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5 Years ago today - A Million dollar giveaway. Announced!
Coinscratch
Posts: 8,068 ✭✭✭✭✭
Not even sure how I found this place. Most likely an online search for some type of million dollar penny that I have yet to find.
The million dollars would have certainly been spent by now on things that would require annual tax payments.
So I've done pretty well to not find it 
But, as I have learned here it is the chase and not the find that is the million dollar find.
So, I'm sending a quick "Thank You" to all and a small token of my appreciation.
Simply post anything to enter and/or share a story about how you stumbled into this hobby.
I will draw the million dollar giveaway winner ( ) tonight.
5
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My chase has continued since 1953, Just now realized that that is 70 years, oh my.
Hope it never ends.
bob
Like many others the journey began filling blue Whitman folder with coins collected from my paper route.
I started in 2020 for something to do with my kids during covid lockdown. We started buying rolls to the bank and I bought everyone Whitman folders. That came to a close when the banks stopped selling me rolls and we had a coin shortage. In an attempt to buy coins like I did at the bank, I looked up coin shops... once I went inside, my eyes were opened. I started buying individual coins, and the dealer told me about the Type Set (7070), and I had no clue what he was talking about... but it sounded interesting, so I started there. After that, Half Cents... then proof Mercury Dimes.
I found the forums through my quest to find information. I am very grateful of the collective knowledge that these forums represent. We are all more knowledgeable together, than separately.
My kids have pretty much given up on coins now. We still look through them now and then, but they are not as into it as when we started. I have gone the other way... I would not say this is my primary hobby, but I love it more than I ever thought I would and I am so glad to have found it - and all of you.
I am a newer collector (started April 2020), and I primarily focus on U.S. Half Cents and Type Coins. Early copper is my favorite.
Found a 1909 cent in change way back in the day and it sparked an interest in coins.
I luckily had the chance to review a small hoard of old coins on both sides of the family. That is what inspired me at an early age.
Glad to hear you have been enjoying this place as much as you have.
I was given the old blue Whitman Penny Books as a 3 or so year old. Each Christmas I asked Santa to bring me some of the pennies that I needed. It was quite a rush as a young kid popping them into their empty space. Little did I know then what it would turn out to be later on.
My uncle liked canadian coin/currency. That got me started moving to US coin later 😜
Great American Coin hunt and the 2019 W Quarters program. Loved the thrill of the hunt!
There are lots of stories of riches out there that prompt frantic searches. That's a great looking Washington Quarter.
Continued success!
BST transactions: dbldie55, jayPem, 78saen, UltraHighRelief, nibanny, liefgold, FallGuy, lkeigwin, mbogoman, Sandman70gt, keets, joeykoins, ianrussell (@GC), EagleEye, ThePennyLady, GRANDAM, Ilikecolor, Gluggo, okiedude, Voyageur, LJenkins11, fastfreddie, ms70, pursuitofliberty, ZoidMeister,Coin Finder, GotTheBug, edwardjulio, Coinnmore...
You planted a seed in one or more of them that will come back to them later in life.
@Coinscratch I sure hope so, and I hope I am alive for it. That would be a delightful way to spend time with them.
I am a newer collector (started April 2020), and I primarily focus on U.S. Half Cents and Type Coins. Early copper is my favorite.
Thank you for the entry. My chase began at the age of 7. When my parents got rid of an old fridge and found two buffalo nickels underneath.
Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value. Zero. Voltaire. Ebay coinbowlllc
Started with grandfather who by coincidence was born in 1909 and he made the 09s VDB the centerpiece in his collection in his early 20's. He passed the bug to my father, who passed the torch to me. As their namesake I proudly continue the legacy 114 years after in their memory. With no kids of my own I try to pass the interest to anybody around me.
Working at my grandparent's gas station. Started with full service, e.g. checking tires, oil, water, etc. Getting tips and then actually operating a cash register all by the age of 10 (early seventies). That's when getting change and giving change, I began noticing differences in coins like wheat pennies, war nickels, Mercury Dimes, half dollars, silver quarters, silvers halves, silver dimes, etc. It was like a treasure hunt everytime a roll of coins was broken open to fill the depleted register.
Ah, the good old days.
USAF (Ret.) 1985 - 2005. E-4B Aircraft Maintenance Crew Chief and Contracting Officer.
My current Registry sets:
✓ Everyman Mint State Carson City Morgan Dollars (1878 – 1893)
✓ Everyman Mint State Lincoln Cents (1909 – 1958)
✓ Morgan Dollar GSA Hoard (1878 – 1891)
When I was eight or nine years old, my dad gave me the 2 whitman folders for wheat cents, and maybe 20 or so wheaties. I then started looking thru my family's change to find additional ones. After about a month, he'd take me to the lcs where they'd dump a bag of wheaties on the counter and I'd sort thru there for an hour looking for ones I didn't have.
I still have them all.
My uncle used to give my brothers and I an IKE dollar every time we would be over his house visiting. Thats how i got started. I collected and read many coin books ( pre internet days ) to learn and make better buying decisions. Then i kinda locked them all away in the Safety deposit box until almost 30 years later at the end of 2020 I almost died. I spent months in the hospital, 8 surgeries and 9 blood transfusions. Once I got out and recovered enough I grabbed a carry suitcase and went to the SDB and emptied it out. It got me back into collecting and I found this forum when I was online looking up information about old ANACS soapbar slabs. My first post on this forum was in the ANACS generations thread. I have been here just over 2 years now and I LOVE this forum.
Thats a very nice Washington quarter. Thanks for the generous giveaway and a chance.
Jim
Successful BST with ad4400, Kccoin, lablover, pointfivezero, koynekwest, jwitten, coin22lover, HalfDimeDude, erwindoc, jyzskowsi, COINS MAKE CENTS, AlanSki, BryceM
My grandfather died when I was 2. He was an avid collector and left me some Morgans, but most importantly a hoard of wheaties. Then one day when I was 7 my dad (another collector) gave me a worn SLQ he found in change, and a set of blue Whitman books. That night we stayed up late to fill up the holes. I went to a few coin shows after that, but my collecting “inspiration” ran out. 5 years later in early 2022 my grandmother moved to a nursing home, and when we were clearing out her condo we found a large amount of my grandfather’s coins. I helped my dad divide and sort the coins among my uncles, and in payment got a XF large cent. We then split the coins between my brother and I, and in the process I was accidentally given a foreign gold coin. I sold the gold coin and the wheatie hoard and got about $500 from it. This is when I joined the forum, and I was hooked. As of now I’m still learning the ropes, but I think I’m doing pretty well for a young teen.
Type collector, mainly into Seated. Young Numismatist. Good BST transactions with: mirabela, OKCC, MICHAELDIXON
My older brother got me hooked on collecting when I was about 8 years old. I vaguely remember him giving me a redbook and a Whitman folder for Lincoln cents.
Mr_Spud
Started late in life. This fall will be 30 years of this obsession.
I received a 1909 P cent in my change at the NY World’s Fair in 1964.
A wheat cent in my dad's change got me into coins. A few years later, went to the ANA show in Chicago and really got into it, could be all the free coins the dealers gave to us kids.
Well, it worked 
Collector
75 Positive BST transactions buying and selling with 45 members and counting!
instagram.com/klnumismatics
It was the Vault Box - changed everything for me!
(kidding)
I started collecting back in the 3rd and 4th grade, with wheaties that I received in change from the milk lady at school trying to fill those holes in a Whitman folder.
My first “big” coin came was when I was 12. My dad took me to a mall in 1964 that was selling brand, new released Kennedys at a bargain price of .49 cents + .001 cent tax. This included a silver bezel key ring to hold the coin in.
To this day, Kennedys are the mainstay of my collecting.
I still have that bezeled Kennedy.
Wayne
Kennedys are my quest...
I started collecting on a somewhat limited basis back around 1971/2 by seeing an older Coin Dealer at a local Flea Market.
It got somewhat serious when I stumbled across the big hoopla about how rare the 1975-S Lincoln Cent would be since the US Mint stopped producing S Mint cents for Circulation in 1974.
That escalated into Eisenhower Dollars where I completed a truly haphazard collection. Back around 1982 I was making substantially more money and was able to explore Washington Quarters.
The heat REALLY got turned up around 1999 when I discovered the PCGS Forums due to the State Quarters. I think I joined the forum around 2003 and started opening my big fat mouth around 2004?
From there, the collecting got really serious with goals and endless acquisitions.
Today, things have really cooled off with only an occasional visit every now and again.
That 68-D looks really, really good!
The name is LEE!
Cool story @19Lyds so has there been a 75 s discovery? I’ve heard about the 75 no s dime.
I have been on and off with coins for decades. I caught Morgan fever and now I'm screwed but loving it!
I enjoy the history behind all of numismatics. It's really what our country was based on. Freedom and a strong economy are essential for the United States.
Student of numismatics and collector of Morgan dollars
Successful BST transactions with: Namvet Justindan Mattniss RWW olah_in_MA
I was 9 when my grandmother gave me a coin that was passed off as a silver dollar at a convenience store in the 80's. That silver dollar turned out to be an 1821 pilar dollar! I've collected coins ever since.
I mentioned how I found this place but the way I actually stumbled into this hobby is another story. I’ve talked about it before but in short, in 07 I was given a silver 1965 dime in change at the local 7/11.
I knew it was silver and I knew the year was wrong but not being a collector I just couldn’t put it together and ended up spending it in a time of need.
Several years later not sure where or how but I read a story about a silver 1965 dime that sold for around $9000.
That gut wrenching pain lasted about a year or 2 until I decided/realized the only cure was to get involved. Now I’m probably 18,000 in debt 😂 but the pain is gone…
My grandfather on my dads side also passed when I was two but I have many fond memories including rolling pennies with my grandmother who was an avid collector.
I found this place by accident. Been here for a decade plus now! Ha!
Mine started on my 25th wedding anniversary, when my wife gave me this Still have her, still have it!.
State quarters got me in, lurked this site for many years and collected low end stuff for a while, one day decided to make the plunge and been around here ever since.
Similar toning, this one’s been in the blue mint pack and in the front window for around a year. Just flipped it over after your reminder
Yesir, learning more and more everyday and enjoying it. Now you're taking me back even further, I remember looking at my Great grandmothers Whitman full of Indians. I was around five or 6 or 7 early 70's so I suppose its been in my blood all along. I do remember them being RD and what a find that would be today.
I was lucky to find this forum googling for information one night on U.S. colonial coins. It has been a wealth of great information and just nice in general to see other people excited about the hobby too.
Winner drawn will post momentarily.
Thanks for playing and sharing your stories...And the winner is @19Lyds
PM me a good shipping address
Nice— thanks for the shot. Congrats, winner!
Thanks for the give-a-way @Coinscratch
Congratulations to @19Lyds
Wayne
Kennedys are my quest...
Too late for the contest..... Congratulations to @19Lyds, and thanks for the contest @Coinscratch. Cheers, RickO
Congrats @19Lyds
Successful BST with ad4400, Kccoin, lablover, pointfivezero, koynekwest, jwitten, coin22lover, HalfDimeDude, erwindoc, jyzskowsi, COINS MAKE CENTS, AlanSki, BryceM
The coin arrived a couple of days ago! Gorgeous! Thank You.
I might also add that when I learned of this win I immediately bought a lottery ticket. I mean, why not?
Nope. Didn't win the lottery but I did win a really cool coin. Thank You!
The name is LEE!
Cool man! Glad you like it. I had my wife pull the draw to keep me honest.
Same exact situation here. My 7 year old enjoys collecting still. And i'm straight up addicted.
Successful transactions with: robkool, Walkerguy21D, JimW, Bruce7789, massscrew, Jinx86, jonasdenenbergllc, Yorkshireman, bobsr, tommyrusty7, markelman1125, Kliao, DBSTrader2, SurfinxHI, ChrisH821, CoinHoarder, Bolo, MICHAELDIXON, bigtime36, JWP, 1960NYGiants
I became interested in this hobby when my big brother showed me his blue Whitman Folders. I now have those folders, and there's nothing in them more than mere sentimental value; and that's enough for me to hang on to them.
As a newer collector, what did you come to love to collect the most? Have your interests changed over time, or stayed the same?
...and congrats to @19Lyds on winning that beautiful quarter. Very generous @Coinscratch !
I am a newer collector (started April 2020), and I primarily focus on U.S. Half Cents and Type Coins. Early copper is my favorite.