Since I was a kid, I've been fascinated by coins. All kinds. Always meant to collect, but so far I don't have a very extensive display. My oldest coin is a 1854 dime, and just found a 1960 shilling in my sock drawer during the move.
Unfortunately, at some point someone poked a hole in this one to presumably use it as a necklace or pendant. Just more history I suppose. Anyway, post your coins.
Very nice.
I have had an interest in coins from an early age, as I had a Great Uncle named Leonard who was a bit of a collector.
Recently, I had gotten back into it when my kids got to an age where they showed some interest. I've got Lincoln Cents books near full to present-day, except for some rare and expensive exceptions. I mean to complete my collection of Franklin Halves.
One of the "treasures" my father has given me is a strange old black painted wooden box with a hinged lid. Inside are a variety of foreign coins that were dropped into the coin boxes on New York City busses in the 1940's and 50's. There are a fair number of countries represented-- Cuba, France, Haiti, Bolivia to name just a few. If I find a minute, I photograph some of them and post it up here.
I was semi-serious about collecting when I was a kid, but it kind of went by the wayside. These days I mainly just watch for older coins I get in pocket change. For whateveer reason, the most common older coin I find are Jefferson nickels; I guess a combination of their design and their metallurgical composition makes them more durable than other coins. I just got a 1953 nickel last week, and 1940s nickels aren't all that uncommon. Also, I recently got some coin books for commemorative quarters, but they're kind of frustrating - the mints keep producing more and more of them so it will be next to impossible to find them all (that old saying, anything that's promoted as 'collectible' usually isn't.)
stuart in mn said:Also, I recently got some coin books for commemorative quarters, but they're kind of frustrating - the mints keep producing more and more of them so it will be next to impossible to find them all (that old saying, anything that's promoted as 'collectible' usually isn't.)
Yeah, I started collecting the statehood quarters and thought they were kind of neat, but then they just kept right on going with every conceivable excuse to mint a new design and I lost interest.
Edit: Agree on the Jefferson Nickels. Same design since 1939 and they hold up well. Unlike dimes and quarters, there's no silver in the old ones (except for 1942-45 war nickels), so they don't get pulled out of circulation.
Very cool. I have collected foreign money since I was a kid. If you were going somewhere I'd ask you to bring me $5 worth of who'sever money.
I love it but have found it hard to display so you can see both sides.
It was common practice for my dad, aunts and grandparents to see a silver dime, quarter or nickel and toss it into a cigar box. Then they all died and it got passed down and it ended up being an old school gym bag full.
My sister said enough and interviewed 4 coin dealers and cashed it in for $6000 - sure, I'd love to have that $2000 you passed along.
I collected a bunch when I was younger. I probably had 10 of the blue books mostly full. IIRC I gave them to a grandkid. 10-15 years ago.
My grandfather was a big collector and I inherited them. It's a shoe box FULL of them, some centuries old. I don't know what to do with them. Don't want them but have no clue what they are worth or where to start.
I have a minor collection going back to my childhood in the 70s. I still hoard any bicentennial or wheat pennies I see. My grandfather gave me a bunch of WWII coins and bills from Japan. I saved a sample of every coin and cheapest bill I could find in countries I visited in the Navy.
I found a bunch of weird tokens once & tried to figure them out when the internet became a thing. I should dig them back out. And now in the 501st Legion, challenge coins are a thing & naturally I jumped in with both feet. (6 years in the Navy and had never heard of them.)
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