-- Giveaway! -- (Due to my Pitiful Ebay Feedback Accomplishment) *Winner Announced - techeff, Weeni

dthigpen

Well, I finally reached over 100 feedback on Ebay, and it only took me five and a half years of buying/selling on ebay. So I'm going to give something *special* away to a lucky forum member (Well, at least something that I deem as special, this definately won't be a rinky-dink collection of modern coins and some flips, it will have numistic and historical value); but I'll save that surprise until after the winner is selected.

To enter, you must post a reply to this thread with the story (100 words or MORE) of how you began collecting coins. If you honestly don't remember, make it up. I'm not one of these 'fair' or 'random' people, so I will be selecting the winner myself according to who best conveyed their story.

Sorry for the delay in deciding on the winner of this one; I've read through them all and while they are all fascinating, the story that touched me the most was techeff's.

techeff - You won a 1974 Cook Islands Proof Set with a CAM/DCAM Weenie Dollar in it!

Thanks for sharing your stories everyone!

Yousri

I start collecting coins when I was a kid..................
I start collecting coins when I was a kid..................
I start collecting coins when I was a kid..................
I start collecting coins when I was a kid..................
I start collecting coins when I was a kid..................
I start collecting coins when I was a kid..................
I start collecting coins when I was a kid..................
I start collecting coins when I was a kid..................
I start collecting coins when I was a kid..................
I start collecting coins when I was a kid..................
I start collecting coins when I was a kid..................
I start collecting coins when I was a kid..................
I start collecting coins when I was a kid..................
I start collecting coins when I was a kid..................
I start collecting coins when I was a kid..................



I think this more than 100 words. I am tired. I guess now I am in.

kryptonitecomics

When my grandmother died a long time ago my mother gave me an old music box that belonged to her with Jesus on the top. The music box hadn't worked in years so one day I decided to take it apart to see if I could fix it. Once I got it apart I found that their was an Indian head penny wedged down beside the gears so nothing could turn. I fished the coin out and looked at the date and it was 1908, which was my grandmothers birth year.

I don't know if she even knew she had the coin, but That's when I decided to collect coins as a way to remember how much she meant to me

Melmcbee

Shane, that is beautiful. I wish mine was better but here goes.
My father was retired National Guard and he always kept his change. He had the ammunition metal holders ( whatever they are called) filled with coins. It was the kind that was military green metal with a big snap down lock. Anyway, we were raised with everything we needed but not necessarily everything we wanted. My parents didn't believe in credit they believed in paying for everything purchased. You save what you have until you can afford to buy it. So we didn't get a lot of spending money. Well one year as I was snooping where I didn't belong I ran into his coin stash. Well I thought it was just coins not special coins. He won't miss a couple and then I can go to the store and get some candy. Then a couple of more the next day and so on. Years later my grandparents were down and my father was bragging about his coin collection. It was Christmas Eve, the family was all together and I hear my father yell for my mother. They all came out of their room and my father was carrying that damn ammo box. I prayed hard. I knew I could still hear coins jingling in there. I didn't really take that many did I? The look on his face was deep sorrow. Years of his work gone. But he wouldn't discuss it in front of the family he would wait. Needless to say I didn't know they were special. I always wondered why the clerks at the store was so happy to see me. Years later he finally talked to me about it. He was disappointed because I took something that didn't belong to me. Stealing anything from anybody was always wrong and I didn't even realize that was how he felt. He thought I was a thief. The worst thing to be. We were raised so much better than that. Now years later, I started purchasing old coins on ebay to give him for Christmas. I have the same ebay name as here so you can see what I have collected for him. I can't wait. I have 4 mini books that I think hold 60 coins a piece and they are almost full. I have everything from Morgans to Buffalo's. Now I am obsessed and starting my own collection. I joined the forum across the street and here. Met a lot of knowledgeable people who have helped me. I know that the coins I bought can't compare to the high grades that most of you own but for my father who kept his coins loose in a metal box he is going to flip. I even aquired some WWII food ration stamps from a member across the street. He talks about that time and I know that he will love it. And I can hopefully forgive myself and erase the terrible memory of how dissapointed he was with me. And I found a new love. Coins.
I am sorry if this was too long Doug but I think it was better then any therapy session.

jonesy

Melaine, You will have to get into that long line of people that did what you did as a kid.

Melmcbee

Thanks Jonesy, that makes me feel better.

Vet

I was first introduced to coin collecting by my uncle when I was around 8 he would take me in the back room and show me his collection every time I was over to his house. The morgans were my favorite coin and the gold. He was a WW1 vet and started collecting in the early 50s. When I was about 11 we moved away but I had the bug couldn't afford much then but went through all the change I could find. I started 1c 5c 10c wittmen folders I just saved things by date and mint mark,still have that stuff. After comming home from Viet Nam my uncle gave me the 1893s morgan that I have posted here a few times I guess it was his way of saying he was proud of me. I didn't get to involved with collecting after that untill after he died and my Aunt after a few years was having money problems so she asked me to inventory his collection and sell it as needed to keep her head above water and if anything was left after her death it was to be mine she died a couple of years ago so there was still quite a bit left so for the last 4 years or so I have been trying to read and learn as much as I can about coins, the collection that was left spanned 100 years minus the gold which I sold to take care of her. I still have a lot to learn trying to concentrate on one denomation is hard I keep going back and forth from dollars to cents and in between what a kick, my wife thinks im nuts and she might be right. Thanks Larry

morgannut2

I like MelMcbee's story so far. So to keep it short I used to cut grass durning the summer in Montana (1959) and I tried to take my summers earnings home in silver dollars. We were flying out of Butte which is almost 7,000 ft elevation on a WWII relic prop plane. They made me exchange all all Morgan/Peace Dollars for bills, due to their dumb weight restrictions-I'm still ticked off at Northwest Airlines.

1957joe

The first thing that got my intrest in coin collecting when I was a kid was the fact that my dad had a "junk" box in his dresser drawer. In this box was an 1853 Coronet Head cent that he had gotten from his grandmother. I thought that it was the coolest thing I ever saw and he knew that I liked it. At the time, he would not just give it to me, even though he had no interest at all in collecting coins. To be honest, if he did, I probably would not have it to this day. I probably would have lost it, like the countless other "treasures" a kid aquires!
This same type of thinking is always on my mind with my 7 year old. He truely loves coins, collecting and learning about the hobby. But I am very carefull about what I just give him and what "trearures" are just out of his reach!
Thanks for the chance to enter in your givaway!
Joe

nwcs

I began originally because my older brother did. When we went to the 1982 world's fair, I got the Hungarian proof set. But my interest was casual because I was only 9. When I was 15 I got more interested and started buying coins as I could find them. Unfortunately that was 1988 and everything was overpriced. I let go of collecting again till after college when I saw a $20 saint that I wanted to buy for my birthday in 2000. The rest has come since.

ziggy29

My dad was in the Air Force and among other places, he was stationed in Puerto Rico. This would have been around 1961-63. They had all kinds of old coins, and a few key dates, still in circulation then. Dad picked up lots of IHCs, Buffs, Mercs, SLQs, Walkers and Barber coins as well as a few "V" nickels and stuff. He picked out 1921 Walkers from ALL mints. So a decade later, when I was little I used to enjoy just looking through all of them -- and pretty soon I was bitten by the bug.

Bikingnut

I started collecting when I was in the Cub Scouts. I remember we had to do some simple project, and someone suggested I try and get a penny from every year. I think this was around 1970 or so. The other thing I remember when I started collecting is I didn't have a Whitman folder, but I had the next best thing. Elmers glue and a large piece of cardboard. Each penny got a dab of glue on the back, was stuck on the piece of cardboard with the date written below it. I was hooked. A short time later I discovered that there were other collectors in the world and there were companies that actually made folders with cutouts (Whitman) to put the Pennies in. I soon upgraded my collection with one of these. Someone gave me a Red Book a few years after that and I was facinated to learn that this country had actually used two and three cent coins at one time. The Red Book fueled the fire and was probably what really got me hooked.

ConstellatioCollector

My story is a sad and tragic one. But has produced a colonial coin collector. I was 5 years old when I started the urge to chew gum. I would buy gum at all sorts and styles of gum machines. Problem was that I didn't have the pennies to supply my habit. I had no Social Security Card so I couldn't find a job and the education thing (stood) in my way to travelling to a job out of state. So, I found an easy way to get my fix of gum. My Fathers top bureau drawer and his Indian Head collection. Well time went on and sure enough my Father noticed that the coins were missing. The "belt hit the butt" and the coins were gone.

Time passed and when I was 16 years old I had a job and Christmas time was around the corner and had NO idea what to buy my Father for Christmas. I was walking by a coin store and noticed Indian Head Cents in the case. My Father loved his gifts over the next few years though I found out later that he was not concerned about the original collection.

To make a long story short, this started me on the path of coin collecting!

Smittys

Not much of a story but it's the truth.
It happened in the mid to late 60'S, my Father game me my first fifty cent allowance and it was
a 1963 Franklin half. I was so happy getting fifty cents but I was drawn to the coin. I ask my dad
and he said they don't make them anymore and that my Grandmother on mom's side was a coin
collector. I couldn't wait till the next time I could see her. Now the bad part, being a young Kid
with a fifty cent coin, I gave in and spent it, however I was hooked on coins. Mom told grandma
and next visit she sold me 28 mercury dime for a dollar (mom loaned me the dollar),
but I was in heaven. I tell everyone that first buy, 28 Mercurys for a dollar. God bless grandma.
May she rest in peace. Gone but not forgotten.

Smitty

goose3

I got started probably when I was only 5 or 6 years old by my grandfather. I was/am the only grandSON. He would get out his rolls and containers of old buffalo nickels and such and would sort through them and have me look at the date and tell him. He'd then ask something like "Are you sure that isn't an 1885?" "Are there only 3 legs" "Are you sure that doesn't say 1856 on that penny?" No lie. His eyesight was probably just fine all along and he was probably hoping I saw something he wished he could see.

I remember he and I going to Woolworth's each weekend and going back to the back corner of the store where the rotary type machine was that held trays of coins in 2 by 2's and also real 1.00 and 2.00 bills with people's faces glued onto them such as Kennedy, etc... I'd push the button to make the trays rotate like a ferris wheel and he'd say "STOP" when he'd see something he wanted to look or laugh at. We'd almost always buy something out of that machine.

I wish he were still around to marvel at some of the coins I have today but then I'd probably get a lecture on what I've spent. He died in 1983 when I was 12 but passed on an enjoyable, yet expensive, hobby to me.

I still see that machine in another store on another side of that town. It's in a store called "Yesteryear Mart" and is still filled with coins much like it was when he and I used to view it. It brings back lots of memories when I see it.

dthigpen

A couple great stories so far, will be a tough one to judge - I welcome everyone else to enter, the prize will be well worth the time to share the start of your coin collecting passion!

MacCrimmon

Now you're over 100.....

The Comet is streaking TOWARD you..........DUCK!!!!!

ozzysdad

This is one thread that, cuts clean to the bone.

I remember about 1965 while visiting my grandfather in Farmington, Iowa. While "Snooping" thru the closets, I came across a large box of my grandfathers coins, and told my grandmother what i had found. Later that day, When my grandfather came home, My grandmother told my grandad what i found and he said well, let's look after hours of being awestruck by the multitude of coins, types, and especially the dates, he said he had a surprise for me. The next morning, He took me to the bank of Farmington and told the lady at the counter he needed to get into his lock boxes, I remember seeing, Flying Eagles cents, and Proof sets, and about every kind of gold peice you can imagine. He also gave me several Whitman penny books and some starter coins to boot, What a guy, at any rate, They moved from Farmington, IA. to Shell Knob, Mo. and bought a resort where they lived, owned and operated it for a little over 10 years. After that, They moved to Sun Lakes AZ. where they stayed until his death in 1989. My dad flew out and stayed with my grandmother, who told my dad that Grandpa wanted him to have all the coins that were in 2 large Alligator bags, My dad said he would wait to pick them up when he drove out the next month. She said that would be fine and not to worry they would be waiting for him. In the meantime. My grandmother was cleaning out the closet of my grandfathers stuff, and came across his Tackle box, looking thru it, she found a false bottom, No.... not coins, But, Love letters to a woman that he had taken care of for over 35 years, and had moved this woman from , Iowa, to MO. to Arizona, and that he had borrowed money from one of his life insurance policies and given it to this woman, just months before he died.Of course my grandmother was furious, and in order to collect the full amount of the policy, she had to repay the amount borrowed. Well, she called a coin dealer to come over and look at the collection, He offered her 18,000.00 the amount needed to pay the difference on the policy, She took it..........Come to find out later from my dad, Gramp's collection was worth over a half a million, easy, and I remember my dad, in tears about it, Not to mention, the stamps, which included a inverted air mail stamp, i remember seeing that and thinking why would anyone want a stamp with the airplane upside down? DUH............. But, All is gone, including my dad, I am still trying to find out where his coins disapeared to, He had tons of coins too..... But, i remember him in his bitterness telling me about Grandpa's coins,And the old saying "Hell Hath No Fury, Than a Woman Scorned.."

dthigpen

Great story ozzysdad, keep 'em coming!

techeff

My dad collected coins most of his life. He got me into coin collecting as a child and I really enjoyed it. I ended up selling my coins when I was about fourteen because my parents got divorced a few years earlier and my mom needed the money. I never got back into coin collecting until about a year ago, 20 years later.

Over the past ten years of my dad's life he sold off most of his coins to support his very serious drinking problem. That's pretty much all he did for a long time until he died a few years ago. My brother found him dead in a chair in his very small efficiency apartment. He had been dead for at least a week. I got the call about his death from my mom about 5am. I got on a plane and flew back to Florida for his funeral, which was just with my two brothers and my mom.

After the funeral, my brother and I went to his apartment to collect my father's belongings. It was really difficult, especially with the smell of his rotting corpse still very strong. We pretty much threw everything he owned in the dumpster since most of it was wothless junk. He didn't even own a bed and slept on the floor for many years. The chair he died in was especially gross. I'll spare you from the gory details. Anyway, we found one item that did have some value, which was what was left of his coin collection. What he had left was a complete set of large silver medals that took him 15 years to complete, a very nice 1881CC Morgan that I post here on ocassion, and a few hundred other coins that weren't worth much at all.

My brother told me to take the coins, knowing that was something me and my dad did together when I was a kid. So, I put the medals and coins in a small suitcase and lugged them back to Chicago with me, which is where I was living at the time. I didn't open the suitcase until about a year ago when I was a little bored and came across it while cleaning out a closet. I started going through the coins and remembered how much fun I had with my dad collecting coins. I remembered I stopped collecting coins because my parents got divorced and didn't see my dad much anymore and didn't have anyone to enjoy the hobby with. Anyway, I wanted to know how much some of the coins might be worth so I did a search on the internet. I found this site and now have all of you to enjoy the hobby with.

Tomorrow would have been my dad's 69th birthday. He grew up an orphan with no family and no money, became the top model of the 50's and 60's, made millions in real estate, and died with no money at all. I am very happy with the few coins he left me. I'm glad I'll have something of his that I can pass on to my son.

ddbird

I started collecting when I was 8 I think. I had always been interested in the norm, for a kid my age....Baseball cards, pogs...cheap things that had no resale. Eventually, my grandfather introduced me to coins. He handed me a dateless SLQ and told me how old it was. I found it very interesting and hard to believe that our nation had coins before the ol' Washington quarters...and I thought Bicentenials were rare. Eventually, my Grandfather gave me a few more of his nicer coins...nothing special, lots of old mercury's and and SLQ's. I think he was even surprised at how quick I picked it up. From thence forth, my birthdays and Christmas's have been nothing but coins from the old guy. He knows I love their history, and will keep em safe. Recently, he gave me his 84 CC morgan, which he had payed a whappin $1 for back in the sixties. Im glad my Grandfather introduced me to coins, I think its a hobbie that I will continue to actively participate in for a loonggg time. Still to this day, one of my favorite coins is that dateless SLQ.

eddieal

My grandfathers big steamship trunk is where it began. I was always facinated by this trunk and at age 13 my grandfather passed away. Several weeks later my grandmother called me to help her clean out the old trunk. In it was my grandfathers coin collection which was given to me. Grandmother commented that he had more coins than was found but had a law suit for car wreck and had to sell his 1856 Flying Eagle penny and apparently most of the others. I was also given a billfold that was owned and signed by my gggrandfather in 1835 and grandfather signed it in 1935. In the back corner was neatly folded a $1.00 Alabama Confederate bill, which I still have. In the mid-50's joined local coin club and was active in collecting until about 1963 when I got married and lost interest. Year before last, for my birthday, my son gave me a 1939 PR67 Walker, and with that, I AM FIRED UP AGAIN.

Neptune

lots of great stories - here's mine:

The first time I started collecting coins was when I was a wee child and Daddy bought us the blue Whitman books - to keep us out of their hair. And it worked - it kept us busy for awhile. Then I lost interest. My parents would get us an occasional coin set for Christmas or birthdays. I thought they were cool, but my interest still didn't peak back yet.

The 2nd time I started collecting coins was an accident. For Y2K they were telling everyone BUY SILVER AND GOLD - the world is coming to an end! Always wanting to fit in, I went to the local coin coin shop and bought all of their junk silver, and a few sets. After the coins sat around awhile, I decided to sort dates, and decided to get some books to put the silver in. Then the empty holes started bothering me.

Then I bought a Redbook and started reading about the other coins and started getting more interested - started browsing eBay and looking for coins online. After that my collection started to grow. The more I learned: The more I bought. Now it's just a matter of controlling myself and waiting for payday.

F117ASR

I was about 7 watching cartoons at my grandmother's house as my unlce and grandfather ate breakfeast. I remember I was in pretty good mood because the house smelled like sausage. My unlce called me over to where he was sitting and said he had something to show me. Out from his wallet he pulled out a 1936 buffalo nickel. I asked what it was and he said that it was a nickel. I was shocked to learn that the money from the past looked different. I then asked him if I could have it and I remember him saying "no". I completely understood. At the time I thought it was worth a ton of money. I later told my mom the story of my uncle's nickel and she said that there was a coin shop that she would take me to. Well we went a few weeks later and I remember being buzzed in to the shop. Boy was I shocked and excited. Everything was amazing. I bought some stuff from the "junk box" and thought to myself, why would they sell such old stuff for so cheap. I really didn't care though. Anyway, the dealer recommended the redbook and from then on I was hooked. I completely memorized the redbook at the time. After that, I saved every penny I got and would walk to the coin shop with my grandma for about 4 miles to get there. The trips were totally worth it.

Oh and I recently inquired about that nickel my uncle had. He still has it on top of his fridge. I will check it out the next time I see it. Maybe he'll let me have it this time.

dthigpen

Keep the responses coming; everyone is welcome!

DorkGirl

My love of Morgans started when I was about 6 or so. On holidays we would go to my grandma's house for dinner. After dinner my grampa would pull out the old Whitman folders. Oh my, how those beautiful coins caught my eye as I sat on his lap. What a wonderful memory that is for me.

When I turned 8, I started working for my dad at his gas station. Picture this, 1959, you pull up to get gas, an 8 year old girl asks "Can I fill her up for you?" This is when I started collecting steel cents. I loved them then, and still love those stupid things. I was making a quarter an hour, but dad would let me have the steel cents for my collection. By now he had started collecting Morgans too. He was still getting Morgans and Peace dollars for payment.

Now I'm in high school in the late 1960's. Dad and I would catalog his Morgans. I would sit for hours and write down dates and MM's. A real labor of love. I was still working at the gas station and one of my jobs was looking through the change for silver. It was always removed from the cash register and put into the safe.

When grampa died, dad inherited the Whitmans and added to them. When he died I was the proud recipient of this wonderful gift. I finally finished the collection, it was one of the proudest moments of my life when I put the last Morgan in the new Dansco albums. I felt like I was doing it for all three of us. It took my family 3 generations to finish that set of Morgans. Some of my favorite coins in that album are the old album toned coins from the Whitmans.

dthigpen

Sending it up for all the Weekend people.

19Lyds

In 1959, my older brothers, one a year older and the other two years older, had been given the opportunity to go through a jar of "old" pennies. I can remember sitting down with them and searching through those coins for hours trying to fill up one of the old Whitman folders. We were all fascinated with the fact that we could find pennies that were made in the 20's and some even earlier. Certainly we could fill that folder given the fact that we had s-o-o-o many pennies to go through! We slowly learned that despite the fact that we had such a hoard, a lot of that hoard was made up of duplicates and when the dust finally settled, there were more empty slots than filled slots! It was a great way to spend a summer's afternoon though! Of the three of us, only my older brother showed a continued interest in collecting, but that moment in time had been ingrained in my mind.

Around 1972, I came across an older gentleman that had a coin booth in one of the many indoor "flea markets" that existed in the California Bay Area at the time. While looking through his displays I was reminded of the fun times I had with my older brothers so many years earlier and was amazed at seeing "uncirculated" wheaties that could be purchased for just a few cents. I decided at that moment to resume a penny collection in uncirculated condition! My target was the 1941 - 1958 set as all the coins were very reasonably priced and my older brother, had he still been alive, would have been proud!

Over a period of a year or so, I was able to acquire my set and build a good friendship with this dealer. He not only gave me some great deals, but helped me to develop a true appreciation for collecting coins!

Little did I realize that he also gave me an insane obsession that occupies most of my free time and gobbles up my paychecks! Thanks alot Buddy........

dthigpen

Get your entries in, Deadline is in two days!

dthigpen

Last day to submit your entry!

kieferscoins

There I was. 12, bored one summer day and at my grandparents house. My Grandpa walked up behind me and dumped a bunch of Lincoln cents in my lap from his old rusty jar. He told me to have them and do what I want. The thought of immediate profit jumped into my head. I quickly searched and found all the different dates from the 1930's and 1940's (nothing of real value mind you). There was several things holding me back from my idea.

1. I did not have any flips to hold the coins in.
2. eBay had not been invented yet and I had no easy way to dispose of my old unsearched hoard of US coins.

So I quickly convinced my grandpa to drive me to the coin shop and see what I could bum off the local dealer. That afternoon we arrived, and I gave him my ploy about wanting to be a dealer, my vast experience, numerous years in the hobby and how every dollar counts when you start up. Guess what? He fell for it! I got several hundred flips to put my coins in for FREE and even some coins on consignment @ a hefty commission (of course). The rest is history as they say. I was on my way to easy success.......

Cameron Kiefer

eyoung429

I originally started when I was 7yrs old and came across an old morgan..... Thinking that finding a dollar in TN was an exciting event, I took it to the store and bought some candy with it. When I went to pay for the candy, the old man tending the till asked me if I was sure that I wanted to use that coin that I had found. I then found myself listening to a long story about the "silver dollars" that were used back in the days. He gave me the candy and sent me on my way. I ran across him again about 10yrs later and found that he still had the coin in his possesion!!!! I then started hanging around after work and listening to his stories and looking at his coins. He died about 15 yrs ago and his grandchildren fought tooth and nail over his collection. To this date, I have always been interested in coins but didn't have the money to invest in them. Now I am building up a set of both Morgans and Walkers. Cannot wait till the next coin. My kids are also into collecting and have almost 2 complete sets of wheaties with only missing about 7 coins in each set. When the time and money comes along, I will help them complete those sets as well as my own.

Thanks for the opportunity and chance to win!!!!

dthigpen

Entry Deadline is Midnight Tonight, This is your last opportunity to enter!

DrWho

Heck I got started at about 10 years old. How and why, after all these intervening ages, is unknown. I’ve always been ‘into’ history of some sort. Maybe it was because of the history behind the coins. Along with the history, came the beauty. I think I really went for it, when mom and dad went to Vegas, with me of course. I did not go into the casinos, I DID pull the handle on a slot in a restaurant, loser. I was about 10-11. Now after a hard day of ‘gambling’, and the shows of course (did see a rather ‘adult’ dinner-show), the folks would empty their pockets of………..Silver Dollars. And since I was pretty much holed up in the hotel, whilst they were funning, I would go through all the Dollars, looking at the dates and mints. New naught about grading. Relatives would also give or show the coins they had hoarded, peaking my interest.

From then it was pocket change collector, all types in circ at the time. Pined for Gold. Bought my first gold coin, 1901 Double Eagle, around 1963 ($50), and over the intervening years polished the sucka. And rather than dump it on ebay, to some unsuspecting rube, I’ll hold and cherish her, pass her along to the kids, as my first and favorite gold coin.

Pitiful feedback score, indeed!

66Tbird

When my mom was pregnant with me my dad save all his pennies, and did so until after my sister was born two years later. Then when I was about 5 or so dad and I would start to sort some out and book them. There was and still is a lot of cents in those ammo cases. I went through the whole lot a few years back and found a lot of rpm's and mild double dies, enough to fill a book of two by's. Never did check for the 22 plain or any other little known gems. Did fine a 36 DDO, of was it a 39,. Oh well that how it started. Then a gift from a board ember changed the way I collect. Save money and get the best, it pays off in enjoyment and beauty.

dthigpen

Last Bump, Five hours until the submission deadline, I welcome everyone to participate!

windwhispersintrees

How did I begin collecting coins? Well, I was about the age when cap guns and balsa wood stunt planes sold by the corner drug store held my eye.

Sometime back then, I really noticed money. Money was suddenly no longer just paper from birthday cards that got magically transformed into a green bankbook with printed numbers inside. I learned that “money” also meant “coins” and that--aside from saving them to buy something--coins could be great fun. They pinged when dropped on the kitchen counter. They whirred when held beneath an index finger and flicked to spin like a top. They could be pounded flat with Dad’s hammer or put on the railroad tracks to be squashed. They could be tossed, bounced or rolled with friends against the concrete garage wall to see who’d get closest enough to win. Coins in fact, were fun to play with.

And then, as I dutifully slid dimes into my “Save like the Squirrel” card from the local bank, I began to notice the designs: the dates, words and every so often, an extra “D” or “S” on the coins. “What do all those things mean,” I wondered? Little Lincoln cents up to hefty Ike dollars, coins also had an appealing variety of designs, colors, sizes and weights. I soon discovered there was a coin called a “Mercury Dime” and another called a “Buffalo Nickel.” I began to pester Dad every night for a look at his pocket change. I found a nickel dated 1941 and wondered who else might’ve once held it. A World War II soldier? As we ran about the tall grass of the fields with our cap guns killing imaginary Nazis, that nickel somehow connected me to the past. I wanted to learn more. Soon, I’d eventually checked out every coin book in my local library at least once, except for perhaps the oversized world coins book. I badgered my parents to see grandpa’s old worn out silver, and I looked up the grades and values of each at least three times. Blue folders, red books and 2x2s of my own soon followed.

That fascination with coins, although it’s waned at times, is still with me to this very day. I now often find myself sharing what I’ve learned as I put an old coin or two in my son’s hand.

dthigpen

And That'd be all. I'll be announcing the winner and the Prize on Saturday (The 27th). Good luck everyone!

dthigpen

And techeff wins!

Please PM me your Mailing Address.

kieferscoins

I thought mine was the best

Congrats!

Cameron Kiefer

kryptonitecomics

Wow I just read his post and I must say you picked a very deserving winner.....Congrats techeff!!!!!

techeff

Thanks for the PM, Doug! I wouldn't have known otherwise. I've been traveling and haven't been spending much time here lately. Thanks again!!!

dthigpen

D'oh, I'm a knucklehead and completely forgot about mailing out the prize.

Techeff, a 1974 Cook Islands Proof set with CAM/DCAM Weenie Coin in it is in the mail to you, enjoy!