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 Replies: 34 / Views: 5,358 |
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Valued Member
United States
462 Posts |
So what was it that gave you the coin collecting bug? For me it was when my grandfather showed me his modest coin collection of 20ish coins and shows me one that was 100 years older than I am.
He later gave me his coins before he passed away. What gave you the bug?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
500 Posts |
For me it was when I was younger, and my great grandmother showed me a huge jar of wheat pennies, she had been saving every wheat she found since 1959. The jar vanished shortly after she was moved into a nursing home, we never did figure out who took it but all bets were placed on one of my aunts who likely spent it all..
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New Member
United States
39 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1195 Posts |
The "gee wiz" of seeing wheat pennies, halves, and SBA when I was 8. |
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Pillar of the Community
United Arab Emirates
557 Posts |
My Father gave me a Lincoln Cents album to complete by myself when I was in the 1st grade. We used to go through my Mothers change everyday after work; she was a waitress. He eventually gave me all his coin albums and I continued to fill them up. Great memories. Thanks Dad!
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Pillar of the Community
798 Posts |
My grate grandma was a hoarder and one of the things she hoarded was coins. she had them all over her house and when she passed away, my dad was helping my grandpa clean her house out. he found a box of some of the coins she had accumulated under a bed and asked my grandpa if he could have them, my grandpa said yes so my dad bought them home with him and years later I found them and got interested. in the box was all Canadian coins. a 1910 25c a whole bunch of old nickels and silver dimes and quarters also a 1966 dollar and a 1937 us half dollar and a NFL 1908 50c. the first coin I bought myself was a 1859 penny. Also at first my dad was hesitant on giving me the box but then he did.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5826 Posts |
What got me started was a 1885 Indian Head penny I found in a roll of cents working in my parents restaurant many moons ago, its in a NGC holder graded MS-64BN. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2130 Posts |
I started when I was quite young. I found a Mercury dime when I was digging hole in my sitter's yard. Now, looking back it was a long time ago.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1254 Posts |
A guy on my paper route gave me a bicentennial silver uncirculated set for a Christmas tip back in 1975
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Pillar of the Community
United States
524 Posts |
My father passed away when I was 15 and soon after my mother came to my room and said your father had these stashed away would you like to have them? There were a few Morgans,Walkers and Standing Liberty quarters. I never even knew these coins existed. So my first job was to clean all that grime off of them with my pencil eraser  Then she told me my Great Grandmother was a coin collector and could help with info. on the coins. She had gallon jars of Mercs.Buffs and Wheats that she let me look through to fill my new Whitman folders. No key dates but a great start to a collection. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4897 Posts |
Quote: I found a Mercury dime when I was digging hole in my sitter's yard. Now, looking back it was a long time ago. Weren't they still circulating at the time? Same as many my dad had a small collection. |
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Valued Member
United States
337 Posts |
I've kept a small jar with unusual coins, $2 bills, and silver certificates found over the years. Maybe 30 pieces at best. Then I read about the Canadian Glow-in-the Dark dino coins collection that was being produced. It got my attention. I decided to buy it. From there, I started to read about the different mints, how coins are manufactured, what was Proof/Mint/Collectibles/Circulation, and so forth. It was then I realized how much I enjoyed coins. Now, I'm working on U.S. State Quarters, Presidential $1, older cents (1/2, Large, 2c, 3c), Canadian Dinos, and Australian Mythical Creatures. It's very fun! |
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Valued Member
United States
359 Posts |
When my mom was a kid, she tells me that whenever my great uncle came to visit he would bring her and the other kids a silver dollar. When I was a kid she'd sometimes get those out and let me look at them. She also collected half dollars. I remember getting some used blue Whitman folders on a garage sale and starting my own cent & nickel collections. As I got a little older, I moved on to baseball cards and Superman comics. Coins took a back seat and I honestly didn't think about them for more than 20 years. Last summer I was going through some old boxes and found a mason jar full of coins. I came across a 1941 dime, 1957 dime, and 1967 half dollar. I went to the internet to learn about them and stumbled upon this wonderful forum. It's been all downhill from there!! I definitely got the bug again. My 5 y/o daughter showed an interest and we started on a US Type collection. We've collected 90 coins toward this so far! Things have come somewhat full circle. I was visiting my parents last Fall and started talking to my mom & dad (now aged 67 and 72) about coins. My mom went and pulled out an old Quaker Oats can full of half dollars, and a ceramic teapot full of various old coins. We spent the afternoon going through all of this together with my newfound knowledge. We pulled about a dozen Franklin and 1964 JFK 90% halves and more than 25 1964-70 40% halves out of the can (she still has probably $100+ worth of clad halves in there). But the little teapot held the real treasures to behold... There were several Morgan and Peace dollars (the ones from my great uncle back in the 1950s!), silver dimes & quarters (both US and Canadian), a few old wheat cents, etc. They allowed me to bring them home to categorize and sort through. I did the precursory look to check for key dates (nothing, darn it) but still have a lot of work to get everything in order for them. Yes, I have the bug and I have it big time. I'm mostly happy because I've "infected" my daughter with this interest as well! Our next project is filling up the state/ATB quarter and Lincoln Cent folders. PS: thanks to some conversations with Woodford here on the forum, the mini-bug of Currency collection has also seeped into my household. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1228 Posts |
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What gave you the bug ? The challenge of putting together a complete PDS set of all the different State Quarters territorys & ATB design varietys they are miniature pieces of art ! Perry's Victory monday april 1st  |
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Moderator
 United States
188213 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1721 Posts |
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What Gave You The Bug? It was Kathy M. circa 1988. I was in the Coast Guard and she was in the bar  . As for coins, I guess it was seeing all the strange looking old coins that I had never seen before. I was amazed at how interesting the older coins looked compared to modern coins. As a kid my mind would wander with thoughts of where the coin was, who held it and who spent it. |
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Replies: 34 / Views: 5,358 |
Posted 03/29/2013 01:11 am
