The most useful thing a new coin collector can do is choose something finishable, because completing a run teaches more than owning scattered pieces.
Where the first money should go
One series, in circulated grades. A date run of an ordinary denomination is cheap, available, and it teaches you mint marks, varieties and what wear looks like at each stage.
A basic reference for that series is worth more than the next coin you were going to buy.
The expensive beginner mistake
Cleaning. It is permanent, it is immediately visible to anybody who knows the series, and it destroys more value than any other error in this category. Do not do it, ever, for any reason. Common mistakes.
The second is buying "old" instead of scarce. Common old coins survive in enormous numbers. Rarity sits in the mint mark and the year.
How to learn without paying for it
- Complete a cheap run. You will learn to grade by comparing twenty examples of the same coin.
- Read the published grading ladder rather than a seller's opinion. How coins are graded.
- Handle by the edges from day one. It is a habit, and habits are free.
- Ask sellers to tilt coins under light, and watch what appears.
Store it properly immediately
PVC-free holders, dry, out of light. Soft flips degrade and leave a green film on the coin, and that is a beginner's collection ruined by the thing bought to protect it. Storing coins.
Questions people ask
Should I buy graded coins to start?
One or two, as references for what a grade looks like. Not as a strategy.
Are old notes a good entry?
Yes, and folds are most of the grade. Store them flat.
How do I know what to specialise in?
Buy broadly and cheaply for a few months, then follow whatever you keep picking up.
More: buying coins, what they are worth.