Coin Collecting Basics

If you're new to numismatics, or the study of coin collecting, we'll teach you the basics: from help identifying your coins to where to buy and sell coins.
Five Pence Coins
What Is a Pence Coin?
The Japanese government ten Peso invasion currency note
What Is a Japanese Peso?
Printing $100 Bills
How Is Paper Money Made?
Several examples of banknotes produced in 1875
Who Appeared on the United States $20 Bill in 1875?
a photograph of the New Orleans mint circa 1907
The New Orleans Mint
the best place to buy coins of a man holding dollar bills and coins on the table
The Best Places to Buy Coins
series 1953-a two dollar bill
Facts and History of the Red Seal Two-Dollar Bill
A person's hand holding up a coin with a blurred background
Top 10 Best Resources for Coin Collectors
Silver Certificate of 1957
What Is a Silver Certificate?
The Carson City Mint in 1866
Carson City Mint Facts and Information
entrance way to the United States mint
How Are Coins Made?
The United States Mint at Philadelphia Visitor Center
The United States Mint at Philadelphia
Silver bullion coins on a scale
Troy Ounce vs. Ounce
coins on a balance scale
How Much Do My Coins Weigh?
a counterfeit coin being measured by a high precision digital caliper.
How to Detect Counterfeit Coins
Coins and a key
How to Identify, Price, and Value Old Coins
A coin collection in albums, folders, slabs, etc.
How to Sell the Coins That I've Inherited
Investment Quality Rare Coins.
5 Strategies for Investing in Rare Coins
coins of the United States.
The Coinage of The United States
How to clean coins
How to Clean Coins Safely and Easily
Foreign Coin Collection
Insider's Tips for Buying and Selling Coins
A typical local coin shop
How to Find a Local Coin Dealer
Planing coin in coin collection book
Cataloging Your Coin Collection
A Two-Headed Jefferson Nickel
How Do I Tell If a Two Headed Coin Is Genuine?
Morgan Silver Dollar
What Is a "BU" Coin?
no cleaning coins
Top 7 Ways to Ruin Your Coins
how many coins in a coin roll
How Many Coins Are in a Regular Roll of Coins?
Three lines of old pennies and one shiny new one
How to Tell if a Coin Has Been Cleaned
PVC damage on the surface of a coin.
What Is PVC Damage on Coins?
a close-up of a type II standing Liberty quarter
The Standing Liberty Quarter
United States coins
The Three Different Strike Types Used for Making Coins
US0050-2014-W-Kennedy-Half-Dollar-Reverse-Proof-Silver.jpg
Reverse Proof - What is a Reverse Proof Coin?
Two senior friends with coin album
Protect Your Coin Collection by Choosing the Best Coin Holders
Cameo Contrast on a Proof 1964 Kennedy Half-Dollar
What is a Proof Coin?
The edge of an Eisenhower dollar showing the clad layers of the coin
What are Clad Coins?
Placing a Mercury dime and a coin folder.
Coin Collecting Supplies for the Beginner
Example of a Mintmark on a United States Coin
What Is a Mint Mark?
Woman obscuring man's eyes with hand, giving present
20 Gifts For Your Favorite Coin Collector
Man with wallet holding assorted coins
Coin Price vs. Value
Kennedy Half-Dollar Struck Off-Center
Types of Mint Error Coins
cover and pages of The Coin Dealer Newsletter also called the Graysheet
What is the Wholesale Coin Price Guide that Coin Dealers Use?
Close-up view of a quarter.
Difference Between the Coin's Edge and Rim
a variety of coins
How to Safely Store Your Coin Collection
The edge of an Eisenhower dollar showing the clad layers of the coin
Reeded Edge Defined - What is a Reeded Edge?
A coin dealer inspecting a coin in his coin shop.
Numismatics
A variety of coin collecting supplies and equipment.
Protecting, Preserving and Storing Your Coin Collection
1966 United States Special Mint Set
Special Coins in a Special Mint Set
Selling Coins on eBay
Naturally Toned Coins
What Is Coin Toning and Its Effect on Value?
1881 PCGS MS-66 Morgan Dollar with Original Mint Luster
The Cartwheel Effect on Coins
Marcus Junius Brutus, Assassin of Caesar EID MAR
The EID MAR Denarius Coin - Beware the Ides of March
Close-up view of collection of Quarter dollars (25 cents) coins in album - numismatic collection
Coin Collecting Tips for Beginners
Vintage US coins
Learn How to Recognize Circulated Coins
numismatics album with different coins
All About Coin Folders and Coin Albums
United States half-dollar with Kennedy image
Uncirculated Coins and How to Identify Them
Jar full of pennies
5 Ways to Clean Your Pennies
1881 PCGS MS-66 Morgan Dollar with Original Mint Luster
A Definition of Mint Luster
an example of an NGC and a PCGS encapsulated coin holder
Slabbed Coins Offer the Best Protection
Silver Bullion and Coins
A Definition of Bullion Value
Cameo Contrast on a Proof 1964 Kennedy Half-Dollar
Cameo (CAM) on Proof Coins
Close-up of a woman's hands sorting coins
Coinflation.com - The Site About Coin Inflation
Phot comp of antique coins
Best Online Coin Auctions
illustration of the worst coins to collect
Top 5 Worst Coin Investments
1955 Doubled Die Obverse Lincoln Cent
What Are Doubled Die Coins and How to Identify Them