• Collecting coins can be an excellent investment.old coins image by Sergey Yakovenko from Fotolia.com
  
  Collecting coins can be a very rewarding hobby. Not only is coin collecting a good investment, it also can teach you a lot about the history of whichever countries' coins you are collecting. But in order to get the most out of your hobby, you need to be prepared. You do not want to start purchasing coins without knowing a little bit about their values.
  
  

Storage

• Before you start collecting coins, you want to make sure that you have a good place to store them. You should store coins in a cool, dry area like a finished basement. Many collectors will store their coins in a safe or a lock box, but you can also store your collection in a display case if there are any coins you are particularly proud of.
  
  

Coin Price Guide

• You will want to purchase a quality, up-to-date coin price guide as soon as possible. Make sure the price guide specializes in whatever type of coin you are collecting. These guides not only tell you how much the coins are worth, they also give you a great deal of information about coin collecting. Read through the price guide, taking note of specific coin grading standards, coin types and other coin collecting information. Coin price guides are available at book stores or coin shops.
  
  

Coin Shops

• Locate nearby coin shops and visit them. Coin shops are one of the best places to buy coins, not to mention an excellent source of information about coin collecting. Talk to the dealer about the types of coins you are interested in. Even if he doesn't carry exactly what you are looking for, he can probably tell you where to find it. You can purchase specific coin holders to protect your coins at coin shops as well.
  
  

Government Mints

• If you are interested in collecting modern coins, it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with the government mint that creates the coins you want to collect. Most mints have easy to navigate websites that allow you to directly purchase special coin sets. If you are interested in the process of minting coins, you can take a tour of most government mints.