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Click one
of the topics below:
• Anatomy of a coin
• Cleaning your
coins, tokens, and notes
• Handling your coins, tokens, and notes
• How to start your collection
• Resources for coins, tokens, and notes
• Storing and displaying your coins, tokens and notes
• What to collect
Anatomy
of a coin
Some of the main elements of a coin
| Obverse:
|
The front of
a coin or the "heads" of "heads
or tails". |
| Reverse: |
The back of a coin or the
"tails" of "heads or tails." |
| Edge:
|
The outer border of a coin,
also called the "third side." (not to
be confused with the "rim"). Edges come
in various styles but most commonly they can be
plain, reeded, lettered, or decorated. |
| Rim:
|
The raised edge on both sides
that helps to protect the coin's design from wear. |
| Legend:
|
The principal inscription
or lettering on a coin. |
| Mint
mark: |
A small letter or symbol on
a coin to indicate the issuing mint. |
| Relief:
|
The part of a coin's design
that is raised above the surface. |
| Field:
|
The flat portion of a coin's
surface not used for design or inscription.
|
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Cleaning
your coins, tokens, and notes
Never, never, never clean rare coins or coins you
intend to sell!
The Currency Museum does not recommend cleaning coins.
Any attempt to improve the appearance of a coin, unless
done by a professional, can cause damage to the piece
and reduce its market value. Most collectors and dealers
refuse to buy cleaned coins.
It is safe to clean some of the more common coins.
To clean copper coins, rub them with vegetable or
olive oil and wipe with a soft cloth. Surface dirt
on a nickel or silver coin may be removed by immersing
the coin in a solution of warm water and liquid dishwashing
soap. Afterwards, rinse the piece thoroughly in clean
water and pat dry.
Don't clean your paper money or try to repair it!
Whenever you attempt to clean or repair paper money,
you risk damaging it further. Only experts, called
paper conservators, should repair paper money. If
you need to contact a paper conservator, you may want
to ask a well-known numismatic or art museum, or an
archival library.
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Handling
your coins, tokens, and notes
Improper and frequent handling of coins or notes can
significantly diminish their numismatic value. Here
are some tips to help you handle your coins with care:
| 1. |
Handle coins,
tokens, and notes only when absolutely necessary! |
| 2. |
Avoid touching the surface
of a coin with your fingers. Coins should always
be held by their edges. You can also wear gloves.
Your fingers contain acids that can damage the
surface of a coin. |
| 3. |
If you must hold a note with
your fingers, put on a pair of cotton gloves,
or better yet, put the note in a clear plastic
holder. You can then handle the note without fear
of damaging it. |
| 4. |
When viewing a coin, always
place it on a soft surface such as a felt pad.
Dropping a coin on a hard surface can result in
nicks or scratches. |
| 5. |
If coins are being shipped,
it is important to package them properly so that
the coins cannot bump against each other. Ideally,
each coin should be packaged individually with
appropriate padding. |
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How to start your collection
Where to look for your coins, tokens and notes:
- Your wallet
- Ask your parents and friends
- Your local bank
- Collectors and coin clubs
- Coin dealers
- Coin shows
- Mail order
- Flea markets, antique shows, and craft fairs
- Auctions (must be 18 years or older to buy)
- Internet (must be 18 years or older to buy)
Investing in your collection:
- Collecting can be a long-term investment but it
should be done primarily because you enjoy collecting.
- Buy quality. It is better to buy one quality piece
than many low-quality ones.
The basic tools you will need to
start collecting:
- Envelopes, holders, or albums for storing your coins
and notes.
- A high-quality magnifying glass so you can look
at a coin or note's tiny details.
- A good general numismatic reference book. It should
include information on dates, mint marks, major varieties,
grading guidelines, and prices.
- Soft, cotton or latex gloves.
- A plastic ruler that measures in inches and millimetres.
Avoid hard metal rulers that may scratch your coins.
- A padded jeweller's tray, plush towel, or some other
soft cloth to set coins on when viewing them.
- Good lighting, such as a halogen lamp.
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Resources
for coins, tokens and notes
Researching and identifying currency is not rocket-science
if you know where to look. Newspapers, magazines,
newsletters, books, catalogues, and web sites are
there to help.
Newspapers
|
Canadian Coin News
Gordon & Gotch
Periodicals Inc.
1-800-438-5005
office@trajan.com
|
World Coin News
Krause Publications
700 East State Street
Iola, WI 54990-0001
info@collect.com |
Bank Note Reporter
Krause Publications
700 East State Street
Iola, WI 54990-0001
info@collect.com
|
Magazines and Newsletters
Le Numismate
A magazine for francophone
money collectors
C.P. 31, Dorion, QC
J7V 5V8
(418) 736-4727 |
The Collectors Guide
Dealer Listings, Club Listings,
Price Guide and More!
Trajan Publishing Co.
103 Lakeshore Rd., s. 202
St. Catherines, ON,
L2N 2T6
(905) 646-7744 |
The Canadian Coin Dealer
Newsletter
The Only Newsletter that reports
Wholesale prices for
Canadian Coins and bank notes
P.O. Box 4, Port Credit P.O.
Mississauga, ON
L5G 4L5
(705) 458-4747
|
Books and Catalogues
|
Coins of Canada -
2001 Edition
Haxby, James A.,
and R.C. Willey
Unitrade Press, Toronto
|
The Charlton Press
2040 Yonge Street, s. 208
Toronto, ON, M4S 1Z9
1-800-442-6042
chpress@charltonpress.com
|
World Coin
Krause Publications
700 East State Street
Iola, WI 54990-0001
info@collect.com
|
| La numismatique
en 10 leçons
De la Perrière, Patrice et Pierre Colombani,
Éditions Hachette, Paris , 1979
|
The Beginner's
Guide to Coin Collecting
Quintet Publishing Ltd.,
London, England
|
Canadian
Silver Dollars
Canadian Numismatic Publishing Institute,
Winnipeg, Manitoba
|
| Coin Collecting
is a Hobby
Hobson, Burton,
Éditions de l'Homme, Montréal,
1983
|
|
|
Web sites
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Storing
and displaying your coins, tokens and notes
Protect your coins and paper money from humidity and heat!
| 1. |
Store your collectables
in a cool and dry place! Some people keep their
coins and bank notes in the attic or in the basement,
which are two terrible areas for storage. Heat
damages bank notes and the material that people
use to store coins and tokens. Basements are humid
and they can become damp and mouldy. |
| 2. |
Ensure that all material
used for storing the notes and coins are PVC and
acid free. Acid can yellow your notes or cause
a green substance to build on your coins. |
| 3. |
Keep your paper notes stored
in plastic holders such as Mylar pockets which
can be soft or hard plastic, individual or album-page
style. |
| 4. |
If displaying, keep your
collectables away from direct sunlight! Exposure
to sunlight can cause a note's paper and ink colour
to fade. |
| 5. |
Using pocket pages, a ring
binder, and white 2x2 holders are very inexpensive
ways to classify and store your collectables. |
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What to
collect?
A word of advice to the new coin, token, and note
collector:
SPECIALIZE!
Collectors should specialize, not only because of
limited budgets but also because it gives them the
opportunity to thoroughly study the various types
of series collected.
Here are some types of collections that might interest
you.
For the beginner, try collecting:
- Notes, tokens, or coins with a similar theme such
as boats, animals, birds,
kings or flowers
- Items with odd shapes
- Coins with the same metal content
- Collectables from countries starting with the same
letter
- Notes, tokens, or coins from different countries
in alphabetical order;
one piece from a country whose name starts with an
A, one piece whose
name starts with B, etc.
For those looking for a challenge,
try collecting:
- By type: includes a piece of every denomination
and sovereign of a given series,
including the principal varieties.
- By issue year: includes all pieces from a certain
year. You can pick, for example,
the year you were born.
- By sovereign: includes all pieces bearing the portrait
of the same head of state.
- Commemorative collection: includes all pieces issued
to commemorate an event,
for example, the Olympic Games.
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