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Today's Collector Focus: Starting Your Own Coin Collection: 

Collecting coins is not only a fun hobby but it could also bring a great satisfaction once completing a certain desired series of coins. Coins usually reflect the events of the time in which they are produced, and thus collecting coins can be also interesting historic wise. However, without planning ahead your collecting agenda you might find yourself frustrated for not reaching your collecting goals at the desired pace. If you are still a bit lost or puzzled on how to start your own coin collection, we advise you to make a few decisions before starting your collection. 

First it is important to decide what will be the budget that you would be willing to spend on this hobby. The price of coins varies according to their condition and rarity and setting up a budget in advanced will make your collecting activity a more effective one. 

Based on the budget you set, you can choose to focus on a certain coin collecting field. For example some coin collectors decide to focus on collecting coins only from their own country. Other collectors choose to collect certain coins chronologically by their years of production. This method is useful as many of the coins catalog and books are organized according to their year of production. For example, you can choose to collect a Lincoln cent from the first year it was minted. As many of the coins have different mint marks, you can also broaden your collection by adding each coin with its specific mark. 

Other options are to collect coins series with a significant design, marks or any other unique features. For example, you can choose to collect coins with a unique alloy such as gold, silver and copper. 

There are also collectors which focus on collecting coins with a specific subject (eagles for example) or from a certain periods such as medieval coins. Others focus on collecting coins which were minted by a certain ruler or other historically significant bureaucrat. 

There are many additional specific fields in the coin collecting activity. Many collectors collect coin with a certain print value (such as coins with a 1 denomination value) while others decide to collect a large quantity of a certain coin which can also be a decorative piece such a vase full of pennies. 

In determining the valuation of a certain coin the condition of the coin can influence its value significantly. While evaluating the coin there are a few subjective factors that could be taken in consideration such as the following: The aesthetic interest of the coin, dents on the rim, unsightly scratches or other blemishes on the surface of the coin, the luster of the coin, the toning of the coin, the level of detail retained. Any damage to the coin can substantially reduce its value. 

There is a list of a common acknowledge terms to describe the condition of a coin: 

Mint State (MS), Uncirculated (UNC), About/Almost Uncirculated (AU), Extremely Fine (XF or EF), Very Fine (VF), Fine (F), Very Good (VG), Good (G), About Good (AG), Fair (FA, FR), Poor (PR, PO).

The success of your coin collection activity depends both on your financial capability as well as the level of your desire to pursue this kind of hobby. With any budget and energy that you might choose to invest in your coin collecting activity, we are sure that you will find it a great source of enjoyment and satisfaction.

One of the great sources to your coin collecting activity is http://www.coollectors.com where you can buy, sell, exchange and catalog your coin collection or simply review collections of other collectors. You can also become a member of the sites growing collectors community, connect with other similar collectors exchange coins and ideas.