What a great hobby this is. Glad you're getting into it. You won't be sorry. To answer a few of your questions.........
Barber coins were minted from 1892 through 1916. They were made of 90% silver and 10% copper and in denominations of dime, quarter, and half dollar. Like someone already answered above they were designed by Charles E. Barber who was an engraver at the mint at the time. Barber dimes were replaced by mercury dimes in 1916. In 1946 the mercury dime was replaced by the silver Roosevelt dime. Roosevelt dimes continued to be silver through 1964. In 1965 they became clad, which is a composition of 75% copper and 25% nickel. Barber quarters were replaced by standing liberty quarters in 1917 which continued through 1930. No quarters were minted in 1931 and in 1932 the Washington quarter design began.
When someone says that silver can be found where indians are turning up (I'm assuming that this means indian head pennies but with some of these posts, especially where arrowheads are being found, indians can actually mean indians). Anyway back to my point....during the time that Indian head pennies were minted (1859-1909) most other coinage, with the exception of nickels and three cent nickels, were made of silver.
And now on to the coppers. Yes, they are made of copper. You hear alot about coppers on this site. Someone said above that there are people on this site that do nothing but search for old coppers. I kind of file myself in this category. Once you find your first copper, you won't stop until you find some more. It's addictive.
A colonial copper is different from more recent coppers (like old U.S. large cents). The term colonial refers to times before the states were united and there were just "colonies". U.S. coinage began in the late 1700's. I believe the fugio cent was among the first coins (1787) to be minted with the "United States" words on it. There were a few other issues between then and 1794 when the U.S. coins began to be more widely produced. Many of the late 1700's US coins are highly sought after and very rare. British coinage was very prevalent in the colonies in the 1700's and consequently, British coppers tend to turn up alot at older colonial sites. Silver coins in the colonies back then were predominantly of Spanish lineage.
Although this was just a very brief outline of coins, I hope it helps in some small way. I would recommend getting the Red Book of U.S. coins. It not only covers American coins, but also has a pretty good section on colonial coins and is very helpful in identifying coins and placing a rough estimate of value on the coins.
Good Luck,
Evolution, AKA Rob
