Coin Collecting for Fun and Pleasure: A Guide for Beginning and Amateur Collectors

Can you spend fifty cents using a quarter, two dimes, and two other United States coins? Yes, you can, and you'll find out how in this book. "Coin Collecting for Fun and Pleasure" is written and designed for the beginning collector, someone who has just inherited a collection of old coins, or the novice collector who wants to learn more about this fascinating hobby. Contained within the pages of this book is information on the history of United States coinage, the various branch mints that have operated during our nation's history, how coins are created, assigning a "grade" to your coins, how to determine the value of your coins, and how to properly handle your coins and document your collection. This book covers every copper, nickel, and silver coin minted for use in the United States from 1793 - present. The content focuses on circulated coins, the kind of coins most beginning and novice collectors will encounter, and gives overall values for common date coins, but also highlights key dates, varieties, and errors. Some of the astronomical prices paid for extremely rare or pristine examples has also been included. Each coin denomination and type has been illustrated with full color photographs to aid in identification. Physical descriptions are also included as an additional aid, and each section contains a little bit of history surrounding that particulare denomination or series. This book does not cover gold coins, commemoratives, or special issue coins, although there is a chapter on mint sets and proof sets and explains why you might want to consider adding these to your collection. Error coins are not covered in detail, although some brief descriptions are given of the most common die error types. This book is intended for the collector who has a passion for the hobby. The author even relates some personal stories and experiences that he has had during his forty-plus years collecting. Most of all, this book is about having fun collecting, while at the same time learning a little more about these tiny pieces of American History.