About Genuine Cents
Genuine Cents is a straight-talk coin collecting resource built for people who want clarity, honesty, and real-world guidance without jargon or hype. I break down the things collectors actually run into: errors, varieties, grading basics, surface issues, and the strange stuff that shows up when you start digging through change or old collections.
My approach is simple: no nonsense, no filler, no recycled myths. Just clear explanations, real photos, and practical advice based on thousands of coins handled and the same questions I see new collectors struggle with every day.
What You Will Find Here
- Plain language guides to common coin terms
- How to tell damage from true mint errors
- How to spot cleaned or altered surfaces
- What actually affects value and what does not
- Deep dives into copper breakdown, verdigris, zinc rot, and natural toning
- Roll hunting strategies and how to avoid time traps
- Stories behind designs, mints, and oddities from United States coin history
Everything here is written with beginners in mind, but deep enough to stay useful as you grow.
Connect With Me Around the Community
If you want to see what I am collecting, cleaning up, or researching behind the scenes, you can find me in a few places:
I am also an American Numismatic Association member, and I follow their grading standards and educational resources closely.
Why Genuine Cents Exists
Coins sit at the intersection of history, art, chemistry and buried treasure. Most collectors come in full of excitement and immediately hit a wall: bad info, conflicting opinions, forum noise, and five different answers to one simple question.
Genuine Cents exists to cut through that.
If you are looking for clear, honest coin knowledge that helps you understand what is in your hands, you are in the right place.
Welcome to Genuine Cents. Let us dig in.