My 16yr old nephew wants to start collecting coins. He is in Australia. What would you recommend as a good set to start to collect.
My 16yr old nephew wants to start collecting coins. He is in Australia. What would you recommend as a good set to start to collect. Feduptryingnames, sometimes interests will wain, much like the phases of the moon. Perhaps ask your nephew what he likes to collect? Is he an animal, car, bike, or history fan or,.............................. *Does he prefer gold or silver? *How much money are you going to give him to start off his collection? Some people on the forum, collect silver Kangaroo coins, some collect Koala or Kookaburra coins, some prefer gold coins. Some collect, Australian $1 or $2 coins (Same as we get in our change) Here's a link to some of the different types of coins. The Perth Mint http://www.perthmintbullion.com/au/View-All-Bullion.aspx https://www.perthmint.com/catalogue/latestReleases.aspx The Royal Australian Mint https://www.ramint.gov.au/ https://eshop.ramint.gov.au/browse-all-products#/pageSize=6&orderBy=0
Some thing Event related such as Sydney Olympics. Dates are a good marker. e.g. Pre-decimal coins from WW1 - 1914-18 florins, shillings etc Animal series such as Kookaburras, or just "Birds" for example. My first coin collection started from family friends bringing home small change, so open out to other countries. Half the fun I believe, is pursuing the provenance of coins, or wildly guessing! Lol.. Imagining who may have held a coin, or passed it paying for a fare or meal. The imagination is as important as the actual coins.
Here's a left-field suggestion - purchase a small bag of silver pre-46 pre-decimals from @Bullion Now (or anywhere as near spot as possible) and let him discover the associated monarchs. Also borrow from WA Library any copy of Renniks coin book and let him 'discover' the connection between the condition of the coin and mintage, year minted etc. and suggested retail value of said coins. Discuss topics such as 'what is money' and 'what has happened during historical turmoil with regards of value of money'.
Collecting ? FUNdamentally, that is Fun or what may brings delight to the collector. Very few young generations, now a days inclined with coins. I am very happy to hear and see young ones. It is quite difficult to assemble a meaningful collection in a few years, the path must be chosen carefully giving a good share of life following it. If it matures someday, it is likely that the collection will indeed be worth something or brings enjoyment on its own in the future. The truth is, it always need an incredible patience when doing this. Some collectors with generous knowledge and resources is hard to find. In time, all these matters will be self learnt throughout depending on interest, knowledge and pursuance. I can only say, for what is really the interest in life? what are the future plans, the work ambitions. From that point, it can be strongly incorporated with coin collecting. (Investing is other way around because "Collecting" is designed for enjoyment)
For a 16 year old, the collection should not be an expensive hobby. And obtaining the coins in the collection (date, typeset, series etc) should be not too difficult achieve.
You could always look at "silver plated" coins as they should be cheaper to see if he keeps the interest and then go from there perhaps
I started off just collecting coins from circulation, you get them at face value, there is plenty of variety and they are easy to dispose of. I wouldn't start with anything expensive or hard to find until he decides whether or not he actually enjoys it. I give my niece a different silver 2011 (Year she was born in) coin on her birthday and a current year coin for Christmas, she has about 16 different coins now but has shown no real interest in any of them
I have a coin collection... but it's all just cheap stuff, I have pennies, ha'pennies, pre and post silver coins, and like lots of coins from overseas and stuff. It's kind of interesting as a coin collection, you can research where they're from and the metal composition and stuff... as opposed to collecting things of value in themselves (ie bullion). Or like, trying to get one of every year of 1 cent coin, stuff like that is fun and useless. I kind of got sucked in to collecting a bit of silver stuff like those state coins and mint releases rather than just stacking bullion and I don't really like it it's just a different vibe to the good old fashioned world coin collection
My suggestion is to get him to appreciate nice non-government (eg. without a queen's head on it) silver bullion bars. You don't have to worry so much about games with premiums.