Coin collecting for Kids: How old is that nickel? A nickel hunt

Many coin collectors like to buy rolls of coins from the bank to examine them, hoping to find something special, maybe a rare date or an error.

Zachary Beier of Brick has tapped into that kind of curiosity to spur interest in collecting among youngsters.

Beier, a 19-year-old Ocean County College student, is the Young Numismatists program coordinator for the Garden State Numismatic Association. 

In that role, he has launched a nickel search for young collectors.

The object of the search, which began Sept. 8 and is continuing until Nov. 25, is to go through rolls of nickels and see what turns up. The participants go to the bank once a week and buy five rolls of nickels. Then they report what they have found.

So far, some interesting things have turned up, including a coin from Kenya, a washer, a faucet filter, a penny and a dime. A couple of proof nickels have been discovered.

Some of the more interesting discoveries were four 2010 nickels, given the difficulty collectors have finding recently minted coins because coin supplies in banks are backlogged due to the recession and a lot of banks haven’t been ordering new coins.

The oldest nickel found so far is a 1938, the first year of the Jefferson nickel.

“I’m really hoping someone finds a Buffalo,” Beier said. Buffalo nickels — with a portrait of a Native American on the front and a buffalo on the back — were minted from 1913 to 1938.

“The message is to look through your pocket change,” Beier said. “You never know what you might find.”
The 23 young collectors involved in the search, ranging in age from 7 to 17, are mostly from New Jersey, but include eight from outside the state.

Prizes will be awarded for the oldest coin, the one from farthest away and the most unusual coin or other item — it might be an error coin or it could be a washer!

“The kids who are doing it are really enjoying it,” Beier reported.

Beier, who is a member of the Ocean County Coin Club, has been collecting coins since he was 5. His specialty is elongated coins, those novelties you make in a vending machine at an arcade or a historic site. He said he enjoys the design aspect of the impressions made on the flattened coins.
 
For more information on the Young Numismatists, visit the GSNA website at gsna.org.

Source: http://www.nj.com/homegarden/homestories/index.ssf/2010/10/coin_collecting_how_old_is_tha.html