The custom of giving coins as gifts—whether it be for Christmas, birthdays, weddings, graduations or other special events—is centuries old. However, it wasn’t until 1999, when the United States Mint launched its 50 State Quarters Program, that presenting children with coins as gifts really took off.
Although the Quarters Program ended in 2009, the new Presidential $1 coin series that began in 2014 will more than likely continue this growing trend.
Because of the surge of interest in buying coins as gifts, dealers typically offer lots and lots of coin gift ideas. But what makes a coin gift idea good and what are the best ways to get a child interested in coin collecting as a hobby?
Keep reading for some useful tips, tricks and answers…
Gift Idea #1: Complete Coin Collections
Sometimes people collect an entire series of a coin with the intention of giving it to a child later on. For instance, a parent or grandparent may start buying a specific coin set to pass onto their child or grandchild sometime in the future, perhaps when the little one is old enough to fully appreciate the gift. Special gifts such as these can be fun to collect over the years and make great investments for children.
If you want to start collecting a full coin set as a future gift, there are a few things you ought to keep in mind though. For one, it can take significant financial and logistical planning, not to mention the time commitment, depending on the type of coins you wish to collect.
Also, you should consider how many sets you need to collect. For instance, say you are a young parent: Do you go ahead and buy two of each coin because you plan on having two kids? What if you have a third down the road? For the sake of fairness and value, it is important to put some preliminary thought into how many complete collections you will want to eventually give away.
Gift Idea #2: Single Coins
Affordability and convenience are some of the reasons why people may choose to give single coins as gifts instead of investing the money and time required for building a complete collection. Single coins also make a great traditional or yearly gift idea, helping to grow a young child’s interest in collecting coins as they themselves mature.
Even if coin collecting doesn’t become a hobby for a child, coins make great lasting gifts that won’t break down or get tossed in the trash. In fact, many coins will actually retain, if not increase, their value over the years, regardless of how long they remain stored in a forgotten closet corner.
One popular gift idea is giving children a coin minted in the year they were born, or the year a special occasion took place such as a graduation.
Which Coins Make Good Gifts?
Age is an important consideration when deciding which type of coin to buy as a gift. Younger children generally prefer large, shiny and/or colorful coins, whereas an older child may appreciate a rarer coin or one that is part of a set they are already collecting.
Bullion and commemorative coins make great gifts for children as their unique designs are appealing to kids of all ages. As a bonus, they also make fantastic investments.
Gift Idea #3: Building a Child’s Love of Coin Collecting
Apart from the coins themselves, here are several other fun gift ideas that your little numismatist is sure to love:
- A coin loupe magnifier – a small magnification device vital in spotting the tiny details on the face of coin that are invisible to the naked eye.
- Coin show tickets – for a coin-lover, tickets to a coin show are what concert tickets are to a music fan (only much cheaper – usually less than $10 per ticket).
- Magazine subscription – there are a number of popular coin publications in circulation that may appeal to a coin collector on your list.
- Coin book – the Internet is a great resource for learning about different coins, but nothing replaces the feeling of flipping through the pages of your new coin book.
- Coin collecting software – coin-focused computer programs make great gift ideas by helping collectors) organize their coin set, keep track of inventory and even monitor the values of their favorite coins.
While these are certainly not the only coin gift ideas for children, they are some of the most popular. If you are looking for good gift for your little loved one, be sure to consider coins.