How did you get started with coin collecting?

What got me started was when my father passed, I had agreed to be the executor of his estate, such as it was, his will stated that his estate was to be distributed equally among his heirs, there were 8 of us, 5 girls, 3 boys. That necessitated finding a value for all the things he had, including a bunch of coins, that led to having to research, doing the coin collecting makes me think of him and I wish he could see how much I have added to his collection, hopefully one of my children or grandchildren will become interested so I can pass it on someday.

 

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Same MO.

1954-1956 I had a morning and evening paper route. Subscription prices were low, so most folks paid with change. How low? The morning paper was twice a week, and I collected 40 cents a month. Ten cent tip was standard (hey that's 25% of the subscription price). Banks had no problems selling me rolls, and I'd look through them, and take them right back. Tellers would ask me if I found anything good, and ask how many more rolls I needed. That's when banks wanted your business, no matter how small.

 

Grandpa collected. When I saw a German silver 5 mark for the first time I knew I need one too

 

There is a coin store right next to the grocery store that my family goes too. I went in about 6 years ago, and bought an Indian head cent. The guy also gave me a free steel cent. Believe me, it has escalated from there.

 

Ya that's the best part, that weekly stock or new goodies to sort through. That is exactly why I coin roll hunt. Each week I dump and then re buy mostly nickels and halves. Just to have something to play with. Best part about coin roll hunting is that unless I pull some coins it don't cost nothing to play. Pocket change usually makes up for coins I pull out.

 

Have you escalated to the point of no return?

 

Coin shows are great, but I am feeling the need to go do some more coin roll hunting again. That's also a big part of how I got hooked into collecting. It was the thrill of possibly finding that overlooked coin. I just need to get established with a good pick up bank.

 

At age 15 I went overseas with my high school band and choir groups. I started saving coins from each country (...Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, England...). I went abroad a few more times and started hoarding coins. But I kept them all in a box for years. For the next 20 years I asked people to bring me back coins from their travels, and they did. I only started carding what I had about a year ago. Not super valuable, a few nice coins, but fun pieces that bring back memories. I just love to collect from around the world, but I've accumulated some really nice US currency along the way!

 

I was really into Roman history in 2012 and was reading all the classics like the twelve emperors, rise and fall of the Roman Empire and many more. I decided to get a Roman artifact for my birthday and coins are basically the cheapest Roman item you can find without digging them up. I got a Augustus coin minted in Spain. At Christmas my sister in law bought me five Roman coins. When I got my tax return I went to the antique store to look around and came across a standing liberty quarter. Ever since I got the quarter I became super interested in collecting. So I sort of started with ancients but they have never caught my interest. I tend to think the standing liberty was the coin that lit my passion for coins.

 

It was so long ago I forget

 

My uncle was a major influence. He had a tin of world coins he would pull out when we visited and took great joy in showing off the "non-round" ones. I vaguely remember one being triangular. He also usually had a large basket, or jar, or whatever container of accumulated pocket change that he would let me sort through to fill a penny book.

 

There, and beyond.

 

I found a Franklin half in change at a 7-11 and I thought it was a fake coin. I was 7-8 and this was 1970 ish. It seemed like a fortune. My mom knew what it was and let me keep it. I then started collecting wheat pennies and silver dimes by looking at the edges. I saved coins feverishly until I got married and had a kid. I then had to sell my U.S coins, baseball coins, hockey, football, and basketball cards as well as my comic books. I had a lot of stuff from the 60's and 70's that I wish I had today. Now I'm on my third collection.

 

gotta go back to 1967 or so. I was 6, the middle of three bros. Daddy was a lawyer (as was his dad and as am I). Daddy was always willing to take interesting items in lieu of cash. On one occasion, he accepted a shotgun, two live chickens and a big coffee can full of dimes, quarters and halves. The birds were dropped off at my Cajun grandmother's house (she knew what to do with them), the shotgun went into the gun cabinet, and the coffee can sat in the middle of the breakfast table.

"Hey Boys, Check it Out!" he dumped the coins onto the table. I had never seen that much money. "Who wants to help me sort these?" My brothers stepped backwards. I was mesmerized. and officially hooked.

 

I remember in the early 70's I found an ad in TV Guide (I think) where they would send you some junk coins, Buffalo Nickles with no date, etc and you either kept them or sent them back. Well, I had no money for postage and the coins kept coming so my collection grew, that is until my mom came home early from work and found the bill. So my mom confiscated my coins and hardly spoke to me until I had sufficiently worked around the house to pay for them. I begged daily to get them back to no avail for a few months. I owed $5 and it might as well have been a million.

 

It started at Bob's News in 1974. I was just browsing and saw one of the coin publications with a photo of a Silver Art Bar. I started buying them for $5.50ppd each while people kept telling me that it was impossible because the dang government made gold and silver ownership illegal. I started reading some of the coin stuff in NN CW etc, publications I was buying for Art Bar ads.

So it really started with Art Bars. But the coin bug was biting. By 1980 I read Bowers' High Profits From Rare Coins, the Garrett Book, Kamin's How To Make Money In Coins etc. And I made my first big deal coin purchase from Joe Flynn--a 1931S Buff nickel in MS65. I was on the road to riches and the rest as they say: Never Happened.

 

My dad gave me five 1964 mint sets and signed me up for the mint mailing list. Looking back the mint sets and proof sets were not a good buy but the connection has been priceless. After he passed I was given his Walking Liberty and Franklin folders. I have since moved the Walkers to a Dansco album and have been replacing the coins with higher grades. Someday this will be handed down.