So, ... who are you?

My name is Josh and I love classic coins, domestic and foreign. I have a particular interest in seated half dimes, classic head half cents, British Maundy money, and coins of the German States. I work in a nursing home and have for almost twenty years. Other than numismatics, I enjoy both reading and writing poetry, singing with the local orchestral choir (Carmina Burana being my favorite), plus playing a variety of wind instruments. Numismatics continues to be a stress relieving hobby and one that keeps my mind busy.

 

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Wow @jamesicus , 90 years young and you are still giving out free tickets to “the gun show”. I have to say, I’m impressed with that flex.

Did you do a lot of physical labor in your youth ?

 

Why thank you @NicholasMaximus! I don’t know what you mean by “the gun show” and “flex” however. I have never been an advocate or practitioner of physical exercise or manual labor but I did do quite bit of bicycle racing as a young man. I also played cricket (my favorite game: leg break bowler - mediocre right hand batter) at every opportunity from when I was eight years old until I was in my seventies. I actually got tired holding those coins aloft in the photo.

I should add that my body has been fueled and sustained since the age of about eighteen by partaking daily of a glass of a secret elixir:



…………… (or similar product)

 

Well coin friends... I have been collecting ancient coins for only a couple of years and love this forum - I learn from all of you every day. I appreciate your patience and good will! The most exciting thing to me about this hobby is that there is no end - there is always something else to learn and collect!

I am 51, an I.T. Manager - working for the same company for over 23 years (which is very odd in my industry). I have two daughters .. one has just completed her 2nd year at University - studying Criminology and hoping to become a lawyer. She is a very driven person. Currently working night shift as a summer job at a Toyota plant -on the line, beside the full timers - as she works towards her dreams. She knows what she wants out of life and is more than willing to work for it. She inspires me!
My youngest daughter will be entering her final year of high school in September and her plan is to go into nursing (good timing!).

We live in Canada and hockey has been a big part of our life as a family... both girls skated from 3 years old in our backyard ice rink and I coached them and their hockey teams all the way through from 5 years old to their teenage years. My youngest was blessed with exceptional ability and surpassed her Dad very early.. here she is in full flight:



Next month will be my 25th wedding anniversary. My wife is an amazing person who also does not question the odd, weird, unexpected charges on our credit card (we know what they are....). She is the glue that holds it all together and my soul mate.

Here we are leaving our reception 25 years ago... she still looks the same to me. I do not.



I want to thank everyone on this forum for being so supportive and welcoming. I truly appreciate it. As they keep saying nowadays .. "WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER"!

 

Hi, I’m German and married with two children. I just crossed the threshold where I spend most of my life outside Germany (UK and Switzerland). I’m an economist and great admirer of F.A. Hayek (not to be confused with Salma Hayek, whom I also admire, but for different reasons). I work for a central bank, so money is close to my heart. I started collecting coins as a kid, when an Italian guest worker gave me a 10 Centesimi coin of 1867. The coin was in terrible condition, but I was hooked right away. I never stopped collecting. Even as a student with no money I collected low value Russian dengas from Ivan I to Peter I.

Over the years, I had hundreds of ideas for numismatic articles, but only managed to publish four (too busy, too distracted, too many excuses). My main interest is the migration age, but I have collections also of Celtic, Roman, Russian, Georgian, Armenian and German medieval coins. I love history in general and family research is another favorite pastime of mine. My avatar (this ominous dark knight with an arrow piercing his hat) shows my family coat of arms. I’m currently “working” on an article about a rare (unique?) coin of the penultimate Gothic king Baduila-Totila, which I hope to finish sometime later this year (or next?).

I also collected other stuff (stone tools, antiquities, fossils), but coins are by far my main interest. What fascinates me most are coins of ephemeral kingdoms such as Gepids, Burgundians etc., i.e. things that most people have never even heard of. From my perspective coin “collecting” is a bit of a misnomer, I think of it as coin hunting. I love it when my “prey” is next to unavailable on the mainstream market. For example, I recently bought a coin (srebrennik/nogata) of Kievan Grand Prince Sviatopolk the Damned through various contacts in Ukraine and Belarus.

 

I feel that the only thing to accurately describe myself at the moment, since it dominates most of my time, is a Nursing student.

 

Man, a divorce and you still had enough left to build a house? You're one lucky guy. After continually being taken back to court to give my ex even more (worked like a charm for her every time), I almost showed up in a dress, just to give myself a shot at walking out as the winner for once, since it seemed like that was the deciding factor. She was going to get whatever she wanted anyway...I thought at least I could make a statement.

 

Love it

 

Well, I'm usually quite private and reserved when it comes to talking about my family and myself but most here have always been very thoughtful, considerate, helpful and candid so I thought…what the hell.

Originally from Afghanistan, my family were ‘relocated’ by the British during the Raj to India, as political prisoners/exiles for resisting a foreign power. I was born in India but moved to the UK for my education and professional qualifications (Accountancy and subsequent Tax specialization) and continued to live and practice there for many years before relocating to the Middle East. Initially I moved to this region for work reasons but then fell in love with Dubai and have been living here since 2005.

I have an ex-wife, my ‘bitter-half’ of almost 30 years of marriage and an “ex-son”, who doesn’t allow me to get in touch because he’s too scared of hearing the truth, I guess. Married again and hope to see through the remainder of my days with my better-half.

Started collecting coins about 8-10 years ago mainly on eBay as I knew even less about coins then than I do now and didn’t know how and where to source them. I’m active on only a few auction sites and prefer that to scouring every auction. My initial collection concentrated mainly on coins from Great Britain, Mughal India and of course, Afghanistan but more recently have added Imperial Russia and Ancients to the list.

Considering my non-existent knowledge of Ancients, I’ve leaned heavily on the expertise of CT members and have managed to make some decent acquisitions. Still going through a painful settlement with the ex but am hopeful it will be over soon and I’ll be in a position to buy many of the coins I’ve had to pass on.

In addition to coins, I enjoy collecting silver antiques, sports and historical memorabilia, varied cuisines and travelling. So as you can imagine this social distancing and self-quarantining has not been easy. Wish all of you a safe and painless 2020 and hope we all make it safely through these difficult times to enjoy many discussions in the future.

Here is a recent photo of my better-half and I before the lockdown (she’ll most probably kill me for posting it)

Best wishes to all
Najib

 

Thanks for an interesting post, @Roerbakmix ! The Ancients Forum is composed of a truly fascinating group of folks.

I retired too soon from an awesome position as Senior Designer for the Space Agency. I made a career change and became an addiction counselor and interventionist. I’m on ZOOM for good part of the day. I’m finding that it’s very difficult to help people who don’t want help. I miss the graphics and printing field and will probably return to it in the future. Oh, I almost forgot to mention the most important thing—I love ancient coins. I’m Blessed to be married to a beautiful woman who supports my hobby.

 

Thank you for your service to humanity, @Roerbakmix !

 

You could cover it with campaign buttons! I’ll be glad to make some reproductions of your favorite political candidates for you.

 

That is the situation on more things than addiction. One that comes to mind is ancient coin questions on Coin Talk. If we are looking for the silver lining in the Covid cloud, all of us learning to use Zoom (or its competitors) may be at least billon level. I once loved to go to coin club meetings but now we Zoom. I once shared info on coins through my website; now we use Coin Talk. I wonder if the near future will see more use of Zoom type apps for sharing coin info? It would be a simple matter to set up a second camera pointed down at at a coin to show for discussion. For that matter, some/many would prefer not to show our faces but still might show close ups of coins or reference books. Does anyone have a camera they would recommend for livestreaming things that size (coin to 8x10 or so)?

 

Hello everyone - I usually lurk here, but heck, I'll throw my two cents in.

I recently moved across the country for a job, and life has been good. I live in Austin TX and I love every second of it. I started coin collecting when I was 14 and had a lackadaisical collection for some time. I started getting serious about collecting after I graduated college and got married to my beautiful wife.

I collect mostly medieval coins and just recently branched into ancients. My recent reignited interest in coin collecting comes from my other hobbies...I participate in medieval recreational groups on the weekend, which has brought out an interest in study the economics and historical minting techniques of the ancient/medieval world. I specifically work to make medieval coins using techniques and technology similar to what they used in the period. I hand engrave coin dies or shape punches needed for certain design elements by hand. I melt silver down and hammer out my own sheet to cut blanks from, all by hand. I do cheat and use modern tech for some projects, but I try to do my projects as faithfully as my apartment complex and budget will allow. I'm not as good as I want to be, but it is my hobby and I thoroughly enjoy learning and practicing the skills needed!

I collect coins so I can study the techniques used to make them to base my designs on historical examples. I love handling my coins, feeling the history is just something special. I don't collect a lot of American coinage unless it is seriously beat to where handling wont hurt it anymore. My profile pic is actually of a few different coins I have made over the years and after some aging. I suspect there may be some others like me on this page! Glad to be part of this community.

 

Yes they are! Top left is based on a 13th century bracteate, the center is based on Edward I penny of 1279, and the right is a strike for a 16th century Spanish Cob

 

I spent over 2 years lurking here before posting. Learned a bit before embarrassing myself with my posts.

 

Miss-post, sorry.

 

I do, and take private commissions from time to time. Its not going to make me rich but its a good outlet and great practice.