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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Billy Kingsley, post: 795270, member: 19456&quot;]Why do you think a newer collector can&#039;t be a purist and cherish every coin they have? What makes a long time collector better then a newer collector? (I&#039;m not talking about amount of knowledge...I&#039;m talking dedication and appreciation of the hobby)</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I think I fit all your criteria except one: I don&#039;t have a lot of money, my collection has ALMOST been spent for food money in the past, although I&#039;ve avoided that so far (by going without the food...things are a little better by now, where that won&#039;t happen, but not great, by any means)</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I spend at least an hour every day either studying the few coins I do have, or reading about coins on the internet. I&#039;ve already read the books I have, which is not many because I can&#039;t afford many, cover to cover more then once. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I&#039;ve only ever sold coins once, and that is because I got a roll of them and didn&#039;t need the rest. At that, I actually lost money because it cost me more to ship them plus face value then I charged. I&#039;m like a black hole...if I get something, it stays with me forever. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>However....I only discovered the hobby in 2008, when I found my late father&#039;s stash. I have been trying to make up for lost time since then, but when you can only afford to add new coins to your collection maybe three times a year, it&#039;s not too easy. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Let me tell you a little story. Earlier today while digging around in the basement, my brother found a ziplock of old coins. Another of my dad&#039;s stashs. He died in 2002 and we are still finding them every so often! Anyway, the coins must have gotten wet in a flood, our basement has flooded more then once. I lost a few classics to corrosion, several 40s and 50s nickels and wheat cents. One of the wheat is so nasty, covered in green slime and possibly even mold, there is no possible way know what date it was. The back side is only 50% corroded so I was able to figure out it was a wheat, at least. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Also in the bag was a 1943 quarter. Somebody, for some reason, painted it red, apparently a long time ago, probably in the 40s or 50s, as the red has been worn off the high points. This is a coin that most people would probably melt because most would consider it damaged, and not worthy of being in a numismatist&#039;s collection...YET...it will now be a part of my collection for the foreseeable future, as I did not have that date before tonight. Now I do. And, even if I should ever get a replacement, I would still keep this one, for multiple reasons: 1 is to keep some moron from melting it, 2 is because it once belonged to my dad, and 3 is because I have a collection of damaged coins, which I actually find interesting. (I now have coins painted red ranging in age from 1943-2000)</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I am not expecting you to give me my coins...but I am hoping you will realize that you are being a bit foolish. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I will also take a photo of the moldy cent and the red quarter to share in the post, which I will post later. These were above ground but yet water got to them....being in the ground, I can&#039;t imagine what it would do...I&#039;ve seen stuff found with metal dectors that was in better shape then these are! (I lost a handfull to corrosion, even though I save every coin from the 1960s or older, some of these will be spent because the corrosion can spread to other coins it comes in contact with. Luckily, none of them were dates I didn&#039;t have!)[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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