I collected actively for about 44 years, then I retired, figured I enjoyed old JD tractors, antique car, and old guns more. Sold of collection, put cash into my other hobbies. Couldn't stay totally away, so now I collect more affordable Modern Junk. Still fun, less expensive, and I can enjoy my other hobbies.
@Treeman said:
I collected actively for about 44 years, then I retired, figured I enjoyed old JD tractors, antique car, and old guns more. Sold of collection, put cash into my other hobbies. Couldn't stay totally away, so now I collect more affordable Modern Junk. Still fun, less expensive, and I can enjoy my other hobbies.
Retiring and moving out of the country will be the most likely reason I quit collecting. It would partly depend upon where I move, but I don't see myself going to the trouble of taking my collecting to some country where it's not marketable.
If I don't want to completely quit, probably take a similar approach to yours.
@Treeman said:
I collected actively for about 44 years, then I retired, figured I enjoyed old JD tractors, antique car, and old guns more. Sold of collection, put cash into my other hobbies. Couldn't stay totally away, so now I collect more affordable Modern Junk. Still fun, less expensive, and I can enjoy my other hobbies.
Retiring and moving out of the country will be the most likely reason I quit collecting. It would partly depend upon where I move, but I don't see myself going to the trouble of taking my collecting to some country where it's not marketable.
If I don't want to completely quit, probably take a similar approach to yours.
Yep, retirement, and the free time that comes with it, made me realize more "active" hobbies brought me more joy.
I started going thru bank bags looking for wheat cents and silver in the early seventies when I was 5. I collected some other coins as well for a couple years. Lost interest for about 35 to 40 years. Purchased a graded Morgan around 2010 and have been collecting ever since. Although I do not search bags anymore and rarely buy uncertified coins. I would actually like to try dealing but fear I would take a beating on uncertified stuff as I have a hard time assessing raw coins.
Yes. I found a really worn quarter I kept at movie theater as a 12 year old. It was a 32 S. Kept collecting through high school. Discovered running, getting through college, getting my career on track, etc. Thirty years later, the SS Central America Gold was being presented / sold, in conjunction with a related coin auction at the hotel literally across the street from my office.
Had a look, then went back and looked at the coins I acquired 30 years earlier, plus. Sold some, sent some in for grading, started attending shows, signed on here, etc. Am still at it, though am only looking for 3 coins to finish my type set, so not much activity at the moment.
"Vou invadir o Nordeste, "Seu cabra da peste, "Sou Mangueira......."
I took an 18 year break from 1982 through 2000. I had been going strong since 2001 but started selling off my collection about 3 years ago by setting up at coin shows.
I think the biggest barrier to collecting coins is cost. You "graduate" to a more advanced level of interest or life happens and you can't afford the coins you want. When cost is a concern, you want nice coins you can get out of circulation that aren't important and cycle in and out as needed.
I have the same story. I collected in elementary school and came back to the hobby in part inspired by my desire to get precious metals (I have a bunch of cull morgans/peace dollars and worn merc dimes).
Yep, same here. Started in 7th grade, stopped in HS and college. Picked it up again once I bought my first home at age 30. Too much going on in life to collect, plus, all my money went into renovations on the house. Now, at age 49, I'm fully engaged in coin collecting.
Always looking for attractive rim toned Morgan and Peace dollars in PCGS or (older) ANA/ANACS holders!
"Bongo hurtles along the rain soaked highway of life on underinflated bald retread tires."
I'm in my mid-forties. I didn't really collect coins as a kid other than my dad giving me foreign coins/currency in my Christmas stocking every year. Got into collecting on my own in my early twenties. I did mostly take a break for several years recently though. My interest is now more in paper currency collecting.
@JoeLewis said:
I began my interest in coins at age 10, and collected what I could. By age 12, I lost interest. Then, in my 30s I got really interested again and started collecting. I’m 48 and still going strong.
I’m just curious how common this is. Anyone else collect as a kid and then rejoin the hobby later in life?
I don't know how common it is but that's almost exactly what happened with me.
Got started when my father gave me a Whitman Lincoln cent album when I was 8 years old. Never completely stopped as I like many others know the sound of a silver coin hitting a store countertop. Just wasn't actively collecting for a long time. 66 now and been hitting it pretty hard for the last several years. And yes, I still have the Whitman album
@Treeman said:
I collected actively for about 44 years, then I retired, figured I enjoyed old JD tractors, antique car, and old guns more. Sold of collection, put cash into my other hobbies. Couldn't stay totally away, so now I collect more affordable Modern Junk. Still fun, less expensive, and I can enjoy my other hobbies.
Some areas of exonumia can be enjoyable for less budget, like Civil War Tokens and So-Called Dollars. I still love getting MS66 Civil War Tokens.
Very common. College, career, marriage, family, mortgage, tend to put childhood hobbies on hold for most of us. I collected from about 10 until 17 years old, then started again at 40. A lot changed while I was away including the overwhelming take-over of third-party grading and the emergence of CAC.
(7-13) - I started collecting with my older brother when I was seven after my parents bought home some Whitman folders. I collected from change and from rolls until I was about 13, then I transitioned into HS sports, college sports, school, girls, etc. My best coin find as a kid was a 1921 Mercury dime in G4.
(18-22) - Coin shops would occasionally lure me in when I was in college at Northwestern, and I'd buy early D and S-mint Lincolns and Mercuries to fill albums at home. I got in trouble for visiting a coin shop across the street from the motel the football team was staying at for an away game at U Michigan. Once in the coin shop, I created a mini-scene because all of the dealer's 1911-S Lincolns were altered 44-S's and everyone wanted to look at them. I got chewed out returning to the motel by an assistant coach for not having my 'game face' on. Then I screwed up the warmups but played pretty well in a 69-0 loss, if that's possible. Despite my play, my coin shopping was held up as definitive proof that the team didn't have their heads in the game. I felt like saying, "How could I? You chose to stay at a motel across the street from a coin shop!" They always viewed me as a "follows a different drummer" kind of guy.
I then transferred to a local college (Wheaton College) and my roommate turned out to be a coin collector, so that started lots of discussions about coins. I didn't know that one of my football teammates was an avid coin collector until I saw his face on Stacks website and his name among the list of Redbook contributors 25 years later. I purchased a metal detector and started hunting the campus and local parks. Interest waned after graduation and during grad school except for occasional junk boxing for Canadian large cents at a local dealer.
(29-33) - I found out at work that a colleague also liked coins, and now with some disposable income, we started hitting shows along the Beltway. At one show, I found a love token made out of a nice G-VG 1798/7 16-stars dime in a junk box for about $2, landing me a "You suck!" award two decades later when I posted it here.
I got my friend into metal detecting by finding a Mercury dime on the first signal and a silver Rosey minutes later along a Chesapeake Bay beach, and another silver dime a few minutes later. He had very good success finding 2-bit and 4-bit coins, large cents, silver 3-cent pieces, an 1853 seated quarter in AU, and an unexploded artillery shell at a Civil War site. I found corroded Indian cents, silver, and a Machin's Mills contemporary counterfeit penny.
(48-66+) My collecting interest waned when I went back to grad. school at 33 and didn't return until I discovered eBay at 48 and won a 1964 PR69 Kennedy half and a PR69 Edison dollar on a whim for $45 each. I've remained active over the 18 years since then.
Too much info but it's fun to recollect these stories. The answer is Yes, losing interest or a lack of activity in coin collecting is common among collectors. Those who remain constantly focused on collecting as young adults often become coin dealers.
Many similar stories here, I wonder about "the kids these days". Seems they just venmo or ApplePay or whatever, do they care about coins at all? If they don't get a start early it seems there is less chance they will take up the hobby in their later years.
Comments
I collected actively for about 44 years, then I retired, figured I enjoyed old JD tractors, antique car, and old guns more. Sold of collection, put cash into my other hobbies. Couldn't stay totally away, so now I collect more affordable Modern Junk. Still fun, less expensive, and I can enjoy my other hobbies.
Retiring and moving out of the country will be the most likely reason I quit collecting. It would partly depend upon where I move, but I don't see myself going to the trouble of taking my collecting to some country where it's not marketable.
If I don't want to completely quit, probably take a similar approach to yours.
Yep, retirement, and the free time that comes with it, made me realize more "active" hobbies brought me more joy.
I started going thru bank bags looking for wheat cents and silver in the early seventies when I was 5. I collected some other coins as well for a couple years. Lost interest for about 35 to 40 years. Purchased a graded Morgan around 2010 and have been collecting ever since. Although I do not search bags anymore and rarely buy uncertified coins. I would actually like to try dealing but fear I would take a beating on uncertified stuff as I have a hard time assessing raw coins.
Yes. I found a really worn quarter I kept at movie theater as a 12 year old. It was a 32 S. Kept collecting through high school. Discovered running, getting through college, getting my career on track, etc. Thirty years later, the SS Central America Gold was being presented / sold, in conjunction with a related coin auction at the hotel literally across the street from my office.
Had a look, then went back and looked at the coins I acquired 30 years earlier, plus. Sold some, sent some in for grading, started attending shows, signed on here, etc. Am still at it, though am only looking for 3 coins to finish my type set, so not much activity at the moment.
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
I took an 18 year break from 1982 through 2000. I had been going strong since 2001 but started selling off my collection about 3 years ago by setting up at coin shows.
I think the biggest barrier to collecting coins is cost. You "graduate" to a more advanced level of interest or life happens and you can't afford the coins you want. When cost is a concern, you want nice coins you can get out of circulation that aren't important and cycle in and out as needed.
I have the same story. I collected in elementary school and came back to the hobby in part inspired by my desire to get precious metals (I have a bunch of cull morgans/peace dollars and worn merc dimes).
Yep, same here. Started in 7th grade, stopped in HS and college. Picked it up again once I bought my first home at age 30. Too much going on in life to collect, plus, all my money went into renovations on the house. Now, at age 49, I'm fully engaged in coin collecting.
"Bongo hurtles along the rain soaked highway of life on underinflated bald retread tires."
~Wayne
I'm in my mid-forties. I didn't really collect coins as a kid other than my dad giving me foreign coins/currency in my Christmas stocking every year. Got into collecting on my own in my early twenties. I did mostly take a break for several years recently though. My interest is now more in paper currency collecting.
I don't know how common it is but that's almost exactly what happened with me.
jom
Got started when my father gave me a Whitman Lincoln cent album when I was 8 years old. Never completely stopped as I like many others know the sound of a silver coin hitting a store countertop. Just wasn't actively collecting for a long time. 66 now and been hitting it pretty hard for the last several years. And yes, I still have the Whitman album
Some areas of exonumia can be enjoyable for less budget, like Civil War Tokens and So-Called Dollars. I still love getting MS66 Civil War Tokens.
Very common. College, career, marriage, family, mortgage, tend to put childhood hobbies on hold for most of us. I collected from about 10 until 17 years old, then started again at 40. A lot changed while I was away including the overwhelming take-over of third-party grading and the emergence of CAC.
LIBERTY SEATED DIMES WITH MAJOR VARIETIES CIRCULATION STRIKES (1837-1891) digital album
I've had four periods of active collecting:
(7-13) - I started collecting with my older brother when I was seven after my parents bought home some Whitman folders. I collected from change and from rolls until I was about 13, then I transitioned into HS sports, college sports, school, girls, etc. My best coin find as a kid was a 1921 Mercury dime in G4.
(18-22) - Coin shops would occasionally lure me in when I was in college at Northwestern, and I'd buy early D and S-mint Lincolns and Mercuries to fill albums at home. I got in trouble for visiting a coin shop across the street from the motel the football team was staying at for an away game at U Michigan. Once in the coin shop, I created a mini-scene because all of the dealer's 1911-S Lincolns were altered 44-S's and everyone wanted to look at them. I got chewed out returning to the motel by an assistant coach for not having my 'game face' on. Then I screwed up the warmups but played pretty well in a 69-0 loss, if that's possible. Despite my play, my coin shopping was held up as definitive proof that the team didn't have their heads in the game. I felt like saying, "How could I? You chose to stay at a motel across the street from a coin shop!" They always viewed me as a "follows a different drummer" kind of guy.
I then transferred to a local college (Wheaton College) and my roommate turned out to be a coin collector, so that started lots of discussions about coins. I didn't know that one of my football teammates was an avid coin collector until I saw his face on Stacks website and his name among the list of Redbook contributors 25 years later. I purchased a metal detector and started hunting the campus and local parks. Interest waned after graduation and during grad school except for occasional junk boxing for Canadian large cents at a local dealer.
(29-33) - I found out at work that a colleague also liked coins, and now with some disposable income, we started hitting shows along the Beltway. At one show, I found a love token made out of a nice G-VG 1798/7 16-stars dime in a junk box for about $2, landing me a "You suck!" award two decades later when I posted it here.
I got my friend into metal detecting by finding a Mercury dime on the first signal and a silver Rosey minutes later along a Chesapeake Bay beach, and another silver dime a few minutes later. He had very good success finding 2-bit and 4-bit coins, large cents, silver 3-cent pieces, an 1853 seated quarter in AU, and an unexploded artillery shell at a Civil War site. I found corroded Indian cents, silver, and a Machin's Mills contemporary counterfeit penny.
(48-66+) My collecting interest waned when I went back to grad. school at 33 and didn't return until I discovered eBay at 48 and won a 1964 PR69 Kennedy half and a PR69 Edison dollar on a whim for $45 each. I've remained active over the 18 years since then.
Too much info but it's fun to recollect these stories. The answer is Yes, losing interest or a lack of activity in coin collecting is common among collectors. Those who remain constantly focused on collecting as young adults often become coin dealers.
Many similar stories here, I wonder about "the kids these days". Seems they just venmo or ApplePay or whatever, do they care about coins at all? If they don't get a start early it seems there is less chance they will take up the hobby in their later years.