Your Genesis item. What got u hooked?

I was running through the gallery the other day and stumbled across a medal that I instantly recognized. It looked like something I bought at the US Mint in Washington DC circa 1973 as kid. That and a cotton bag full of fresh mint pennies. The pennies are long gone but I dug around and found my medal safely stored (less it's plastic dome display) in a box in the basement. This medal was the first thing I ever bought with my money that was related to collecting. My father was in the Navy in the Pacific in WWII and it is probably why I gravitated to it in the souvenir shop that day. I remember handing over a fist full of cash for it.....probably less than $10.

Reflecting upon it, I realized that this is what set the hook so long ago. John Paul sat on my desk as a kid, in my dorm in college and in my many apartments. A house and kids put it/him into storage. And not long after the medal went into storage, after another internet stumble, I began collecting ancients.

It has pretty much no monetary value, but it will now go in the Abafil, next to its' better bred kin.....it is the Genesis Item (yup coining a term here...look a pun "coining") All else in the collection exists because of this medal. Not a coin, not paper currency, not a token, but a Medal.

Bored on a Monday afternoon?
Tired of the work calls?
The Sports jock colleagues groaning on about missed or made field goals?
Politics got you down?
Significant other not appreciating your hobby?

Well, join the dozens (sorry, not billions) of other collectors that share your unique perspective on life (you collect what????) and post your Genesis Item here. Distract yourself in a healthy way........

Help start a thread that will know no boundaries as to item classification, a thread that recognizes no collecting category, imagine all the people, living life in peace...

You may say that I 'm a dreamer , but I'm not the only one........

Here is my Genesis Item.



US Mint 1973 Comitia Americana Re-strike

Medal awarded to Captain John Paul Jones for the naval battle between the U.S. frigate Bonhomme Richard and the British frigate Serapis. The original was engraved by Augustine Dupre, and struck in gold.
Obverse: The bust of Captain Jones, facing right. Latin inscription reads: The American Congress to John Paul Jones, Commander of the fleet.
Reverse: The Bonhomme Richard on fire with her crew boarding the severely damaged Serapis. The Alliance, consort of the Richard, stands off to the left beyond two sailors in the water clinging to a spar. Latin inscription reads: The Enemy's Ships Captured or Put to Flight (above), at Scotland's shore, 23 September 1779 (below).


Is it just me or did someone just whisper "Rosebud...."

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

That's a wonderful medal!

I'm a bit of an exonumia collector myself, specalizing in military trade tokens and by extension military themed exonumia. For me there isn't one particular coin or medal that got me serious about collecting or that I consider the start of my collection. However, this humble group of tokens from Grand Forks Air Force Base got me serious into collecting Air Force military trade tokens:


Those four tokens got me started collecting Air Force trade tokens. They're actually really nice in hand, this is the seller's picture and they don't do enough justice. As far as trade tokens go, I find I prefer the brass or nickel ones - these are brass and when you handle them you can actually feel their weight unlike aluminum tokens.

Now these two coins got me serious into ancients (ya...I've posted them before a few times, but they can use all the love they can get!):




Come to think of it...this "coin" might actually be the genesis of my collection. It was given to me in basic training, a week before graduation. Of all the coins I own in a collection, this is the first. Ya, it didn't get me started collecting but it planted the seed. After this "coin" others would find there way into my collection and they would be packaged up, put with other mementos, and only looked at and reflected on when it was time to move. In fact, this coin is the start of it all.


(Sorry for the poor photo!)

 

well, i've already posted my first ancient coin in another thread, so i'll share this. what got me interested in ancients wasn't a coin, but an art exhibit i checked out in the summer of 2011 at the indianapolis museum of art. the roman art just blew me away for..reasons i can't really articulate. but part of the exhibit was out where you could actually touch the stuff...which was awesome. part of the appeal of ancient coins!

http://artdaily.com/news/38583/Ital...o-the-Indianapolis-Museum-of-Art#.VkpEzXarRMw

picked up a couple coins that fall off ebay, have been going ever since.

 

I don't have pictures because it's in my safety deposit box at the bank, but it was my great-grandfather's Spanish 25 pesetas gold coin from 1878. It was one of about 20 that he had with him when he moved his family from Spain to Cuba in 1890 (that was all the money he had). He kept one as a memento to remind him of Spain and it's been passed down from father to son ever since.

He was 22 at the time, didn't have a son until he had my grandfather at the age of 57 with his second wife, my grandfather passed it to my father (his son in law, as he only had daughters), and my father passed it to me. One day I hope to pass it on to my son.

 

My grandparents came over on the Lusitania then later went back to Ireland (perhaps the few Irish who ever did go back!!). Later, when my dad came over (to the US) and I was 'created' (ahem), he gave me some crummy super worn pocket change he brought with him from the old country. Was always hooked on coins, but early on was hooked on ancients. Now its my full time job. Who says the American Dream is dead?

 

My story is here. Although I first bought some uncleaned coins, it wasn't very satisfying. I decided to buy just one really nice ancient coin-- a Corinth stater.

Just one. Hah.

This is the coin that led to my obsession:


CORINTHIA, Corinth
345-307 BCE
AR stater, 8.65 gm
Obv Pegasus flying left, qoppa below
Rev: helmeted head of Athena left wearing necklace; head of Silenus behind
Ref: Ravel 1046. Calciati 408. Scarce variety.

My second Corinth stater arrived today .

 

I was born in 1963, so I was 4 years old when this sweet coin-set was issued ...

My dear ol' Granny (RIP 40 years ago) would baby-sit me and show me these cool coins ....... yah, they're awesome



=> Genesis (animal coins!!)

 

Your Genesis item. What got u hooked?

This:

 

Uh, what? Anyway, I always felt Phil sold out when he guest starred on Miami Vice!

 

I hope I'm not hijacking an ancients thread. . . If so, I apologize!

My grandfather had this coin for many years, passed it to my father and dad passed it to me. I couldn't help but slab her for safekeeping.

One of many fond memories I have of both of them.

 

He pretty much sold out when he thought he was better than being with the band. I thought the same thing about Peter Gabriel except Gabriel's solo career produced so many good songs!

 

NICE!!!

 

I remember that!

 

All kidding aside - This is what really got me hooked - my Dad brought this home when I was 11 years old and got me to looking for paper money.

 

Then took my interest to paper money - but then moved on to US coins after this....

 

To be truthful, I have no earthly idea what got me started collecting coins, but since my son, who was stationed in Belgium at the time, sent me a shadow box for the Twelve Caesars, I have been hooked ever since.

 

@4to2centBC

This coin is what lead me the great unknown that is the east.
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/menander-i-soter-tetradrachm-revisited.266277/

 

oooh. That's a lovely coin. Quite a start to a collection!

 

My very first "Genesis" coin was a 1956-d wheat that I found in a jar of pennies when I was in second grade. There are quite a few other items that would be "Genesis" for certain categories. My first ancient was a late Roman bronze that I bought for $4 at a coin show in 6th grade, and my first silver dollar was a 1922 Peace that my parents gave me for my 10th birthday along with a 16X loupe which is sitting on my nightstand as we speak. Since it is from the early 80's it is actually made in Japan.

 

This handsome fellow on this coin started my obsession with Late Roman silver.