for direct contact should be avoided. For series sets, I use a combination of Dansco Coin Albums and coin snaps for un-slotted varieties. For type sets, I use coin snaps for the entire set.

For certified coins, the choices are albums with ENCAP pages or coin boxes. I’m still weighing the two, but coin boxes will likely win out due to lower storage requirements. I insert holders in a 2 mm polyethylene sleeve to guard against scratches. In the age of digital photography, a digital album can serve as an adequate method of presentation rather than maintaining coins in albums. Coin boxes offer the added benefit of Intercept-grade protection and safe deposit storage for higher-value coins.

For those in a moister climate, I would recommend placing these boxes and albums in large 4 mm polyethylene bags with silica packets as an additional layer of protection to assuage lingering concerns that even encapsulated coins can suffer environmental damage. Have I mentioned that I have a habit of overthinking a problem?

Tracking

Coin Albums have the added benefit of simplifying the process of determining which coins are in a collection and which are missing. Otherwise, as a collection grows, the collector will need to develop a method of tracking which coins are in their collection. Such tracking is also helpful for insurance and estate planning.

I evaluated software developed for such tasks and was not impressed. There are websites that allow collectors to track their coins. Some have the option to upload photographs as well. Coin grading services provide registries for their certified coins, which also allow entry of non-certified coins and coins graded elsewhere. Microsoft Access and Microsoft Excel are reasonable alternatives.

I currently use Microsoft Access, which offers features beyond those in Microsoft Excel, such as queries, forms, and reports. In the database, I track coins, along with their certification numbers, grades, cost bases, and locations. Microsoft Access assigns a unique identifier to each coin, and I affix a small label to each coin holder (e.g., an encapsulated slab or a coin snap; not to coins in an album) to quickly identify a specific coin.

The Day After – Other Coin Collecting Activities

Coin collecting is more than collecting coins. Except for perhaps the wealthiest among us, there is a limit to the coins that can be acquired. A collector of twenty-first-century uncertified circulated coins has the luxury of searching coin rolls indefinitely. Otherwise, there will come a day for the rest of us when coin collecting must be more than collecting coins. On that day, other activities must take the center stage. General collection bookkeeping, such as updating the list above of the collection’s coins and their approximate grades and values, can be brought up to date. An inventory of the collection should be taken periodically. Photographing coins in the collection is a bonus. Educational activities are always an option. Although generally falling under educational activities, read a book on the coin series you are collecting. After that, I address my addiction by researching which coins might warrant adding to my type sets and writing about what I have learned from my coin-collecting activities. Hence, this online journal.

Patience and Diligence are Your Allies

Coin grading is subjective, and coins with the same grade may differ significantly in appearance. Except for the rarest of circumstances, a particular listing of a coin for sale or auction will not be the only opportunity to obtain that exemplar for your set. If the coin does not meet the grading standards for your set or the eye appeal is just not there, simply pass on the coin rather than dealing with buyer’s remorse after delivery. Also, for highly available, low-cost, certified coins, consider the condition of the holder, as the cost of re-holding might exceed the value of the coin.

Additionally, there is a psychology to auctions that compels bidders to abandon preset budgets. I am the poster child for such abandonment. Again, the auction will not be the only opportunity to obtain that exemplar for your set. Prior to bidding, review the coin carefully for any defects that might render it unacceptable for your collection – both the obverse and the reverse. Determine the coin’s approximate value and set a budget for it. My worst purchases have been on coins where I did not follow these simple guidelines.

Additional diligence is required for online purchases other than those made at the top-tier auction houses. This is paramount for uncertified coins, but it is also necessary when purchasing certified coins. At a minimum, the following steps should be taken.

Research the seller. For online retailers, basic research into the company should be conducted. During my earlier activities, I had considered legal action against one online site, not because I had made a sizable purchase, but because, after receiving the coin, it became apparent that the company was intentionally misrepresenting the coins it was selling, and I believed it should be held accountable. Unfortunately, after a search of state records, I could not determine an address or the owners of the company to bring suit.

For eBay sellers, it is generally not possible to conduct such research, though some sellers do have their own retail sites. Pay attention to how many transactions the seller has completed and to negative comments posted about the seller as indications of questionable sales practices. Buyers should be aware that eBay has recently added limitations to its guarantee for coin purchases.

Avoid sellers without a return policy. In general, I do not return coins simply because of buyer’s remorse, as I see this as unfair to the seller. However, I will return a coin if it is not the one depicted in the listing, unless the seller identifies the image as a stock photograph. This is done out of principle – there should be consequences for bad behavior. Further, pay attention to the seller’s return policy. To prevent a buyer from returning a different coin, some sellers require the coin to be in its original, sealed mylar coin flip.

Avoid sellers who use stock photographs. For uncertified coins, the image is all you have to make a decision. That online retailer I discussed earlier used stock photographs, but also advised the buyer to make their own evaluation of the graded coins. Unsure how to reconcile the two statements. The website indicated that actual photographs were available upon request, but, after finding the buried customer service email address, all requests for photographs went unanswered.

Note: Non-certified coins of recent mintage are generally available in high grades at low cost from reputable online retailers, and may warrant an exception.

Even for certified coins, the stock photograph will likely not be the worst coin in the seller’s inventory. This 1968-S Proof Lincoln Cent, Type 3 Memorial Reverse, bought from a seller using stock photographs, was graded by PCGS as PR-69, which should indicate a coin without any significant blemishes. The stock photo had no perceivable blemishes. The two spots on the right along the rim on this coin’s obverse were simply not acceptable to me for a coin at that grade. Because the seller had a free return policy, I returned the coin.

For the same reasons, avoid listings without high-quality images. It is not unheard of for some sellers to use lower-quality images, special lighting, or other techniques to make it difficult to see defects in a coin.

Track Sellers. Maintain a list of sellers with whom you have interacted and whether the experience was positive or negative. I assign to each seller a rating – Positive, Neutral, Mixed, Negative – that shapes future purchase decisions with that seller.

Pay by Credit Card. If there is even the slightest doubt about a seller, insist on paying by credit card, as it offers some protection if the item you receive is not the item you purchased.

Ignoring my own advice, I once bid on a gold coin on an auction platform (not eBay) before researching the seller, only to learn shortly thereafter that the company had a questionable reputation. Having submitted the winning bid, I requested cancellation of the transaction but was informed there was a 25% restocking fee. Not wanting to pay such a steep penalty, I decided to pay by credit card in case there was an issue with the coin received. Although a credit card was listed as a payment option, the company informed me it could not accept credit cards and that I would have to pay by wire transfer. I pointed out that the listing stated otherwise and was “informed” that the company was in the process of revising its listings. Do not be pressured into paying by check or wire. Here, I informed the company that refusing to accept credit card payment violated its own terms and conditions governing the transaction and that, accordingly, I was under no obligation to complete the transaction. I never heard from the company again.

Risk Tolerance

It is likely that every coin collector will at some point purchase a coin that has been cleaned or otherwise altered. This is inevitable for collectors who collect early, uncertified coins. I purchased a 1909-S VDB uncertified coin on an eBay live auction, which came back from PCGS as UNC CLEANED. Since then, two other coins from the same seller have come back as cleaned. This is the basis for my belief that the shine on an early Lincoln Cent is more likely due to cleaning than to preservation. I have also had coins previously certified by a second-tier grading service come back from PCGS as non-transferrable because the coin has been cleaned. As technology and grading standards evolve, it is likely that even coins previously graded by PCGS might no longer warrant the same grade. This is the nature of coin grading services today.

At the end of the day, the advice given in the second of four American Numismatic Association’s Diploma Program courses is the best advice I can pass on: “Buy the coin, not the holder.” That is, don’t let the coin’s grade distract you from focusing on its appearance. Perhaps it does come back to the days of my youth, when the best-looking coins are the coins placed in my collection.

References

The United States Mint. (Last Updated January 7, 2026.) Delaware State Quarter. https://www.usmint.gov/learn/coins-and-medals/circulating-coins/quarter/50-state-quarters/delaware.