@ricko said:
Since 1950, when I got a Columbian half on my paper route....been collecting ever since...sometimes more diligently than others, but coins - no matter what country I was in - always fascinated me....I do not have all the coins I collected... various moves and lifestyle changed lost them in the shuffle... still have some of the old ones though...Cheers, RickO
I seen you have a lot of discussions Rick! I figured u have been collecting for quite sometime. I bet u have pounds and pounds of goodies. Have a great day!
I don't remember exactly when I started but my first ad was in Coin World in the summer of 1961. Oh baby those were the days.
09-s through 13-s cents cost one cent. Up to XF, right out of change. I wish I knew then what I know now. Sometimes Morgans & Peace were floating around for face value.
@SaorAlba said:
Since about 1973 when my dad returned from his SE Asia tour courtesy of the USAF - lots of Australian, Singaporean, Vietnamese and Japanese coins and banknotes.
I think it was in 1958 (or while in second grade).... Pennies (well cents) nickles and dimes... Couldn't afford to save quarters, halves or dollars back then even at face value. Throughout the years I was sometimes active and sometimes dormant.. I picked it back up seriously in the late 90's. By 2010 I was pretty much just playing the upgrade game. I'm just about done now since I'm pretty happy with what I have.
Oh,it's been quite some time, decades.....let's put it this way.....when I started collecting I had hair!
Collector of numeral seals.That's the 1928 and 1928A series of FRNs with a number rather than a letter in the district seal. Owner/operator of Bottom Line Currency
@topstuf said:
About 1949 I guess.
A "Mr. Skinner" gave a talk to our class. 4th or 5th grade.
He had actually SEEN Lincoln. Not for very long but he described the carriage and the parade he saw.
He gave each of us kids a 1949 penny with a dent inside the O of ONE. I kept that coin for years. Can't recall now when the last time I saw it was. Wish I still had it.
Funny how things like that stick. Without that little penny, I probably would have forgotten him.
Coins can create memories.
Since age 7 when my mom gave me a 1896-O XF morgan dollar and 20 or so Lincoln pennies from pre-1940 era. I was all in after that moment of cool are these! The search was on....and on.....and on...
Like 1980 I still have the silver certificate my uncle gave me at 10 years old started collecting $2 bills 1976 coins SBA $1 war nickels this stuff was still common in change
1971 I was nine, mostly wheat cents my first foreign coins were the ones my great uncle Fred carried with him when he took a bit of a walk through North Africa and Europe with a few million friends and a guy named Patton.
56 years. My GrandFather was a coin collector and started taking me to coin auctions when I was 5. He would buy me little things like Indian Cents and 3-piece 1943 steel cents and I never stopped collecting coins.
Since 1960,....I remember the first issue of Coin World....I was 7 !!!
My dad and I pulled WL halves and Mercury dimes from pocket change and started filling whitman albums with them. His interest started when his Italian immigrant father saved Indian Head cents he found while cleaning sewers.
@topstuf said:
About 1949 I guess.
A "Mr. Skinner" gave a talk to our class. 4th or 5th grade.
He had actually SEEN Lincoln. Not for very long but he described the carriage and the parade he saw.
He gave each of us kids a 1949 penny with a dent inside the O of ONE. I kept that coin for years. Can't recall now when the last time I saw it was. Wish I still had it.
Funny how things like that stick. Without that little penny, I probably would have forgotten him.
Coins can create memories.
That's cool but if Mr Skinner was minimum 5 years old when he saw Lincoln in 1865 (most people don't remember much before that), he had to have been born in 1860 at the latest. So he had to have been at least 89 when he gave that talk in 1949.
That makes it even cooler. Good year, BTW. My birth year, and more importantly, a tough year to do a complete Mint Set for the Registry. Several low-mintage issues for the time.
Since I was in the cub scouts in 1958. I needed a hobby to earn a badge so my dad, who was a coin collector, got me involved in coins. It’s sank into my bones and has never left.
It’s a GREAT hobby, Joe
The bitterness of "Poor Quality" is remembered long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.
Thanks to all for sharing their stories! Absolutely amazing! I don’t have much $$ involved. I just love collecting new and different coins. Also, I gain a lot of knowledge of just being a collector. Thanks to all! Merry Christmas to all Collectors Universe out there!
Mid 70's for me. My Grandmother and uncle got me started. My dad drove me to coin shops and shows. A neighbor down the road collected as well so I had someone to go with and also to trade with. We used to ride our bikes to the bank to search coin rolls. We always used to stop at a local bakery and buy vanilla long john donuts and then get hand cut licorice ropes at the local pharmacy. To this day, I don't know why they had the hand cut licorice sold by the inch but all the kids always wanted to go there because it was so unique. The pharmacist would roll up the licorice and put it in a plastic bag for the kids after you told him how much you wanted. My how things have changed at the pharmacy. I hadn't thought about that in years until I read this thread.
I'd say since about late '74 or early '75. I was 8 years old and was a Cub Scout. One of my buddies used to invite me over to his house after school and we would look at his older brother's coin collection, when he wasn't there LOL.
I started riding my bicycle to my local B&M about 2 years later in 1977. I remember this for two reasons: 1. that was the first year that he opened and 2. it was also the same year that Elvis died....This may sound silly but it was a huge deal back then!
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
I collected as a kid, and then too some time off. I came back around when my CU Forums membership starts. When I came back, I quickly found slabs, then the ATS forums and then these forums. My first few posts included a lot of education!
I’ve been interested in coins since about age 8 but usually got serious about it for several years at a time before taking a break. I’ve only dabbled a bit in the last decade or so. I mostly got some unopened GSAs (now formerly unopened) and some US Mint stuff. But I’m working my way back to do a bit more collecting. It’s hard having so many interests that all take up a lot of time.
@OKbustchaser said:
Spring of 1963. Spent the next 7 years with large cents...moved to bust halves in 1970.
Dang ... I wish I would have started on CBHs 'back in the day!'
yes, the revised edition of Overton came out in 1970 and launched quite a few new collectors. At that time, one could have bought an 1815 half for less than what a copy of the book would go for today.
Just because I'm old doesn't mean I don't love to look at a pretty bust.
@OKbustchaser said:
Spring of 1963. Spent the next 7 years with large cents...moved to bust halves in 1970.
Dang ... I wish I would have started on CBHs 'back in the day!'
yes, the revised edition of Overton came out in 1970 and launched quite a few new collectors. At that time, one could have bought an 1815 half for less than what a copy of the book would go for today.
Stop it! Don't say things like that! You're killing me!
Numismatist Ordinaire See http://www.doubledimes.com for a free online reference for US twenty-cent pieces
In 1964 my mom bought me a Kennedy Half. She then to my surprise added to my collection one Uncirculated Coin Set each year for Christmas. I love my Mom!
Enthusiastic collector of British pre-decimal and Canadian decimal circulation coins.
55 years here. My late father gave me a Whitman Lincoln cent album in 1964. Looked a long time for that elusive 55 S to complete the set. I wonder how many others started with the same album ?
Almost all my friends were collecting Lincolns except a few of the older and richer boys were collecting everything.
I collected buffalo nickels and completed the set by about 1963 with the help of mail order dealers. I never really quit collecting but I sold the collection in 1968 at a slight profit because I needed the money. I resumed active collecting again in 1972 when I read that the FED and mint were beginning to rotate their coin stocks.
I found Gems in 1974 and world coins in '76 then tokens and medals in the early '80's. In '86 I began promoting moderns but stopped when I began selling everything early this year.
One of my favorite pastimes is still going through a few rolls of circulating quarters or dimes.
Comments
I seen you have a lot of discussions Rick! I figured u have been collecting for quite sometime. I bet u have pounds and pounds of goodies. Have a great day!
1956, started looking for 55DDO, Boston Globe ad offered $10 for one. Huge money then for a kid.
rainbowroosie April 1, 2003
I didn't take food and eating habits seriously until my mid-late 20s.
It's really an impactful decision.
I don't remember exactly when I started but my first ad was in Coin World in the summer of 1961. Oh baby those were the days.
09-s through 13-s cents cost one cent. Up to XF, right out of change. I wish I knew then what I know now. Sometimes Morgans & Peace were floating around for face value.
Nice!
I think it was in 1958 (or while in second grade).... Pennies (well cents) nickles and dimes... Couldn't afford to save quarters, halves or dollars back then even at face value. Throughout the years I was sometimes active and sometimes dormant.. I picked it back up seriously in the late 90's. By 2010 I was pretty much just playing the upgrade game. I'm just about done now since I'm pretty happy with what I have.
Oh,it's been quite some time, decades.....let's put it this way.....when I started collecting I had hair!
Wow! I guess your a bigger coin nut!
no offense! Have a great day
Thanks for sharing your story. Merry Christmas!
been collecting since 2003
best price coin sale link below (READ CAREFULLY)
https://photos.app.goo.gl/oqym2YtcS7ZAZ73D6
Since age 7 when my mom gave me a 1896-O XF morgan dollar and 20 or so Lincoln pennies from pre-1940 era. I was all in after that moment of cool are these! The search was on....and on.....and on...
Since 1984 when my late step-grandfather got me into collecting.
December 1993, just went past 26 years.
Like 1980 I still have the silver certificate my uncle gave me at 10 years old started collecting $2 bills 1976 coins SBA $1 war nickels this stuff was still common in change
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/quarters/washington-quarters-major-sets/washington-quarters-date-set-circulation-strikes-1932-present/publishedset/209923
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/quarters/washington-quarters-major-sets/washington-quarters-date-set-circulation-strikes-1932-present/album/209923
1971 I was nine, mostly wheat cents my first foreign coins were the ones my great uncle Fred carried with him when he took a bit of a walk through North Africa and Europe with a few million friends and a guy named Patton.
56 years. My GrandFather was a coin collector and started taking me to coin auctions when I was 5. He would buy me little things like Indian Cents and 3-piece 1943 steel cents and I never stopped collecting coins.
Since 1960,....I remember the first issue of Coin World....I was 7 !!!
My dad and I pulled WL halves and Mercury dimes from pocket change and started filling whitman albums with them. His interest started when his Italian immigrant father saved Indian Head cents he found while cleaning sewers.
Commems and Early Type
That's cool but if Mr Skinner was minimum 5 years old when he saw Lincoln in 1865 (most people don't remember much before that), he had to have been born in 1860 at the latest. So he had to have been at least 89 when he gave that talk in 1949.
That makes it even cooler. Good year, BTW. My birth year, and more importantly, a tough year to do a complete Mint Set for the Registry. Several low-mintage issues for the time.
Thanks for sharing that @topstuf !
15 years
Define collecting.
I’ve been doing it since my first breathe, i.e., collecting in general.
Since I was in the cub scouts in 1958. I needed a hobby to earn a badge so my dad, who was a coin collector, got me involved in coins. It’s sank into my bones and has never left.
It’s a GREAT hobby, Joe
BTW-I think this is a great thread!
Since 87-88 school year, first Red Book 1988, and first gold coin MCMLXXXIII $5 AGE.
Gonna get me a $50 Octagonal someday. Some. Day.
Thanks to all for sharing their stories! Absolutely amazing! I don’t have much $$ involved. I just love collecting new and different coins. Also, I gain a lot of knowledge of just being a collector. Thanks to all! Merry Christmas to all Collectors Universe out there!
Off and on since the mid 1980's, but seriously and steadily since 2012.
My YouTube Channel
Mid 70's for me. My Grandmother and uncle got me started. My dad drove me to coin shops and shows. A neighbor down the road collected as well so I had someone to go with and also to trade with. We used to ride our bikes to the bank to search coin rolls. We always used to stop at a local bakery and buy vanilla long john donuts and then get hand cut licorice ropes at the local pharmacy. To this day, I don't know why they had the hand cut licorice sold by the inch but all the kids always wanted to go there because it was so unique. The pharmacist would roll up the licorice and put it in a plastic bag for the kids after you told him how much you wanted. My how things have changed at the pharmacy. I hadn't thought about that in years until I read this thread.
Seems like only yesterday.
Sometime around 1965.
I'd say since about late '74 or early '75. I was 8 years old and was a Cub Scout. One of my buddies used to invite me over to his house after school and we would look at his older brother's coin collection, when he wasn't there LOL.
I started riding my bicycle to my local B&M about 2 years later in 1977. I remember this for two reasons: 1. that was the first year that he opened and 2. it was also the same year that Elvis died....This may sound silly but it was a huge deal back then!
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
50 years.
Since late 1960-s
I collected as a kid, and then too some time off. I came back around when my CU Forums membership starts. When I came back, I quickly found slabs, then the ATS forums and then these forums. My first few posts included a lot of education!
44 years in this hobby.
From childhood with father and mother...38 years or so
I’ve been interested in coins since about age 8 but usually got serious about it for several years at a time before taking a break. I’ve only dabbled a bit in the last decade or so. I mostly got some unopened GSAs (now formerly unopened) and some US Mint stuff. But I’m working my way back to do a bit more collecting. It’s hard having so many interests that all take up a lot of time.
Same vintage ... 1970
See http://www.doubledimes.com for a free online reference for US twenty-cent pieces
Spring of 1963. Spent the next 7 years with large cents...moved to bust halves in 1970.
45 years, 40 years, 30 years, 23 years and counting.
Me too....................around 1967 or so.
Pete
Dang ... I wish I would have started on CBHs 'back in the day!'
See http://www.doubledimes.com for a free online reference for US twenty-cent pieces
yes, the revised edition of Overton came out in 1970 and launched quite a few new collectors. At that time, one could have bought an 1815 half for less than what a copy of the book would go for today.
I was about 8, so since 1954.
bob
5 years, Excellent Education in US history.
First coin was a 1891s Morgan, Most Recent 1909 $2.5
Actually I lied... Found a 2019W quarter in change today
Stop it! Don't say things like that! You're killing me!
See http://www.doubledimes.com for a free online reference for US twenty-cent pieces
In 1964 my mom bought me a Kennedy Half. She then to my surprise added to my collection one Uncirculated Coin Set each year for Christmas. I love my Mom!
I will start next month. No really see avatar.
I started going to the bank to get silver dollars in 1955 at age 9.
55 years here. My late father gave me a Whitman Lincoln cent album in 1964. Looked a long time for that elusive 55 S to complete the set. I wonder how many others started with the same album ?
1957
Almost all my friends were collecting Lincolns except a few of the older and richer boys were collecting everything.
I collected buffalo nickels and completed the set by about 1963 with the help of mail order dealers. I never really quit collecting but I sold the collection in 1968 at a slight profit because I needed the money. I resumed active collecting again in 1972 when I read that the FED and mint were beginning to rotate their coin stocks.
I found Gems in 1974 and world coins in '76 then tokens and medals in the early '80's. In '86 I began promoting moderns but stopped when I began selling everything early this year.
One of my favorite pastimes is still going through a few rolls of circulating quarters or dimes.