The current poll got me to wondering...why do people like certain series of coins? My all-time favorite is half cents and very early cent coins. These coins have a connection to the creation of the US, had disproportionate value due to the lack of coins at all, have lots of varieties due to the hand crafting of the dies, and are darn difficult to find in really nice condition. I also love bust half dollars for the varieties. What do you like, but mainly, why do you like it? Mike
I share your love of early US cents, in particular the cents of 1794. There is something very warm and appealing about them. And there is also the connection with the very beginnings of US history. As you say, very difficult to find samples in good condition, but even worn out specimens have their charm. I also like roman coins, specially since the day i found some sestertii and denarii with a metal detector in the woods right behind my house. Incredible to think that romans, maybe legionaries, inhabited this area or marched though these woods 2000 years ago, and in a place so far from Rome. What the romans accomplished was really fascinating.
i like early coins as well. I am fascinated with the look and feel of them, especially as they age and wear. Most coins after 1909, depending on denomination, just dont have the draw for me.
Large Cents, because they are large and I feel there has to be value in something that is big? Best reason I could come up with. : )
I love silver dollars because they are silver, large and the designs are nothing like today's dollars.
I like all of them, but high-grade Mercury dimes and Morgan Dollars are some of the most attractive U.S. coins, IMHO.
I love all old copper especially two cent pieces. I like odd denominations in general. 1/2 cent, 2 cent, both 3 cents and 20 cent. It's in the history and that these coins actually did circulate. I actually like pretty much all coins before 1900 and a few since then. No offense to anyone but modern coins featuring dead presidents don't get me going too mucn. I own many but give me a late 18th or 19th century coin any day.
Well...for the past year I have stopped buying gold and platinum due to the rapid price movements. My favorite coins are the Gold and Platinum bullion coins for two reasons. 1. It's a bullion investment and started buying years ago when gold was 285 oZ. 2. I like the At.Gaudens design on the bullion coins since Regan signed the bill in 1986. I have mostly switched over to paper and have only been collecting for a year or so... I am finding that paper holds its own remarkable pieces and the information on it all can be extensive! Thas my story and I'm sticking to it.....LOL RickieB
I like all U.S. coins and I collect a very wide variety of them. I'm really drawn to 19th century U.S. coins mainly because of the history. When you look at the date of any of these coins you cant help but wonder where this coin may have been and the events that took place at that time. My favorite right now are the Indian Head Cents and the Seated Liberty Half Dime which both sets are still incomplete but rapidly growing.
Anything unusual - 1/2c, Large 1c, 2c, 3c, 20c, $3... I guess I just like novelty. Also... Indian $2.5, $5, and $10. Gorgeous coins. And of course Lib + StG $20s.
Right now I am a beginner trying to play catch up with modern stuff... But I have to say that I am really drawn to the Kennedy halves... Going to start on the Franklin's next... And I love searching rolls of wheaties to try and find some of those key dates...
i love the gold pandas because they are diffrent every year thats why i love our proof plaitnum as well
I prefer US coins, not really sure why. Specifically, I like proofs (especially the older ones), nickels, and wheat cents. I like proofs becuase they are really not like the casual coin. They have that certain attraction that attracts me (for lack of better words). Nickels, because I love that you can still find a lot of older ones in circulation, and they also are just something that have a beauty of there own. Wheats, well, they have always been an favorite of mine. Love finding them in circulation. The earlier ones, I love them in the condition VF/XF, because they still have that sort of sharpness in strike and all. Sort of hard to explain. The later ones (like 30s and on) they don't look as good in VF/XF to me, (Just my opinion), but are beautiful in BU. Also I love a challenge, and that is finding some nice R examples, and keeping them that way. Kind of hard for me to tell why I like what I like, but I did my best. Phoenix
I like world coinage the best, particularly the hammered gold. But there was plenty of silver that I liked too. Why ? I liked the designs, the history, the stories behind the coins. I probably learned more about myself by switching from US coinage to world coinage than I ever knew before
I like the different faces of liberty. I like Morgan dollars because of the size, design, and the relative ease of aquiring high grade pieces. Of late I have been collecting odd denominations. There is just something about liberty on the older coinage that facinates me. I also enjoy the history that goes along with them.
I'm a Lincoln guy, but I have quite a stash of perty colored Morgans also. Those are big, heavy, old and awesome. I love em, but to protect myself, I buy 90% of my Morgans in NGC or PCGS. I have too many Lincolns, but I cannot bring myself to part with my good ones, no many how many quintuple multiples I have, keep adding to them. Who needs a 1/2 a roll of 24-d's? I don't but I have one, lol. I started on a year set from 1794-current recently and have made great progress. I will eventually start on the Indians seriously, and pick up the stray large cent when I can. I have a ton of lowgrades just to fill holes in a year set. Seated coinage is intriguing, but........what really has my thoughts right now as a new thing is ancients and paper, bought a book on each here recently.
I collect ancients. The varities are almost endless! But the real kicker is this: there are no sets. Rather, each coin is a set unto itself. That really helps me justify spending a hundred or so dollars on an individual piece. (I have a small budget!) With US coins, to complete a set meant acquiring quite a few coins, and to get anything nice at all would cost way too much! This is also why I started cutting my US collection down to a type set.
Thanks for the replies! I am not sure what I expected people to say, but it all makes sense. Coins, for me, are a snapshot in time and they connect me in a material way with people whose circumstances were much different. I guess the early American is what I prefer because it is a history that I am familiar with and that I find very romantic. But hammered gold, or high relief Roman or Greek would catch me quick if Europe were my home. Spock had a 20 franc Helvetia that has swept me off of my feet because of (Liberty?) the lady on the front. It is beautiful and has a story I am sure! Thanks again for the replies- Mike