How to collect your first coin collection? Which coins to choose? How to properly invest money in coins What a novice numismatist needs to know about coins.
What distinguishes a numismatist from an ordinary person who has collected 10-20 coins purely by chance is the presence of a collection and the conduct of at least one transaction for the purpose of acquiring or exchanging coins. Numismatists treat their occupation as a hobby, but still more seriously than the average person. They should always be aware of current prices, visit online auctions to replenish their collection and view advertisements for the sale of coins.
What does it take to become a numismatist?
Becoming a numismatist is not difficult, but to do this you need a certain amount of free money that you are willing to invest in the purchase of old coins. Without this, it is unlikely that you will be able to start collecting your own collection.
For coins made of precious metals - gold and silver, this amount can start from 50 thousand rubles. For regular coins 5-10 thousand is enough. A skillful investment in coins can provide good “interest” in the future, which can cover inflation. It’s hardly a secret that today bank interest on deposits may sometimes not be enough even for this.
It is also very important to decide on the period or theme of the coins you want to collect. For a novice numismatist, collecting coins by year is quite enough, for example, for the Soviet period or collecting a collection commemorative coins Russia with a denomination of 10 rubles. All coins in this series cost about 20-25 thousand rubles. But their advantage is that you will see how sometimes it can be difficult to find some specimens and learn how to exchange coins with other numismatists in your city, if possible. You can also try in large stores and ask for 10 rubles as change for the anniversary coin.
Having put together the first collection in your life, you will either join this movement or give up at the very beginning. To all numismatists, receiving each new one is not even very rare coin brings, at least a little, joy. If you feel a surge of vigor and strength, you can safely continue to be a numismatist.
Alexander Igorevich
Reading time: ~6 minutes
Experienced collectors often joke that it is not antiques that are becoming more expensive, but the money for which they are bought is becoming cheaper. Most often, numismatists say this when referring to their collections. In fact, the demand for pieces of antique or rare value is growing every year. And if demand increases, then the price rises. Today we will talk about the coins that are valued the most.
True, so far there are not so many investors interested in investing in coins, so there is a chance to succeed in this field. If everything is calculated correctly, then you can get up to 100% profit, because time is on your side.
But which options are currently valued? Naturally, most beginners are afraid of both making a mistake and being deceived by scammers. But this is not a reason to give up numismatics; you just need to study the market for valuable coins.
Segments of the valuable coin market
The most important difference: modern varieties are minted today, while antique ones have long been part of history. Therefore, to understand antique coins, you must at least have a good knowledge of history.
It will also not hurt you to have familiar numismatists or people “in the know.” But such acquaintances are sometimes difficult for a beginner to acquire, so many experts advise starting collecting with representatives of later years of production.
The coins that are most valuable right now
If we talk about antique options, then Russian collectors-investors mainly collect, oddly enough, Soviet and Russian coins. This is due to the fact that such collections are highly valued abroad, because the specimens presented in them are considered rare and cost 20-30% more than in Russia.
Varieties that were considered rare back in the USSR are extremely popular, for example, those produced in small editions or trial batches of different years of minting, which for some reason ended up in circulation.
A real example is the 50 kopeck coin from 1929. One such copy in 2011 it was sold at auction for 10 million rubles. We can say that this is an astronomical price. But this cost is due to its extreme rarity.
Although beginners should still start with less rare specimens, and therefore not so expensive. For example, silver rubles from the early 20th century are quite easy to find, as long as they are in excellent condition. A good example of this type can fetch several hundred dollars, as was the case with a 1924 variety that sold for $800 not long ago.
The so-called “remakes” also provide a good opportunity for investment..
They are coins minted with the original dies, but at a later date. Such copies are produced specifically for collectors. An example is the varieties released in the 19th century, which, in turn, . True, their price is still fabulous, because their circulation consisted of only about 100 pieces.
The ideal solution for a new numismatist can be called. Some experts believe that they are undervalued on the world market, and therefore have good potential for further increase in value.
So, for example, on general background stand out. The same representatives of the “Chechen Republic” from the “Russian Federation” series can cost up to 2,500 rubles apiece. Naturally, this only applies to very well-preserved specimens. And in the future the price will only rise.
A video that will tell you what ancient coins hide
So if you want to get into numismatics for the sake of making a profit later, you know how to find coins that are valuable. If you simply intend to acquire an interesting hobby, then the cost of your collection is not so important, the main thing is the pleasure of owning it. And this depends on your personal numismatic preferences.
Investments in Russian numismatics for beginners
- How I started investing in numismatics;
- Strategy for increasing the collection;
- Principles of numismatics.
Grandma's piggy bank
I've been running this blog for over 6 years. All this time, I regularly publish reports on the results of my investments. Now the public investment portfolio is more than 1,000,000 rubles.
Especially for readers, I developed the Lazy Investor Course, in which I showed step by step how to establish order in personal finances and effectively invest your savings in dozens of assets. I recommend that every reader complete at least the first week of training (it's free).
It all started with a banal piggy bank. I don’t even remember how it appeared in our house, maybe it was a gift from someone, or maybe it was left from my grandmother. This is an ordinary Soviet piggy bank made of strong ceramics, in the form of a well-fed cat in a kitchen apron. Various little things were thrown at her with or without reason. Somehow, on New Year's Eve (I think) 2009, at the family council a unanimous decision was made to open the piggy bank, because it was full, and for the sake of satisfying everyone's curiosity. We opened it carefully by cutting off the thick cardboard covering the bottom. An autopsy and lengthy recount showed that the cat’s budget was: about three and a half thousand in ten-ruble commemorative bimetallic coins and bills, two thousand in five-ruble coins and somewhere a little less than a thousand in ruble/kopeck piece. In general, it’s a small thing, but nice.
Several anniversary coins (Soviet rubles with Lenin and the anniversary of the Victory, two-ruble Gagarin, Murmansk, ruble Pushkin from 1999 and something else like that) have been gathering dust in a glass mayonnaise jar since time immemorial. “Anniversary” from Kote in a small number of non-repeating coins joined their ranks, and the rest of the savings migrated to the SberBank card, and then, soon, were mercilessly spent. From this event, one might say, my collection began.
And the piggy bank serves us to this day. It has become a family tradition, a modest annual investment with a one-year horizon. At the beginning of January the piggy bank begins and at the end of December we collect it. If once a month (for example, from your salary) you throw 1000 rubles into the piggy bank and daily dump the “ten coins” and “nickels” lying around in your pockets, then by the end of the year the “contribution” is 12,000 (in bills) + 6-7,000 (in iron), sometimes and more. Iron is only 10 and 5 ruble coins, as the largest representatives of their class. Agree, 20,000 rubles is a good bonus for the end of the year, during a period of acute shortage of gifts. And it turned out that the piggy bank has absolutely no effect on your overall financial condition, but it always makes you happy in December.
If the monthly contribution amount is increased to 2,000 rubles, then the final amount of savings will be different, but it will still be limited by the size of the piggy bank. As Anton rightly noted, in one of his articles, investing should have a goal. Likewise, we always have a “piggy bank goal”: gifts for children, vacations together, buying a computer, etc. The last December opening allowed us as a family to travel from St. Petersburg to Belarus for four days and go skiing during the New Year holidays. “Kopiloshnye” 22,000 rubles covered the costs of gasoline, accommodation and ski accessories.
In the office of our company, probably like everywhere else now, coffee machines are installed. Many of my colleagues apply them daily, at least once, but often more. The price of a glass of coffee is 35 rubles. Let's do some simple arithmetic: 35*5-6 (working days) = 190 rubles. – this is the average price of weekly coffee cups. 190*4=760 – monthly amount. And to calculate the annual amount, let’s take 10 working months, excluding vacations, holidays and additional days off as much as possible. 760*10=7600 additional rubles. The victims of coffee machines, of course, are our dear, jingling and always interfering pennies. In my opinion, the effect of such coffee is doubtful, although, to be honest, I try to hide it myself. But this, as they say, is a personal matter for everyone. Someone might add the cost of a daily pack of cigarettes to coffee, for example.
Collection strategy
When transferring the money earned from the piggy bank to card accounts, I still left some of the new anniversary ten-ruble coins in a long drawer, gradually replenishing the collection. I kept 2-3 copies of some coins in good condition, so that I could later exchange them for the missing coin in the set. For accounting and sorting, I bought a cardboard album with two spreads. This is how collecting grew into my hobby. Initially, I kept a collection of only bimetallic tens - the current Russian anniversary, that is, from what was most accessible. I currently have 4 parallel collections. I’ll talk about them another time, but for now I’ll focus on bimetallic tens and give several examples of collectible investing.
I think many people remember the series of “ten-ruble notes” dedicated to ministries Russian Federation. The coins were not particularly different, they were in free circulation and were generously given as change. Now the price of such a coin is about 140 rubles. That is, if I had left at least 10 sets of “ministries” back in 2001, I would now be able to enrich myself with an extra 7-8 thousand rubles. And this comes from the sale of coins whose face value is only 70 rubles. As the classic said: “Alice, give me the melaphone!”
As a second collecting strategy, I can give the following example. The plan for the annual issue of all coins is approved by the Central Bank in advance and, in principle, anyone can find out in what month and in what circulations certain coins will be issued. My point is that you can generalize the annual issue, put together a collection consisting of coins of different denominations, but of the same year: 1 kopeck, 5 kopecks, 10 kopecks, 50 kopecks, 1 ruble, 2 rubles, 5 rubles and 10 rubles.
The greatest interest today is the annual set of coins of 2010. Its cost, according to various estimates, ranges from 20 to 35 thousand rubles. This price is formed due to the very limited editions of the three anniversary tens released this year: 10 rubles “ Perm region"- circulation 200,000 coins ( approximate price~3400-4000 rubles, depending on the condition of the coin), 10 rubles “Chechen Republic” - circulation 100,000 coins (~8000 rubles), 10 rubles “Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug"—circulation of 100,000 coins (~12-13,000 rubles).
The limited circulation, and indeed the existence of such coins, tells me that this situation was the result of politics and some kind of government speculation - firstly, and secondly, a kind of artificial boost to the numismatic market. There can be many examples of choosing a strategy; it depends only on the depth of your imagination, desire and ability to invest money in coins.
Numismatics in Russia for beginners
I will highlight the main aspects that need to be taken into account when:
- First of all, it is necessary to “get over” the desire, characteristic of all beginning numismatists, to buy everything in a row that is at least somehow similar to coins. It is not possible to collect everything.
- Determine for yourself the purpose and area of numismatics for collecting. Still, the main purpose of collecting coins is not speculative, but aesthetic and educational. If you want to collect a collection in order to sell it profitably after some time, then you need to remember that “some time” is a period of 5, or maybe 10-15 years. A short-term perspective is possible only with the resale of rare collectible coins, purchased obviously cheaper than their current price.
- You need to know which coins are most in demand now. Predict market changes, predict which coins will increase in price in the coming years. In short, you need.
- Where to start? I recommend starting with the two most affordable collections. The first is the current collection of current Russian commemorative coins. Such coins are always in use; they can be obtained as change in a store or public transport. In 10-15 years, such a collection will increase the price by 2-3 times. Price complete collection, already mentioned by me, bimetallic ten-ruble coins, and these are 111 pieces (including varieties) today, vary from 7 to 35-37 thousand rubles. However, it is.
The second collection is ordinary change coins: kopecks, 1, 2, 5, 10 rubles. This is surprising, of course, but ordinary is not anniversary ruble, some year 1986 may cost 1000 rubles, and the anniversary one of the same year 100-150 rubles. Such collections are very popular and are called “weather collections”.
- To be an active participant in the collectible coins market, you need to know the current prices, as they say, be aware of the quotes. How do I do this? I am conducting an analysis of the market state in relation to the coin I am interested in at the moment on 3-4 sites: Avito, Meshok, Coins of Russia, Coin Archive, etc. There are plenty of options online.
Practice shows that for the same coin the price range can vary and vary by several times or even tens of times. On Avito you can buy a coin in your own city, look and feel it while buying it in person, and verify its authenticity. And from an auction site, most likely, you will buy the same one a little cheaper, but immediately add the cost of postal services to the price of the coin (these are usually paid by the buyer) and take into account the existing risks: the seller may not be reliable, the post office may lose the letter, the coin may turn out to be fake or simply not of the declared quality. Honestly, I have never encountered deception; sellers on auction sites value their reputation.
The stock market is falling, the ruble is becoming cheaper, and interest on deposits barely reaches the inflation rate. And we all begin to think about other ways to preserve and increase our savings. "RG" found out that in our turbulent times, it turns out that you can combine business with pleasure: collecting antique coins and earn income from it. Here the dollar is successfully replaced by the old kopeck, drachma or Sevsky Czech.
Despite all the apparent secrecy, this business is very democratic. Unlike, say, the painting market. You can start with ten thousand rubles in your pocket. But you need to be prepared that, as in any new business, you will only have to invest two or three years. To later become the owner of the collection mediocre, start earning money.
And finally, turn into a wealthy collector. Whose “capital” can fit into one album, but the cost of these fifty coins will be comparable to an ordinary collection of tens of thousands of items.
Numismatics now is not at all the gold mine it was in the good old nineties. But it is always profitable to invest in antiques, simply because there are no more good antiques. The main thing is to strictly follow several rules. Numismatist and senior researcher at the Tsaritsyno Museum Pavel Ermolov told the RG correspondent about them.
You need to start small and simple in order to gain experience and knowledge. WITH eyes closed You cannot buy anything on the numismatic market. Start with relatively “easy” and “newbie-friendly” coins of the times Russian Empire or USSR.
National coins in “their” country have a significantly higher value than outside of it. Russian coins are relatively more valued in Russia, German coins in Germany, and so on. On the other hand, the more knowledge a particular branch of numismatics requires, the fewer collectors are interested in it. This means that the more difficult it is to sell the coin. Therefore, for example, ancient Arabic-language coins, even rare ones, can cost relatively cheap in Russia, close to the cost precious metal, from which they are minted.
Having chosen a specialization, study history, look at catalogs, look at coins. Communicate with numismatists and acquire reliable dealer-consultants. Preferably not knowing each other. The world of numismatists is not that big, and you will very soon understand which of the dealers are “bullshit” and “tearing the client”, and which is trustworthy.
You can understand this, for example, by comparing reviews of the same coin from different experts. The risk of running into an unscrupulous dealer is quite high, because the market is still in shades of gray and black. This is the legacy Soviet Union, where numismatics as a science was rapidly developing, but the market was underground, and a numismatist could easily go to jail for his collection.
Beware of fakes. There are many of them on the numismatic market. And the more expensive the item, the more likely it is to be a fake. It’s also bad that, unfortunately, in our country the laws do not protect collectors.
An expert can determine the authenticity of a coin, but his services are expensive because they require a lot of experience. Only after looking at several thousand items does a collector begin to identify coins that “fall out” from the usual series. Not necessarily fakes, but also barbaric imitations, products from rare mints, etc. You should definitely look at the coins in person, turning them in your hands.
3 kopecks from the time of Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible. Mid-16th century. Cost 100 rubles. Photo: RG Archive
You need to understand how the technology for producing coins differed in different centuries and in different countries. For example, a 17th century South German or Austrian coin would have been rolled, and because of this all these coins are slightly elongated and curved. If you see cast ancient Russian money, then it is a fake, because in Rus' money was made from wire. It was chopped into equal pieces, flattened, and then an image was applied with a hammer.
Many ordinary people believe that if a coin is old and of excellent quality, then it is definitely a fake. However, there is no connection here, says Pavel Ermolov. A coin can be “killed”, erased, and at the same time counterfeit. Usually, “tourist” coins are made like this, which gullible tourists willingly buy up or “find” with metal detectors at the excavation site. It is enough to simply dump a handful of coins into a concrete mixer, and at the end we get an “antique” coin.
So don't chase "freebies". Of course, rarities bought for next to nothing is a favorite topic of conversation among collectors and the secret dream of every collector of rarities. However, for such a purchase you need to have knowledge, experience and instinct. Often, a beginning numismatist becomes a victim of his own greed, which is skillfully exploited by counterfeit sellers. And then, instead of a rarity, the overheated collector is left with an unnecessary counterfeit coin, for which he paid at least a third of the price of the genuine coin, but his own hard-earned money and, moreover, real money. Here it is important to keep a cool head and navigate the prices on the market.
Experience brings an indefinable flair that a numismatist needs no less than knowledge. Because you can stumble out of the blue. The story of the Sevsk Czech is indicative - a coin minted in Sevsk in 1686-1687 for the Left Bank Ukraine, which was recently annexed to Russia. It imitated the Polish one and a half lorry (in the Ukrainian style - Czech), which it was intended to force out of circulation.
This is a coin made of bad metal (copper with a small amount of silver), the Sevsky Czech looks very unattractive, as a result the Cossacks did not recognize it, and the circulation was melted down; very few survived. In 2000, a broken copy was sold for 3.5 thousand dollars, which was a lot of money back then.
A couple of years later they found a huge treasure of these coins, and now a decently preserved copy can be bought for $300-400. No one could have predicted that this treasure would be found. And they might not find him for another hundred years. But such risks must be taken into account. And this can only be helped by a good knowledge of the history of monetary circulation.
Sevsky Czech. Photo: RG Archive
There is no need to buy coins, even very ancient ones, in mediocre condition - they hardly increase in price. IN poor quality can only be purchased extremely rare specimens. Only good things and relatively rare things are suitable for investment. Banalities, “tops,” as numismatists say, have even been falling in price over the last two or three years.
“If you go to a numismatic fair, you will see literally basins with “royal” copper on the shelves,” says Pavel Ermolov. “I mean coins of the 18th-19th centuries. These are worn or corroded coins, which can sometimes be found when digging up your garden in dacha in the village. There are sometimes quite interesting things, but they cost 100-200 rubles apiece. The same coins, but in “luxury” condition, are placed separately in a display case in special packaging. And sometimes they cost much more for beginners. They don’t understand the difference between them, and choose cheaper coins from the basin. But even after ten years, you won’t. best case scenario You will be able to get your own money for them."
You need to buy coins by carefully observing the market, without rushing. Antiques do not tolerate fuss.
From the very beginning, get rid of the stereotype that if a coin is ancient, then it is worth at least as much as a Moscow apartment. Unlike, for example, painting, a coin is a circulation item. For a beginner, it can sometimes be a very serious shock to learn that an authentic ancient Roman or ancient Greek coin can cost a thousand or one and a half thousand rubles.
Even ancient and medieval coins can be sold by weight. It happens that a kilogram costs 500 rubles, that is, the coins are almost the price of scrap. And remember: the more ordinary the coin, even if it is very ancient, the harder it is to sell it later.
Ancient Roman coin of Emperor Gordian III. III century. Price: 50 dollars. Photo: RG Archive
The tetradrachm of some Macedonian king Philip II is one thing, and the tetradrachm of his son Alexander the Great is quite another. The price of coins consists of four components: the original circulation, historical existence, safety and popularity of the theme.
If the coin has a small circulation, and its existence was not easy (for example, the usurper ordered the coins with the profile of its predecessor to be melted down, but they managed to dig up a couple of treasures), and the name stamped on it is such that everyone knows it, then it is definitely worth taking, because it will only increase in price. For example, coins from the fleeting reign of Tsar Ivan Antonovich will never become cheaper.
Build your own complete collection. Subsequently, it can be sold as a whole for much more than in parts. If, of course, you can part with your brainchild. By the way, each collection bears the imprint of the personality of its owner and can tell a lot about him.
Lately, on many forums, websites and even in queries through which people find my blog, I come across the following topic: “Which coins are best to start collecting collections from?” Without hesitation, I decided to write a post on this topic. Surely my advice will be useful to someone, although not an experienced numismatist, but at the same time no longer a beginner.
Of course, it all depends on what kind of coins you like. I personally have always been attracted to coins modern Russia and foreign countries. If you do too, then I advise you to start with 10 ruble anniversary coins. Currently, the Bank of Russia has issued several series of such coins. But it’s best to start by collecting coins that were dedicated to some events, be it the Population Census (by the way, it’s still not in my collection). Next, I advise you to start collecting coins from the “” and “” series. There are a lot of these coins on hand and, of course, not all of them, but many of them you can get just like that (change in stores or exchange with relatives). By the way, this year it starts new series coins "". And this would also be a great place to start. new collection and coin collecting in general. You can also buy special coin albums to keep track of what you have and what coins you still need to find or purchase. I bought one of these albums the other day and am now waiting for it to be delivered by mail.
The next step, I consider it necessary to start collecting a collection of 2 ruble coins from the “Hero Cities” series and 10 ruble coins from the “” series. Ministries can still be found in circulation, not all are true, but 2-3 out of 7 are accurate. But with Hero Cities it will be a little more complicated. I personally don’t remember the last time I saw a coin from this series. Of course, I saw 1-2, but they were in such bad condition that I didn’t even know what to do with them. I did adapt one, and now I’m conducting my experiments on cleaning coins on it.
Well, that's kind of the main thing. Regarding foreign coins? Here I would advise you to pay attention to US coins, namely 25 cents with the image of states. There seem to be 52 of them in total. There are also albums for such coins. Or you can start collecting one-dollar coins with images of US presidents (I don’t remember how many, but enough).
I don’t forget other coins either. I personally think that it is very good to have 1-2 coins from different countries in your collection. For example, I have the Czech Republic, Latvia, Ukraine and some other countries. Of course, I would like to have coins from other countries, but I don’t have time for them yet.
That's it now. I think I have helped you determine the right direction for your future numismatic life. I wish you success and look forward to your comments on this matter.