Reader question: Tips for newbie collectors

Commenter "jnwcmr" asked on my post on how to turn an accumulation into a collection:

I have an “accumulation” of coins and banknotes from around the world, and I'd like to organize them. I'd appreciate an email on where to get plastic protector sheets for them, and maybe a pointer to some tips for newbie “collectors.”  Thanks.

I'll do one better than that:  I'll post my response here, and ask others to chime in on the comments.

I haven't had a need for a huge amount of supplies yet — wouldn't that be nice! — but I have gotten coin supplies on eBay.  I've bought some Airtite holders for some silver eagles, as well as a kit with 500 2"x2" cardboard coin holders and a plastic box to store them in.  (Here's where I bought the kit.)  Those supplies have lasted me so far.  Boxes of coin cards seems to be a more compact way of storing the coins, but albums are probably a better way to display them.  (One page in an album can display the front and back of 20 coins.)

EBay also has listings for currency and banknote protectors.  Vernon Coin Center (the store I linked to above) also sells these.  The plastic used in currency sleeves and coin protectors should be free of polyvinyl chloride (PVC).  PVC breaks down over time and releases hydrochloric acid which attacks most metals and paper.  Airtite holders are made of virgin acrylic plastic.

I also figured out how to safeguard my coins.  (No, I'm not saying how.)

I have a small number of world coins that a friend collected for me when he went to Europe in the mid-1990s.  All I've done with those is sorted them by country and placed them in their own small plastic bag.

I'm still in the process of moving from accumulator to collector myself.  As I mentioned in the other post, I buy coins mostly near melt value and stray from this guideline only to get something unusual or something in really good condition.  In other words, I'm still deciding what I'd like to concentrate on.

There are a few ways to specialize in a particular area of coin and currency collecting:

• Acquiring all of the coins of one particular design.  For example, all of the Mercury dimes, or all of the Franklin half dollars.  Most of the coins in a series are reasonably priced because they're common, but a few "key date" coins will be quite expensive simply because there aren't enough for everyone to have one.
• Acquiring all of the coins of one particular series.  My wife has a cardboard map with each of the statehood quarters in it (except Hawaii).  A friend at work collects silver eagles and silver eagle proofs because he thinks their design and look are beautiful (I agree).
• Acquiring examples of coin varieties.  Each coin is unique and the process of minting, transport, and storage of coins affects a particular coin uniquely.  Coins can be struck twice before put into circulation.  Uncirculated silver coins (especially Morgan dollars) can end become beautifully toned.
• Acquiring currency of one type.  A friend from church enjoys collecting silver certificates.

Basically, collect or specialize in whatever interests you!  If this is the route you'd like to go, an inexpensive way to go about it is to start with relatively low grade specimens to achieve a complete collection, and then "trade up" if you'd like to improve the conditions of the specimens you have.

These are my pointers.  I found Coin Collecting for Dummies to be a good primer on the subject.

Any other tips from other collectors?