...When you tell the register person that they have a silver coin in their draw, and you know it because you heard it "ring" (usualy shortly followed by "holy crap your right")
You feel extremely guilty for just rolling the spare change and taking it to the bank to deposit instead of spending Friday and Saturday nights (when the family is asleep) looking over each coin with a magnifying glass to see if it is anything "special"
When you correct people that mention their "'silver' pocket change" they received in change at the store. Then you risk sounding like a "know it all." Morals? 1) people hate being corrected, even when they're technically and provably wrong, and 2) Correcting people (even if to help/educate them) will (sometimes) lead people to accuse you of thinking you're better/smarter then them, even if that's not your intention. This has actually happened to me before.
Very true, and it is wise to be careful with your opinions even when you are provably right. In my early days of collecting I found a small coin stall at a local flea market. The seller did not have much of interest, and his prices were a bit crazy. I spotted a 1743 shilling, which before I even picked it up I knew was a poor fake. It was marked up at just GBP 15 - expensive for a copy, but very cheap for a genuine one, so I assumed the guy knew it was dodgy. As I picked it up, he remarked "Nice Coin" so I replied "Yes - pity its a copy." At which point he blew a fuze! Ended up demanding I left his stall and never spoke to him again. I have to say I was glad to comply with this demand!
...when your wife tells you to stop spending money on coins, but then you manage to find such a good good deal on a lot of coins that it's truly too good to pass up, so you buy the lot and worry about explaining them later. (Purely hypothetical situation of course... )
... When you make sure you don't have a wife, so you don't run into this situation in the first place!
If you don't have a wife, then who makes your sammiches? Kasia or Lucyray here to beat some sense into me in 3, 2, 1...
When your sister texts you saying "Is the John Adams gold $1 worth anything"? This happened yesterday to me.
Believe me, many people think they stumbled on an actual gold coin when they get one of these from a store or vending machine!
I've never owned or handled a real gold coin before. But based on what I've read, wouldn't a real gold coin actually be heavier?
... when the cute cashier is smiling at you and instead of looking at her, you're looking into the cash register. ... you spot change in the middle of the street and start thinking. I wonder if I can get to that coin before a car runs over it? ... at lunch you receive a shiny new 2013 coin with a spot on it. That bothers you more than that hair on you food.
When every time you leave a store, you risk getting hit by one of the cars moving in the parking lot, because you're too busy looking at the change in your hands.:too-funny:
You know you are a coin collector when your wife has just found about your latest $1000 outlay for a very rare coin - she angrily says 'Its either your coins or me!' - and you hesitate before answering.
When you hear the clink of silver and your eyes widen and you stare with an excited stupor like a deer caught in headlights.
When you cringe whenever someone talks about taking there "huge water bottle" of change to the bank and cashing it in. The first thought you think of is which bank. When someone tells the year they were born and you think of the coins of that year. When you love taking pictures of your coins but hate having your picture taking. When someone say they found a 1982 "penny" you wonder what composition it was and whether it was a small or large date. When someone says "gold dollar" your eyes light up. Only to realize it is a presidential dollar. Dusty
When someone asks if you have any pennies and you answer "No." (technically being truthful.) And when you pull out your pocket change they spot a bunch of those little copper plated zinc pieces with Lincoln on the obverse and they say: "yeah you do. There's a who bunch of pennies there!" and you respond: "No sir, those are cents."