I quit collecting coins a while ago, but I guess coin collectors never really quit. That said I found a felt lined wooden box at a yardsale fairly cheap and put some things in it I already had, including a civil war era infantry button I found with a metal detector in my uncle's garden. The bullet I bought on eBay, but it is also civil war period. The arrow heads were purchased at a flea market, and were found around here. Off and on, while attending yard sales, auctions etc, anytime I found coins priced cheap, or caught my eye I bought them. There is two silver rounds, both bought a tid bit below spot at the time, two morgan dollars I got cheaper than anywhere else online (apmex, etc) at the time, two holed large cents I got for around $5 each with decent detail and no other damage other than being holed, and some barber/seated coinage I got for pretty much melt at the time. No..I did not get a super deal on the half cent (paid red book), but I like it.
Nearly 50 years passed between my two sessions of collecting. What I found when I restarted was that the passion had never gone away. It just needed to take a back seat to other priorities for a time.
Hey... look who's back. Hey Tim, why did you change IDs? And, what ever happened to that curio cabinet you bought for your coin collection?
Accd to the facebook page of this very well known numismatic trading venue: https://www.facebook.com/grandrapidstradingpost/?pnref=lhc He is the CEO of said company, so I am not so confident in his claims of having taken a break from numismatics.
Truer words could never been spoken....as a kid I was so into collecting coins.it was a passion that just thrilled me to no end. As I entered into HS and college days the flame grew dim. Other priorities took over. Sports, dating, partying etc..... Then after college a relationship ,then travel,boating,fishing,hunting all were on my agenda . Getting married in my late 20's a time when a new washing machine took present over other things in life. Buying a home and continuing my career . Now that I'm older and more settled this passion over the last 10 to 12 years has rekindled . My trophies are no longer hung on a wall , my washing machine is still cleaning my clothes, my home a roof over my head. Still mean alot..... but my collection is me. My passion .....the one thing that really on a personal level give me such joy. It gives me memories of a hunt that I need not kill. It gives me a sense of accomplishment. It brings me back to a simpler time in my life. That there were no worries ,provides me with an outlet to escape every day problems, and again find the simple pleasures in life.
Same here, and I still have every coin I collected as a kid. The big difference is back then most of what I found was at face value through coin roll hunting. I collected American coins back then. In high school sports and females became my new priorities Now I find 90% of my coins on American Ebay and Italian Ebay and 10% at coin shows. And my coin collecting interest is pre-1900 Italian and Sicilian coins.
Likely you'll never stop collecting - your focus may shift, Heck you may even leave coins but I'm sure you'll find something to fill the void.
Interesting page... I like how they claim to be one of the first to consign on eBay... wasn't there a glut of businesses doing that around the time 40-Year-Old Virgin came out? They made the claim in April 2016... over a decade after the movie came out, so I guess they were one of the first... half a million... businesses to attempt that? https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https://www.facebook.com/grandrapidstradingpost/posts/288993414765455&width=500
On a serious note, when/why did you stop collecting? I'm pretty sure that's the same half penny that you posted about in April (https://www.cointalk.com/threads/my-first-investment-coin.277137/), which you said you paid full Yeoman Red for ($475?). That coin has a PCGS list price around $270 currently. I'm not sure if you really bought a $270 coin for $475, but it seems there was a sale on eBay back in April for $165, which seems average price for the grade. Anyhow, welcome back. I hope you've matured with age and business experience.
Do you know how much more appealing your silver coin collection is the others that submit their "hoards" of coins, bars, gold, etc.? It is nice to see that collecting silver is a "lifetime" habit and your treasure is exactly that a treasure that you cherish and shared with everyone today. Thank you for that...it really puts a lot of things into perspective.
I just finished reading an interesting book called "One Coin is Never Enough" by Michael Shutty, who is a fellow numismatist and a psychologist. The book explores the psychology behind collecting and spends quite a bit of time talking about the cycles of collecting from childhood through old age. Interesting stuff that mirrors many of the stories shared here.
