Post the coin(s) that "hooked" you

Staircoins

I was a starving college student in the late '80s, and probably had better things to do with my money than buy coins, but I picked up a box of about a dozen mixed world mint sets from the local B&M. I think I paid $3 or $4 each for them, which came to a tidy sum for me at the time.

Back in my dorm, I had a great time looking up each set in my dog-eared Krause catalog. Imagine my surprise when I found that the 1969 Japanese Mint Set (first year of issue), mintage 6162, booked for $650!

The set was housed in a cheap white PVC folder, with common coins inside, and was nothing special to look at. Pictured below is a similar set (not mine, of course). I spent a long time going back and forth between the individual KM# coin listings to verify that the coins in the set were the ones listed in the catalog ... and they matched! I had struck it rich!

I wrote letters to every dealer with a 'buy' ad listed in World Coin News describing my set and asking for their best price. I eventually sold it to K. M. Froseth in Minneapolis for $450, which I thought was a terrific deal.

I've been hooked on coins ever since.


What coin(s) "hooked" you?

JCMhouston

I collected earlier, but in 1985 when I moved tot he UK this was the first British coin I bought, we had gone to an antique show looking for pottery and there happened to be a coin dealer set up. I had not collected for a couple of years and previously all my collecting was US coins. This is a really glossy coin, purchased raw of course for about 5 pounds I believe. I just loved the look and design of the 1787 Shillign and off I went from there. I sent it in for grading a few years ago and it came back in a 58 holder.

Zohar

I saw this shooting medal at the NY International show and got hooked on this theme. The city view, coloring and overall intricacy did the trick.

rwyarmch

Spotted at an EAC convention in the 90's.

TwoKopeiki

On 13th of August in 2006 I went to my first coin show. It was a rather small local venue inside a rec center in Paris, Ontario. While there, I met a great dealer from Niagara Falls, ON. John and I talked quite a bit about world coins and I ended-up buying a dark crusty 8 Reales from him. I was attracted by the crudeness of the dies used to create it and the poor quality of the planchet. When I took the coin home and gave it an acetone soak, a lot of the dark brown toning came off (later I realized it was residue from cigarette smoke, since the flip was yellowish and had that distinct odor) and revealed my favorite shades of old silver toning - blue with just a touch of purple. That's when I started reading up on Guadalajara Mint, which led to reading about Mexican Provisional Mints and the War of Independence. I was hooked from that point on.

Here's the culprit:

theboz11

Hooked me on World coins.




Hooked me on Victoria medals

FilthyBroke

This one really set my infatuation with jetons in motion. I first saw the design while searching MA-Shops, but couldn't order from the seller due to some sort of communication/lauguage barrier issue. I then searched many other sites and eventually came across this one.



I've been collecting them for a few years now, and still have a strong passion for them.

STLNATS

I can't point to a specific coin or time as many of you since I've collected coins or currency of some ilk as long as I can remember. What probably sparked my interest in the darkside was a handful of coins in my dad's dresser. I'm not sure where many of these came from, but they always seemed exotic to a small kid and, with more time than money, each was the subject of as extensive research as I could muster. Among these were few shillings and florins that he brought back after particiapting in a USAF exercise in England during the early 1950s (along with a number of stories and pix). Even today these humble little coins that he pulled from circulation fascinate me. It probably also explains my interest in raw coins that actually circulated, especially if they have a story/historical context.