Why do you collect coins? Edited Poll!!!

joecheck · July 31, 2006 12:51AM

I think I have it, this time!

Edited to add:

History
Other

OKbustchaser · July 31, 2006 1:05AM

None of the above...(except for possibly friendship which is a minor reason). I collect pieces of history. What was going on in the country when this coin was minted? Who might have spent it? On what? Where has it been since then?

Leiana · July 31, 2006 1:07AM

<< None of the above...(except for possibly friendship which is a minor reason). I collect pieces of history. What was going on in the country when this coin was minted? Who might have spent it? On what? Where has it been since then? >>

I agree with you! History!

-Amanda

aeroman · July 31, 2006 1:09AM

Mainly because my dad had an interest and I recall seeing an Indian cent that was his and thinking "WOW that is old" and I guess it evolved into something like OKbustchaser just said

millennium · July 31, 2006 1:10AM

I agree with OKBUSTCHASER.....You need to put in your poll:

It's a token of history, and reflects the time period.

construct · July 31, 2006 1:11AM

Because I'm a crow.

123cents · July 31, 2006 1:16AM

<< I agree with OKBUSTCHASER.....You need to put in your poll:

It's a token of history, and reflects the time period. >>

I agree totally will that statement.

lkenefic · July 31, 2006 1:19AM

I agree with OKBustchaser and Amanda... I got into coin collecting at a fairly young age but I also had a fascination with US History around the same time. I still have a fascination with history (post-Rev War to Civil War era) and I've refined my coin collecting to mirror my interest in this time period.

Leo

partagas · July 31, 2006 1:38AM

Same as numerous above of stated. History!!!!!

I am a history buff, and coins are a cool way to explore history.

PerryHall · July 31, 2006 1:46AM

<< None of the above...(except for possibly friendship which is a minor reason). I collect pieces of history. What was going on in the country when this coin was minted? Who might have spent it? On what? Where has it been since then? >>

Weiss · July 31, 2006 1:51AM

Because I'm a coin collector.

curly · July 31, 2006 2:07AM

because I'm a nerd.....isn't that what nerds do?

rmoss · July 31, 2006 2:13AM

None of the listed.

When I was around 8 or 9 years old, I remember seeing a Standing Liberty Quarter in change. This would have been around 1956. I was fascinated with it. To date I am still fascinated with coins. I love them.

MrBreeze · July 31, 2006 2:41AM

I went with, "to impress others." What other ways can a person more impress somebody, than by saying, "Hey, I'm a Numismatist." Or, another classic, "I like to collect coins." Never in my life have I seen so many blank stares and the "question-mark faces" that are the hallmark of the extremely impressed. And the questions that flow infinitely from the mouths of the impressed after they find out I'm a coin collector - "What's a Numb-is-ma-tist?" - "What do you do with coins?" Surely, all of you have impressed your friends with your vast knowledge of mintage figures, die breaks and opinions on modern crap.

AlixTCat · July 31, 2006 3:01AM

I have been fascinated with coins since my grandma bought me a set of Whitman albums and gave me a few of my grandfather's coins to start me off. I collected out of change, mostly moderns, I guess. I've never had the money or knowledge to collect anything much before the 1960's. But coming here is an education in itself. I'm starting to be drawn to the older coins now. This group is great.

Jonathan

Myqqy · July 31, 2006 4:08AM

I think that coins are the perfect combination of history, art, and beauty- and I have a collecting soul......

FoundingFather · July 31, 2006 4:11AM

Hey, you left out my reason "they are historical artifacts." Well, I'm biased because I collect colonials but I originally got started as a youngster with Lincoln cents and Jefferson nickels and was emotionally moved for the same reason (touching something with history, that has a story, etc.).

RYK · July 31, 2006 4:43AM

Why do you collect coins?

It's a great way to meet chicks™.

TorinoCobra71 · July 31, 2006 4:52AM

Started off when I was young! Now I cant stop!

TorinoCobra71

joecheck · July 31, 2006 5:46AM

It seems like history is getting alot of press, so I added it to the poll!

ziggy29 · July 31, 2006 5:47AM

<< It seems like history is getting alot of press, so I added it to the poll! >>

And now that you've added it, I'll respond.

anablep · July 31, 2006 5:55AM

I enjoy the challenge of completion, the beauty of precious metals and history of art objects such as coins.

I like holding something old in my hands wondering how did it get to me, of all people?

I like their value, weight and metalic sound when in a bag or poured from it.

joecheck · July 31, 2006 6:02AM

I did not include my own answer...

Because, when I look at a nice coin, it makes my mouth water. I forget my surroundings. It's like looking at any other fine work of art.

cladking · July 31, 2006 6:09AM

All of the above (especially "other").

What got me hooked originally was the concept that coins could travel randomly
from one person to another yet were identifiable by date and mint mark. Later I
found out about varieties and other differences like the amount and type of wear
a coin gets, the odd damage which isn't always so random. Coins always tell a
story whether they're pristine 19th century coins in a collection or a beat up 1967
quarter in circulation. They tell a story of how and why they were made and they
scream volumns about how they got to their present state. Understanding this and
whipping them into a sort of order are probably the biggest reasons I collect.

dizzyfoxx · July 31, 2006 6:25AM

<< 

<< None of the above...(except for possibly friendship which is a minor reason). I collect pieces of history. What was going on in the country when this coin was minted? Who might have spent it? On what? Where has it been since then? >>

I agree with you! History!

-Amanda >>

Tarmac · July 31, 2006 6:34AM

And the questions that flow infinitely from the mouths of the impressed after they find out I'm a coin collector - "What's a Numb-is-ma-tist?" - "What do you do with coins?"

True story:

I once told my parent's friend I was a "philatelist" and the wife's response was, "does your mother know you do that"? I was 10 at the time and it went righ over my head. But when I told my parents they could not stop laughing. I laughed too but wasn't sure why. It wasn't until many years later my parents recounted the story which I had long forgotten and I could not stop laughing.

Today, I can still elicit a strange look when I use the "philatelist" word.

yellowjacket · July 31, 2006 11:56AM

I'm with rmoss. I LIKE COINS. I've been at it since I was a kid.

seateddime · July 31, 2006 12:01PM

how else can you spend $100 and get a dime in return and not feel cheated?

AJ2525 · July 31, 2006 12:17PM

I'd have to say it's psychological reasons.

1. Collecting coins gives order to an otherwise too chaotic world. e.g. Each coin has a date, a mintmark of where it was created and a grade.
2. Each time I find a coin just unusual enough to keep I get that, sometimes little sometimes big, "I found treasure!" thrill.

It's the little thrill I get that keeps me looking at coins.

Shamika · July 31, 2006 12:25PM

Because it appeals to my obsessive/compulsive nature.

Why do you collect coins? Edited Poll!!!

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