I got my start in coins from a neighbor when I was in middle school. He gave me a little bag of coins that he had gotten from someone. In the bag was a well-polished 21 Morgan, and several dateless Buff and worn IHCs. Then, when I was about 17, I got a beat up, ugly as all heck, 1859 IHC in change. It was then that I started looking at my change.
Never bought any US gold, mostly because I could never afford it, but I did have some South African Gold in a proof set once. Not sure if this disqualifies me, but what an excellent gesture on your part to help further the hobby.
Growing up my parents never owned a car. Anywhere we traveled was by public transportation
Growing up in Chicago there was a bus or train that would take you just about anywhere you wanted to go.
My Dad and I would travel across town to visit my grandmother about a 4 hour trip.
On our way back from one of these adventures, as I fondly remember them, as we were waiting for the next bus it began to rain. Directly across from the bus stop was a small coin shop. I remember him saying to me,'lets go across the street to that shop and wait for the bus'.
We looked at the coins, I told him that I liked them. He bought for me the Whitman coin folders for the Lincoln cent, this was around 1973,74. I still have them.
He was the reason I started collecting, and Lincolns are my Favorite coins to collect.
Brown and Circulated to me are the best, they remind me of my childhood, and my Dad.
Steve~
~HABE FIDUCIAM IN DOMINO III V VI / III XVI~ POST NUBILA PHOEBUS / AFTER CLOUDS, SUN Love for Music / Collector of Dreck
I have gold coins so disqualified. Never seen a member here offer such a nice gift to others, so, good on you! I'd suggest you take some of this passion, and get some of the YN's on the Islands interested. Maybe divert some of your passion as a whole to others who may benefit.
Been to Maui, Kauai, and Oahu. Truly paradise on earth, so, I don't know how you'd get anyone involved there but the bar seems to be one you may be able to hurdle! Thank's for your generosity to board members!
Thank you for your kind words @PocketArt....I like your suggestion; something I may consider when I see myself worthy of sharing the numismatic knowledge and the time required to commit. the Big Island is waiting for you to complete all four
@SiriusBlack ... Welcome to CU I love your relentless tenacity to learn Thank you for sharing your family story @AllCoinsRule... I think you WILL make it back to the 19th century coins...You rule the coins @Elcontador... Which is the most attractive design as a prize to you? BTW I that your grandma decided to keep them then @ECHOES ... Wonderful Dad & Son story....you'll be sharing with your son too... @GaCoinGuy ...your name's in the bucket; you are yet to buy US gold coin. Happy collecting
@jtlee321 ... The kid in all of us will never grow up I bet you have a page turner story on your photography as well
One of my favorite parts of being a dad is I get to act like a big kid whenever I want. LOL
Yes, my photography was a life long journey trying to find the best medium to express my creativity. I am SO thankful that I found it when I did. In fact it was my photography that allowed me to take my first and only trip (so far) to Hawaii flying First Class for free. I won a photo contest that Alaska Airlines had held.
I am still getting a kick out of the fact that one of the most active newbies on the forum has yet (as far as I know) to post here. I plan on telling him AFTER the prize is awarded that he missed the chance.
This forum is a great place to LEARN and expand your knowledge, but you have to read some threads, not just keep opening up new ones.
Silver only collector here, no gold. . . My story:
I grew up in the middle of absolute nowhere on a tobacco farm with my grandparents. My grandfather was an old-salt who I knew collected odd (to me at least) things like $2 bills, old bus tokens, etc. One day we were at the local Co-Op(country folks will know what I am referencing here) in the early 1980s. My grand dad was purchasing something I can't recall - probably fertilizer, feed, etc. What little money I had was spent on a Snickers bar from the front counter.
On the way home I pull out my change and my grand dad exclaims "God Damned boy, you got a silver dime there!" It was a 1963 Roosie that had somehow not been pulled from or found its way into circulation. I got really excited as he explained how coins had changed in the 1960's going from one metal to another, and how my dime was actually worth more than $.10. When we got home, he pulled out his collection of coins, a very modest amount, but he had the first Morgan and Peace dollars I had ever seen and a small baggie of other old silver coinage. We looked at the dates and he told me stories from the time they were created- "Boy, we were fighting the damn Nazis in dubya dubya 2 when this one was made!" I remember him saying as we looked at a 1942 quarter. Linking history and coinage together was a huge flashpoint for me, and from then on I was hooked.
As a father now myself, I am putting together cheap sets of coins for my two kids. My son, now 6, loves to look through my(one day to be his) Dansco albums of dimes and quarters. I use them as a teaching tool, as my grand dad did with me, to educate him about what was going on in our world when the old coin was made.
A quick p.s. here: I still have the dime I got that day as a child. Call me a sentimental fool, but I actually had it encapsulated by PCGS. Every time I see it I am reminded of my "papaw" and the start of my path as a collector
@JBK said:
I am still getting a kick out of the fact that one of the most active newbies on the forum has yet (as far as I know) to post here. I plan on telling him AFTER the prize is awarded that he missed the chance.
This forum is a great place to LEARN and expand your knowledge, but you have to read some threads, not just keep opening up new ones.
Long ago I found a 1912-S Lincoln cent on the floor in my grandmother's basement. Looking it up in a borrowed Red Book, I discovered it was actually quite valuable (XF45). That was it. I was hooked. My initial love was Lincolns but I was always fascinated by Large Cents, which is my focus now - especially Draped Bust LCs. I'm currently working on 1801 die states and 1798 and 1800 die varieties. The long-term plan is to acquire all Draped Bust die varieties. That may not happen soon!
There's a bit of silver but no gold in my collection. Thanks for the chance to change that!
I started collecting coins around 1970 at the age of ten. A kit from my Grandmother at Christmas. My Father was the treasurer for the local little league teams so I had a lot of coins to sort after fundraisers. Never any gold but lots of silver.
I collected on and off up till my early twenties, got married, had children and coins took a way back seat. I have got back into it the last couple of years with the catalyst being my Grandmother passing.
She gave me a 1922 Peace dollar way back when so I just recently completed my set in her honor. I gravitate towards the large coins including Ikes and Morgans. My coins will eventually go to my grandchildren which we will be blessed with our first one in five months.
I don't have any gold yet and I'm not sure I ever will, lol. I don't have the largest of budgets so I typically stick to the poor man's gold....silver. I have quite a few ASE and generic rounds, along with starting my life long dream of collecting a complete set of morgan silver dollars along with peace dollars. I'm sure I will probably never accomplish the complete morgan series but it gives me something to strive for. Along with these, I collect the IHC, Jefferson nickels, kennedy halves, Roosevelt dimes, etc....why do I collect them?
I guess I love the history of the coins, what they've gone through, what they've "seen." When you hold an indian head cent from 1860, just think about the story that coin can tell. It has been through the civil war, WWI, WWII, a great depression, presidential assassinations, man walking on the moon, slavery ending, September 11th,.....not to mention the smaller personal stories associated with that coin. Who carried it in their pocket? Was it a 8 year old going to by a handful of candy in 1900? Was it in a soldiers pocket during a war and used to buy postage to get a letter back to a loved one? Was it part of buried treasure that someone hid and another person dug up after years of being in hiding? The possibilities are endless and that's what makes coin collecting so fun for me. They all have their story and I consider it my privilege to be just a small part of their journey towards the next big part it'll play in history.
Cheesy I know, but I love this hobby and I wish I had gotten into it earlier or had a family member that was interested in it too that I could have learned from. I hope to do such for my kids and keep the spark alive in my family. I guess we'll see.
The world meets no one half way. If you want it you have to go get it.
@Paradisefound said:
OK OK.....U and @TurboSnail only own a few grams so your names are now in the bucket
@ACop said:
I think I also own 7 grams in a 5 + 1 + 1 configuration. I have maybe 4 gold coins on my wantlist.
But ..but... my gold isn't even a coin... > @ACop said:
@Paradisefound said:
OK OK.....U and @TurboSnail only own a few grams so your names are now in the bucket
@ACop said:
I think I also own 7 grams in a 5 + 1 + 1 configuration. I have maybe 4 gold coins on my wantlist.
Sorry I wasnt lbbying. I would defer any victory to a yn. Just thought it a good time to reflect on my lonely gold puma.
Oh .NO YOU DON"T! If you win , you must keep it as CU family heirloom . Make it this way. I was volunteered to enter by Paradisefound even though I was planning to give away my only gold, one gram bar and not a coin, on my 1000th post. So, if I do win, I would be forced to start up a real gold coin collection. Yes~ the pressure is on!!!
@Aotearoa ...all Draped Bust die varieties maybe all yours....soon or later @Jeffnlu ...Happy huntings on the next girls but Congrats for your upcoming 1st grandchild @achtey ...I am with you; me too have learnt more history thru reading about each and every one I acquired
» show previous quotes
I can promise you that I would do no better than you did, but that must have been a very expensive lesson. I do not know what high grade moderns sell for but I wonder if you might be able to put together a sample set for not too much money by buying slabbed cents off eBay. If you are patient maybe you can get a good deal on them. That way you might have a set of various grades to compare raw coins to. (This may or may not be helpful.)
Yes, like 300.00 but it was the really expensive lesson that got me into this hobby. 2017 started going through boxes of pennies and nickels, wife thinks I've lost my mind. 2016 realized (don't remember how) what I had in my hand back in 2009 at a time when business was down and I was late on rent. So during that year 16 to 17 I lost a lot of sleep before I realized the only way to cure the pain and suffering was to beat it back. So here I am. It was a 1965 silver dime and I spent it at the same store I received it. I knew enough to know that it was silver and that it wasn't supposed to be, but just couldn't put it together. And yes, it would have graded nicely...
@CoinscratchFever ...You'll get that 1965 silver dime back....eventually Happy collecting.... @saltlydog4 ...I am yet to own my first Trade dollar....you are way ahead of me so keep it up Short and Very Sweet
Well I already have a couple gold coins but your post got me to thinking how I got started. I don't really know. There were no collectors in my family. I think I just found a wheatie one day and it started from there about 15 yrs ago. Oh yea, I did have a few wheaties back in the 80's and someone stole them. Maybe that helped jump my re-start thinking of those.
My Grandmother (Nanny) got me started when I was in elementary school sitting at her dining room table. She was born during the depression and saved all of her cents and pocket change, but also collected from that change too.
By high school I was into other things, but I picked it back up in my late 30's. I don't have any Gold yet, but I am working on finishing a circulated silver Washington set (6 left) and just started a Lincoln Memorial set.
I joined here a few months back to soak in some knowledge and contribute where I can. This forum and reading are almost as enjoyable as the coins themselves.
In the last few years I've learned to not rush into my purchases. And to not regret the bad ones, just learn from them. It's a process, but a fun one!
Grandpa got me excited about coins as early as I can remember. A couple year of years ago I inherited a third of his collection. One of the siblings stole the gold eagles he had.. I however was thankful for the huge amount of silver I received as it brings me closer to him. I have passed the bug on to my kids and grandkids
@CoinscratchFever ...I hope you're on the UP & UP. My best wishes for you @thisistheshow ...Good luck finishing up you Washies Your Grandmother did you good @CyndieChildress ...there is enough room on your Avatar to include Hubby Happy collecting !
Comments
I got my start in coins from a neighbor when I was in middle school. He gave me a little bag of coins that he had gotten from someone. In the bag was a well-polished 21 Morgan, and several dateless Buff and worn IHCs. Then, when I was about 17, I got a beat up, ugly as all heck, 1859 IHC in change. It was then that I started looking at my change.
Never bought any US gold, mostly because I could never afford it, but I did have some South African Gold in a proof set once. Not sure if this disqualifies me, but what an excellent gesture on your part to help further the hobby.
I don't own any gold coins, medals, etc.
Growing up my parents never owned a car. Anywhere we traveled was by public transportation
Growing up in Chicago there was a bus or train that would take you just about anywhere you wanted to go.
My Dad and I would travel across town to visit my grandmother about a 4 hour trip.
On our way back from one of these adventures, as I fondly remember them, as we were waiting for the next bus it began to rain. Directly across from the bus stop was a small coin shop. I remember him saying to me,'lets go across the street to that shop and wait for the bus'.
We looked at the coins, I told him that I liked them. He bought for me the Whitman coin folders for the Lincoln cent, this was around 1973,74. I still have them.
He was the reason I started collecting, and Lincolns are my Favorite coins to collect.
Brown and Circulated to me are the best, they remind me of my childhood, and my Dad.
Steve~
POST NUBILA PHOEBUS / AFTER CLOUDS, SUN
Love for Music / Collector of Dreck
I have gold coins so disqualified. Never seen a member here offer such a nice gift to others, so, good on you! I'd suggest you take some of this passion, and get some of the YN's on the Islands interested. Maybe divert some of your passion as a whole to others who may benefit.
Been to Maui, Kauai, and Oahu. Truly paradise on earth, so, I don't know how you'd get anyone involved there but the bar seems to be one you may be able to hurdle! Thank's for your generosity to board members!
Thank you for your kind words @PocketArt....I like your suggestion; something I may consider when I see myself worthy of sharing the numismatic knowledge and the time required to commit.
the Big Island is waiting for you to complete all four
AGREE + LIKE + LOL
@SiriusBlack ... Welcome to CU I love your relentless tenacity to learn
Thank you for sharing your family story 
that your grandma decided to keep them then 
@AllCoinsRule... I think you WILL make it back to the 19th century coins...You rule the coins
@Elcontador... Which is the most attractive design as a prize to you? BTW I
@ECHOES ... Wonderful Dad & Son story....you'll be sharing with your son too...
@GaCoinGuy ...your name's in the bucket; you are yet to buy US gold coin. Happy collecting
I own 1 single gold coin.
One of my favorite parts of being a dad is I get to act like a big kid whenever I want. LOL
Yes, my photography was a life long journey trying to find the best medium to express my creativity. I am SO thankful that I found it when I did. In fact it was my photography that allowed me to take my first and only trip (so far) to Hawaii flying First Class for free.
I won a photo contest that Alaska Airlines had held.
LOL ......turbosnail owns a couple grams
I think I also own 7 grams in a 5 + 1 + 1 configuration. I have maybe 4 gold coins on my wantlist.
OK OK.....U and @TurboSnail only own a few grams so your names are now in the bucket
I’ve never been so excited to get my name in a bucket!
Collector of randomness. Photographer at PCGS. Lover of Harry Potter.
I am still getting a kick out of the fact that one of the most active newbies on the forum has yet (as far as I know) to post here. I plan on telling him AFTER the prize is awarded that he missed the chance.
This forum is a great place to LEARN and expand your knowledge, but you have to read some threads, not just keep opening up new ones.
Silver only collector here, no gold. . . My story:
I grew up in the middle of absolute nowhere on a tobacco farm with my grandparents. My grandfather was an old-salt who I knew collected odd (to me at least) things like $2 bills, old bus tokens, etc. One day we were at the local Co-Op(country folks will know what I am referencing here) in the early 1980s. My grand dad was purchasing something I can't recall - probably fertilizer, feed, etc. What little money I had was spent on a Snickers bar from the front counter.
On the way home I pull out my change and my grand dad exclaims "God Damned boy, you got a silver dime there!" It was a 1963 Roosie that had somehow not been pulled from or found its way into circulation. I got really excited as he explained how coins had changed in the 1960's going from one metal to another, and how my dime was actually worth more than $.10. When we got home, he pulled out his collection of coins, a very modest amount, but he had the first Morgan and Peace dollars I had ever seen and a small baggie of other old silver coinage. We looked at the dates and he told me stories from the time they were created- "Boy, we were fighting the damn Nazis in dubya dubya 2 when this one was made!" I remember him saying as we looked at a 1942 quarter. Linking history and coinage together was a huge flashpoint for me, and from then on I was hooked.
As a father now myself, I am putting together cheap sets of coins for my two kids. My son, now 6, loves to look through my(one day to be his) Dansco albums of dimes and quarters. I use them as a teaching tool, as my grand dad did with me, to educate him about what was going on in our world when the old coin was made.
A quick p.s. here: I still have the dime I got that day as a child. Call me a sentimental fool, but I actually had it encapsulated by PCGS. Every time I see it I am reminded of my "papaw" and the start of my path as a collector
Stumble over dollars to pick up pennies
@tennbjj ...So proud of you holding on to your Rosie and now 38 yrs later....the family tradition continues on
Wonderful story....Thank you for sharing and WELCOME to CU
WHAT SHOULD I PUT UP as the PRIZE?
Can I find any reasonable suggestion from the well established circle of friends ( or foes ) ?
Your 1 oz Dan Carr Gold Double Eagle,
Long ago I found a 1912-S Lincoln cent on the floor in my grandmother's basement. Looking it up in a borrowed Red Book, I discovered it was actually quite valuable (XF45). That was it. I was hooked. My initial love was Lincolns but I was always fascinated by Large Cents, which is my focus now - especially Draped Bust LCs. I'm currently working on 1801 die states and 1798 and 1800 die varieties. The long-term plan is to acquire all Draped Bust die varieties. That may not happen soon!
There's a bit of silver but no gold in my collection. Thanks for the chance to change that!
Smitten with DBLCs.
I started collecting coins around 1970 at the age of ten. A kit from my Grandmother at Christmas. My Father was the treasurer for the local little league teams so I had a lot of coins to sort after fundraisers. Never any gold but lots of silver.
I collected on and off up till my early twenties, got married, had children and coins took a way back seat. I have got back into it the last couple of years with the catalyst being my Grandmother passing.
She gave me a 1922 Peace dollar way back when so I just recently completed my set in her honor. I gravitate towards the large coins including Ikes and Morgans. My coins will eventually go to my grandchildren which we will be blessed with our first one in five months.
Something modest. Keep your powder dry for the Pan Pac $2.50 you are drooling over.
That is a keeper.....I have almost twice the STARS due to partial doubling
Sorry I wasnt lbbying. I would defer any victory to a yn. Just thought it a good time to reflect on my lonely gold puma.
A Pan Pacific 1915 S Octagon $50 ? A little too much?
How about an American Liberty One-Tenth Ounce 2018 Gold Proof Coin still available from the Mint? More reasonable and very nice for a first gold coin.
https://catalog.usmint.gov/american-liberty-one-tenth-ounce-2018-gold-proof-coin-18XF.html?cgid=product-schedule
The Liberty 1/10 is actually nice for your 1st gold coin
"A dog breaks your heart only one time and that is when they pass on". Unknown
2018 baby American Gold 1/10 oz
updated ASE > American Gold 1/10
That would be a Silver coin. Did you mean Liberty One-Tenth Ounce 2018 Gold Proof ?
Hey, its gold.
"A dog breaks your heart only one time and that is when they pass on". Unknown
Howdy,
I don't have any gold yet and I'm not sure I ever will, lol. I don't have the largest of budgets so I typically stick to the poor man's gold....silver. I have quite a few ASE and generic rounds, along with starting my life long dream of collecting a complete set of morgan silver dollars along with peace dollars. I'm sure I will probably never accomplish the complete morgan series but it gives me something to strive for. Along with these, I collect the IHC, Jefferson nickels, kennedy halves, Roosevelt dimes, etc....why do I collect them?
I guess I love the history of the coins, what they've gone through, what they've "seen." When you hold an indian head cent from 1860, just think about the story that coin can tell. It has been through the civil war, WWI, WWII, a great depression, presidential assassinations, man walking on the moon, slavery ending, September 11th,.....not to mention the smaller personal stories associated with that coin. Who carried it in their pocket? Was it a 8 year old going to by a handful of candy in 1900? Was it in a soldiers pocket during a war and used to buy postage to get a letter back to a loved one? Was it part of buried treasure that someone hid and another person dug up after years of being in hiding? The possibilities are endless and that's what makes coin collecting so fun for me. They all have their story and I consider it my privilege to be just a small part of their journey towards the next big part it'll play in history.
Cheesy I know, but I love this hobby and I wish I had gotten into it earlier or had a family member that was interested in it too that I could have learned from. I hope to do such for my kids and keep the spark alive in my family. I guess we'll see.
Baby 2018 1/10 oz American gold
I love gold...
Hoard the keys.
But ..but... my gold isn't even a coin... > @ACop said:
Oh .NO YOU DON"T! If you win , you must keep it as CU family heirloom . Make it this way. I was volunteered to enter by Paradisefound even though I was planning to give away my only gold, one gram bar and not a coin, on my 1000th post. So, if I do win, I would be forced to start up a real gold coin collection. Yes~ the pressure is on!!!
107 to go @TurboSnail ......BTW what your 1 gram bar looks like?
AGREE + LIKE
@Aotearoa ...all Draped Bust die varieties maybe all yours....soon or later
@Jeffnlu ...Happy huntings on the next girls but Congrats for your upcoming 1st grandchild
@achtey ...I am with you; me too have learnt more history thru reading about each and every one I acquired
That was funny!
Not me!
Collector of randomness. Photographer at PCGS. Lover of Harry Potter.
@JBK said:
» show previous quotes
I can promise you that I would do no better than you did, but that must have been a very expensive lesson. I do not know what high grade moderns sell for but I wonder if you might be able to put together a sample set for not too much money by buying slabbed cents off eBay. If you are patient maybe you can get a good deal on them. That way you might have a set of various grades to compare raw coins to. (This may or may not be helpful.)
Yes, like 300.00 but it was the really expensive lesson that got me into this hobby. 2017 started going through boxes of pennies and nickels, wife thinks I've lost my mind. 2016 realized (don't remember how) what I had in my hand back in 2009 at a time when business was down and I was late on rent. So during that year 16 to 17 I lost a lot of sleep before I realized the only way to cure the pain and suffering was to beat it back. So here I am. It was a 1965 silver dime and I spent it at the same store I received it. I knew enough to know that it was silver and that it wasn't supposed to be, but just couldn't put it together. And yes, it would have graded nicely...
Did this answer the question? ·
Short and Very Sweet
@CoinscratchFever ...You'll get that 1965 silver dime back....eventually
Happy collecting....
Short and Very Sweet
@saltlydog4 ...I am yet to own my first Trade dollar....you are way ahead of me so keep it up
I know
Well I already have a couple gold coins but your post got me to thinking how I got started. I don't really know. There were no collectors in my family. I think I just found a wheatie one day and it started from there about 15 yrs ago. Oh yea, I did have a few wheaties back in the 80's and someone stole them. Maybe that helped jump my re-start thinking of those.
My Original Song Written to my late wife-"Plus other original music by me"
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8A11CC8CC6093D80
https://n1m.com/bobbysmith1
My Grandmother (Nanny) got me started when I was in elementary school sitting at her dining room table. She was born during the depression and saved all of her cents and pocket change, but also collected from that change too.
By high school I was into other things, but I picked it back up in my late 30's. I don't have any Gold yet, but I am working on finishing a circulated silver Washington set (6 left) and just started a Lincoln Memorial set.
I joined here a few months back to soak in some knowledge and contribute where I can. This forum and reading are almost as enjoyable as the coins themselves.
In the last few years I've learned to not rush into my purchases. And to not regret the bad ones, just learn from them. It's a process, but a fun one!
Grandpa got me excited about coins as early as I can remember. A couple year of years ago I inherited a third of his collection. One of the siblings stole the gold eagles he had.. I however was thankful for the huge amount of silver I received as it brings me closer to him. I have passed the bug on to my kids and grandkids
LIKE
@CoinscratchFever ...I hope you're on the UP & UP. My best wishes for you
Happy collecting !
@thisistheshow ...Good luck finishing up you Washies Your Grandmother did you good
@CyndieChildress ...there is enough room on your Avatar to include Hubby
TTT last day for a little chance
and the WINNERS ARE.....
I enjoyed each and all stories....so....I decided to pick 2 WINNERS
*edited to cap _winners_
@ECHOES & @SiriusBlack Congratulation!
Please PM me with your shipping info.....
I never win anything! Thank you so much, it was a lot of fun reading everyone’s stories!
Collector of randomness. Photographer at PCGS. Lover of Harry Potter.