As a child, I began collecting coins, and today, as an adult, I continue to treasure my Mercury dimes, Wheatback pennies, Buffalo nickels, Standing Liberty Quarters, and many other coins and bills from around the world.
You too can easily introduce your child to the joys of starting a coin collection. By preschool agea child can start his collection simply by saving change and learning their names and values.
By First gradea child can understand how to keep their coins organized by year of minting.
Once your child has some money to spend, they can learn to make responsible decisions about which old coins to buy at a coin shop to enhance their collection.
First steps to start a coin collection for children
Since 1999, when the Fifty State Quarters were introduced, many children have enjoyed collecting these coins and keeping them in a Quarter commemorative map or coin folder. These are fun, cheap and easy to use since we all have quarters in our pocket every day.
nickels and cents
When I helped my three youngest children (ages 3, 5, and 7) start their coin collections last year, we began by purchasing inexpensive coin folders ($2.99 each) to collect Lincoln Memorial Cents and Jefferson Nickels from the decade from 1940 to the present. .
Why nickels and pennies? Well, first of all, they are easy for small children to find in their own pocket and cheap to get in rolls of coin from the bank. When my six year old finds an old Wheatback penny (1959 and earlier), he reacts as if he just found a pot of gold! It’s like finding treasure every time you find an old coin to fill an empty year in your coin wallets.
What math skills can your child learn by collecting coins?
Addition and subtraction: start by counting numbers of coins, then once your child understands the values of coins, you can ask him to calculate the value of “2 cents plus 4 cents” gold “5 dimes minus 1 quarter”. For children in third grade or older, you can ask, for example, “How many years are there between a 1990 dime and a 2001 dime?”
- Place values: Learning to read coin minting dates and putting your coins in chronological order in a coin folder is a great way to put values to the thousands and also teach how we measure years on a calendar.
- Multiplication: Start by teaching your child that there are 100 cents in a dollar. “That means 100 cents, 20 cents, 10 cents, and 4 quarters each make 100 cents, or $1.” Work on multiplying each of the coin values by 2, 5, and 10 first, and then try the harder numbers on the multiplication tables. Coin rolls also lend themselves easily to multiplication. ask your son “If there are 25 quarters in a roll, what is the value of the entire roll of quarters?”
- good engine: For kids working on their pre-writing skills, stacking coins and rolling them into coin wrappers is great for working on the pincer grip. For example, you can help your child make 5 stacks of dimes each and place them correctly in her wrapper.
More Coin Collecting Resources
Once your child catches the coin-collecting bug, they’ll want more information. She will want to learn about the value and history of her coins, and generally learn more about how coins are made.
The US Mint has a wonderful website for coin collector kids with lots of activities and history of all US coins.
To find out the values of our old coins (as if we ever wanted to sell them!) my family uses The Official Red Book: A Guide to United States Coins, because it is easy to read and the information is very well organized. Coin books also teach about coin values so that before you go shopping, you know how much to spend on a 1922 Buffalo nickel or some other treasure for your collection.
Coin collecting is a wonderful and inexpensive family activity that you and your child can enjoy together for years to come. The math learned along the way is just a wonderful added benefit.
Happy collecting!