I Started Collecting Coins Because....

I voted self interest but all of them apply in some way or another.

I voted self-interest but I can thank my father.He had a box of world and kiwi coins and one day while digging through it I found an 1891o Morgan and of course thought I found a rare and valuable coin.So I started to research the coin and the next thing I knew I had 15 Morgans plus another 300+ US coins and hundreds of kiwi pre-decimals

Wow I am sure all of the choices apply except for the inheritance one. But self interest is the most prominent. My whole family has been bitten by the collecting bug. everyone has there own interests. I seem to like all of theirs and mine.

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Originally posted by snowman

My grandfather started me when I was young with a small collection of foreign coins. I added to it with whatever I could find in my parent's pocket change. I had't even thought about that collection for 20 years until I quit smoking and was looking for something to keep me occupied. The coins that I've acquired over the last 18 months were all bought with the money I used to spend on butts (about $25 a week).

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C Congratulations on kicking that habit!! I am always impressed to hear of anyone kicking the habit. Probably because I have yet to succeed ridding myself of those nasty sticks.
And what a great way to reward yourself by exchanging coins for cigs!! Congratulations again!! Wow.

I don't see any answers to this question I can relate to so I will give you mine. Back in 1956 or 57 coin collecting was rather popular with a lot of kids even in this little town. There was little else to get excited about. My dad did not give me a stash of old coins. He barely had new ones. Maybe that was where I started to understand money. I found coins in circulation from the last century, and wondered who might have had them in their hand. That alone still keeps me going. I like to imagine George Washington once held the 1794 cent that I can now hold. I guess the reason I would pick is "Its just fun.'

lou b, You used the date 1956. That's interesting because that was the year I became truly interested in coin collecting.

I started when I found my first silver quarter in circulation. As a 1978 model I had no idea that coins at one time used to be 90% silver! After that I searched for more and more information and the "habit" stuck!

I got my first coins, including my avatar from my uncle, that pretty much started it off. But now I am starting collect coins for historical reasons, many coins are also political statements either through what language used or symbols or just the style.