What You've learned about History through Coin Collecting

JoeDoily

I have to say I've a lot about how our people have changed and how society has become so different than what it was 100 years ago. Before technology, their were letters, and before clad, their was silver. How supply and demand and growth of population have changed coinage and the world.... free to discuss.

OPA

The good old days? Corrupt Mint officials .. self serving Laws by politicians for silver or gold coin issues.

breakdown

A lot -- that's one of the main reasons I am a collector.

One of my favorite pieces of numismatic history related to the introduction of Fraser's Type 1 Buffalo nickel. Between coin vending machine executives trying to get it stopped because the Buffalo didn't work in their machines and Barber doing his best to submarine the Buffalo's introduction, it's a wonder the coin ever came out. Fraser's frustration level was completely justified -- a great numismatic piece of art by a brilliant artist was undermined at every turn by people of lesser or no artistic talent.

TPRC

<< <i>A lot -- that's one of the main reasons I am a collector.

>>



+1 American colonial history, civil war history, the Roman Empire, Irish history.....the reason I got into collecting.

pcunix

<< <i>A lot -- that's one of the main reasons I am a collector.

One of my favorite pieces of numismatic history related to the introduction of Fraser's Type 1 Buffalo nickel. Between coin vending machine executives trying to get it stopped because the Buffalo didn't work in their machines and Barber doing his best to submarine the Buffalo's introduction, it's a wonder the coin ever came out. Fraser's frustration level was completely justified -- a great numismatic piece of art by a brilliant artist was undermined at every turn by people of lesser or no artistic talent. >>



It's also a wonder how it escaped the religious inscription plague all the way to its end.

magikbilly

"...a great numismatic piece of art by a brilliant artist was undermined at every turn by people of lesser or no artistic talent..."

That IS the old days judging from some recent issues.

Eric

northcoin

OK - here is a link to a prior thread that I started that appears relevant to the question.

History and the Carson City Mint

keets

What You've learned about History through Coin Collecting

that it repeats itself and we often don't notice.

BillJones

You learn a lot about economics too. History and economics are two of the reasons why I became an advanced collector why my interests run so far afield.

TwoSides2aCoin

I thought history repeated itself until I started looking at coins closer. Then VAM said, "let there be cracks". And the rest; science is still trying to figure out.

ricko

Coins are history's monitor...Cheers, RickO

mdwoods

Coin collecting is collecting history. It snowballs and before you know it a Washington quarter guy is reading about the first electrum coins. I've learned more about history since coming back into collecting 15 years ago than I ever knew before.

ms70

One thing I enjoy is associating the date on a coin by the president that was sitting at the time. I keep a ruler on my desk that has a picture of each past president, and the dates they served under it. It gives a perspective of the country and what was going on during those times.

LindeDad

History is oft repeated. Primarly in the folly of those in charge of their making.

ambro51

Life in Vermont about 1780-90 was reeeeeealy tough

PerryHall

I learned how little our money is worth today compared to the past when the dollar had some real value.

Shamika

<< <i>One thing I enjoy is associating the date on a coin by the president that was sitting at the time. >>



That's a great idea.

joeykoins

Because of collecting coins I found out about the year 1792 was the first year for the Mint and our coinage.

SmEagle1795

I've been someone who doesn't like history very much but I've turned around completely thanks to coins (specifically ancient coins in this case). Comparatively speaking, I'd say I now know 90% more about history because of my coin collecting.

My current approach is to learn a small amount of the history behind the coin before I buy it, then to really dive in once I acquire it. This prevents me from getting my hopes up in the event I'm outbid. With my recently shared centerpiece (in this thread) the extent of my knowledge about it prior to acquiring the coin was the detail I shared in that post. However, I've now written 5+ pages on a more complete history of the events of the Ides of March, learning a tremendous amount along the way.

On the darkside, I post a weekly thread detailing a coin in my collection with a historical writeup. It often takes quite a while to trudge through the history books to find the information, and reading old historical texts is tiresome in many cases. I try to keep my writeups lighter while still containing the depth of detail, but not so much as to lose people.

Whether collecting US, world, or ancients, coins are a wonderful way to share history and to transport ones self back to the past.

DRUNNER

This is what really seems to interest the non-collector who finds out that you collect. Once you relate some stories about 55/55 DDs or S-VDBs, or early American coinage (yellow fever, hand cut dies, rarity of tool steel, planchets being used as ballast in 3-masted ships . . .etc.) the non-collector becomes enamored. Holding 'history in your hands' is compelling to many, and the thoughts of where a coin might have been, the symbolism it represents, the purchasing power of long ago, and the relations our coins have had to history (and mintage figures relating to that) make this hobby dynamic.

Mix in coinage metals, Mint shenanigans, political history (Bland-Allison, Crime of '73, clad coinage . . .etc.) and it is hard to find anything out there that so completely embodies our country, or the world for that matter.

Simply fascinating . . . .

Drunner
(Doily Slut)

sumnom

<< <i>

<< <i>A lot -- that's one of the main reasons I am a collector.

One of my favorite pieces of numismatic history related to the introduction of Fraser's Type 1 Buffalo nickel. Between coin vending machine executives trying to get it stopped because the Buffalo didn't work in their machines and Barber doing his best to submarine the Buffalo's introduction, it's a wonder the coin ever came out. Fraser's frustration level was completely justified -- a great numismatic piece of art by a brilliant artist was undermined at every turn by people of lesser or no artistic talent. >>



It's also a wonder how it escaped the religious inscription plague all the way to its end. >>



Indeed.

Davideo

Like Bill said, I also find it very tied to economics too.

I actually migrated more heavily to stamps about 20 years ago because of the history component.