Coin Collecting for Fun and Investment, Part 4

In Coin Collecting for Fun and Investment, Part 4, we will talk about collecting coins with kids. When a child is old enough to read, they are old enough to begin their numismatic journey. Look online, or go to your local coin shop and buy a book or folder for collecting Lincoln Cents. It’s best to start with a book for the most modern dates, and then dump out the change jar on the kitchen table and let them start filling holes. As their excitement increases, work with them to make a list of the holes that still need to be filled. Then, take them to your local coin show to hunt down the missing dates. This can be a fun and inexpensive outing, as well as very educational. There they can see a vast array of different coins, and get a taste for how incredible the numismatic landscape can be.
If Colorado Springs, CO is on your list of places to visit, then take the kids to the headquarters of the American Numismatic Association. The money museum is an amazing experience for collectors and non-collectors alike. Have you ever stood in a room surrounded by tens of millions of dollars worth of coins? Have you ever seen a $100,000 bill? You can do both at the Money Museum.
For teens, the ANA offers the Young Numismatists Program that coincides with their summer seminar. The YN’s as they are known, live with each other in the dorms of the adjacent university, and go to classes taught by world class numismatists, and engage in other fun coin related activities. There is also a scholarship program and other university level opportunities to further their numismatic education (even a PhD program), for those who qualify. Teens that find an interest in coins, and get their grading skills honed, will create a hobby for themselves that can be quite profitable.
A tool for maintaining a youngster’s interest in coins is a numismatic college fund. I have had a few clients that have successfully done this, but it does require the help of a professional numismatist. The idea is to invest in more valuable, rare-date, certified coins as savings for college tuition. You and your youngster can do research together, find the coins that are worth investing in, and then hunt them down at coin shows or on the internet. You can give them valuable business skills as you negotiate for the best prices, as well as monitoring each investment’s progress. Work with your numismatist along the way to determine which coins are worth selling, which are worth keeping, and what to invest in next. The process is an education in itself!
Not every kid will take an interest in coins. That’s ok, but it is best to keep the disinterested away from your collection. Whether it’s putting a fingerprint on that key date penny, or dropping that rare quarter in the soda machine, kids that don’t understand the value of your coins are bound to cause some problems. See which of your kids take an interest in rare coins. Encouraging the ones that do will fill their lives with fun and profit. Thanks for reading Coin Collecting for Fun and Investment, Part 4. In the next installment we will discuss what to do with an inherited numismatic estate.