I took the plunge.....

Well, I finally did it. I studied ONE type coin for a few weeks, looked at a few shops, and ...*DRUMROLL*.....Bought my "first" coin! I know, seems pretty humourous to you veterns, but it was my fist non-found-in-change-actually- spent -money-on coin. I tried to scan it, but that didn't work well. Have to get a camera and figure it out. It is an 1865 US 2-Cent AU55 . I checked it over and over , and the guy was nice enough not to rush me and gave me a few pointers. It is choco brown with a bit of red luster over the whole coin. Kind of an orangey fading to brown look It talked - so I bought. All horizonatl/vertical shield lines unworn. The "We" is sharp and and the other grade points look very good. Has the "Fancy flip" five on the date. . Anyway, I had fun. I think I may have opened Pandora's Box. Before the first coin, I could still have gotten away...Now I am hooked!

 

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Well, it's all down hill from here(financially speaking). Your hooked and more and more of your income will go towards coins. It's a long winding road littered with the bones of those too weak to purchase everything in sight and those that ran out of disposable income along the way. You and your next of kin have my deepest sypmathy. I'll see you in penny heaven. :hug:

 

The trouble is, there are so many coins out there that are screaming "buy me, buy me" and it hurts a lot to walk away from something you need or want for the collection. Fortunately for me, I'm corrently "between series" and have kept the coin budget under the radar for about a year.

 

Totally. :thumb:

 

I am kind of new at this and group ya'll kind of scare me . LOL but it is a fun group.

cloudsweeper think i bought one to many of those screaming coins recently. Think my budject will be under control about the time they finish the presidential coin progam if i am real careful .

 

It's very important that you get clean and sober once in while. To give your bank account a chance to recover. Air out the cob webs. Just step back a moment and smell the roses. Realize that you can make through one more day without that next coin. It's one day at a time with the 12 step program...Wait a minute! I think I was confusing this with a different addiction. :goofer:

 

Congratulations, Seeker! It's such a great feeling when you walk away from your first purchase feeling satisfied and excited, isn't it? It's only been a few months for me, so I remember it fondly. Welcome home, son.

 

What an interesting coin to start collecting. I love the 2 cent piece but me like most collectors started off with Lincoln Cents. They are my first love!! Good Luck with collecting and make it a life long love!

 

:thumb:
Actually that could work for most addictions. My start was in proof sets. Now only short one silver prrof from 1960 to present. then I moved into collections. Finished Kennedy, Franklin, Roosevelt and Jefferson. Would love to finish Lincoln and walking halves but....lol

Right now I am on hiatus till finances stabilze after an unexpected loss of a renter of my home in NC. once it is re-rented or sold tho.....it'll be game on for my WL Halves.

 

Thanks all for the comments! I am thinking of going with a US type set for now. I figured that will allow me to get aquainted with many of the issues. I am more interested in eye appeal and grading than straight grading. (I looked at some higher grades, but they just didn't "do" anything for me ) The coin I chose seemed to say "take me home!" so I went for that one. And since looking and studying the coin all afternoon, I am still very happy with it, I think I made a good choice. I am not sure if I will go towards the small and large cents now, or towards the 3 cent ones. (Or just jump around and maybe get a piece dollar next. who knows?) When you have a tiny collection, I don't think it really matters. Have to see what "talks" to me next. =)

 

Chill out, man. You'll get tired of coins in 40 or 50 years.

 

I wonder what my Keelboat nickle will be worth then! =)

 

It begins...

 

What makes you think so?

I haven't.

 

Excuse me!! Where are the pics?

:thumb:

 

I've been collecting coins for the most part of 30 years and I'll tell you one thing. I get just as excited now to go to a coin show as I did my very first one back in 1977. The anticipation never goes away, once you're in...you're always addicted.

 

What a sensible person to start with US type sets :smile after all you dont want to look at those old Roman or Greek coins now do you :whistle: (Come look at the 'Dark Side' young collector :secret: )

De Orc :whistle:

 

Very cool, and congratulations! A 2 cent piece was one of my first real coin purchases many years ago. I didn't do much research on it, but I liked the fact that it was a weird denomination. I've always had a fondness for the 2 and 3 cent pieces, but the few I had have been stored away and almost forgotten for years, erm, well, decades, actually. I got back into it earlier this year and coincidentally enough, just completed my 2-cent set a few days ago with a nice 1864 small motto.

I got my first few in very good/fine shape, but as I collected more, I was drawn to nicer examples. The problem was, pretty soon I was only missing the key dates, but wasn't willing to get them in worse condition than my nicest coins. Double-whammy! As someone mentioned earlier, time to clear the cobwebs and let the bank account recover

Enough rambling - good to see another 2C collector!

Scott

 

Welcome to the Dark Side.
You may never recover. But, then who would want to.
My wife just groans whenever I leave the house, knowing that I will find some way to add to my collection.
Good luck, and who knows, in 50 or 60 years, you may even decide to sell something.
Oh, no, did I just say a bad word?