post the coin that got you started

Post the coin that got you started collecting. Mine is a 1929 wheat penny found on the floor in a mall.

 

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Mine is a war nickel I got in change from an elementary school lunch. I knew something was different about it than a normal nickel. I told my dad, and he said it was nothing special, and there was no such thing as a silver nickel. I put it away in my room for years... I just thought about it last year and did some research and found out it does have silver in it! Shortly after I started buying rolls of nickels, then moved onto dimes, quarters, cents, and halves. I've accumulated over 60 ounces of ASW from roll finds since December 2011.

Not bad, eh?
PS: Great thread!

 

Mine was an 1876 Seated Liberty Quarter AG. Bought it when I was 4 years old.

 

In my change once.

 

After 27 years in the military and four moves after retirement not much is still around from my youth except memories.

 

I don't have a picture of it, and it's now in the junk bin with all the others, but the coin that got me started was a 1952-D wheatie that I used in the 1st grade as part of a "100" project. We had to make a display of 100 and I chose to use pennies. One of them was a wheatback, and I thought it was so cool because it was different. After that, i saved every wheatback I came across.

 

The coin that got me back into collecting was a 1926 wheat penny. It was pretty worn, but I've always been fascinated with the wheats for some reason so I figured I would start collecting again

 

Don't have it any more, It was an 1881s Morgan in very circulated condition 40+ years ago.

 

My Grandmother gave me a circulated 1941 Mercury dime when I was either 4 or 5 years old. Although my Mercury collection is now a MS set, that beautiful circulated 1941 sits proudly in my Dansco where it will remain forever.

 

It's LONG gone.
But it was a wheatie and since I started in about 1955 it had to be that date or earlier.

 

It wasn't just one coin, but several boxes that got me started. I've told this story before, but when my mother-in-law passed away several years ago she left the wife several shoe boxes of what she called "old money". As we went through the stash and saw what she had, including several Morgan and Peace dollars (never saw either before) and researched what they were, we decided to keep it rather than sell it, and I have added to it ever since.

 

My dad had a coin collection, and when I got a paper route in 1963, he introduced me to it, after which I started collecting. The pride and joy of his collection was his Indian head cent collection, but here is his star coin (1913-S Variety 2):

 

Very Nice Centsdimes!

 

I wish it was that easy. Started picking wheat cents out of my grandma's change in the late 60's. So I do not recall the dates. But I do still have the first book my father bough and started adding coins to. It is around here some where - then my father started buying proof coins and at that point I was really hooked.

 

Mine were purchased at the end of last summer. I wanted an investment, so I picked silver. (not always the best bet, but I wanted to buy something that might go up in value) Got 5 barber dimes at my local pawn shop. Still have them, in the original 2x2s that I got them in. After I got them of course, I went to the internet and saw a picture of an MS barber dime on wikipedia, and said, "dang, wouldn't it be cool to own one of them?" And, here I am now, 600 posts later, just look at my profile off at the left. Its a disease! However, it is a rather enjoyable one.

 

Yes a disease... however it has a very low death percentage

 

This was given to me by my dad in August 1978. I've carried it with me since. It has traveled with me to Europe, Asia, and several states over these many years.

 

I think it was some Morgans given to me by my grandpappy.

 

i don't know what was my first ever coin, but my dad got me started collecting through roll searching.

but my first roman coin, which got me started on romans...


my first edward i penny, which started my obsession...

 

I did just post this in another thread, but here it is anyway..
1804 Large Cent
This is the coin that started it all for me. It was part of a collection given to me by my Dad. It has been in our family since 1815.
We know this for sure. What we don't know is why it was kept. We don't believe my relative was a collector, since this was the only coin the came through the family.
Maybe he liked the cud, or maybe it was just a coin thrown in a drawer. We will never know. We are certainly lucky though.
It is an S-266 die state B, the rarest of the 1804 large cents.
I know, I need new images. But obviously, this coin isn't sitting around my house.