I started collecting when I was around 10 years old, give or take I can't remember good enough. I am one of those people who loves making friends online, whether it's on facebook, cointalk, or my own forum. I love meeting people online, and becoming good friends with them. So when I found Cointalk, needless to say, I was excited to start posting and getting to know the guys. (And girls ) So over the years I have made some good friends who I would rather do business with anyday, than someone local. One day I hope to meet more cointalkers than I already have. When I was around 12 years old my grandpa slowly coaxed me into collecting by sending me home with mint sets, and random coins. He certainly gave me the bug, and I started collecitng on my own terms when I was 15 or so. I still hadn't purchased a coin, as I had only been collecting from my Grandpa and circulation coins. Such as Mexican coins, American coins. Anything different really. It wasn't until I was until December of 2007 that I joined cointalk, and really started to learn the technical side of collecting. My Grandpa was more of a guy who just collected whatever grade came his way. Mostly circulated, and lots of silver. My Grandpa passed away in early 2008, and I inherited his collection. So I started learning as much as I could about the coins he had left me, and I decided to finish the sets he hadn't had the time to complete himself. I finished the Half dollars, Silver Dollars (without the 1948), the small cents, and the large cents in memory of him. So after I had finished those sets I decided to really finish a set that I wanted to do. And that I realized was upgrading my small cents, and hunting the varietys of Large cents. It is now 2010, and my small cent set is maybe 50% red, and I am continuously adding to my large cents. I hope to one day be able to pass down my collection to a grandchild, or a chil of my own, should they show some interest. Maybe they will be interested in the Large cents and they will pursue those. Who knows, but I'm having fun building this set, and I don't see a completion date anytime in the near future. Thanks for reading,
