You can learn things from a 5 yr old YN

Moonbiter

I just got back into collecting coins this year after an 11 yr break. My 5 year old daughter also expressed interest in coins and I've been helping her understand the hobby as best a 5 yr old can understand. This last weekend, she wanted to go to the coin shop, so off we went. Normally when we get there, she might pick 1 or maybe 2 coins and loses interest in looking at the coins fairly quickly (normal 5 yr old attention span). This last visit though, she sat down at the books and was thumbing through them, picking out coins, holding them under the light and magnifier and putting some in a pile that she wanted. She spent a good 10 mins looking at the books and picked out 6 coins she wanted, a standing liberty quarter, 2 silver washington quarters, a barber quarter, a barber dime and a buffalo nickel. She then went to look at other coins. Over at the bullion coins she found Happy the dwarf from Snow white and the 7 dwarfs. She really wanted that coin and spent at least 5 mins looking at that coin while daddy looked at stuff. Her Bday is coming up in a couple months so daddy asked the shop owner to put Happy to the side so he can pick it up later.

So, what can you learn from a 5 yr old? Condition, value or potential value should not be your initial thoughts of a coin. It should be the love of collecting what you can afford. We all dream of putting together or owning great MS coins, but some of us, me included cannot afford coins in those types of conditions so we must do with lesser circulated grades. Just watching my daughter looking through the circulated common coins, finding something that she liked, and putting in a pile really opens your eyes on to how you should collect. Being older, sometimes we lose focus on what a hobby is all about, and get caught up with making sound investments only and not purchasing or collecting what we really want.

The other really bright moment in that trip to the coin shop, was the selfless act children can do. She knows that her grandpa collects coins and he likes gold coins. Well, she found a washington quarter that had some slight gold toning and she immediately said this is for papa, it's his favorite color and put it in her pile. She plans on mailing it to him. It's a nice hight AU low MS 1964 quarter. Nothing special, but it's special to her because she found something that papa wants. We all know it's not gold, but to her she found something papa likes and that is what collecting is all about, getting the things that make us happy.

SilverEagles92

Most of us started out this way. Then, we made that one 'BIG' purchase, and the 'common' coins don't satisfy us now. We yearn for more 'BIG' purchases.

ricko

Through the eyes of a child... we relearn the fundamentals and the mystery that started us all.... Cheers, RickO

Zoins

One can collect that way when one doesn't buy expensive coins, the prices paid can simply be expensed from an accounting perspective. You can get a lot of interesting coins that way. You don't have to buy into keeping up with the Joneses. However, many coin collectors end up tying up a significant (to them) amount of money in their collections.

<< <i>We all dream of putting together or owning great MS coins, but some of us, me included cannot afford coins in those types of conditions so we must do with lesser circulated grades. >>

If those coins make you happy then do it, however, if they do not, one can always enjoy viewing coins owned by others, either in person or in photos. Also remember that many people that own coins have them in SDBs and mostly enjoy photos anyway.

vplite

Thanks for sharing a sweet story.

Bochiman

My YN, turns 6 in Feb (right next to Valentine's Day...he will be a heartbreaker years to come in school ), is like that.
He loves toned coins, particularly Roosies. He doesn't know cost. He doesn't care. He does know color and also what he likes.
I always give him the coins that come in and ask him if he likes the coin and what he likes about it.

Since I am partially colorblind, he also tells me all the colors and how they look. I love when he does that!

cinman14

You most certainly have a YN on your hands. You should feel lucky. I took my 10yr old daughter into the store a couple of weeks ago and ended up walking out with a coin I swore I would never own. A 1997 1/10th ounce AGE as I tried to tell her daddy doesn't collect Gold. She looked up at me and said "Gold is prettier than your Silver coins and it's my birth year" Two or three blink of the eyes and pouty lips and we were walking out with my 6 morgans and her 90 dollar dime!!!!!!!!!!!! At least thats what she calls it because it fits just right in a dime airtite

cladking

Kids are forever reminding us what is truly important.