Mother Of All Contests Framework

I have been collecting for almost a year now. I really enjoy roll hunting for the reasons many members have posted throughout the forum before. I believe I have seen it called poor man's treasure hunting before and in my case I would have to agree. It's a thrill not knowing what lies beneath that crisp bank wrapped roll, hides inside the crumpled old roll a customer has turned in, or what awaits in a tellers tray/drawer. There is always chance to find silver, key dates, errors, uncirculated coins, foreign coins etc. My kids have also started to get interested in coins which gives us another great way to spend time together. Plus I have to admit it feels pretty cool to get a coin/note for face value that is worth many times that. Lastly, one the best things I have found regarding this hobby has been this forum. The members here have always been great to me and extremely helpful. To be able to come here everyday and learn something or see something new is pretty special, and helps to keep the motivation up to keep searching.

 

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Well darn. I thought I had a good idea.
I guess it should have been coin related.

 

When my Grandpa died, I found in his Standard Catalog from the 1940s. I lived with him for 12 years, and I never knew he had an interest in coins. I imagine he had a collection and sold it decades ago. Maybe the coins stayed in the local area, and maybe by chance they ended up in my collection. My Grandpa was in his late 70s when I was born, and I was never able to relate to him very much. It was only after his death that I found out we might have more in common than I knew.

 

I became a coin collector 1 year ago. The main reason was because I was interested in looking through rolls of pennies. My first trade was with my grandpa for my first Indian head. After that I mostly bought coins from eBay. I soon got to know how much coins were worth And sometimes I made money. One of these was a 1953 seated liberty dime in XF condition, that was by far my oldest coin at that time. That record was only broken a while ago when I bought a 1851 large cent from non-cents. I have always loved looking through boxes of pennies and nickels. Although I have not found a single proof coin, which is disappointing. Before I came to CoinTalk I tried unsuccessfully to make my own coin community. Since I came to Cointalk I have traded with many people, just like I wanted. I have had a lot of fun on Cointalk. Unfortunately I don't have a coin shop in my area so I hope to one day have one myself.

 

I started collecting about a year ago and what got me going is one day at work I got a soda and in the change I got a 1937 buffalo nickel I asked my Dad about it and then he got his coins out from when he was a kid and I seen all the different coins there was and I've been hooked ever since thanks to the soda machine at work I never spend any of my change without searching through it first to make sure I'm not spending nothing good

 

I have been collecting coins, on and off, since the 1970s, when I first bought a coin at a coin shop. It was a silver 3 cent piece, and I was fascinated by how small it was and also that was probably used in the 'old west'. I purchased it for 4.00, which was probably twice as much as it was worth, but hey, it was something I had never seen before, much less 'owned'. Since then, I have mostly been very low key with collecting, having no real direction and not learning much about coins until somewhat recently.
After the state quarters started coming out, I didn't have too much of an interest in them or the modern coins until I heard about 'errors'. Hooked, without any effort. I started looking at all my quarters in the hopes of finding a Wisconsin or Delaware error. And in the process, I found that occasionally I found some really shiny, beautiful coins. So I started collecting the modern US issues that I found in change.... until I found out that people did CRH. Again... Hooked, without any effort. Over the past 7 years now, I have been CRH and saving the best examples of the coins I can find. I am fascinated that of all the coins people like to collect, it's usually after the fact that they become valuable and people say "Oh, I wish I collected those when they came out'. Well, I am collecting those future coins now as they come out. My goal with the quarters is to have 2-3 of the very best I can find in change/CRH and see how complete my collection will be after the end of the series (including the ATB and NP ones) in 2021.
In the process, I also found that I really like collecting dimes and nickels too, so to get a complete Jefferson and Roosevelt (non-silver) collection from change/CRH became a goal for me. When I find that I have better ones, I replace the ones I had before and throw the ones they replaced back into the wild. So it is always fun and exciting to find a better condition one, perhaps one that would even be gradable as a MS 66 or 67.
One of the most exciting finds I've ever made was a dropped letter State Quarter, where one of the letters in God, dropped and turned 90 degrees and was then in line with the mint mark. It was so perfect. I was afraid that in handling it that I would accidentally diminish the grade or something. So I got it graded and slabbed by NGC. And later I sold it for a really good price.
I have a few various collections other than the modern US ones. They are Icelandic Kingdom coins and Franklin Half Dollars. These collections are not complete, and I have to purchase them, but at some point in the future I hope to have it complete. But it is the getting there that is the fun, as well as knowing that others share my love for coins. I find as I collect, my focus really has been defined and having a focus is a sweet thing. And that I am continually finding new things about coins to love. Whether it's appreciating a foreign issue that someone else owns or the excellent photography that is seen in Numismatics now, or any of numerous other things, Coins and the collecting of those is a wonderful hobby. For me, and as you all can see, others.

 

BTW ^^^^ Squish a bunch of those words together as you read them so you only count to 100. K THX BAI

 

About 15 years ago I received a green metal box from my grandpa. It contained some coins and currency from around the world. I didn't do much with it at the time but did keep it intact. About 4 years ago I got into coin roll hunting and discovered the my father in law enjoyed coins. He had a large amount of world coins from his travels and some Canadian silver that he had saved. My father in law has now passed away and I'm in the process if organizing his coins and stamps that he left to me. I still coin roll hunt. I am working on a world coin collection. I am starting to enjoy collecting older silver world coins. I hope to leave my collection to my boys many years from now.

 

Many years ago I had a friend "Dave" who was and avid coin nut. Over time hearing his stories about coins he bought or found I was bitten by the bug myself. For years we shared our finds and treasures with each other. Then came the day that Dave's family was going to move out of state. We exchanged "treasured" coins that were special to us. I was given his 1857 Flying Eagle cent and he got my 1861 Indian head penny. Years later I sold off 99% of my collection but never that cent. Even more years rolled by I served my country and raised my kids and settled into a nice early retirement. One day a box arrived from my brother, he had found it in the basement of our old house and knew it for what it was my "treasure box". Sitting in the back corner under an balding rabbits foot and some 10 sided dice was that Flying Eagle. The "Bug" bit a 2nd time. That was about 2 years ago and in that time I have rebuilt my collection to include coins Dave and I only could only have dreamed about as kids. One of these days I may just have to find Dave and see where life has taken him... I wonder if he still has that Penny tucked away somewhere .

 

I started collecting not too long ago. What got me into it was my friend. He collected coins. At first I thought collecting was stupid and a waste of money. Looking back, I can’t really understand what caused me to think that. What my friend said made sense, and when it started to click, I started collecting. At first I didn't buy much, which is what is expected for a young numismatist. After a while, I won a contest which got me $500, which is a lot for someone my age. Although I don’t have much experience collecting, mostly just albums of Wheaties and mercs, I’m hoping the money I won in the contest will further my numismatic experience. I also got a metal detector for my birthday present, hence the username "wheatydigger". So far, I've found many wheaties and by some huge stroke of luck, my first and only silver coin is a 1872 half dime.

Thank you so much for this contest! Sorry I went over the word limit, I had a lot to say.

 

My journey started all but two months ago when I gained interest in investing in silver. I viewed multiple videos of successful coin roll hunters and thought, how could I lose. I obtained two boxes of halves from my local bank and searched without success, but while I was searching I started to sort out the higher grade coins and realized I enjoyed this process more than searching for silver. So, me being the way that I am, I dove in head first into coin collecting and started to research as much as I could to gain a better understanding of numismatics. I watched videos to point me in the right direction and decided to reach out to a video poster for advice and he suggested many sites, including CT. So, through much appreciated advice through this site, I have bought the book before the coin, started to build an acquaintance with my local coin shop owner, and attended two coin shows last month just to view and gain experience. It has been overwhelming at first being inundated with a wealth of information, but I am learning to gain patience and an understanding that it is a long road and all is not learned overnight. Which is fine by me because I cannot envision there being an end to this new found hobby that has quickly become part of who I am.

 

I joined CT after reading an article in Coin World. It was about a collector who had spotted a counterfeit coin on eBay. He bought the coin and refused to pay in an attempt to keep the counterfeit from being sold to an unsuspecting collectors. eBay had NARU'ed him for failure to pay. Eventually eBay had him reinstated, but I figured that any group with collectors willing to put that much on the line had to be at least mostly good people. I have not been disappointed often since.

 

The little girl loved the man. The man loved the little girl. He was perplexed at what to do with her; so little, so much a girl. He taught her all he could think of - numbers, calculators, typewriters; spelling, and grammar (the kings' english, he said.). He told her stories, bought her dresses. One day, he put her on his shoulders and took her to his study. He gave her a magnifying glass and a roll of pennies, and showed her how to look for mint marks, S's and D's. Clack clack, tap tap, pencils and staples, she remembers, while she clutched pennies and glass. And the smell of cigars..

The girl went away, and at each return, the man opened the safe so they could look through the treasures. Eventually the man died. The sons cleared everything away. They gave the girl a small box. It was filled with pennies, nickels, and dimes, each stapled into their holder and neatly marked. Proof sets, Morgans, Eisenhowers, and silver certificates.

The girl loved them. She cried. She looked for S's and D's.


Lucy

(My grandparents raised me from birth to four years old. My grandfather was President of the Detroit Coin Club in the early 60's)

 

Starting out as a favor for my Mom; I discovered that searching for errors in coins aided in my recovery of a stroke I had at the age of 36. Now 42, I buy boxes of pennies...look for errors...and place most back into circulation. If I could financially afford a collection of coins...I would collect them all. Until that time comes...I will continue my searching of error in boxes of circulated pennies. The few coins I keep are presents from Mother's collection, presents from husband, and errors I have found. Nothing fancy...perfect in my eyes.

 

Get back to the basics...... Place a jar on the counter fill it with coins. Everyone guesses the amount (face value or precious metal value) The winner is the closest without going over.

 

I started "seriously" collecting coins around February 2012. I had always kept wheat cents I noticed in my change, but it wasn't a passion. After my birthday, in November 2011, I decided to quit drinking. I'm 34 years old, have been married 11 awesome years, and have a wonderful 5 year old boy. I also had been drinking 8-12 beer per weeknight, and 18 or so on each day of the weekend. I decided this wasn't the best thing for my fatherhood so I quit. I was so bored in the evenings after work, I didn't know what to do. I had a large jug of cents, so I decided to get a loupe and start looking for errors and varieties. The rest is history. So, to me, numismatics has been a life changing hobby. I'm a coinoholic now!

 

I get bored easily, very very easily. There is little in this world that keeps me from being bored to tears within 5 minutes. Numismatics has been able to keep my interest for years and years. Some say that's ridiculous. I mean, when you think about it, coins are just disks of metal while paper money is just a cotton-linen with a denomination stamped on it; yet they mean a great deal more to me. Coins and currency symbolize art, history, economy, culture, life and humanity. When I get bored of one aspect of numismatics there are at least a dozen more to keep my interest alive. The knowledge I've picked up through numismatics has helped land me a job at my local coin shop. Not only is this job helping me get through paying for college, it is also one of the most interesting and satisfying jobs I probably will ever get.

 

I got into collecting coins by way of having a "lucky" cent that I carried around for years in my wallet. It was a 43 Steelie and was in really good shape, I didn't know it back then but it was nice compared to the many I have seen now. Having looked up why it was steel, because of the war, I thought that was so cool to have remnant of history, since I was also heavily into WW 2 documentaries at the time (the British one "The World at War" was the best).
One day I left my wallet at a 7-11 and when I returned for it the gangsta guy at the register said it was found by the back of the store. He gave it to me and it was emptied out, along with my lucky cent. I remember leaving on the counter so I suspected him of taking it. Anyway, after that I wanted a new Steelie, so my friend and I went to a coin shop to get one. At the coin shop I saw a Mercury dime among others there and it made me fascinated with the older designs and how their art was much more interesting (although I like modern coins too) than newer ones. I was pretty much instantly hooked since then, collecting U.S. and World coins. I still keep a Steelie in my wallet.

 

I got into coins at 7 when my dad received change and received a dime. He gave it to me and after searching up the date and denomination i found out it was a mercury dime ( I still remember 1916 ) so I typed in "value of a 1916 dime.” But I didn’t know about grading , mintmarks. But the price guide http://www.coinstudy.com/1916-dime-value.html <--- that exact website made me think I’d struck it rich (D). When i got home i put it onto the table but my mom spent it… Oh how That memory still mocks me..

(exactly 100 words)

 

I have been fascinated with coins ever since I was little looking at my grandfathers coins. He even gave some of them to me. The thing about coin collecting that I really find interesting is the history of the coin. Where journey did it take from the mint to my hands? Who held them in their hands? What sort of things was it used to buy? Of course one can only imagine but I have enough imagination to think of the possibilities. Over the years I have enjoyed learning more about them. First how to properly care for them like no cleaning especially the improper type. I have found that there are many opinions on how to do so. I also like learning about types, patterns, grades and associated values. I still have a lot to learn about them and figure it just might take my entire lifetime to do so