WELCOME

When most people think of coin collecting, they tend to think of the 'penny jar' or piggy bank they had as a kid. Every once in a while the container is emptied or broken and the contents sorted, counted and sometimes spent (well, maybe most of the time). During that process you can't help but take a closer look at some of those coins that don't seem to match the rest. For some reason they stand out. They might have a different design, size or color. In some cases they may even sound different when they fall against other coins or onto the table top. Maybe you notice a wheat cent or older Jefferson nickel or if your really lucky a silver dime, quarter or half dollar. Sometimes even a coin from another country may find its way into the mix. You set those coins aside for further examination.
Now that you have those unusual coins separated from the spendable pile, what do you do next? Well, that's easy. Spend the spendable pile to buy a good coin reference book. See how easy that was? Seriously the correct answer depends on just how interested you are in learning about coins. As you learn more about coins you also learn about history, geography, physics, metalurgy, politics and more. There's so much more to the hobby than hoarding little disks of metal. You will learn about the different denominations. All the ones we have now and some like the two and three cent coins that have long since become obsolete. You will learn about the people that actually make the coins; from the members of congress that proposed the legislation to create the coins to the engravers who actually turn boring pieces of metal in to master works of art.
Numerous books have been written as a result of tireless, in-depth research into numismatics. The internet is absolutely full of information about coins and paper money. The secrets of your little pile of odd-looking coins can now be unlocked with the information that is readily available. One of the first things people want to know when they find an unusual coin is how much it's worth? Without looking at the coin in hand it is nearly impossible for someone to answer that question. You can get close if you know how to grade coins and have access to a recent price guide or better yet, recent auction results for a similar piece. The real key to unlocking the secrets of numismatics is knowledge. Buy the book before you buy or sell any coins. You'll be glad you took the time to do a little investigating. It could save you from losing a little or a lot of money.