Coin collecting can be an expensive hobby, there’s no doubt about that. There has been a substantial rise in some coins over the past few years making it a real challenge to acquire really interesting and beautiful coins. Because of that, many people believe that the only thing they will be able to own is nothing but common dates in a series so they don’t even bother to start collecting. Fortunately, this couldn’t be further from the truth and there are quite a few options for the budget minded collector.
Don’t let the price of some coins intimidate you from entering the facinating world of coin collecting. It doesn’t seem possible that “old” and “cheap” can be used together in coin collecting. Here are my top 5 picks for coins $20 or less to prove it can be done.
1. Older Indian Head Cents
The very first issue Indian Head Cent is the 1859. This is the only year with the style that lacks the shield on the reverse that is found in the subsequent years. The 1860, 1861, 1862, 1863 and 1864 can also be had for $20 or less in a grade of Very Fine. This gives you a pre-civil war and civil war era Indian Head Cent collection. Even though these can be had for $20 or, in some cases, significantly less, don’t think they are worthless. These years have less in the series than we mint today in a week. Anybody can have a penny collection. Not everybody knows that you can get civil war pieces at such reasonable cost. Maybe President Lincoln even held one.
2. Liberty Head Nickels
These are known also as the V Nickel because of the roman numeral V on the reverse of the coin. The story goes that when the coin first appeared, the word “cents” was left off of the reverse causing people to gold plate them and pass them off as $5 gold pieces. In the age when there was no instant news, this went on for awhile before news spread and the new coin with the word “cents” was added. That was in 1883 and some people even hoarded them thinking they would be worth more than the later years which isn’t the case but it’s still fun to own. The 1897-1899 are much more scarce than their later year counterparts but they can still be had for $15 and under in most cases. The rest of the series is also reasonably priced and the only exception is the 1912-S which is one of the key dates.
What about Buffalo Nickels you might ask. By all means, these are collectable and I encourage you to collect those as well. You can probably about complete a Buffalo Nickel folder for $20 or so. They are extremely reasonable at your local coin shop sometimes for as little as 50 cents each.
3. Barber Dime
Minted from 1892 to 1916 and include numerous common dates priced less than $20. In the 1900s, at least a dozen of the dates of dimes can be had for as little as $5 in Fine and that includes the 1906-D, the first Barber Dimes minted at the Denver Mint and the 1909-O, the final 10-cent piece minted from the New Orleans Mint. At one time, many of the coins were Barber designed including the dime, quarter and half dollar coins and they all carried a similar basic design.
If you are so inclined and need even a less expensive idea, consider Mercury Dimes. Minted from 1916 to 1945, most of these can be bought for about a dollar each.
4. Standing Liberty Quarter
This is a really pretty coin in design. This coin underwent quite a few changes from the controversial undress of Liberty to changing the relief position ever so slightly to prevent so much wear. Many of the dates in the series are budget busters. However, a couple of exceptions prevail here. 1928 – 1930 are routinely $20 or less. This includes the lower mintage 1928-D and the 1930-S. Lower mintage equals more scarcity but are still available in the budged minded collector’s price range. How great is that?
5. Franklin Half Dollar
One of the first coins I ever collected some 27 years ago at the county fair was a Ben Franklin Half. I was only 13 and fell in love with it.
Depending on the grade, you can enjoy the majority of the 35 date and mint mark combinations of the Franklin Half. Amazingly, in some cases, single coins in Mint State 60 to 62 can even sell for less than $20. Early dates will run higher in price and you may need to consider a lower grade coin to complete a collection.
There it is. My top 5 picks for coin collecting for the budget minded collector. As you can see, you don’t need to treat your lack of cash flow as a obstacle. It’s a challenge to get the best coin specimen you can for $20 or less and always remember, the hunt is half the fun.
Don’t forget, lots of coins in 5 or 6 pieces is always an option for quick collection building. Proof sets are also readily available in many dates for under $20 as are Morgan Dollars and Peace Dollars. Considering the spot price of silver, which dollar coins contain just over 3/4 of an ounce, the scrap value alone is worth quite a bit. With so many Morgan and Peace Dollars readily available for $20 or less, you could spent years just collecting those and in the process building your buillion collection as well.
