The beauty of coin collecting

I also collect for the history behind the coins. I have everything from US large cents to 18th century foreign to a few ancients. I wonder, how many of us look at a NEW coin and wonder what it's history will be like? I will hold, lets say a proof ASE and get geeked on the realization that someone a hundred or two hundred years from now will be holding this coin and wondering, as we all do, where it's been and what would it say if it could talk.

 

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I hear what you are saying, but I would do that more with a circulation quarter than a proof. One of the reason I never liked proofs much is that I knew it was not a coin the common man could have ever owned. It was a presentation piece never designed to circulate as a coin.

Some of my favorite coins are well circulated ones. Those are the ones, (to me), that would really have tales to tell.

 

Chris what spawned the transition? I wish I had the mind to encapsulate the world of ancients. Your mind must be an encyclopedia. The history must be as far as the eye can see. I plan on going down that path years down the road.

 

Ancients are fun too, I wouldn't mind getting into it but not at the moment. I did see one member (can't remember who) that posted a world coin that was during the Black Death plague era. It was kinda creepy but cool at the same time.

 

Good point. I hadn't ever thought of it that way. Reminds me of the way so many nice cars are treated, e.g., Ferraris gobbled up by collectors who keep them hidden under a cover in their hermetically sealed garages.

There are so many interesting aspects of coin collecting that appeal to a wide audience. Their history is probably the most obvious, but the economics, technology, artistry are all attractive as well. I really like the way that coin and paper money designs can reveal the zeitgeist of a particular society at a certain time. Take for example the various bank notes printed in 19th century America, many of them with portrayals of industry and railroads. After the civil war, there are also plenty of examples that showcase the theme of reconciliation and union.

 

Collecting any coins is all the same. There are Morgan guys I know who can recite every single date/mm and relative rarity per grade from heart. Its just different interests that drive collectors. I would dare say collecting a small subset of ancient Romans, like 2nd century emperors, is not much harder than collecting bust halves. Biggest difference is where you buy your coins from.

 

If this coin could talk:
http://auction.sedwickcoins.com/Bog...emely-rare-Restrepo-360-1-KM-L1-1-2_i12160176