Did The State Quarter Program Bring You Into The Hobby?

It's great to see so many new faces around. Welcome.

I find the ATB designs more interesting and less structured and predictable than the states coins. They may not be as numismatically important but they are more interesting.

You should be able to complete the 1961 to date nickels as well but I believe a lot more dates will be low grade because there are fewer to choose from. The grade spread in something like 1971-P nickels is fairly wide making a nice AU possible but you'll see so few of this date that odds are you'll have to settle for a VF.

Keep us posted.

Wow, this is an old thread!

I'd have to say "yes", although I did have a small collection of Ikes, silver coins, $2 bills, etc. before then. But the State Quarter program is what really got me interested.

While I like the State Quarters, that did not get me into serious coin collecting, it all started with silver stacking first and then I' started reading coin collecting magazines, got the 2014 Red Book and other materials and books on numismatics. I found that I love the history of the older coins especially knowing some of the hands that they may have been in, and like a lot of other people I fell in love with the Morgan dollar series, a Mercury dimes and silver half CRH!!

I was wondering how long it would take someone to notice the necro-bump.

No
They did not start me collection, that happened in the 1960's.

But I did start collecting them when they came out,
I have quite a few of them now.

Actually the Statehood Quarters turned me off to Washington quarters. I had been collecting since '68. I also collected Canadian coins since I was on the border.

The Canadidn mint, by that time, had started to make a new design everytime the stars came out. Special issues all of a sudden were common, but the RCM was smart... because it made them money.

The US mint, to my thinking, was simply finding a way to cash in on the idea the RCM had pioneered. And since I was used to collecting silver coins which don't lose their value with inflation, I could not see collecting a ton of clad quarters that would only lose their value over the years.

So my Washington collection stops where the State Quarters (and everything else they made to keep the concept going) sarted.

Now having said all of that...
CCF has opened my eyes somewhat as I never collected proofs by years before. So I think in the future I might try to assemble a collection of the silver proof quarters starting with the Statehood and continuing. I have some anyway.

By CCF family member, GR58, I was sent some of the more scarce S mint clads that intrigue me also. He is the one who got me rethinking my initial ideas.


And...
I think the program was a GREAT way to get kids involved in coin collecting. It introduces them to the fun of collecting - but for the joy of it - not the actual worth of the target collectable. All four of my kids had their folders - but I was on a hiatus from coins at the time .

no

No, it didn't have anything to do with me getting into the hobby.

BUT, I have to say that while many of them are not particularly interesting, some are downright gorgeous and I actively seek out nice examples from time to time. A couple that trip my trigger are the Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut...

And I think it should be said that on the whole, the artistry of the ATBs is even finer! Mt. Rushmore, Hawaii Volcanoes, and all of the fun and numerous errors of the Homestead...

Some of the numismatic greats suggested and pushed the program and were disappointed with early results, but I think on the whole, it has been a wonderful program and I'm glad they did it.