how did you get into coin collecting

Got started as a kid when my grandparents gave me a Whitman folder containing a complete Roosevelt dime set, another folder containing almost a full set of Washington quarters and a roll of Morgans. Been hooked ever since.
Guy~

 

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I started back in '72 when I was still in primary school. The 1972 DDO Lincoln cent was in the national news back then and my dad and I went to the bank and bought rolls of cents to check. We never found a doubled die, but we did manage to fill the 1941- Whitman folder.

 

I started with the state quarters. My son was born in 1998, so I thought a collection for him would be nice. I got serious though after my Grandfather passed away and my Grandmother let me see his old coins. The first time I picked up a Morgan..................................I was hooked!

 

I was a little kid in the 60s, and silver still circulated. I had a garage sale, and someone gave me a Mercury dime. I've always been interested in the novelty of coins.

 

As a newpaper delivery boy, I never knew that my change bag held some gems for coin collectors. A guest visiting one evening told me to get out that bag. Cherrypicking a coin here and there he bought a few coins explaining the hobby to us. Two weeks later I find this coin starter kit replete with Whitman albums and a U.S. Coin Handbook. Though not yet a teen, I became quite a diligent CRH filling those albums. In high school much of my enthusiasm for numismatism faded away. Decades later I've jumped back into it with a new found respect for the hobby.

 

I originally got into it through Scouting.You earned a badge for it. I had a paper route in the early 60's so that helped... John

 

cool

 

A friend of my family ran a baseball card shop when I was a kid, and as a card collector, I spent a lot of time in his shop.

A few years after he opened, he moved to a new building, and shared his store with a coin dealer.

So, as I "outgrew" baseball cards, I started walking across the aisle and looking at the coins, and Morgan dollars started calling my name.

 

the same way ill get into chapter 11

 

I got bit by the bug while home on leave around Christmas in 1973! I was going through the Wheat and Indian Cents, Buffalo Nickels, Mercury and Silver Roosevelt Dimes and Silver Washington Quarters that I had received in change in Germany while in the Military and found a 1955-P "DDO #1" Cent! I tried to collect coins for the next 29 years or so but life and raising a family got in the way. I did search my change from time to time over the years and even found two 1972-P "Doubled Die" Cents which were probably Die #2's just before leaving Germany in 1977. I sold both of them to a Coin Dealer in Florida in 1979 for $110. Well, I slowly started to get back into collecting and searching coins in 2002 or 2003 and although I suffered quite a few set backs, I have gradually built up my collection and inventory ever since.


Frank

 

believe it or not it was the state quarters that got me going. I grabbed and saved a small pile of those and then a year later I found and kept a Sac dollar. I liked to show everyone in my family and finally when my grandma saw them, she told me about her old collection. She gave those to me and I almost completely bailed on the state quarter series, but I still like the Sac dollars. After learning about modern coins, I turned to older coins and have remained there, enjoying the challenge ever since.

 

why the past tense lol j/k

 

When I was in Elementary School my older cousin got me into collecting Pokemon cards. Eventually, Pokemon lost its popularity and i got into Yu-Gi-Oh cards for a year or two. I realized this was a huge waste of money as they were extremely over priced and were actually worth next to nothing. Collecting things and trying to complete collections has always been something I've loved so I turned to coins, which is something that is worth the time and money and also my family really encourages me in. If only I had spent all that money that I spent on those cards on coins instead I would have a pretty impressive collection =P

 

I also got into coin collecting through scouting, like dready in a previous post. I first collected a 1941-to-present Lincoln Cent collection in a Whitman blue folder, which I still have. Then I finished a Jefferson Nickel collection, and a 20th century collection.

I would love to get involved in scouting, maybe as a merit badge counselor, or as bring up the hobby at elementary schools.

BTW, are children still getting involved in the hobby, or is it just baby boomer plus generation?

 

:hail: I began collecting because of my dad, he got me interested and it became a hobby we could both have fun with. It was common ground during those awkward teenage years. Also with a middle name of LINCOLN what other hobby could I have??? lol

 

My Dad got me started 40+ years ago with proof sets. I abandoned the hobby when I was a teenager by selling "our" collection back to him for money for a stereo system that played LOUDLY in the house (Mom didn't appreciate that too much). He gave it back to me 10 years ago, but I didn't continue then.

Returned to the hobby about 7 monthes ago. I am really obsessed with it now. Daily visits to the coin message boards, subscriptions to Coin World, CDN, ANA Numismatist, Red Book, Blue Book, travelling to coin shows........what else?

I want to second mortgage my house so I can go wild with purchases, but for some reason I can't persuade my wife to go along with the idea. :mouth:

 

My brother used to mow this guys lawn, and he had this Taco Johns Potato Olay cup that he had some older silver dimes in. I looked at them and realized that they were different. He started to see me everytime i went over there peering into the cup. Then one day, he came outside with a huge jar full of all kinds of dimes and and 3 dime folders. He also had a big bag of Liberty Walking half dollars, and he sat down with me and we put the ones in folder that we had. All the doubles, we took to a local coin dealer and sold. I thought great, I'll have no duplicates. To my surprise, he let me trade all the money we got for different coins. Thats how I got into coin collecting.

 

I also got into coin collecting through scouting, like dready in a previous post. I first collected a 1941-to-present Lincoln Cent collection in a Whitman blue folder, which I still have. Then I finished a Jefferson Nickel collection, and a 20th century collection.

I would love to get involved in scouting, maybe as a merit badge counselor, or as bring up the hobby at elementary schools.

BTW, are children still getting involved in the hobby, or is it just baby boomer plus generation?
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Yes, children are still getting involved with this hobby. I'm almost a teenager and I easily have $600+ dollars in coins.

 

Seriously doubt any of our wives would go along with that one Cat.....LOL