The 9 Best Coin Resources for Collectors Online

The United States Mint is perhaps the best coin-collecting website for modern American coins. The site has information about new releases, ongoing series and programs, a history of the Mint section, and even biographies about its many talented artists. The Mint's website also has important areas dedicated to growing the hobby. One of them is dedicated to the basics of coin collecting. This 101-level introduction helps novice collectors understand the basic terminology that can be so daunting to those looking to get started with the hobby.

Additional sections are dedicated to children and educators. These sections help introduce the youth to coin collecting in the most relatable ways through interactive assets like coloring pages, games, and activities.

The coin grading company Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC) has a handy website for collectors. As one of the two leading coin grading services, NGC’s website houses numerous resources for all levels of coin collectors that include chat boards, coin galleries, pricing guides, and more. 

Three sections of the site are of particular interest. The Coin Grading Guide provides fantastic overviews of American coins and offers a useful bird's eye view of what collectors can expect from different series. The Grading Scale section provides brief descriptions and examples of the various grades. While estimating coins' potential grades is a skill that can only come with experience, this section is a fantastic starting point. Finally, Coin Explorer provides basic details such as mintage, mint marks, designers, etc. about every coin in American history. Sections about peculiarities of particular mintages are also available for many coins.

Professional Coin Grading Service, the other leading coin grading company, offers many similar resources to NGC including resources like price guides, the most recent coin related news, and more. PCGS' CoinFacts section boasts being the largest encyclopedia of coins on the internet and offers information for the buying, selling, and collecting of United States coinage. When finding out what your coins are worth, this is an excellent place to start. Their website also hosts a detailed Population Report section that gives collectors access to the number of coins PCGS has graded over the course of its history. Wondering how many 2019 Proof American Silver Eagles have been certified by PCGS to be in Mint State 70 condition? PCGS’s population report is where you would find that information.

Coin collectors looking to share their hobby with others may wish to turn to the American Numismatic Association's (ANA’s) website. The organization provides help in finding coin clubs and dealers and has extensive information about online courses and numismatic events. The ANA’s website also offers access to one of the world's most extensive numismatic libraries, where collectors can order books, DVDs, and other resources for just the cost of insurance and postage.

Want to know how much your coins may be worth? You’ll need to start with your precious metal’s spot price. KITCO is a fantastic option for those who want to know more about both current and historical spot prices. The site hosts live charts that detail the current spot prices of silver, gold, platinum, and other precious metals. Collectors and stackers looking to understand why spot prices are where they are and where they might be going can turn to the site's News and Commentary pages. Several articles and videos by experts detail how current and future events could impact precious metal prices.

CoinWeek is an excellent coin collectors website for those who want to know more about upcoming numismatic releases. Such information is perfect for collectors who wish to plan their purchases and make sure that they don't miss out when new coins and series debut. Some of these articles provide full details about new releases, while others simply offer whatever information is available at the time of writing. When buying coins online, CoinWeek is a reliable resource for the latest release announcements.

The Smithsonian website houses a digital version of the National Numismatic Collection (NNC), which contains almost 1.6 million historical artifacts. Thought to be the largest such collection, it includes money and transactional objects dating back more than three millennia from all over the world.

In particular, the NNC contains an extensive collection of American coinage, including entries from the United States Mint, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and the United States Treasury. Images of the individual pieces are available, as well as historical information concerning their place of origin, purpose, and the time they would have been in use. The extensive catalog includes a plethora of useful information for collectors and is also a fun, visual way to learn about how money evolved over time. 

Whether you’re looking to sell or buy coins online or want to find out what your coins may be worth, the Greysheet from Coin Dealer Newsletter will be a necessity. Each monthly issue serves as a tool for buyers and dealers to know the current pricing for nearly every U.S. coin. When you subscribe to recurring issues, you get access to both print and digital versions of the newsletter. Stay current with this industry-standard coin pricing guide.

The Newman Numismatic Portal (NNP) aims to be a comprehensive resource for all coin experts and collectors. Located at Washington University in St. Louis, the NNP is an excellent go-to source for numismatic research and reference material, emphasizing U.S. coinage. Here, you can find access to books, connect with authors and leading coin experts, browse through an extensive encyclopedia, images, auction companies, and much more.