Takes a big man to know the value of a small coin

That is an old Italian saying.

I would like to expand on that. Many of you know how I got into this hobby. I have told of the history teacher that passed along a worn 2 cent coin to me.

Too often, many look to this hobby as an investment vehicle, or a competition. Coins are viewed as beautiful or rare, as money, or a way to make a living.

They are also history, art, and a link to each other.

This worn 2 cent piece in the picture was given to me as a tool to learn about the American civil war.

It would be easy to put a retail value on this coin, but to me it is so much more.

This single coin taught me about the history of this country, created many friendships, allowed me to see the country, and paved the way
to a great career.
It also taught me that coins do not have to be shiny, or big, or made of precious metals to have value. They don't have to be old, or have incredible designs. Each if viewed properly can link us to a special place. To transport us to that place where all is right with the world.

The next coin you hold your hand, consider for a moment the others that have carried the coin. How one little disc of metal can link all of us together. The little old lady carrying it around in her purse, the young man paying a debt, or the little child casting it in a wishing well hoping for greatness. These little discs can inspire dreams and wishes the world over for all of us if we would only understand their value.

 

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Beautifully put ND.

For me, holding some of the first coins that got me started on this journey is like touching a piece of history. Joe and I make up stories about where it might have been in it's long life. It grounds me, makes me feel close to my Dad, gives me a greater appreciation for all that I have. It has opened doors to new friendships that I would have never been lucky enough to find had it not been for this wonderful hobby.

The pieces in my collection that mean the most to me, that are the most valuable in my eyes probably wouldn't be worth much more than melt...but to me they are priceless for the memories they hold and the thoughts they invoke.

 

I tried it.

I just picked up the first coin I saw laying on the mess I call a desk.

It happened to be a 1977-J West German 5 Mark commemerative. So it's an NCLT coin.

BUT! It commemerates Carl Friederich Gauss, about whom I had known little. So now, I am going to research his life. I also need to do more research on German mints. Never a dull moment.

 

Thankyou well said.

ND, that was a great description. I collect silver commem's and I still have the very first one I ever had. Its a little worn and dark in color (1893 Columbian) but I still remember getting it and the story around it.
Another time on one of my business trips for my company, I looked up a dealer and called. He did not have a shop but met me for lunch and brought his commem's for me to look at. We talked and being new to the hobby, he took his time to answer any questions I had. I bought a couple of coins but the experience of someone sharing their time, knowledge and just enjoyment of coins has stayed with me. To all those type of dealers both here in this forum and across the country, thankyou from one true collector of coins (history, stories, and friendships made)

 

ND, you hit it right on the money (pardon the pun ). My appreciation of coins began with my grandfather and the memories of he and I going through change and talking about the coins and their history will always be treasured. Although I sell more than collect now, selling has actually opened new doors for me as far as the history and meaning of many coins. I won't sell a coin without researching everything there is to know about it and have found different pieces of history interesting enough to research time periods and historical events further. To hold in my hand a rouble coin from the days of Tsarism in Russia when ruled by the last Romanov, Nicholas II and the history of Rasputin and the Imperial family murder gives me chills. Actually, it's funny - I have a larger and better collection now that we sell than I did when I was collecting. What's even better is that I get to make a living doing something I love and I know my Grandfather is looking down with a big smile on his face

 

All coins have a tale to tell, but it is really based on the fact that so many of them have spent their lives and gathered their tales by going from person to person to square debts and make commerce possible. It is commerce and money which are the basis of civilization and it is coins which are present in most cases. Without trades occurring to the mutual benefit of both parties there would be no wealth and no need for coins.

Even the pristine coins that most collectors seek are only pristine because someone saw value in protecting it, saw value in it for its own sake. This ties us, too, to the ancient (or not so ancient) numismatist who said to himself, "here is something of value which deserves to remain unravaged by circulation". Even those coins not made to actually circulate derive their value from those that do. Collectors are tied together by the love of the hobby and the pursuit of coins, but they're also tied to the collectors who have come before and even those who used the coins in everyday life.

It's hardly surprising that most collectors have a keen interest in history.

 

In a giveaway on another forum I won a 1915 copper 10 centavos, struck at the Atlixtac Mint, one of seven mints in the Mexican State of Guerrero, operated by authority of the legendary Revolutionary General Emiliano Zapata. Of course I didn't know that history until I had the coin in my hand, and researched it, (significantly and permanently) increasing my knowledge and understanding of the history of North America.

The degree of wear clearly shows that it facilitated many, many transactions in that war-torn area, distinguishing it from all the NCLT, proofs and prooflike coins in my collection.

Did this one, perhaps, even pass through Zapata's own hands


(KM#645, a 28mm 1 year type - the color of the obverse scan is very close to that of the actual coin.)

 

some the oldest coins i have are my henry iii, henry viii, elizabeth i, russia's ivan iv (ivan the terrible), and those from when the romanovs came to power. i've always had a thing for english and imperial russian history so finding coins from the era adds something that i can hold and think about what was going on when they were minted and what happened to the people who used them. i think of how henry viii was so intent on having a male heir that he found whatever reasons he could to get rid of the wife who didn't present him with one (even though it wasn't her fault). elizabeth i didn't dare marry because she might've lost the crown to her husband or someone else. i think of how peter i brought russia kicking and screaming into the 18th century and of how many people lost their lives in that pursuit, of how catherine the great took the throne from peter iii and then effectively ended the romanov line because she had so many lovers that no one knows who who fathered paul, and then i think of how the reign of nicholas ii began on a disastrous note, that he was horribly unsuited to be tsar, and if he'd gotten his head of the clouds maybe the family might have escaped. why didn't his cousin george v arrange for them to go to england? that stuff just amazes me. on the other hand, i have a couple of nazi era german coins that i found years ago but don't mess with because the whole thing is disgusting and hateful.

i faves are the coins grandma gave to me. she was born in 1911, but a hefty chunk of what she had was from the mid-1800s on and i don't know how she got them. how'd she get the ef40 1888-p morgan that she gave me? i can't even ask her now and when i tried to find out when she was alive all she said was that she "just got them" - that doesn't help!

i got an 1878-s ef45 trade dollar friday...where has it been?????

history is da bomb

 

You are so right. And all of the areas of history that you talked about have been my favorites for many years. My interest in European history started when I was 6 years old and watched the BBC presentation of "The Six Wives of Henry VIII". That started me on a great historical journey that has been constantly branching out since that time. Coins from these eras are priceless to me regardless of their condition - the history behind them is rich enough for me.

 

No way. My wife was a history major and a major geek where Tudor England is concerned. If that's ever a Jeopardy category, she'd even lay Ken Jennings to waste.

 

I'd go up against her I've been into this for 33 years now.

 

No fair -- 33 years ago, she was only 3!

 

All right! Let's set it up in the chat room! The battle of Anglophiles!

 

Bring it on!!!!!!

 

A lot of people loose sightof the history in their coins. Bravo to those who keep the flames of the past alive!