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 Replies: 17 / Views: 3,595 |
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Valued Member
United States
68 Posts |
I grew up in what was probably the most exciting time for pocket change collecting, the 50s and 60s. You would see Indian Head, Lincoln Wheat and Memorial Cents, Buffalo and Jefferson nickels, Mercury and Roosevelt dimes, Washington quarters, Liberty, Franklin and Kennedy halves. Most of the dime through half dollars were 90% silver coinage. I missed a "silver" (as opposed to a "golden") opportunity to begin the best out-of-pocket coin collection ever in those early years. As a young teen, I had a paper route and collected about $30 per week, mostly quarters and halves. In addition, my Dad worked at a bank and had access to rolled coins and a coin counting machine. If only. . .  Unfortunately, I stumbled into coin collecting. I purchased a proof coin set and ASE to commemorate the birth of my daughter. I continued the collecting by buying the annual proof set and an ASE each year. I planned on presenting them to my daughter on her 18th birthday along with some other commemorative items from her birth year. She was less than thrilled with the coins. So I inherited the coins and began filling in the earlier years back to my own birth. But how I wish I had collected that pocket change when I was young.  Oh, the opportunity. Edited by jwm74
04/11/2017 4:31 pm
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Valued Member
Canada
496 Posts |
Welcome to the Community.I feel your pain.Back then those dimes and quarters had too much buying power for a young person to collect them.
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Bedrock of the Community
United Kingdom
17911 Posts |
Better late than never, jwm74! I started collecting as a youngster shortly before decimalisation in the UK, another very exciting time - but I couldn't afford to save all those pre-1947 silver florins and halfcrowns!
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
Good story. We're probably pretty close in age. I love to tell today's youngsters that, in the late '50s, I could assemble the entire Walking Half set (albeit with many well worn) from circulation and searching rolls in about 4-5 months. Problem was, I couldn't afford to keep them because the face value was too high, so I would turn them in and start over for the in of it. I kept very few, and then only keys in Fine or better!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1346 Posts |
I was a 9-year old in the mid 50s and lived in Puerto Rico (air force) Barber coins were in general circulation and I retained a nice collection at face until the Hunt Brothers came along years later. But that's water under the you-know what. I was now a father, paid some bills, and considered it a blessing to cash them in. No regrets. |
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Valued Member
United States
467 Posts |
Maybe you are too late to that party. But there are other parties going on right now. As an example, the error and variety party seems to be really picking up steam. AM wide varieties, Cuds, die breaks...it seems this niche is exploding. It definitely isn't my cup of tea in collecting-- but you can find them in pocket change if you work at it. |
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Moderator
 United States
188052 Posts |
Quote:
Maybe you are too late to that party.
But there are other parties going on right now. I agree.  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
Wait a minute - are you saying Ike dollars could explode? |
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Moderator
United States
54280 Posts |
Even when silver was suspended (1965) the value of silver in the coins was less than face value, so it was not immediately apparent that they should be hoarded. Who could then predict the value of silver per ounce would go up so much when for hundreds of years it stayed low?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4211 Posts |
I know...although a bit later. I worked my junior and senior year co-op at a bank in 1973 - 74 and we would still see 90% silver. Not "a lot" but it was there. We had a customer that owned 5 car washes and he would bring in bags of $500 in quarters that we would dump a bit at a time in the coin counter / wrapper. I could hear the different sound of the silver ones as they were spinning around. I did buy a little silver but at $1.35 an hour wage.... not much. I remember we had a customer come in with 3 rolls of $5.00 dimes that she wanted cash for. It was 3 rolls of Mercury dimes. I wanted so bad to cash those out but at my earnings that was 2 full days pay. So 3 of us tellers bought 1 roll each. I am enjoying "this" party tho.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1654 Posts |
In 1965 I was 9, and our little town in Maine had one coin dealer, the fellow that ran the dry cleaners. Little brown envelopes on a bid board, plastic coin set holders, Whitman albums, and a rotating display for watches that he put 'fancy' coins in. We'd always bring him the old coins we found, and I remember him licking his thumb, cleaning off the coin, and looking at it through a loupe. '65 was the year they replaced 'real' coins with worthless clad crap. My regret? That I didn't keep those old coins for myself! I wonder what I gave away for a few cents over face? |
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Rest in Peace
10197 Posts |
Yea, I'm one of ya'all, there, born in '51, so all coins were readily found in pocket change. My dad started collecting for Boy Scouts, was a scoutmaster so became interested at a very young age. Had all the Whitman folders through Morgans and Peace even. We were middle class folk but he sure put the dough into it. I remember folders with no holes, Mercs was one, Walkers another. I don't know what ever happened to that collection, got on the outs of family differences in the 70's and he passed in 82. Knowing my mother, she undersold it as was her manner. Somebody scored quite the deal for sure.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
9395 Posts |
I started collecting in the fall of 1958, but had a couple of silver dollars from a bit earlier. I collected the usual stuff from circulation: cents through half dollars (but halves were uncommon where I lived). I don't think any of the coins I got from circulation are worth much today, since all the earlier ones are worn slick, and the later ones are very common.
In 1965 or 1966, I started to hoard all silver coins that came my way -- mostly quarters. I ended up with about 750 quarters, 300 of them from 1964. These are the foundation of my current silver stack.
The only worthwhile things I picked up back in those days were the CC dollars directly from the GSA (especially the 1879).
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Valued Member
 United States
397 Posts |
I'm a few years younger than the majority of the posters in this thread, but I remember in the late 60's early 70 doing Whitman folders of Lincoln cents, nickels (not sure if buffalo or Jefferson), and dimes. The only thing left is a 1909 VDB cent. Probably spent the rest on "stupid " kid stuff.
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Rest in Peace
United States
18456 Posts |
Yeah , most of us old timers saw more silver than we knew what to do with . First of all, we were kids . Money wasn't easy to come by . So hoarding WLH's and SLQ's was not anything we were able to do . Besides who even cared , we didn't know they were going to stop making all 90% silver in 1965 . Easy Come ,Easy Go !  |
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Rest in Peace
10197 Posts |
It was a Commie Plot!
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Replies: 17 / Views: 3,595 |
Posted 04/11/2017 4:29 pm
