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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Inspector43, post: 7873787, member: 89213&quot;]This is rather long but it describes how I was able to build my collection of 20th Century and earlier. It is not as impossible as many think. Of course, it is out of the range of possibility now. Several of these comments have been posted before. This is kind of a consolidation - the rest of the story.</p><p><br /></p><p>Building a collection of circulated coins in “the good old days” was not all that difficult. All you needed was determination and dedication. If you think about it the total face value of 20th circulation coins is about $275. There were a max 5 different coins produced by each mint: Penny, Nickel, Dime, Quarter and Half. That is 91 cents. Given that most years there were three mints operating, that makes it $2.73 per year for a complete set for one year. Of course, some years there were 4 mints operating and some years only one or two. So, let’s just say that the face value of a complete Twentieth Century Circulation Set is $300. You now have determination and dedication but need resources (funding and adequate sources of coins).</p><p><br /></p><p>There was a more than adequate source of coins at the time. Virtually any coin ever put in circulation was available. I even got a Twenty Cent piece in change one time. Looking at enough coins you would see Indian Head Cents, Liberty Nickels, Buffalo Nickels, Barber Dimes Quarters and Halves, Standing Liberty Quarters, Walking Liberty Halves, and the occasionally earlier stuff.</p><p><br /></p><p>When I was very young my family and relatives helped with resources. Dad would get home from work very late sometimes. He was an Engineer on the RR. Every morning there would be some coins on the table from his pocket change. Relatives would hold anything that looked interesting and ask if I needed it. The other resource was your feet and a bicycle. The town was about 30,000 and most all kids walked or road a bike. Predators didn’t exist then as they do now.</p><p><br /></p><p>Another resource was the informal coin club. There were a few other youngsters that were as interested as me. And, they had other sources in their own neighborhoods. We would get together from time to time and have a “swap meet”. We never were interested in making money, but we were quite aware of scarcity. We might have to trade several coins for one that is more difficult.</p><p><br /></p><p>There were three Mom &amp; Pop grocery stores very close to our home. I helped them around the store a lot, stocking shelves and coolers, cleaning, etc. I got paid a little and complete access to the cash register. As I got older, I would be a clerk in one of the stores. I am very serious when I say that the owners of these stores allowed me to walk in, open the register and search it anytime I wanted. The brother of the owner of one store saved Indian Head Pennies. He had coffee cans full of them hidden all around the basement. He and his wife were very old at the time. Sometimes as I walked by his house, I would see he and his wife working and would stop and help. I never asked for pay, that is just the way things were back then. However, occasionally he would open a can full of IHC’s and offer me a few. Yes, he would let me dump it out and look through them. When I was 13, I began working as a pin setter at the local bowling alley. That usually paid about $6 a night during league times. A good source of income to feed my hobby.</p><p><br /></p><p>The searching became routine for me. After school I would walk home and pass the shop that serviced juke boxes and pinball machines. Sometimes I would help with chores and roll coins for him. People using juke boxes and pinball machines were not critical about the coins they dropped in. Very good hunting ground. I would stop at the “Mom &amp; Pops” to visit and search. If they needed help with anything I would always offer. A couple of nights a week the local amusement park was open. If I was available, I would ride my bike out there and help with minor chores. The rides were like 10 cents, 25 cents, etc. They always needed help rolling change. Then there was the bank on Saturday morning. I would sit in the vault and roll coins for the tellers.</p><p><br /></p><p>Plus, on most days, if you had a dollar, you could trade it for a Morgan or Peace.</p><p><br /></p><p>So, you see, getting all the coins up to the middle of the Twentieth Century (1964 when it all dried up) was more a matter of tenacity than money – not much more than a couple hundred dollars.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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