In my younger years, all were found in circulation, but since I became enthused again in my retirement, I've bought many coins and currency that will never be found in circulation. The question someone should ask is, "Have you ever sold a coin or currency from your collection?" I haven't . . . yet.
I don't really understand the attraction wheaties have for collectors. I have some, I collected them in my younger days, but like yourself, they seem to be everywhere. And I've known people who encase them in acrylic and make toilet seats out of them. So what's the big deal?
A piece of American coin history that's no longer minted. That's the only big deal for me. 99% of all the Wheaties I have are probably worth no more than face value. Meaning I'm collecting them not for profit or monetary values, but for more a personal reason.
Anyone who collects by gift and inheritance has much more coin focused family and friends than I do. I do like buying larger lots of SLQs / Barbers from non-coin shop sources and sifting through. If the pictures are terrible and it's a resale / consignment shop or someone selling an inherited lot I'm inclined to make a bid at melt plus a little.
I started out collecting coins when I was nine. 100% from change due to the fact I had no income or allowance. When I was about 17 I began purchasing coins. I did inherit coins from my grandpa I think he was more of an accumulator then an actual collector. He probably inherited them from his parents or grandparents. Nowadays it is 99.9% purchase, .01 find in change when traveling overseas.
I started collecting in the early 60’s as a teenager and was able to find a nice variety of coins. I did buy my first (and only, so far) coin, a flying eagle cent, a few years later. I continued to be seriously involved with collecting through high school, but then life got in the way (though the habit of looking through my change always stayed with me). Now that I have retired, I have gotten more serious about collecting again; I joined the local coin club, and I make periodic trips to the bank for coin rolls. I was just about to talk myself into bidding on coins at the local meetings when Covid hit and I stopped getting out. Oh well. I did drop some serious hints to my family, and I got some nice coins as gifts for Christmas. Once I get my second shot I plan to get back to the local meetings and “local” coin shows and buy me another coin or two. FWIW, I don’t plan to sell anything, but thinking about new collectors, I did recently throw a few of my extra wheats into a roll I was returning to the bank.
As soon as I get a Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle in change at the local burger joint or ice cream place.....I'm cancelling my Heritage and GC accounts.
hey Robert Ransom great question. i always liked finding coins to go into my collection in pocket change and roll hunting. but when i hit a snag and cant seem to get lucky and find those 2 or 3 left before closing out a collection i will buy them. but it never fails, when i do buy the coins i need i always find them in the coming weeks. isn't that something......good luck brother
I started collecting coins when I was about 7 years old in the mid 70's. My mother used to be a waitress at the Buena Vista (The BV) on Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco for about 10 years total. Because it was in a tourist area, she'd get lots of foreign currency as tips. She'd then give them to me. The very first coins I started collecting were mostly from Hong Kong, Japan, places in that general area. Very seldom did I get any type of European coins. Mostly from Asia. I began to collect US currency when I reached the age of about 15 years old.
I started with vending machine change, CRH, and then purchases to create collections on different themes.
My grandfather started me collecting. We would fill in albums of cents and nickels by roll searching. I loved that time spent with him and plan to do so the same with my children if they show interest in my coins. With that being said, I remember when we went to a coin store and I bought my first dime. Grandpa just gave me a look of slight condescension as if to say, "Really? You didn't even try to look for it!" I'll admit, I have since given up roll searching and am only purchasing for my collection at this point.