Newbie To The Forum And To Collecting.

Hello everyone,
My name is Dan Johnson, I am from Upstate New York, 34 Yrs old, and love coins! When I was a young boy my grandfather got me in to collecting coins, he had one of the largest collections I have personally ever served. For a very long time he owned a local scrap yard and collected all sorts of things people threw away on accident or on purpose. He had 8 children and tons of grandchildren. I was the only grandchild that showed an interest in coins, which gave him a lot of happiness. He grew up in the Great Depression, I couldn't even begin to understand what it was like to live in that unfortunate part of US history. I found out after he passed away he was illiterate and could hardly use a rotary phone. It's weird to think that a man that couldn't read or write owned a successful junk yard and loved money. Every time I went over he would give me a piece of his treasure.
On the day of his funeral it was discovered someone broke into his house and stole his safe, it disgust me that a family member or friend would do this. He was extremely private with his hobby. He had $250,000.00 in cash in his safe, countless amounts of gold and silver coins, a cup he found in the junk yard made by Paul rever for David Crockett which was authenticated by a museum, and he had a very neat journal wrote by a young lady(it had a entry in it on the day Abraham Lincoln was assinated and showed the sadness the American people had on the day.
When I got in to my teens I did something very foolish that I regret to this day. I sold the coins he gave me to a local pawn shop for nearly nothing. I feel disgusted that I would do something so stupid and a business owner would take advantage of a 16 yr old kid. I am hoping this business owner himself was ignorant in the knowledge what these coins were really worth.
It's been nearly 20 years since I sold those coins and just decided to get back into collecting. I love being able to hold history in my hands, money has always been the driving force in the world and it's cool feeling to wonder who has held that specific coin in the past. I love the roman and Alexander the Great and someday hope to add some ancient coins into my collection. This forum has been extremely helpful in the beginning of this addictive and wonderful hobby.
Thanks for reading this,
Dan Johnson