Celebrating 64 years in Numismatics.
golden
Posts: 10,012 ✭✭✭✭✭
In February 1961 my mother brought home a 35-cent blue Whitman folder for Lincoln Cents. I was immediately hooked. I have enjoyed all of the friends that I have made, enjoyed learning about history, enjoyed traveling around the county to coin shows and have greatly enjoyed the hunt.
Before she gave me the folder my mom told me that she had something for me that my cousin had. My cousin lived on a farm in Illinois and was 7 years older than me. Over the years he had found a lot of Indian arrowheads in the fields in Spring plowing. I thought she had arrowheads for me. I do not think that I would have enjoyed collecting arrowheads anywhere near as much as I have enjoyed Numismatics.
If you like, please post a cool coin.
42
Comments
End Systemic Elitism - It Takes All of Us
ANA LM, LSCC, EAC, FUN
Congrats! I immensely enjoyed imaging this one.
chopmarkedtradedollars.com
I suspect that many started that way then, not sure how one gets started today.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
golden, nice story like many of us old timers
When I was 8 years old, on my birthday my aunt (godmother) let me reach into her bag of coins ( she was a collector) and I pulled out a Indian head penny, I was hooked!
Never did get any support from my parents, they thought it was foolish, but I found the way to continue despite the lack of support from them.
I remember sitting in front of the bank getting a roll of pennies a at time to search through, not much money then. Made friends with the tellers at the bank and some of them saved some old coins for me.
Those were some of the best times for me.
Mike
My Indians
Dansco Set
Here’s a coin with some arrowheads!
Congrats on 64 years in the hobby.
For me I am soon to be 62 years in the hobby (my dad gave me a Whitman Roosevelt Dime folder in mind 1963 and I was hooked; I filled it from pocket change and still have it). I did step away from about 1978 to 1998.
Here are two coins of mine that have been with me since 1963 (the nickel was given to me by the father [who was a collector] of a classmate of mine when he learned I started collecting [the nickel was blast white when I received it and after sitting in a Whitman folder for over 40 years it toned up nicely]; and the Morgan was obtained by my parents from a bank in 1962 and given to me).
@golden
Great historical account of your journey,
about the same journey for me.
here are my favorite [COOL] coins
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Bad transactions with : nobody to date
Something about being 8 years old I guess ... although for me that would have been 1972. A checkbook box of coins from my Uncle Tony in Chicago. I think I was 8 ... or maybe 9.
While my interest has ebbed and flowed over the years, it's a hobby that fascinates me still, and I appreciate all I have learned and the friends I have made along the way.
Here's something I could only dream of back then ...
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
Good story. I don't have that type of specific memory but can recall some more general and being driven to the coin shop and / or bid boards. Not sure if this makes the cool or not but I liked the reverse fat die crack. Tried to take a little time and see if I could get a decent photo with the snap-o'matic - a maybe.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=hYCRaWPlTIE Sophie Lloyd, guitar shred cover of Panama (Van Halen)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=dOV1VrDuUm4 Ted Nugent, Hibernation, Live 1976
RLJ 1958 - 2023
~ 1966. Dad. Living Room Floor. Lincolns. Blue folder.
The dime below is the only coin I have that I absolutely know came from my childhood collecting (accumulating?) days. It's a micro-O. Back in the day it was shiny, I thought it was BU, it cost $.50, and the redbook said it was worth $15. I thought I was a genius. 
It hasn't aged well, but it doesn't matter.
If we were all the same, the world would be an incredibly boring place.
Tommy
My grandparents lived in Chicago in the 1950's and in 1956 took a two-month tour to Western Europe.
I was eight years old then and my grandmother gave me the French coins she brought back.
I was fascinated by the "foreign" coins.
One of them:
France 100 francs 1956
Copper-nickel, 24 mm, 6.0 gm
I started really collecting coins when I was 15 years old.
Later in 1964 I wanted a gold coin and I sent $50 to a Coin World magazine dealer and received this coin:
United States $20 1927 St. Gaudens
Gold, 34.0 mm, 33.4 gm
I still have it.
The Mysterious Egyptian Magic Coin
Coins in Movies
Coins on Television
Much praise to you for hanging in there all these years. Through all the ups and downs in the coin market.
Congrat's on your longevity in the hobby. I like your story.
Thanks for the post.
You are an inspiration. So glad to have you here. You’re an asset to our little community and to Numismatics in general. It’s been 51 years for me, when my dad bought a GSA for each of us for $15 apiece in 1974.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
Age 5 I was allowed to go the 1/2 block to Billy Breders store. I got a New Memorial Penny in.change and Ran 1/2 block to my Grandmoms house! She was a true coin collector and it was the first one she’d seen too. She got out her blue Whitman and popped it in. That was in 1959.
Like many started with cents, then nickels, dimes, quarters. This was about 1953. Parents were great supporters. My dad found a guy in SF that had a horde of $5 Indians. I got to take my pick at $15 each. My mom found a partial role of Barber dimes in an antique store in SF, bought them cheap, the owner looked up a few of them but must have been a very old price list. Included two unc 01s which I was able to convert to gold type sets. Got me started with high-quality coins. Still have two XF Barbers that I had slabbed for sentimental reasons. Everything else sold over the years. Collected off and on, latest and current iteration began about 15 years ago. Now retired and serious.
My interested start at 7 or 8, back in the early 70s, helping my grandparents at the family owned gas station in northeast Nebraska. Helping them count and wrap the excess change each week for bank deposit. Seeing the occasional Indian cent, Mercury dime, WWIi nickel and steel penny peaked my interest.
Never found anything like these in the wild though but I dreamed I would.
Now a happy caretaker:
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)
Congratulations on 64 years in Numismatics. You were collecting before I was born.
I fell in love with older coins when my dad came home with a 1916 Buffalo nickel that he found on the sidewalk. I did not know anyone that collected coins in my area, so I was never made aware of Whitman albums that I could fill with older coins. My parents not being native to the US had no idea about stuff like that. I did not have access to my own money until I started working at the age of 12. At that time, I spent so much time working/school that I had no time for coin collecting. I remember searching through coins with my dad, but never really found anything other than wheat cents.
It wasn't until i got married in the mid 1980's and and my wife (a bank teller) brought home a few rolls old silver quarters that I really started coin collecting. I sold those silver quarters to a shop owner that later mentored me in coin collecting. The first piece I bought was a raw 1908 No Motto $20 gold piece. The shop owner allowed me to make payments on it with no interest as long as I made steady payments. When I finished my payments he gave it to me in a large white Capital holder with gold lettering on it describing the coin. I wish I had kept the coin, but I ended up trading it back to him for my first PCGS graded $20 gold piece. That started my 13 piece PCGS graded gold set that I collected through the late 1980's into the early 1990's. I sold those coins at a significant loss, but I enjoyed them while I had them so I did not care.
I took a 25 year break from coin collecting while I collected Nolan Ryan baseball cards, but came back to it stronger than ever in 2017. My brother-in-law got me back into coin collecting when he brought over some Morgans and Peace dollars that he got from his mom. He asked me if I would help him finish the two sets. I did and the rest is history. I plan on doing this until I no longer enjoy it.
I have collected coins and baseball cards for about 40 years, but 64 years just Numismatics is amazing.
Congrats again, Donato
Below are some coins I could only dream about the first time I collected, but now they are in my collection.
Donato's Complete US Type Set ---- Donato's Dansco 7070 Modified Type Set ---- Donato's Basic U.S. Coin Design Set
Successful transactions: Shrub68 (Jim), MWallace (Mike)
We started about the same time, but I cannot be as specific as to the month as you can. I do remember that my first Whitman Lincoln cent book (#2) had a price sticker of 29 cents on it, but it may have been old stock in the display rack next to the rotating showcase up at the Woolworth's.
Congratulations along with the 64 others who have added likes.
Which brings me to another point. I can see the last ten who gave likes, but not the 54 before. Is there a work around that will allow seeing those from prior to the last ten?
Branch mint proof? Or just extremely nice DMPL?
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That's a standard Philadelphia Proof for the year.
Nope.
"Got a flaming heart, can't get my fill"
Back in the mid 70s as a kid one day I was digging in a ditch layered in seashells and found a spearhead. I remember it being triangular, black, and about 5 or 6 inches across. I took it home and showed my parents who seemed amazed but I never saw it again much less thought of it again until now. Funny how that works.
Great story by the OP and stories from everyone else. I’ve been at it about 53 years myself.
Speaking of Indian artifacts….by the time I started hunting with my brother in law in Ohio, (1990’s), most of the fields were pretty picked over, but still found a few nice ones from time to time.
These were part of a group that I bought, not found myself:
@golden 64 years is an exceptional run...Congrats and here's to many more. I am 10 years behind you at 54 years as a collector...off and on. Lately I've been making up for those "off" periods!
Congratulations for participating for 64 years. That a wonderful accomplishment. My Dad started myself and my sister filling in empty holes in our first blue Whitman “penny” folders in 1960, when I was 4 years old. My father and sister never stayed with the hobby as I have, and I’m sure my dad would be impressed to see what he first started and what he inspired. Those worn down pennies have turned into a life long admiration for United States currency. You should be proud Dad. I’ve graduated to these
I've barely been alive for a quarter of 64 years! Collecting for that long is truly an amazing milestone and something to be proud of! I can only dream of collecting that long! I started off roll hunting in 2020; part of this new excursion was due to the hiatus from regular activities created by COVID-19. I found some silver and wheat cents, but then I discovered certified coins, and began investing and saving to buy more. Coin collecting will forever hold a special place in my heart, and to me, it is more than just a hobby. Here are some of my favorite coins. They pale in comparison to some of the beauties in this thread, but I hope y'all enjoy!
God comes first in everything I do. I’m dedicated to serving Him with my whole life. Coin collecting is just a hobby—but even in that, I seek to honor Him. ✝️
I started the same way, but I was big time, see my aviator. Got them all filled, but the hardest were the Washington’s and the Mercs. They didn’t have the early folders and I never got the 16d Merc. Even then I couldn’t justify the price for a coin that wasn’t that scarce.
I think the reason why I could never take Franklin halves seriously was that I can remember when they were still coming out every year.
Congrat's. Some great stories here.
I got started pretty much the same was as @golden who posted the OP. My uncle gave me the 13th ediiton of The Red Book with the two Whitman Lincoln cent folders which covered 1909 to 1959. I was hooked from the beginning.
I started buying coins from my mother's cleaning lady. I remember my first coins were an 1838 half dime and an 1846 large cent. The half dime really got my attention. It just wasn't 100 years old, it was 120 years old! WOW!
The cleaning lady had three gold dollars. They were the first gold coins I had ever seen. One of them was an 1853-D. I remember seeing it in the spring of 1959. I could not tell you the grade because I could not grade coins at that time, but it was decent. One of the men in town had offered her $50 for it, which was not an unfair price for that time. She was not selling to anyone.
Today I have an 1853-D gold dollars and because of that story, it is a favorite.
Congrats to the OP for his dedication and appreciation.
Many thanks to those who posted some absolutely gorgeous "coin porn."
congrats
1997-present
2003- present
Congratulations! May you find an unexpected coin in your future.
Here is a token I picked up at the ANA in OKC from a forum member @dcarr
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