My grandfather was an Italian immigrant whose job involved paving town roads with bricks in the early 1950s, and whenever he came across change in catch basins, he would save the Indian cents and spend the Lincolns and any silver. His hoard of 350 or so Indian Heads really fascinated this 7 year old kid in the early 1960's
At that time I was able to assemble a full set of Mercury dimes, minus the three key dates, from circulation, with every coin after 1919 being Fine or better. (In the old days, a Mercury wasn't Fine unless all the vertical lines on the reverse fasces were intact!) I still have that folder of Mercs.
This is a question with more than 1 answer. If you want to reminisce on first loves you will have 1 answer. If you want to talk access to coins, information, new books, online chat sites etc. Then you are living in it right now. This is the golden age of numismatics. James
@seatedlib3991 said:
This is a question with more than 1 answer. If you want to reminisce on first loves you will have 1 answer. If you want to talk access to coins, information, new books, online chat sites etc. Then you are living in it right now. This is the golden age of numismatics. James
This!
I can recall the wonderment of being a kid in the 60s and 70s and swooning over the rare coins and associated values as seen in the redbook. My goal then was to find a 50-D nickel. Never did.
Now, though, I have the money, time, education/experience/perspective and information resources to fully engage in this great hobby. So yes, it is the golden age!
Seated Half Society member #38 "Got a flaming heart, can't get my fill"
@Barberian said:
It depends on the type of collecting one does. If one is interested in finding rare die marriages and cherry picking, I'd say the past two decades have been outstanding because of the increased access to coins via the internet. One can now cherry pick in their PJ's at home instead of attending shows and cherry picking under constant dealer scrutiny. I could never amass a roll of 55/54 overdates as easily in three years trying to cherry pick at coin shows.
Yah but many youre not the only one picking anymore.
Then I suggest working faster. There are STILL a lot of coins out there to be picked. I've found 20 1855/54 overdates and likely let another 20 slip past me, in three years! And there are far fewer collectors today than there were 60 years ago.
I could definitely join others and say the 60's were the best time for collecting for the reasons stated above, but the unparalleled access to coins in the 2010's and 2020's enables so much fun looking for rare DMs today. I had a great time in the '60s going through change and rolls looking for coins, and I'm having great time cherry picking coins in the 2020's. I've had the chance to pick three of the five known 74-S WB-5s in the past few years. I never found anything roll hunting that is comparable to what I find today picking auctions in terms of value adjusted for inflation. My 1921 Mercury dime found in the '60s is only worth $55 today. I expect to make a $1000 profit from my first two months of picking overdates. I'd have to have found a 1909-SVDB back in the '60's for a comparable score value-wise.
Here's one that got away from me on eBay. $333 for a $1350 coin. I simplified my search terms as a result.
Here's another off Stacks Bowers auctions...
It was magical collecting from rolls in the '60s but it's a magical time right now with almost unlimited access to coins, information, and chat rooms now. Just ask @FlyingAl!!
As others have said, it depends. When I started collecting coins in the early 1960s, you could find about anything in change, because they had not yet stopped making silver dimes, quarters and half dollars. Coins circulated. I found most non key Lincoln Cents, Buffalo Nickels, Mercury Dimes in change. In the mid to late 60s, you could still find coins. During this time, I found some Indian Head Cents, Liberty Nickels, Barber Dimes and a handful of Standing Liberty Quarters. Finding Walkers from the 1920s happened every now and then.
I attended some George Bennett auctions in Van Nuys, California during this time. This was the place where you had an even playing field for everything from very nice, expensive coins, to things that you probably shouldn't look at in the first place. Lighting was bad, and if you looked at him, belched or farted, it was considered to be a bid.
The problem then was that as a young collector, most shops tried to take advantage of you. A few didn't, and I picked up a 38 D Buffalo nickel at one of them that would today grade MS 66 or MS 67, for a dollar or two.
And with all of the scammers out there, you were taking your chances buying a coin like a 1909 S VDB cent, or 1916 D dime (irrelevant for me, because I couldn't afford them).
A plus today is the wealth of information available to us, easier connections with coins sources and a safety net of sorts with the TPGs and CAC. With the resources available to me today, I am comfortable buying an expensive coin. While even If I had the money back then to buy one, I would have passed.
"Vou invadir o Nordeste, "Seu cabra da peste, "Sou Mangueira......."
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, $20 in 1913 has the buying power of $654.68 today. Spot of an ounce of gold today is $3,374, or roughly 5x more than a what would be needed to get a $20 Saint back in 1913.
Unfortunately Executive Order 6102—Forbidding the Hoarding of Gold Coin, Gold Bullion and Gold Certificates scared off many from keeping their gold coins.
"All persons are hereby required to deliver on or before May 1, 1933, to...any member bank of the Federal Reserve System all gold coin...Whoever willfully violates ...may be fined not more than $10,000, or, if a natural person, may be imprisoned for not more than ten years, or both"
There was an exemption for up to $100 for noncollectors which many were unaware existed.
@Mr_Spud said:
Coin collecting was indeed fun when I started in the late 60’s, but was the best for me in when I started back up in a big way about 20 years ago when I was living in Charlotte. I had collected casually off and on since the 60’s, but It was about 2004 or so when my wife started asking about coins and I taught her how to grade coins the old school way with a red book and circulated rolls from the bank. She started getting into it and we started shopping on eBay. We ended up joining the Charlotte Coin Club and my wife became the secretary. I found this forum and started collecting fairly seriously. It was great fun and lasted until we had to move to California for my job. It’s still fun, but it was more exciting back in Charlotte going to all the coin shows including ones that my wife helped run for the coin club and also on this forum back then.
IT's awesome that you got your wife into it! My wife hates my collection! It costs money and time.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, $20 in 1913 has the buying power of $654.68 today. Spot of an ounce of gold today is $3,374, or roughly 5x more than a what would be needed to get a $20 Saint back in 1913.
Unfortunately Executive Order 6102—Forbidding the Hoarding of Gold Coin, Gold Bullion and Gold Certificates scared off many from keeping their gold coins.
"All persons are hereby required to deliver on or before May 1, 1933, to...any member bank of the Federal Reserve System all gold coin...Whoever willfully violates ...may be fined not more than $10,000, or, if a natural person, may be imprisoned for not more than ten years, or both"
There was an exemption for up to $100 for noncollectors which many were unaware existed.
My immigrant grandmother didn't trust the government, and when that Executive Order came down, she hid two double eagles, two eagles, and two half eagles in her safe deposit box. She also hid forty or so silver dollars, because she thought that if they were coming after gold coins, they would come after silver coins next.
The gold coins are in air tites and are family heirlooms, split between my brother, sister and me. Each of also has one of the nicest Peace and Morgan dollars (also in air tites). The other silver dollars were sold.
"Vou invadir o Nordeste, "Seu cabra da peste, "Sou Mangueira......."
I can recall the wonderment of being a kid in the 60s and 70s and swooning over the rare coins and associated values as seen in the redbook. My goal then was to find a 50-D nickel. Never did.
There was one dealer in the ATL area (World Numismatics) where I lived as a YN in the 70's with a really good selection of US classic coinage. I used to dream of owning coins like that and in my Red Book too.
Not anymore even though I have the money to buy most of these coins (not all of it concurrently).
I've long since moved on to something else.
Even as an older collector with my current resources (adjusted for 1975 economics) in the 70's, I don't believe I'd have been able to find most of the coins I've bought since 1998, working with a dealer or not. It's not US coinage but most dealers wouldn't be able to find it or wouldn't have been worth their time.
@Elcontador said:
My immigrant grandmother didn't trust the government, and when that Executive Order came down, she hid two double eagles, two eagles, and two half eagles in her safe deposit box. She also hid forty or so silver dollars, because she thought that if they were coming after gold coins, they would come after silver coins next.
The gold coins are in air tites and are family heirlooms, split between my brother, sister and me. Each of also has one of the nicest Peace and Morgan dollars (also in air tites). The other silver dollars were sold.
considering the math, i hope they're all split planchets!
@PerryHall said:
The current decade is by far the finest. We have computer access to the inventory of every major coin dealer and every major auction house including pics of their coins. We have access to several very competent grading and authentication services with experts who will evaluate your coin and then encapsulate it a protective holder. We have access to several coin forums where we can share information and comradery with many fellow coin collectors. We have access to a trove of coin information that grows every year as new research is performed and as new discoveries are made. I'm sure you can add more to this list.
And we have many more parking lots to look for coins in.
Successful transactions:Tookybandit. "Everyone is equal, some are more equal than others".
Not sure if the finest but the 60's had to be a great time to collect. The Treasury Morgan release and the ability to get Indian head cents, WLHs, Mercs, and maybe some Barbers or SLQs in circulation had to be exciting.
I also recall the early 2000's as being pretty good. Silver was relatively cheap at ~$4/oz and picking through bulk silver bins was still a thing at my local B&M shop. My local shop also had plenty of lower MS Morgan Dollars to choose from averaging around $30 for common dates. Buying raw AU Trade Dollars for less than $200 was conceivable...
Collecting: Dansco 7070; Middle Date Large Cents (VF-AU); Box of 20;
I'm surprised no one suggested the 1790's. Can you image all the neat coins that were available then at face value?
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
@seatedlib3991 said:
This is a question with more than 1 answer. If you want to reminisce on first loves you will have 1 answer. If you want to talk access to coins, information, new books, online chat sites etc. Then you are living in it right now. This is the golden age of numismatics. James
This!
I can recall the wonderment of being a kid in the 60s and 70s and swooning over the rare coins and associated values as seen in the redbook. My goal then was to find a 50-D nickel. Never did.
Now, though, I have the money, time, education/experience/perspective and information resources to fully engage in this great hobby. So yes, it is the golden age!
Agree fully.
Introduced to the game as a child in the mid 1970s.
rekindled and dreamt about Walkers in the mid 1990s.
In 2009 till 2021-Had the money, gained experience (I never stopped learning even to this day) and access to coins via modern technology, in order to fulfill those dreams.
But, as I said before, my most important decade for my Walker set, anyway, were the 2010s. That’s when the most important coins were added.
My other sets (Morgans, SLDs and SLQs) were all formed within just the last five or six years.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
@GoldFinger1969 said: Am I correct that you could buy pre-1933 gold in the 1960's including Double Eagles without a problem from your local dealer ? As long as THEY could get the coins, often from overseas, and get past the import restrictions put in place by Leland Howard (the same guy who said the 1933 Double Eagles were "stolen" ).
In the late 60's I traded an old Austrian revolver handed down from my grandfather for my first BU 1904 $20 Liberty. The coin was a real BU. As I recall, twenties were less than $80 each - possibly $60. Looking back, I know I got ripped really badly but at the time I was young and wanted the coin. Now I know not to ever trade something rare or something you don't know the value of FOR SOMETHING COMMON!
@seatedlib3991 said: @PerryHall . True. However I would probably have been a poor man then too and would have only seen them in rich men's purses. James
The Fugio Cent, the 1793 half cent and even the chain cent could be picked out of circulation for face value in the 1790's. Even a poor person could afford a half cent or a cent. Also, there would be a lot of colonial era coins still in circulation.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
@Elcontador said:
My immigrant grandmother didn't trust the government, and when that Executive Order came down, she hid two double eagles, two eagles, and two half eagles in her safe deposit box. She also hid forty or so silver dollars, because she thought that if they were coming after gold coins, they would come after silver coins next.
The gold coins are in air tites and are family heirlooms, split between my brother, sister and me. Each of also has one of the nicest Peace and Morgan dollars (also in air tites). The other silver dollars were sold.
considering the math, i hope they're all split planchets!
Nothing like that. The rarest coin is a 1914 S Half Eagle and there's a minimal if any premium in its VF grade.
"Vou invadir o Nordeste, "Seu cabra da peste, "Sou Mangueira......."
Only once have I sold coins in any number, and that was silver dollars in January 1980. Silver had run up from less than $6 to almost $50 an ounce in 1979 and I sold these two weeks before the crash for a hefty profit. I took that money and got a CD that paid 16.15% interest with a 2 1/2 year term. For each dollar in I received an additional fifty cents back when the note matured in August 1982. Interest rates and silver prices had plummeted by then. I will never see that again and have not collected silver dollars since that time now forty five years ago. Was that the best time? Financially, yes. Other than that we tend to be nostalgic for times gone. For better or for worse we are stuck in 2025, until 2026 comes on January 1.
'60 (& '70's) as many mentioned you could find lots of circ silver and many wheatbacks, we all were on 24/7 search for the elusive "rare" 1909-S VDB.
Groceries and charity donation jars were fun for the search.
Gimbels coin counter/dept was great in Manhattan.
How times have turned, what a wow, agreed todays technology puts a totally diff spin on numismatics.
Comments
My grandfather was an Italian immigrant whose job involved paving town roads with bricks in the early 1950s, and whenever he came across change in catch basins, he would save the Indian cents and spend the Lincolns and any silver. His hoard of 350 or so Indian Heads really fascinated this 7 year old kid in the early 1960's
At that time I was able to assemble a full set of Mercury dimes, minus the three key dates, from circulation, with every coin after 1919 being Fine or better. (In the old days, a Mercury wasn't Fine unless all the vertical lines on the reverse fasces were intact!) I still have that folder of Mercs.
Commems and Early Type
This is a question with more than 1 answer. If you want to reminisce on first loves you will have 1 answer. If you want to talk access to coins, information, new books, online chat sites etc. Then you are living in it right now. This is the golden age of numismatics. James
This!
I can recall the wonderment of being a kid in the 60s and 70s and swooning over the rare coins and associated values as seen in the redbook. My goal then was to find a 50-D nickel. Never did.
Now, though, I have the money, time, education/experience/perspective and information resources to fully engage in this great hobby. So yes, it is the golden age!
"Got a flaming heart, can't get my fill"
Right now. Information & access to great coins has never been better.
Then I suggest working faster. There are STILL a lot of coins out there to be picked. I've found 20 1855/54 overdates and likely let another 20 slip past me, in three years! And there are far fewer collectors today than there were 60 years ago.
I could definitely join others and say the 60's were the best time for collecting for the reasons stated above, but the unparalleled access to coins in the 2010's and 2020's enables so much fun looking for rare DMs today. I had a great time in the '60s going through change and rolls looking for coins, and I'm having great time cherry picking coins in the 2020's. I've had the chance to pick three of the five known 74-S WB-5s in the past few years. I never found anything roll hunting that is comparable to what I find today picking auctions in terms of value adjusted for inflation. My 1921 Mercury dime found in the '60s is only worth $55 today. I expect to make a $1000 profit from my first two months of picking overdates. I'd have to have found a 1909-SVDB back in the '60's for a comparable score value-wise.
Here's one that got away from me on eBay. $333 for a $1350 coin. I simplified my search terms as a result.
Here's another off Stacks Bowers auctions...
It was magical collecting from rolls in the '60s but it's a magical time right now with almost unlimited access to coins, information, and chat rooms now. Just ask @FlyingAl!!
As others have said, it depends. When I started collecting coins in the early 1960s, you could find about anything in change, because they had not yet stopped making silver dimes, quarters and half dollars. Coins circulated. I found most non key Lincoln Cents, Buffalo Nickels, Mercury Dimes in change. In the mid to late 60s, you could still find coins. During this time, I found some Indian Head Cents, Liberty Nickels, Barber Dimes and a handful of Standing Liberty Quarters. Finding Walkers from the 1920s happened every now and then.
I attended some George Bennett auctions in Van Nuys, California during this time. This was the place where you had an even playing field for everything from very nice, expensive coins, to things that you probably shouldn't look at in the first place. Lighting was bad, and if you looked at him, belched or farted, it was considered to be a bid.
The problem then was that as a young collector, most shops tried to take advantage of you. A few didn't, and I picked up a 38 D Buffalo nickel at one of them that would today grade MS 66 or MS 67, for a dollar or two.
And with all of the scammers out there, you were taking your chances buying a coin like a 1909 S VDB cent, or 1916 D dime (irrelevant for me, because I couldn't afford them).
A plus today is the wealth of information available to us, easier connections with coins sources and a safety net of sorts with the TPGs and CAC. With the resources available to me today, I am comfortable buying an expensive coin. While even If I had the money back then to buy one, I would have passed.
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
Unfortunately Executive Order 6102—Forbidding the Hoarding of Gold Coin, Gold Bullion and Gold Certificates scared off many from keeping their gold coins.
"All persons are hereby required to deliver on or before May 1, 1933, to...any member bank of the Federal Reserve System all gold coin...Whoever willfully violates ...may be fined not more than $10,000, or, if a natural person, may be imprisoned for not more than ten years, or both"
There was an exemption for up to $100 for noncollectors which many were unaware existed.
IT's awesome that you got your wife into it! My wife hates my collection! It costs money and time.
if prices go up, the decade you're in
The 60"s appear to be the winner! Bunch of old guys.
I have to agree with the 60s. Plenty of coin shops, local coin shows, and you could find silver in change.
My immigrant grandmother didn't trust the government, and when that Executive Order came down, she hid two double eagles, two eagles, and two half eagles in her safe deposit box. She also hid forty or so silver dollars, because she thought that if they were coming after gold coins, they would come after silver coins next.
The gold coins are in air tites and are family heirlooms, split between my brother, sister and me. Each of also has one of the nicest Peace and Morgan dollars (also in air tites). The other silver dollars were sold.
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
There was one dealer in the ATL area (World Numismatics) where I lived as a YN in the 70's with a really good selection of US classic coinage. I used to dream of owning coins like that and in my Red Book too.
Not anymore even though I have the money to buy most of these coins (not all of it concurrently).
I've long since moved on to something else.
Even as an older collector with my current resources (adjusted for 1975 economics) in the 70's, I don't believe I'd have been able to find most of the coins I've bought since 1998, working with a dealer or not. It's not US coinage but most dealers wouldn't be able to find it or wouldn't have been worth their time.
considering the math, i hope they're all split planchets!
And we have many more parking lots to look for coins in.
Not sure if the finest but the 60's had to be a great time to collect. The Treasury Morgan release and the ability to get Indian head cents, WLHs, Mercs, and maybe some Barbers or SLQs in circulation had to be exciting.
I also recall the early 2000's as being pretty good. Silver was relatively cheap at ~$4/oz and picking through bulk silver bins was still a thing at my local B&M shop. My local shop also had plenty of lower MS Morgan Dollars to choose from averaging around $30 for common dates. Buying raw AU Trade Dollars for less than $200 was conceivable...
Successful BST transactions with: SilverEagles92; Ahrensdad; Smitty; GregHansen; Lablade; Mercury10c; copperflopper; whatsup; KISHU1; scrapman1077, crispy, canadanz, smallchange, robkool, Mission16, ranshdow, ibzman350, Fallguy, Collectorcoins, SurfinxHI, jwitten, Walkerguy21D, dsessom.
For me the most nostalgic would be the early to mid 1980’s (when I got started)
Some of these coins really bring me back when I see them!
My YouTube Channel
I'm surprised no one suggested the 1790's. Can you image all the neat coins that were available then at face value?
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
@PerryHall . True. However I would probably have been a poor man then too and would have only seen them in rich men's purses. James
Agree fully.
Introduced to the game as a child in the mid 1970s.
rekindled and dreamt about Walkers in the mid 1990s.
In 2009 till 2021-Had the money, gained experience (I never stopped learning even to this day) and access to coins via modern technology, in order to fulfill those dreams.
But, as I said before, my most important decade for my Walker set, anyway, were the 2010s. That’s when the most important coins were added.
My other sets (Morgans, SLDs and SLQs) were all formed within just the last five or six years.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
In the late 60's I traded an old Austrian revolver handed down from my grandfather for my first BU 1904 $20 Liberty. The coin was a real BU. As I recall, twenties were less than $80 each - possibly $60. Looking back, I know I got ripped really badly but at the time I was young and wanted the coin. Now I know not to ever trade something rare or something you don't know the value of FOR SOMETHING COMMON!
The Fugio Cent, the 1793 half cent and even the chain cent could be picked out of circulation for face value in the 1790's. Even a poor person could afford a half cent or a cent. Also, there would be a lot of colonial era coins still in circulation.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Nothing like that. The rarest coin is a 1914 S Half Eagle and there's a minimal if any premium in its VF grade.
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
Only once have I sold coins in any number, and that was silver dollars in January 1980. Silver had run up from less than $6 to almost $50 an ounce in 1979 and I sold these two weeks before the crash for a hefty profit. I took that money and got a CD that paid 16.15% interest with a 2 1/2 year term. For each dollar in I received an additional fifty cents back when the note matured in August 1982. Interest rates and silver prices had plummeted by then. I will never see that again and have not collected silver dollars since that time now forty five years ago. Was that the best time? Financially, yes. Other than that we tend to be nostalgic for times gone. For better or for worse we are stuck in 2025, until 2026 comes on January 1.
Lots of foreign coins for sure, I can’t imagine American coins circulated much save for a big city or three by then
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
Well I think the 1830s would have been an interesting decade.
'60 (& '70's) as many mentioned you could find lots of circ silver and many wheatbacks, we all were on 24/7 search for the elusive "rare" 1909-S VDB.
Groceries and charity donation jars were fun for the search.
Gimbels coin counter/dept was great in Manhattan.
How times have turned, what a wow, agreed todays technology puts a totally diff spin on numismatics.