Coin collecting is the hobby of collecting coins or other legally minted currency. Many collectors focus on collecting rare coins, so those that were minted for a short period of time, contain minting errors, commemorate significant historical events or are exceedingly old are popular among coin collectors.

Other coin collections may be done for investment purposes. Collection gold bullion is a way to invest in gold with an easier way to store and transport the pieces.

Determining a Coin's Value You should learn about these 4 criteria before buying a coin:

1. Age: Age generally equals value. For newly minted coins for the collector's market or for gifts, the Mint State Grades, are valued by their how close they are to perfecthttp://www.amergold.com/library/value.shtml
2. Condition: Coins that are in bad condition will not be worth as much as ones in good condition. You can determine condition by the sharpness of the relief, the clearance of the lettering, and the edge symmetry.
3. Rarity: Rare coins are more valuable. Rarity is determined by how many of the coins survived versus how many were minted.
4. Popularity: A popular coin will be valuable because everyone wants it.

Since there are literally millions of different coins available worldwide, many collectors focus on collecting coins that share a specific theme. Some common collection themes are:

1. Country: Collecting all the coins issued by one country or collecting one coin from various countries
2. Composition: Collecting coins that are made of a certain material
3. Year: Collecting each year's issue of a specific coin
4. Subject: Collecting coins that share a certain image in common
5. Period: Collecting coins from an historical period or era

• Coinland.com: Headquarters for Coins

• The Old Coin Shop: Certified and Discounted Coins

• Amazon.com: Coin Collecting Merchandise

• Barnes & Noble.com: Coin Collecting Books

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