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What did coin collecting teach me?
hchcoin
Posts: 4,836 ✭✭✭✭✭
I can't remember exactly when I was given my first coin but I think it was around 5 to 7 years old. My grandmother and my uncle were very big influences in those early years because I didn't have money to buy coins. I really believe kids, especially young boys, love to collect things. I also think young kids love to collect things that may go up in value. It was these qualities that attracted me to the hobby. I still remember getting my first copy of a magazine with coin values in it. I quickly became fascinated with the possibility of finding a coin worth a large amount of money.
So I began searching coin rolls at the local bank. A friend of mine and I would ride our bikes down to the bank with some money, get the rolls, sit on a bench outside the bank, and search for old coins. Back then, we always would find something interesting usually either a wheat cent or some silver. I also got this great idea in my head. If I actually could earn some money, I could buy some coins from the ads in the magazines. If I was really lucky, I could get my parents to drive me into the city and go to a coin shop. So off I went in search of odd jobs throughout the neighborhood.
It was about this time that a coin show was coming to the city. It was a big show. I begged my parents to take my friend and I to the show and they finally consented. I remember walking into the show as a young boy and I felt like I was in heaven. I could not believe the amount of coins and people. As I walked through the show, I could hear people haggling over prices. I listened intently to the back and forth negotiations staring wide eyed.
Over the next few years I dabbled in everything. I was interested in Morgan dollars because they were the rage at the time. Then it was Large Cents because the neighbor had one and I didn't. Then it was wheat cents because my grandmother gave me a jar full. My uncle gave me a barber quarter so off I went on that tangent for a while. Proof sets, mint sets, uncirculated coins, colonials. I probably collected everything at one point or another. It was about this time that the price of silver was rising dramatically. I had bought a one ounce silver Engelhard bar and was amazed at how the price went up and up. I sold the bar at a show to get some money to buy coins. I still remember trying to negotiate for a better price because I thought that's what you do at a show. I mean, everyone else seemed to negotiate so why shouldn't I? I made a lot of money selling that bar and was hooked on precious metals as well.
When I got into high school and started driving and dating a girl, I needed some cash. Guess what? I had that coin collection that was worth something. So I began to slowly sell coins as I needed money. Wow, this was a real eye opener.
So back to my main point of the post. What did I learn from coin collecting?
How to invest
How to save
How to negotiate
The difference between wholesale and retail
The difference between being a buyer and being a seller
How to buy low and sell high
How to take a loss and move on
How to work hard to get money to buy things I want
How having stuff of value to sell can be used in an emergency to raise cash
How education pays off in making better decisions
That some people are honest and others will try to rip you off
That persistence and hard work pay off
That having a high paying job will allow me to buy the things I want
So what did you learn?
So I began searching coin rolls at the local bank. A friend of mine and I would ride our bikes down to the bank with some money, get the rolls, sit on a bench outside the bank, and search for old coins. Back then, we always would find something interesting usually either a wheat cent or some silver. I also got this great idea in my head. If I actually could earn some money, I could buy some coins from the ads in the magazines. If I was really lucky, I could get my parents to drive me into the city and go to a coin shop. So off I went in search of odd jobs throughout the neighborhood.
It was about this time that a coin show was coming to the city. It was a big show. I begged my parents to take my friend and I to the show and they finally consented. I remember walking into the show as a young boy and I felt like I was in heaven. I could not believe the amount of coins and people. As I walked through the show, I could hear people haggling over prices. I listened intently to the back and forth negotiations staring wide eyed.
Over the next few years I dabbled in everything. I was interested in Morgan dollars because they were the rage at the time. Then it was Large Cents because the neighbor had one and I didn't. Then it was wheat cents because my grandmother gave me a jar full. My uncle gave me a barber quarter so off I went on that tangent for a while. Proof sets, mint sets, uncirculated coins, colonials. I probably collected everything at one point or another. It was about this time that the price of silver was rising dramatically. I had bought a one ounce silver Engelhard bar and was amazed at how the price went up and up. I sold the bar at a show to get some money to buy coins. I still remember trying to negotiate for a better price because I thought that's what you do at a show. I mean, everyone else seemed to negotiate so why shouldn't I? I made a lot of money selling that bar and was hooked on precious metals as well.
When I got into high school and started driving and dating a girl, I needed some cash. Guess what? I had that coin collection that was worth something. So I began to slowly sell coins as I needed money. Wow, this was a real eye opener.
So back to my main point of the post. What did I learn from coin collecting?
How to invest
How to save
How to negotiate
The difference between wholesale and retail
The difference between being a buyer and being a seller
How to buy low and sell high
How to take a loss and move on
How to work hard to get money to buy things I want
How having stuff of value to sell can be used in an emergency to raise cash
How education pays off in making better decisions
That some people are honest and others will try to rip you off
That persistence and hard work pay off
That having a high paying job will allow me to buy the things I want
So what did you learn?
0
Comments
<< <i>
How to buy high and sell low >>
You too huh? I thought it was only me.
.
CoinsAreFun Toned Silver Eagle Proof Album
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Gallery Mint Museum, Ron Landis& Joe Rust, The beginnings of the Golden Dollar
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More CoinsAreFun Pictorials NGC
<< <i>
<< <i>
How to buy high and sell low >>
You too huh? I thought it was only me. >>
You got that turned around Stef
<< <i>I
How to invest
How to save
How to negotiate
The difference between wholesale and retail
The difference between being a buyer and being a seller
How to buy low and sell high
How to take a loss and move on
How to work hard to get money to buy things I want
How having stuff of value to sell can be used in an emergency to raise cash
How education pays off in making better decisions
That some people are honest and others will try to rip you off
That persistence and hard work pay off
>>
Your early experiences are very similar to mine, and I'm sure many others. I've learned patience and discipline, attention to detail, not to put all my eggs in one basket, and not to get caught up in hype and fads
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
I had to learn that the hard way.
<< <i> How to invest
How to save
How to negotiate
The difference between wholesale and retail
The difference between being a buyer and being a seller
How to buy low and sell high
How to take a loss and move on
How to work hard to get money to buy things I want
How having stuff of value to sell can be used in an emergency to raise cash
How education pays off in making better decisions
That some people are honest and others will try to rip you off
That persistence and hard work pay off
>>
This pretty much sums it up and I'll add:
patience, discipline, history, scarcity, (who to) respect, (who to) trust & fulfillment.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
How to save for the "big" coin.
How to plan ahead for what I'll say to the wife when she asks why
the savings account went backward..
How to explain to wife why the market is down when selling.
How to explain to kids why Mom will get over it and be happy later...
How to enjoy my coins when holding them and how not to be afraid
of cracking them out to do so..
How to "hole up" in my man cave (my walk in closet is huge!) when
wife is on a rant...again....
How to really enjoy the contents of my safe deposit box when I am
alone, really alone...
Oh, and how to be patient not to use all the excuses at one time (to
myself or my wife).
Oh and to have fun on big anniversaries - the fiftieth is less than two years away!
bob
<< <i>I've learned:
How to save for the "big" coin.
How to plan ahead for what I'll say to the wife when she asks why
the savings account went backward..
How to explain to wife why the market is down when selling.
How to explain to kids why Mom will get over it and be happy later...
How to enjoy my coins when holding them and how not to be afraid
of cracking them out to do so..
How to "hole up" in my man cave (my walk in closet is huge!) when
wife is on a rant...again....
How to really enjoy the contents of my safe deposit box when I am
alone, really alone...
Oh, and how to be patient not to use all the excuses at one time (to
myself or my wife).
Oh and to have fun on big anniversaries - the fiftieth is less than two years away!
bob
Love that list. Congrats on the last one!
Show her a few coins that you have sold at a profit.
Also show her a few examples of your your coins that have fantastic eye appeal, and if she says, that's cool, then your golden.
My only problem is trying to explain to her why I have to go kayak fishing again today even tho I went yesterday
easier to explain.
Oh, the wife knows there is money and enjoyment in coins but does not understand it. Kind of like I don't
understand the beauty/salon treatments every few weeks.
Years ago, my wife was commenting and complaining that our living room sofa was a worn out POS. I didn't
see it like she did as it was quite comfortable now, after two kids and twenty years. But, being the kind person
I am, I said just go buy a new one, it's time. WELL, that was the wrong thing to say at the moment our
savings had just been depleted by a large coin purchase of many UNC rolls of Morgans.
Hmmmm, now is my chance to show her what the value of collecting was so I pulled out a roll of UNC 1901p
Morgans and set them on the table. I let her watch as I removed the brittle old masking tape from the top
and then slowly, carefully opened them over a very soft towel I used for such occasions. I gave her the top
dollar and showed her how not to hold it and then told her to take it to the coin shop and then go buy a new
couch...... Like she really believed that spiel.
Well, after convincing her to go sell the dollar I put it in an envelope with the date on the outside and told
her to trot off and then we'll see how she likes coins.
Sneaky me, called the coin shop and explained that she was on the way and to pay her what it was worth and
then discussed the value a bit. They knew me, of course.
Boy, I wish you had been there when she popped back into the house holding a big check from the coin shop!
Smile, ear to ear. Asked me how many of those dollars I had,,,,,,said another 19...dead silence as I'm sure she
was calculating the value in her mind. Then, "oh that's nice" and that was it.
Now every time I sit on that dang couch I think of that nice Morgan dollar I don't have anymore....
She still does not get it.
But I love her anyway!
bob
I doubt I could name the US presidents in chronological order once they get back into the 19th century, but I can do that for the kings and queens of England for the last 500 years. And that's just from coin collecting. I don't know the little rhyme or song that helps British schoolchildren do it.
(I do get a little foggy before the Tudors, though, just as I do with 19th century US presidents.)
Seriously, though, I credit my knowledge of history and geography to coin collecting- NOT to the tiny bit I learned in school.
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I became interested in some of the countries that I had coins from and later visited them.
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